Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 2.djvu/101

 Judas also  went  over  the  river  Jordan,

across the  vast  desert,  and  subdued  the  heathen.

He came  then  to  a  city,  named  Bosor,

in which  were  the  heathen  that  oppressed  his  kindred.

All them  he  put  to  death  with  the  edge  of  the  sword,

and set  the  city  on  fire,  and  hastened  away  afterwards.

Verily, then  in  the  morning  there  came  against  him  so  many  men

that no  man  might  (at  all)  number  the  multitude,

and began  to  fight  firmly  with  craft,

and knew  not  that  Maccabeus  was  with  the  men.

When Judas  heard  the  noise  of  the  heathen,

and the  shout  of  the  fight,  then  went  he  behind  them

with three  companies,  and  slew  the  heathen,

until that  they  perceived  that  the  keen  Judas

was fighting  against  them,  and  turned  then  to  (their)  horses;

they knew  that  they  could  not  withstand  Maccabeus.

In the  battle  there  were  eight  thousand  men

slain, of  the  heathen  folk,  and  the  rest  fled  away.

Judas then  went,  fighting  against  the  heathen,

and burned  up  their  cities,  and  slew  them  reproachfully.

Then came  Timotheus,  a  keen  leader

with an  excessive  army,  and  laid  wait  at  a  ford.

But Judas  came  against  him  boldly  with  weapons,

and passed  over  the  ford,  and  fought  with  the  heathen,

as his  custom  was,  until  that  they  turned  from  him,

and cast  away  their  weapons,  and  went  to  a  town;

but Judas  burned  them  up,  and  the  town  together.

He took  then  his  kinsmen  from  among  the  wicked  ones,

with wives  and  children,  and  they  returned  home.

Then was  there  a  great  town,  in  the  midst  of  their  way,

and there  was  no  high-road  on  either  side  of  the  town