27
Then Mattathias cried out in the town with a loud voice, saying: "Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!"
28
Then he and his sons fled to the hills and left all that they had in the town.
29
At that time many who were seeking righteousness and justice went down to the wilderness to live there,
30
they, their sons, their wives, and their livestock, because troubles pressed heavily upon them.
31
And it was reported to the king's officers, and to the troops in Jerusalem the city of David, that those who had rejected the king's command had gone down to the hiding places in the wilderness.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.