2049 verses about Courage

And Judas perceived it, and he went forth to meet him, and struck him, and killed him: and many fell wounded to death, and the rest fled.

And they took their spoils, and Judas took the sword of Apollonius, and therewith he fought all his days.

And Seron, the commander of the army of Syria, heard say that Judas had gathered a gathering and a congregation of faithful men with him, and of such as went out to war;

And he came near to the going up of Bethhoron, and Judas went forth to meet him with a small company.

But when they saw the army coming to meet them, they said to Judas, What? shall we be able, being a small company, to fight against so great and strong a multitude? and we for our part are faint, having tasted no food this day.

And Judas said, It is an easy thing for many to be shut up in the hands of a few; and with heaven it is all one, to save by many or by few:

for victory in battle stands not in the multitude of an army; but strength is from heaven.

They come to us in fulness of insolence and lawlessness, to destroy us and our wives and our children, for to plunder us:

but we fight for our lives and our laws.

And he himself will discomfit them before our face: but as for you, be you⌃ not afraid of them.

Now when he had left off speaking, he leapt suddenly upon them, and Seron and his army were discomfited before him.

And they pursued them in the going down of Bethhoron to the plain, and there fell of them about eight hundred men; but the residue fled into the land of the Philistines.

And the fear of Judas and his kindred, and the dread of them, began to fall upon the nations round about them:

and his name came near even to the king, and every nation told of the battles of Judas.

And he opened his treasury, and gave his forces pay for a year, and commanded them to be ready for every need.

And he delivered to him the half of his forces, and the elephants, and gave him charge of all the things that he would have done, and concerning those who lived in Judea and in Jerusalem,

And Lysias chose Ptolemy the son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor, and Gorgias, mighty men of the king’s Friends;

and with them he sent forty thousand footmen, and seven thousand horse, to go into the land of Judah, and to destroy it, according to the word of the king.

And they removed with all their army, and came and pitched near to Emmaus in the plain country.

and they said each man to his neighbor, Let us raise up the ruin of our people, and let us fight for our people and the holy place.

And the congregation was gathered together, that they might be ready for battle, and that they might pray, and ask for mercy and compassion.

And they sounded with the trumpets, and cried with a loud voice.

And after this Judas appointed leaders of the people, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens.

And the army removed, and encamped upon the south side of Emmaus.

And Judas said, Gird yourselves, and be valiant men, and be in readiness against the morning, that you⌃ may fight with these Gentiles, that are assembled together against us to destroy us, and our holy place:

for it is better for us to die in battle, than to look upon the evils of our nation and the holy place.

And Gorgias took five thousand footmen, and a thousand chosen horse, and the army removed by night,

And Judas heard thereof, and removed, he and the valiant men, that he might strike the king’s army which was at Emmaus,

while as yet the forces were dispersed from the camp.

And Gorgias came into the camp of Judas by night, and found no man; and he sought them in the mountains; for he said, These men flee from us.

And as soon as it was day, Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men: howbeit they had not armor nor swords to their minds.

And they saw the camp of the Gentiles strong and fortified, and horsemen compassing it round about; and these were expert in war.

And Judas said to the men that were with him, Fear you⌃ not their multitude, neither be you⌃ afraid of their onset.

Remember how our fathers were saved in the Red sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with an army.

And the strangers lifted up their eyes, and saw them coming near them:

and they went out of the camp to battle. And those who were with Judas sounded their trumpets,

and joined battle, and the Gentiles were discomfited, and fled into the plain.

But all the hindmost fell by the sword: and they pursued them to Gazara, and to the plains of Idumaea and Azotus and Jamnia, and there fell of them about three thousand men.

And Judas and his army returned from pursuing after them,

and he said to the people, Be not greedy of the spoils, inasmuch as there is a battle before us;

and Gorgias and his army are near to us in the mountain. But stand you⌃ now against our enemies, and fight against them, and afterwards take the spoils with boldness.

While Judas was yet making an end of these words, there appeared a part of them looking out from the mountain:

and they saw that their army had been put to flight, and that the Jews were burning the camp; for the smoke that was seen declared what was done.

But when they perceived these things, they were sore afraid; and perceiving also the army of Judas in the plain ready for battle,

And Israel had a great deliverance that day.

But the strangers, as many as had escaped, came and told Lysias all the things that had happened:

And in the next year he gathered together threescore thousand chosen footmen, and five thousand horse, that he might subdue them.

And they came into Idumaea, and encamped at Bethsura; and Judas met them with ten thousand men.

And he saw that the army was strong, and he prayed and said, Blessed are you, O Saviour of Israel, who did quell the onset of the mighty man by the hand of your servant David, and did deliver the army of the Philistines into the hands of Jonathan the son of Saul, and of his armor bearer:

shut up this army in the hand of your people Israel, and let them be ashamed for their army and their horsemen:

cast them down with the sword of those who love you, and let all that know your name praise you with thanksgiving.

And they joined battle; and there fell of the army of Lysias about five thousand men, and they fell down near them.

But when Lysias saw that his array was put to flight, and the boldness that had come upon those who were with Judas, and how they were ready either to live or to die nobly, he removed to Antioch, and gathered together hired soldiers, that he might come again into Judea with even a greater company.

But Judas and his kindred said, Behold, our enemies are discomfited: let us go up to cleanse the holy place, and to dedicate it afresh.

And all the army was gathered together, and they went up to mount Sion.

Then Judas appointed certain men to fight against those that were in the citadel, until he should have cleansed the holy place.

And he set there a force to keep it, and they fortified Bethsura to keep it; that the people might have a stronghold near Idumaea.

And Judas fought against the children of Esau in Idumaea at Akrabattine, because they besieged Israel: and he struck them with a great slaughter, and brought down their pride, and took their spoils.

And he fought many battles with them, and they were discomfited before his face; and he struck them,

and got possession of Jazer, and the villages thereof, and returned again into Judea.

And the Gentiles that were in Gilead gathered themselves together against the Israelites that were on their borders, to destroy them. And they fled to the stronghold of Dathema,

and they are preparing to come and get possession of the stronghold whereunto we are fled for refuge, and Timotheus is the leader of their army.

Now therefore come and deliver us from their hand, for many of us are fallen.

And Judas said to Simon his brother, Choose you out men, and go and deliver your kindred that are in Galilee, but I and Jonathan my brother will go into the land of Gilead.

And he gave commandment to them, saying, Take you⌃ the charge of this people, and fight no battle with the Gentiles until that we come again.

And to Simon were divided three thousand men to go into Galilee, but to Judas eight thousand men to go into the land of Gilead.

And Simon went into Galilee, and fought many battles with the Gentiles, and the Gentiles were discomfited before him.

And he pursued them to the gate of Ptolemais; and there fell of the Gentiles about three thousand men, and he took their spoils.

And Judas Maccabaeus and his brother Jonathan passed over Jordan, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness;

and how that many of them were shut up in Bosora, and Bosor, and Alema, Casphor, Maked, and Carnaim; all these cities are strong and great:

and how that they were shut up in the rest of the cities of the land of Gilead, and that tomorrow they have appointed to encamp against the strongholds, and to take them, and to destroy all these men in one day.

And he removed from thence by night, and went till he came to the stronghold.

And the morning came, and they lifted up their eyes, and, behold, much people which could not be counted, bearing ladders and engines of war, to take the stronghold; and they were fighting against them.

And Judas saw that the battle was begun, and that the cry of the city went up to heaven, with trumpets and a great sound,

and he said to the men of his army, Fight this day for your kindred.

And he went forth behind them in three companies, and they sounded with their trumpets, and cried out in prayer.

And the army of Timotheus perceived that it was Maccabaeus, and they fled from before him: and he struck them with a great slaughter; and there fell of them on that day about eight thousand men.

From thence he removed, and took Casphor, Maked, Bosor, and the other cities of the land of Gilead.

And Judas sent men to espy the army; and they brought him word, saying, All the Gentiles that be round about us are gathered together to them, an exceeding great army.

And they have hired Arabians to help them, and are encamping beyond the brook, ready to come against you to battle. And Judas went to meet them.

And Timotheus said to the captains of his army, when Judas and his army drew near to the brook of water, If he pass over first to us, we shall not be able to withstand him; for he will mightily prevail against us:

but if he be afraid, and encamp beyond the river, we will cross over to him, and prevail against him.

Now when Judas came near to the brook of water, he caused the scribes of the people to remain by the brook, and gave commandment to them, saying, Suffer no man to encamp, but let all come to the battle.

And he crossed over the first against them, and all the people after him: and all the Gentiles were discomfited before his face, and cast away their arms, and fled to the temple at Carnaim.

And Judas gathered together all Israel, those who were in the land of Gilead, from the least to the greatest, and their wives, and their children, and their stuff, an exceeding great army, that they might come into the land of Judah.

And they came as far as Ephron, and this same city was great, and it was in the way as they should go, exceeding strong: they could not turn away from it on the right hand or on the left, but must needs pass through the midst of it.

And Judas sent to them with words of peace, saying, We will pass through your land to go into our own land, and none shall do you any hurt, we will only pass by on our feet. And they would not open to him.

And Judas commanded proclamation to be made in the army, that each man should encamp in the place where he was.

And the men of the army encamped, and fought against the city all that day and all that night, and the city was delivered into his hands;

And they went over Jordan into the great plain near Bethshan.

And Judas gathered together those that lagged behind, and encouraged the people all the way through, until he came into the land of Judah.

And in the days when Judas and Jonathan were in the land of Gilead, and Simon his brother in Galilee before Ptolemais,

Joseph the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, rulers of the army, heard of their exploits and of the war, what things they had done;

and they said, Let us also get us a name, and let us go fight against the Gentiles that are round about us.

And they gave charge to the men of the army that was with them, and went toward Jamnia.

And Gorgias and his men came out of the city to meet them in battle.

But they were not of the seed of those men, by whose hand deliverance was given to Israel.

And the man Judas and his kindred were glorified exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and of all the Gentiles, wherever their name was heard of;

And Judas and his kindred went forth, and fought against the children of Esau in the land toward the south; and he struck Hebron and the villages thereof, and pulled down the strongholds thereof, and burned the towers thereof round about.

and they rose up against him to battle: and he fled, and removed thence with great heaviness, to return to Babylon.