19 Then Eleazar said: Now the worst is told. 20But even if Jerusalem is finished, still we have our Laws. 21And Masada is our rock of honor. 22In Herodium and Machaerus a few brave comrades hold out. 23Remain of good heart. 24I shall lead you until the end. 25And perhaps we can prevail even now, for who knows what the Lord has written?
26 Then the Elders raised their voices to reply, and said: Fight our battles, and all that you command we promise to accomplish.
27 And the Rabbis likewise became glad, saying: Now God will show His power to these Gentiles. 28God can defend one against a thousand. 29So we have no fear.
30 And in the Dry Hours, when they spied the Romans sleeping, they prayed among the pillars of the synagogue, requesting the Lord to send them relief; yea, they prayed beneath the harsh dark sky.
2 But it was as Eleazar said: Who knows the ways of God? — 2In the Book of Chronicles 'tis written that King David and all Israel assembled to bring the sacred Ark from Kiriathjearim, and one whose name was Uzzah pressed his palms against the Ark, because the oxen had stumbled and he feared the Ark would fall. 3What else should he have done? 4But God raged, and Uzzah died. 5This is why the proverb goes:
3 In the first year the Romans could not take Masada, there being but one way up that Hill of Gold, and that was the Serpentine Path, above which Eleazar's soldiers waited with their boulders and cauldrons of pitch. 2And their cavalry and picked troops did not yet assault that place, because Flavius Silva, the Procurator of that province, had set them to harrying the land far and wide, robbing, raping and killing, so that the Jews would never dare to rebel again. 3And Eleazar came down from Masada many times with his Zealots, and whenever his spies found Romans he came upon them by night, sparing none whom God had delivered into his power. 4So the Romans were discontented. 5And that first year passed. 6At the dawn of the second year, Eleazar went to the Elders and the Rabbis who awaited him on the middle terrace. 7And Eleazar said: Have you heard the news from Herodium and Machaerus?
8 And the Elders said: We saw a spy come to you, and the spy was shaking with fear.
9 Eleazar said: Herodium is perished, and Machaerus overrun. 10The defenders are dead or given to the torture of chains. 11Their wives have become Roman concubines, and their children beg for bread.
12 Then the Elders groaned. 13And the Rabbis called upon the Lord to witness their sorrow, and the Lord gazed down upon them.
14 Then Eleazar said: But still we have our Laws. 15Our oil continues sweet, and our wine is not yet vinegar. 16The locusts have not found our grain.
17 Then the Elders said: You who are the son of a Rabbi, according to your wisdom do we continue our rebellion?
18 He answered: Purify yourselves, and celebrate our resolution with joy. 19Tomorrow I shall order that the gate be opened, and I shall lead a hundred men down the Serpentine Path to kill Romans in the night. 20Blessed be the Lord, whose goodness never fails the people of Israel. 21We can prevail even now. 22He will give us courage to live without dishonor on our hill of gold, high above the pollutions of the land.
23 And in the Dry Hours, while the Romans slept, the defenders prayed together, humbling themselves in sackcloth and strewing ashes upon their heads.
24 So the Jews yet defended Masada. 25And they worshiped before the Lord, fearing only Him; but that could not save them, for it was already the will of the Lord that they be slain. 26And still they withstood all the Romans' force and might and treachery.
4 Now at the dawn of the third year Flavius Silva received instructions from Vespasian Emperor of Rome to carry out the destruction of Masada, so he brought together his captains according to the knowledge that was in his heart; 2and he picked men of the Tenth Legion along with many Jewish slaves and prisoners of war, and he assembled them and formed them in ranks, and he put them under oath and armed them, 3and they set out across the desert, with the Jewish captives bearing water. 4And on the march many Jews died. 5But Flavius said: If thirst slays them now, we need not slay them later. 6And he led under his command fifteen thousand cavalrymen, legionnaires, infantrymen and engineers. 7And the number of slaves and prisoners who carried water for them was ten thousand.
