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Death of Antiochus

When King Antiochus was traveling through the northern parts of Persia, he heard news about Elam, a city famous for its wealth in silver and gold.

They stored in their wealthy city temple golden armor, breastplates, and weapons left there by the Macedonian king, Alexander, son of Philip, the first ruler of the Greeks.

So Antiochus went there. But when the residents learned of his plan, they came out armed against him, causing his attempt to seize the city to fail.

He had to turn back and return much bitterer to Babylon.

While he was still in Persia, it was reported to him that the armies sent to Judea had been defeated. They told him

that although Lysias had gone with a strong army, he had to flee before the Jews, who had been strengthened with the weapons and the abundant booty taken from the neighboring armies.

He heard, too, that the Jews had destroyed the abominable idol he had erected on the altar in Jerusalem, had rebuilt the temple walls to the same height as before, and had also fortified the city of Beth-Zur.

When he received this news, he was terrified and distraught. He fell ill and became incredibly depressed because things did not turn out the way he had planned.

So he remained overwhelmed by this terrible anguish for many days. He felt as if he were dying,

so he called his friends and said to them: “Sleep has fled from my eyes, and my anxieties greatly crush me.

And I keep on asking why such grief has come upon me—I who was generous and well-loved when in power—and now I am so discouraged.

Now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem, the vessels of gold and silver that I stole, the inhabitants of Judea I ordered to be killed for no reason at all.

I now know that because of this, these misfortunes have come upon me. I am dying of grief in a strange land.”