A   Now when ^note Nicanor knewe þt; Iudas was in the countre of Samaria, he thought wyth all his power to stryke a felde wyth him vpon a Sabboth daye. Neuerthelesse the Iewes þt; were compelled to go wyth hym, sayde: O do not so cruelly and vnkyndly, but halowe the Sabboth daye, and worshippe him that seyth all thinges. For all thys, yet sayd the vngracyous personne: ^note Is there a myghtie one in heau&ebar;, that c&obar;maunded the Sabboth

daye to be kepte? And when they sayde: yet the lyuinge God, the myghtie Lord in heauen ^note commaunded the seuenth daye to be kepte, he sayde: And I am myghty vpon earth, to comma&ubar;de them for to arme them selues, and to perfourme the kynges busynesse. Notwithstandinge he myght not haue hys purpose.

B   Nicanor had deuysed wyth great pryde to ouercome Iudas, ∧ to brynge awaye the victory. But Machabeus had euer a fast confidence and a parfecte hope in God, that he wolde helpe hym, ∧ exhorted hys people, not to be afrayed at the c&obar;minge of the Heathen: but alwaye to remembre the help that had bene shewed vnto them from heau&ebar;, yee ∧ to be sure now also, that almyghtye God wolde geue them the victory. He spake vnto them out of the lawe and prophetes, putting them in remembraunce of the battayls that they had stricken afore, and made them to be of a good corage.

So when their hartes were plucke vp, he shewed them also the disceatfulnesse of the Heathen, and how they wolde kepe no couena&ubar;t nor othe. Thus he weapened them not wyth the armoure of shylde and speare, but with wholsome wordes and exhortacyons. He shewed th&ebar; a dreame also, wherthorowe he made them all glad, whych was thys: he thought that he sawe Onias (which had bene hye prest, C   a vertuous and louynge man, sad and of honest c&obar;uersacyon, well spoken, ∧ one that had bene exercysed in Godlynes from a chylde) holdyng vp hys handes towarde heauen, and prayenge for his people. After this there apeared vnto him anotherman, which was aged, honorable and glorious. And Onias sayde: This is a louer of the brethren, and of the people of Israell. This is he that prayeth moch for the people and for all þe; holy citye: Ieremy þe; prophete of God. He thought also that Ieremy helde out hys ryght hande, and gaue vnto Iudas a swearde of Golde, saynge: Take this holy swearde, a gyfte from God, wherwith thou shalt smyte downe the enemyes of the people of Israell.

And so they were well comforted thorow the wordes of Iudas, and toke corage vnto them, so that the yonge men were determyned in their myndes to fyght, ∧ to byde styfly at it: In so moch þt; in the thynges whych they toke in hande, their boldnesse shewed þe; same, because the holy citye and the temple were in parell: for the which they toke more care, then for their wyues, chyldren, brethr&ebar; and kynsfolckes. Agayne, they that were in the citye, were most carefull for those which were to fyght. Now when they were all in a hope that the iudgem&ebar;t of the matter was at h&abar;de, and the enemyes drew nye, the host beynge set in araye, the Eleph&abar;tes and horsmen euery one standynge in hys place: Machabeus consydered the c&obar;myng of the multitude, the ordynaunce of dyuerse weapens, the cruelnes of the beastes, and helde vp his handes towarde heauen, D   callyng vpon the Lorde þt; doth wonders, ^note whych geueth not the victory after the multitude of weapens and power of the host (but to th&ebar; that please hym) accordynge to hys awne wyll. Therfore in hys prayer he sayd these wordes.

O Lorde, ^note thou þt; dyddest sende thyne Angell in the tyme of Ezekyah kyng of Iuda, and in the hoste of Sennaherib slewest an h&ubar;dreth foure score ∧ fyue thousand: sende now also thy good angell before vs (O Lorde of heauens) in the fearfulnesse and drede of thy myghtie arme, that they which come against thy holy people to blaspheme them, maye be afrayed. And so he made an ende of his wordes. Th&ebar; Nicanor ∧ they that were with hym, drewe nye wyth shawmes and songes: but Iudas and hys company wyth prayer and callynge vpon God.

With their handes they smote, but wyth theyr hertes they prayed vnto the Lorde, ∧ slew no lesse then .xxxv.M. m&ebar;: For thorow þe; present helpe of God they were gloriously comforted.

Now when they left of, ∧ were turnynge agayne with ioye, they vnderstode that Nicanor hym selfe was slayne wyth the other. Then they gaue a greate shoute and a crye, praysynge the Almighty Lord with a loude voyce. E   And Iudas (whych was euer ready to spende hys body ∧ lyfe for hys cytesyns) c&obar;maunded to smite of Nicanors head, with hys arme ∧ hande, ∧ to be brought to Ierusalem. When he came there, he called all the people, ∧ the prestes at þe; aulter wyth those that were in the castell, ∧ shewed th&ebar; Nicanors head, and his wycked hande, whych he had presumptuously holden vp agaynst the t&ebar;ple of God. He caused þe; tonge also of þe; vngodly Nicanor to be cut &ibar; lytle peces, ∧ to be cast to the foules, ∧ the cruel mans hande to be hanged vp before the temple.

So euery man gaue thanckes vnto the Lord, sayinge: blessed be he, that hath kepte hys place vndefyled.

As for Nicanors head, he hanged it vp vpon the hye castell, for an euident ∧ playne token of þe; helpe of God. And so they agreed all together, to kepe that daye holy, namely the .xiii. daye of the moneth Adar, which in þe; Syrians language is called the nexte daye before Mardocheus daye. Thus was Nicanor slayne, and from that tyme forth the Iewes had the citye in possessi&obar;: And here will I now make an ende. ¶ The ende of the seconde boke of the Machabees.

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