William Vollmann - The Atlas

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: The mind of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. 6Such are the ways of God.

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.

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.