8 Now Flavius Silva acted according to the Emperor's command. 9And he walked around the Golden Hill with his engineers, stalking victory like a lion. 10Then he built eight camps and fortified them well, for he gave orders wisely, so that none of his words fell to the ground. 11And his engineers set the slaves to building a siege wall whose thickness was as the height of a tall man, and many of the slaves died, but Flavius Silva only laughed, for although he did not know Him, the Lord guarded his feet. 12This wall entirely encircled Masada, and its length was more than seven thousand cubits, and it bore twelve towers.
5Eleazar went to the Elders and the Rabbis who awaited him on the middle terrace. 2And Eleazar said: There is no news. 3The Romans have killed our spy. 4Or, if news there be, I think your eyes can tell it to you. — 5And he pointed to the west, where the Romans had brought in engineers to build a ramp, in order to bypass the Serpentine Path. 6And at the summit of the ramp the Romans were building a siege tower sixty cubits high, reinforced with iron. 7And from this tower they launched stones and arrows against the Jews, and from underneath it the Jewish prisoners were commanded by Flavius Silva to charge against the walls of Masada with a battering ram; and those who refused were crucified until they died with swollen faces. 8And this time the craven man did not run, and the women did not scream, because it was as Eleazar said. 9This was not news. 10And the Elders were silent.
11 Then Eleazar said: But still we have our Laws. 12And who knows what the Lord has written?
13 But the Elders did not take heart. 14Then the Rabbis assembled them in the synagogue. 15They prayed that their dear ones not become carrion and whores and slaves. 16They prayed that their altar not be profaned. 17They fasted one and all until the soldiers could scarcely lift their spears. 18And the Lord looked down upon their affliction.
6Now the battering ram of the Romans breached the wall with a hideous clash, and the children started weeping, and the Rabbis called upon the Lord God while the women drew wine and water from the cisterns and poured it out before the Lord; but Eleazar with all the men built two walls of stout timber at the breach, and they packed earth in between. 2And after this the Roman missiles only compressed the earth to a superior hardness, so that the enemy could make no shift against Masada. 3Then the people praised Eleazar. 4But the sound of the battle was like thunder; and the craven man howled. 5And the soldiers lay day and night in their trenches, and the women and children carried water to them and brought them stones to launch against the Romans. 6So the Romans grew weary and filled with fear, because they could not conquer that last stronghold of the Jews. 7And they began to whisper against their governor, Flavius Silva. 8But came the close of the third year, in the month called Xanthicus, when the wide gray siege ramp stretched like one of those tendons between neck and shoulder, 9Eleazar son of Ananias went to the Elders and Rabbis who awaited him on the middle terrace. 10And Eleazar said: The Romans are preparing fire. — 11And from below they heard Flavius Silva shout in a terrifying voice: Launch the burning arrows! — 12And the arrows came with a noise like hornets, and there were many of them, and their heads were smeared with burning pitch. 13And they lodged in the outermost of the two wooden walls which Eleazar had built, and it caught fire. 14When the defenders sought to save their wall, the Romans launched great stones which smashed the skulls of many brave men. 15And the craven man screamed until the people covered their ears, and then Eleazar slew him with a sword. 16And the fire destroyed the wall, and the earth tumbled out like entrails from the belly of a pregnant woman who is disembowelled by conquerors; 17and the Romans exulted, 18but then the wind changed and blew the flames back toward the siege tower, which began to smoke. 19Now the Romans shouted in fear, and the Rabbis praised God; and then the wind changed again. 20Then the Romans took heart, and compelled their Jewish slaves to quell the fire in the siege tower; and afterwards launched another volley of arrows to set afire the second wall. 21And the Jews cried out. 22Then the Romans called upon them to surrender, and the Jews were silent. 23After this they heard the Romans laughing, and then the Romans went down to their camps to sleep. 24And Eleazar said: Tomorrow they will conquer this place and bring us into shame.
25 And the Elders said: We must go to the temple to pray.
