1 Maccabees 4:34-41

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

³⁴ Then both sides attacked, and there fell of the army of Lys′ias five thousand men; they fell in action.^{[a] 35} And when Lys′ias saw the rout of his troops and observed the boldness which inspired those of Judas, and how ready they were either to live or to die nobly, he departed to Antioch and enlisted mercenaries, to invade Judea again with an even larger army.

Cleansing and Dedication of the Temple

³⁶ Then said Judas and his brothers, “Behold, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it.” ³⁷ So all the army assembled and they went up to Mount Zion. ³⁸ And they saw the sanctuary desolate, the altar profaned, and the gates burned. In the courts they saw bushes sprung up as in a thicket, or as on one of the mountains. They saw also the chambers of the priests in ruins. ³⁹ Then they rent their clothes, and mourned with great lamentation, and sprinkled themselves with ashes. ⁴⁰ They fell face down on the ground, and sounded the signal on the trumpets, and cried out to Heaven. ⁴¹ Then Judas detailed men to fight against those in the citadel until he had cleansed the sanctuary.