1 Maccabees 5:45-54

Good News Translation

⁴⁵ Then Judas gathered together all the Jews in Gilead to take them back to Judea with him. It was a large group of all kinds of people, together with their wives and children and all that they owned. ⁴⁶ They went as far as Ephron, a large, well-fortified town. It was impossible to go around it on either side, and the road passed directly through the town. ⁴⁷ But the people there would not let them pass and blocked the town gates with stones. ⁴⁸ Then Judas sent a friendly message to them:

⁴⁹ So Judas told everyone in the group, except the fighting men, to camp where they were. ⁵⁰ The fighting men were ordered to take up their positions and attack the town. They fought all day and all night, until they had taken it. ⁵¹ Judas had all the men of Ephron put to death, plundered the town, and leveled it. Then he and his army marched through the town over the dead bodies. ⁵² They crossed the Jordan into the wide plain opposite Beth Shan. ⁵³ Throughout the whole march Judas kept gathering up the stragglers and encouraging the people until they reached the land of Judea. ⁵⁴ With thanksgiving and rejoicing, they went up to Mount Zion and sacrificed burnt offerings because they had returned safely without a single loss.