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1 Maccabees 3:16-18
New Catholic Bible
1 Maccabees 3:16-18
New Catholic Bible
16 When he reached the ascent of Beth-horon,[a] Judas marched out to confront him with a small contingent. 17 However, when they observed the army that was gathered to do battle with them, his soldiers said to Judas, “How can we, as few as we are, fight against so great a multitude? Besides, we are faint with hunger, for we have eaten nothing all day.” 18 But Judas replied, “It is easy for many to be defeated by a few. In the sight of Heaven,[b] there is no distinction between deliverance by many and deliverance by a few.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Maccabees 3:16 The ascent of Beth-horon: a gorge that ran from the mountains of Judea to the coast. The town was about twelve miles from Jerusalem.
- 1 Maccabees 3:18 In late Judaism, it was customary to avoid naming Yahweh: at the time of the Persians, the expression “God of heaven” was used. In the period that interests us, the name Heaven is used in the same sense. This discretion was inspired by respect toward the one God.
