不认识圣经，就是不认识基督，不认识基督，就是不认识基督所建立的天主教会。
旧约·玛加伯下
共15章:
绪言(12)
第一章(36)
邀请同过帐棚节的书信
1:1
耶路撒冷和犹太全境的犹太兄弟，侨居埃及的犹太兄弟安好！并祝和平幸福！
1:2
愿天主记念他与自己的忠仆亚巴郎、依撒格、雅各伯所立的盟约，赐你们满享幸福！
1:3
愿他使你们全心崇拜天主，诚心乐意承行他的旨意！
1:4
愿他使你们了解他的法律和规诫并赐你们平安！
1:5
愿他俯允你们的祈祷，怜恤你们，在患难中不离弃你们！
1:6
现在我们在这里为你们祈祷。
1:7
在一六九年，德默特琉为王时，我们犹太人曾给你们写信说：「自从雅松和他的同党出卖圣地和国家以来，在这些年中，我们遭受了很大的痛苦。
1:8
当时他们曾烧毁了殿门，倾流了无辜者的血，那时我们只有祈求上主，也获得垂允；我们遂奉献了牺牲和素祭，也点上灯，供上饼。」
1:9
现在，盼望你们也过「基色娄」月的帐棚节。书于一八八年」。
第二封书信
1:10
「耶路撒冷和犹太的居民，长老院和犹大，祝仆托肋米王的太傅阿黎斯托步罗----他原是受傅为司祭的后代----并祝一切侨居在埃及的犹太人平安健康！
1:11
我们这些被天主从大难中拯救出上来的人，应深深感谢天主，因为是他陪伴我们攻打君王，
1:12
是他驱逐了进攻圣城的敌人。
安提约古的惨死
1:13 当敌人的魁首率领那所向无敌的军队到了波斯时，竟在纳纳雅庙内，被纳纳雅女神的司祭设计诱杀，剁为肉泥。
1:14
起初，安提约古托言要娶纳纳雅女神为妻，与随同他的朋友来到此地，想以取妆奁的名义，获得庙内大批珍宝。
1:15
纳纳雅庙的司祭把宝物陈列出来，安提约古便带着少数随员走进庙院；安提约古一进门，他们就把庙门关上，
1:16
接着，打开天花板上的密门，抛下石块将魁首打死，把他和随从他的人切成块，把他们的头抛给站在外边的人。----
1:17
愿我们的天主在这一切事上受赞美，因为他把恶人置于死地。
火节的来历
1:18
「基色娄」月二十五日，我们将要举行洁殿礼，我们认为必须通知你们，叫你们也过帐棚节和火节，这火节是为纪念乃赫米雅重修圣殿和祭坛以后，献祭时所出现的火。
1:19
因为当我们的祖先被掳往波斯去的时候，有几位虔诚的司祭，取了祭坛上的火，暗藏在一个旱井的穴中，把它封好，不让人察觉这个地方。
1:20
过了相当长的岁月，天主愿意的时候到了，乃赫米雅便被波斯王遣回故乡；于是他命昔日藏火的司祭的子孙去找火；但是当他们给我们说没有找到那火，只找到一些浓厚的液体时，乃赫米雅便叫他们汲出，给他带来。
1:21
献祭的一切都准备好，乃赫米雅便命司祭把那液体洒在木柴上面所放的牺牲上。
1:22
刚洒上没有好久，忽然为云彩遮蔽的太阳，射出光来，这时忽然发出烈火，众人都惊奇不已。
1:23
祭物焚烧时，司祭都一起祈祷，众人也都与司祭们一起祈祷；约纳堂领祷，其余的人都一同随声应和，乃赫米雅也在内。
1:24
祷文如下：「上主，上主天主，万物的创造者！你是可敬畏的、大能的、公义的、仁慈的。惟有你是君王，惟有你是圣善，
1:25
惟有你好施舍，惟有你是公义、全能和永恒的！是你从一切患难中拯救了以色列，是你选择了我们的祖先，圣化了他们。
1:26
求你收纳你全以色列人所奉献的祭献，保存和祝圣你的产业！
1:27
求你把我们四散漂流的人聚集起来，使那些在异民中的奴隶重获自由，眷顾那些被人轻视和憎恶的，使外方人知道你是我们的天主！
1:28
求你惩罚那些欺压和傲慢侮辱我们的人！
1:29
求你按梅瑟的话，将你的百姓栽植在你的圣地里！」
1:30
接着，司祭们轮流歌唱圣咏。
1:31
祭品焚烧完毕，乃赫米雅就下令把剩下的液体倒在大石上，
1:32
刚一倒下，便立刻发出火焰，而这火焰被祭坛上发出来的火光吸收了。
1:33
这事一传出去，就有人报告波斯王说，在被俘的司祭们藏火的地方发现了液体，乃赫米雅和他的同伴用这液体圣洁了祭品。
1:34
这事证实以后王命人将那地方修上围墙，视为圣地。
1:35
王遂与得他欢心的人彼此馈送礼物。
1:36
乃赫米雅和他的同伴称这液体为「乃弗塔尔，」即洁净之意，可是人多称之为「乃弗泰。」
第二章(32)
约柜藏匿与降火奇迹
2:1 文献上记载：耶肋米亚先知曾命令充军的人，如上面所说的，携带着圣火;
2:2
并且也记载着：先知曾给他们一部法律，使他们不要忘记天主的诫命，也不要因为看见一些金银的偶像和偶像身上的装饰，就神志昏迷；
2:3
并且还用其他类似的言词，劝勉他们不要让自己的心远离法律。
2:4
在文献上又记载着：当先知登上梅瑟为观望天主的产业所上过的山时，受天主的劝告，命他带着会幕和约柜上去。
2:5
耶肋米亚到了那里，看见一个大洞，就把会幕、约柜以及焚香坛放在里面，然后堵上洞门。
2:6
后有几个同来的伴侣折回去，沿路作上记号，可是没有再找到。
2:7
耶肋米亚知道了这事，就责斥他们说：这地方不可叫任何人知道；等到天主施行仁慈，再把百姓集合起来的时候，
2:8
天主才能指示这一些东西的所在；那时上空的荣耀和云彩将再出现，象梅瑟的时候，又象撒罗满为使圣殿受圣祈祷的时候出现的一样。
2:9
又记载这位智慧者，如何奉献了圣殿祝圣和落成的祭献。
2:10
当撒罗满祈祷时，有火降下，焚烧了全燔祭品，就如从前梅瑟祈祷上主时，有火从天降下焚烧了祭品一样。
2:11
梅瑟说：人不能吃赎罪祭品，应当把它焚毁。
2:12
撒罗满也同样举行了八天的庆祝。
经书的搜集与保存
2:13 此外，在史记上和乃赫米雅的回忆录上都有同样的记载；而且还记载乃赫米雅怎样建立了图书馆，怎样搜集了列王、众先知和达味的书籍，以及诸王有关馈赠的书札等事。
2:14
同样，犹大也把因我们所遭遇的战祸，而散失了的一切文献搜集起来。这些文献现在存在我们这里。
2:15
若你们需要的话，请你们打发人来取。
2:16
因为我们正要举行洁殿礼，所以才给你们写信，请你们也好好地过这些日子。
2:17
天主既然拯救了自己的全体百姓，又把产业、国家、司祭职和祝圣礼交给了自己所有的人，
2:18
正如他在法律书上所预许的。希望天主快快怜悯我们，从天下各处把我们聚集到圣所里，因为他已从大患难中拯救了我们，洁净了圣所。」
下卷序言
2:19 关于犹大玛加伯和他的兄弟所作的一切，他怎样清洁了伟大的圣殿，怎样祝圣了祭坛，
2:20
怎样与安提约古厄丕法乃及他的儿子欧帕托尔作战，
2:21
怎样天主从天显现，援助了那些勇敢为犹太教作战的人，致使少数的人能克服全境，驱逐野蛮的大军；
2:22
又怎样天主大慈大悲地怜悯了他们，使他们收回了举世闻名的圣殿，恢复了京城的自由，重整了快要废弃的法律等等事项，
2:23
基勒乃人雅松共写了五卷，我们现在要把这五卷缩为一卷。
2:24
我们有见于数字的混乱，以及有心研究历史的人因材料繁杂所遭遇的困难，
2:25
就设法缩短，使喜爱阅读的人得到愉快，使爱好背诵史事的人易于牢记，使一般手执这书的读者，获得神益。
2:26
从事这项摘要的工作，为我们并不是一件容易的事，而是一项使人流汗和失眠的工作，
2:27
并不比准备筵席的人，想使众客都称心，更容易；但我们为了为大众服务，才欣然担负起这项艰苦的工作。
2:28
让历史家对每一件事去作详细的分析，这里我们只持守撰写撮要的规律。
2:29
就如建筑新房的工程师，只注意建筑的大体，而负责镶嵌和绘壁的技师，该设法使各项装饰恰到好处；我想为我们也就是如此。
2:30
至于精研深究，详述一切史事，和苦心的考查，那是历史家的任务；
2:31
言简意赅，删除繁冗，这才是写撮要者的本意。
2:32
现在我们就开始叙述，对以上说的不再加添，因为若是写历史撮要，而在前面作冗长的序言，这未免太可笑了！
前编争取宗教自由的战争(3:1-10:9)
第三章(40)
没收圣殿财宝的企图
3:1 敖尼雅作大司祭的时候，因他的热诚和嫉恶的心，圣城安享太平，人民无不奉公守法，
3:2
各国君王都尊敬圣所，馈赠珍贵礼品，增添圣殿的光荣；
3:3
连亚细亚王色娄苛也以私人的进项，来供给献祭时所需要的一切费用。
3:4
但是，有一个彼耳加族的息孟，本是圣殿的管理员，为了管理市场的事，与大司祭发生了冲突。
3:5
他既不能制胜敖尼雅，便投奔到塔尔索人阿颇罗尼那里，当时他正是切肋叙利亚和腓尼基的总督。
3:6
息盂便向他述说耶路撒冷宝库的财宝富不可言，进款多得无法统计，这一切与祭献的费用毫无关系，所以可收归王有。
3:7
阿颇罗尼朝觐的时候，便把别人给他述说的这项财宝告诉了国王；王遂选派总理大臣赫略多洛，奉命去没收上述的钱财。
3:8
赫略多洛便立时起程，名义上是为视察切肋叙利亚和腓尼基的各城市，其实是为执行国王的计划。
3:9
他到了耶路撒冷，受到大司祭和全城的欢迎，以后便说明他所得到的消息，并说明来意，继而询问这些事是否属实。
3:10
大司祭声明说：库内的存款，都是寡妇孤儿所寄存的；
3:11
还有一部分是位高望重的托彼雅的后裔依尔卡诺所寄存的；至于全库的财宝，并没有象邪恶的息孟传报的那样多，只有银子四百「塔冷通」金子二百「塔冷通罢了。」
3:12
此外，使那些信赖圣所神圣的人受剥削，使这举世所敬仰的圣殿，与其神圣不可侵犯的尊严受到侮辱，是万万不可的。
3:13
但是赫略多洛因为受了王命，坚决主张应将这些财宝收归国库。
3:14
赫略多洛便于指定的日子进去清查这些宝物。这使全城大感忧伤。
3:15
众司祭都穿上司祭祭服，俯伏在祭台前呼号上天，求存款的立法者，替那些存款的人安全保护这批财宝。
3:16
凡看见大司祭面容的人，没有不心中悲伤的，因为他的神气和他面色的改变，都明显他心灵上的痛苦。
3:17
他惊惶失措与全身战栗的态度，使人见了就明了他内心的忧伤。
3:18
居民都成群结队的从房屋涌出。共同祈祷。因为圣所快要遭受污辱。
3:19
妇女都苦带束胸，塞满了街道。连深居不出的处女。也有的跑到门口，有的爬上墙头，有的从窗卢向外观望；
3:20
大家都向上天举起双手哀祷。
3:21
看见群众一起伏地哀求，与大司祭的焦心不安，委实令人可怜。
3:22
正当人民呼求全能的天主，保护存款的人所寄存的财宝绝对安全时，
3:23
赫略多洛就来执行他所决定的事。
赫略多洛遭显罚
3:24 当他与卫兵走近宝库的时候，众神和全能的主忽然大显异象，使那些擅入圣殿的人受到天主威能的打击，惊惶失措，不省人事，
3:25
因为在他们眼前出现了一匹配备华丽的骏马，上面骑着一位威严可怕的骑士，疾驰冲来，前蹄乱踏赫略多洛，骑马的人身穿金黄的铠甲；
3:26
同时又出现了两位英勇的少年，光荣体面，穿戴华丽，立在赫略多洛的两旁，鞭打不停，使他身受重伤。
3:27
赫略多洛忽然倒在地上昏迷不省。人将他扶起，放在床上，
3:28
这即是方才带着大批侍从和卫士来到宝库的人，现在却无能为力，为人抬出，公然承认了这是天主的大能。
3:29
正当这人受天主大能的打击，哑口失声，绝望无救的时候，
3:30
犹太人却同声赞颂上主，因为上主光荣了自己的圣所；方才还充满着恐怖惊慌的圣殿，如今却因全能上主的显现，充满了欢欣喜乐。
3:31
赫略多洛的同僚便急忙恳请敖尼雅哀求至高者，使这奄奄待毙的人重获生命。
3:32
大司祭害怕国王怀疑犹太人对赫略多洛下了毒手，所以就为这人献祭祈求痊愈。
3:33
当大司祭奉献赎罪祭时，那两位少年又显现给赫略多洛，他们仍穿着同样的服装，站在他跟前说：「你应多谢大司祭敖尼雅，因为上主为了他才赏你活命。
3:34
你这被上天鞭打的人该向一切人宣扬天主的大能。」他们说完这话，就不见了。
3:35
于是赫略多洛向上主献了牺牲，且向保全自己生命的上主许下大愿，和颜悦色地辞别敖尼雅，以后便率领部下回到国王那里。
3:36
他并向一切人作证，他亲眼见了伟大的天主的作为。
3:37
国王问赫略多洛，下次派遣谁去耶路撒冷更相宜呢？他回答说：
3:38
「你若有仇人或叛国之徒，可以派他到那里去，即使他能逃生，也必饱受一顿毒打，才能回来见你；那里确实有天主的能力，
3:39
因为那住在天上的是那地方的看守者和保护者，故此，凡存恶意去的，必遭受痛打和杀害。」
3:40
关于赫略多洛及保护圣库的事就是如此。
第四章(50)
敖尼雅去觐见国王
4:1 上面记载的那位密告财宝，出卖祖国的息孟，今又毁谤敖尼雅，说他是陷害赫略多洛和一切凶祸的主谋。
4:2
他竟将这位造福本城，善理同胞，忠诚守法的人说成一个阴谋叛徒。
4:3
这仇恨是如此深刻，甚至有些人为息孟的心腹所杀。
4:4
敖尼雅见到这斗争的危险性，而且又见到默乃斯太的儿子即切肋叙利亚和腓尼基的总督阿颇罗尼，助长息孟为恶，
4:5
便去觐见国王；他去并不是为控告自己的同胞，而是为了人民的公私利益，
4:6
因为他看得很清楚：若没有国王的调停，要使问题和平解决，和使息孟停止妄行，是不可能的。
雅松夺取大司祭职位
4:7 但是，色娄苛死后，号称厄丕法乃的安提约古继位称王。此时，敖尼雅的弟弟雅松用非法手段，夺取了大司祭的职位。
4:8
当他朝见国王时，许给国王二百六十「塔冷通」银子，和其他进项中的八十「塔冷通」；
4:9
此外，如果国王准许他用王的权势修建一座体育场和一处青年训练所，并把耶路撒冷人登记为安提约基雅的公民，他就许下另缴一百五十「塔冷通」。
4:10
国王一一应允了。雅松既然得势，立刻使本国人民希腊化，
4:11
并且把诸王因欧颇肋摩的父亲若望而赐予犹太人的特权取消，这欧颇肋摩就是日后出使与罗马人缔结友好盟约的大使----把合法的制度废除，而倡导违法的新风俗。
4:12
他故意在城堡下建筑了运动场，引领贵族少年受体育训练。
4:13
因了这邪恶而非大司祭的雅松的过度狂妄，希腊文化和外方风俗达到了极点，
4:14
以致司祭们对祭献的礼仪已不感兴趣，甚至轻慢圣殿，忽略祭献，一听到掷铁饼的讯号，就急忙跑去参加运动场上的违法运动。
4:15
他们毫不尊重本国的尊严，一心崇拜希腊的光荣。
4:16
正是为这些缘故，他们日后陷于恶劣的环境，那些推崇其生活方式和事事取法他们的人，日后反成了他们的仇敌和惩治者，
4:17
因为背弃天主的法律并不是一件小事：这由下面的事实可以证明。
4:18
在提洛举行五年一次的运动大会的时候，国王也亲自到场，
4:19
无廉耻的雅松派了几个入安提约基雅籍的人，代表耶路撒冷去作观察员，又叫他们带三百银钱去祭祀赫辣克肋神。但是带钱的人以为用这些钱购办祭物不甚相宜，所以留下作了别的费用。
4:20
虽然按主使者的意思，这钱是为祭把赫辣克肋用的，带钱的人却用来建造了三层桨的战船。
4:21
当安提约古打发默乃斯太的儿子阿颇罗尼去埃及，参与非罗默托王登极的盛典时，知道了埃及王是他的政敌，所以为自卫起见，就去了约培，然后来到了耶路撒冷。
4:22
安提约古受到雅松及全国人民的热烈欢迎，在火炬欢呼中进了城。随后他又领兵到了腓尼基。
雅松被推翻
4:23 三年以后，雅松打发上述息孟的兄弟默乃劳把钱送交国王，并请王解决备忘录上的几件重要事项。
4:24
默乃劳先使人在国王跟前推荐自己，后又奉承他，自装有权势，又许给他比雅松还多的三百「塔冷通」，于是获得大司祭的职位。
4:25
他领到国王的委任状就回到耶路撒冷。但他绝不相称大司祭的职位，暴燥如虐王，狂怒似野兽。
4:26
如此，以前曾推翻自己哥哥的雅松，今也被人推翻，被迫逃到阿孟人的地方去。
4:27
默乃劳固然得到高位，但许给国王的钱却未缴纳，
4:28
城堡的司令兼主管税务的索斯塔托却不断催他缴纳，于是二人同被国王传召。
4:29
默乃劳便委托自己的兄弟里息玛苛代理大同祭的职务，索斯塔托委托塞浦路斯的军官克辣特代理。
4:30
正当此时，塔尔索和玛罗两城的人民，因为国王把他们这两座城当作礼品，送给自己的嫔妃安提约基，而群起叛乱。
4:31
国王急速去平乱，委托他的大官安多尼苛为代理。
4:32
默乃劳乘此良机，由圣殿中偷去一些金器送给安多尼苛，也把一些金器卖给提洛和其附近的城邑。
4:33
此时隐退到安提约基雅附近的达夫乃避难所去的敖尼雅，听到这些确实消息，就责斥默乃劳,
4:34
因此他把安多尼苛叫到一边，煽动他去杀敖尼雅。安多尼苛来到敖尼雅那里，伸出右手假装向他起誓，使他相信。敖尼雅虽然犹豫，仍相信了，遂从避难所走出。安多尼苛竟然不顾道义，就地杀了他。
4:35
为此不但犹太人，连别的许多外方人对屈杀这人，都忿忿不平，怀恨在心。
4:36
及至国王从基里基雅回来，京城的犹太人连一些同样怀恨这残暴恶行的希腊人，都来到王前，控诉敖尼雅死得冤枉。
4:37
安提约古心中也很难受，深表哀怜，回想死者的贤能端庄，不禁泪下。
4:38
国王一时怒火大起，命人即刻脱去安多尼苛的紫红袍，将他的衣服撕烂，领他游城示众，直到他对敖尼雅行凶的地方，就在那里，将这凶手从世上铲除；如此，上主使他受到应得的惩罚。
默乃劳与里息玛苛的恶行
4:39 里息玛苛由于默乃劳的赞助，在城内犯了许多盗卖圣物的亵圣罪过。这事一传出去，民众都公然起来攻击里息玛苛；那时有许多金器已被盗卖给各方。
4:40
里息玛苛见群众怒形于色，起来反抗他，即武装了大约三千人，以暴力对付，并以年老而愚妄未减的奥辣诺为首领。
4:41
众人见里息玛苛派人来攻打，有的拾取石块，有的手拿棍棒，有的就地抓起灰土，一起向里息玛苛的部下乱冲过去；
4:42
如此,他的部下有许多被打伤了，也有一些被打死，其余的都逃散了；连亵卖圣器的人也被杀死在圣库的近旁。
4:43
关于这事人民都抱怨默乃劳。
4:44
当国王来到提洛时，长老院便派遣三人到君王跟前申诉。
4:45
默乃劳明知自己已失败，遂许给多黎默乃的儿子仆托肋米大批金银，托他向国王代为说情。
4:46
仆托肋米便引国王来到廊下，假意乘凉，乘机使他改变了心意，
4:47
于是国王释放了罪魁祸首默乃劳，撤消了一切的控诉，反而把这几个可怜的人处死。这几个人，假使向叔提雅人伸诉的话，一定会被判无罪释放。
4:48
这些保护圣城、百姓和圣器的人反倒很快的受到这样不公平的惩罚。
4:49
因此有些提洛人，为了表示痛恨这种恶行，自愿为这些牺牲者举行隆重的丧礼。
4:50
因为有权势的人贪污，默乃劳仍能保待原位，仍然怙恶不悛,时时处处加害本国人。
第五章(27)
雅松惨死
5:1 那时安提约古正准备第二次进攻埃及，
5:2
在全耶路撒冷城，出现了一异象近四十天之久：成队的骑兵，有些身穿金衣，手执干戈，在空中奔驰；
5:3
骑阵依次展开，双方反复冲杀，盾牌闪烁，干戈成林，刀剑挥舞箭矢横飞，金甲银盔，光辉灿烂。
5:4
众人都祝祷这是吉祥之兆。
5:5
正当此时，虚报安提约古驾崩，雅松遂率领千余人，忽然袭击圣城，城墙的守兵败退，城被占领，默乃劳便逃入城堡。
5:6
雅松遂残杀圣城的同胞，毫不顾惜；他没有想到：战胜自己的同胞，正是最大的不幸；自以为是战胜仇敌，而不是战胜亲族。
5:7
但他没有得到大权，结果，只得含羞地逃到阿孟地域去。
5:8
他的结局非常凄惨：首先被阿刺伯王阿勒达监禁，后逃窜各城，为众人所追逐；人憎恨他有如罪犯，厌恶他好象屠杀祖国和同胞的凶手；他只得跑到埃及去。
5:9
那从祖国驱逐无数民众的雅松，如今飘流到拉刻待孟人那里，希望以同族的关系，可以在那里避难安身；结果竟客死异乡。
5:10
从前他曾暴露多人的尸体，未得掩埋；如今也没有人哭悼他，也没有人举丧，也没有人将他葬在祖茔里。
安提约古屠杀圣城居民
5:11 王一听到这些消息，以为是犹太人起来叛乱，一时咆哮如野兽，当下离开埃及，带领大军占领了圣城；
5:12
命军队逢人便杀，毫不留情；凡上到屋顶的，也都要搜杀净尽；
5:13
于是残杀老幼，灭绝妇孺，屠杀处女婴儿。
5:14
三日之内杀害了八万人，四万丧身刀下，其余的被卖为奴。
5:15
王还以为不足，又以背叛法律出卖祖国的默乃劳为向导，胆敢进入举世至圣的圣殿，
5:16
伸出他罪污的手攫取圣器，以他凡俗的手，夺去各国君王，为加增圣殿的光荣与尊严所献的礼品。
5:17
安提约古一时大为得意，却不想这只是上主，为了城内居民的罪恶，暂时动怒转眼不顾圣所而已。
5:18
若不是因为居民的罪恶满盈，他必定也如色娄苛王打发来视察宝库的赫略多洛一样，一来到就必立刻遭受鞭打，不得任意妄为。
5:19
但是,上主并不是为了圣所而选择了国民，而是为了国民而选择了圣所。
5:20
所以那分受民众所遭灾难的圣所，后来也得分享他们的幸福；那在全能者义怒下被遗弃的圣殿，与至上之主和好后，仍然要恢复以前所有的光荣。
5:21
安提约古从圣殿里攫取了一千八百「塔冷通」以后，迅速回到安提约基雅去；他心中自鸣得意，竟然妄想陆地行舟，海上步行。
5:22
他留下的官吏，与百姓为难；在耶路撒冷留下夫黎基雅人斐理伯，这人性情残暴甚于委派他的人。
5:23
在革黎斤山地留下安多尼苛；此外还有默乃劳,这人虐待本国人比外人更凶残。安提约古王因对犹太人心怀仇恨，
5:24
就派米息雅的军长阿颇罗尼率领二万二千人，命他杀尽了年富力强的壮丁，把妇女与幼童出卖。
5:25
阿颇罗尼到了耶路撒冷，假仁假义，等到安息圣日，明知犹太人都停工安息，便命部队武装起来，列队游行。
5:26
凡出来观望的人，都用刀砍死，然后率领武装部队，走遍全城，杀了无数的居民。
5:27
犹大玛加伯同其余九人，逃到旷野，住在山中，形同野兽，饥食野菜，免染不洁。
第六章(31)
安提约古迫害犹太教
6:1 不久以后，王派遣一位年老的雅典人，来强迫犹太人背弃祖传的规诫，不得按照天主的法律生活，
6:2
并且亵渎耶路撒冷的圣殿，将圣殿转献与奥林比亚则乌斯神，又将革黎斤山上的殿宇，依当地居民的要求，献与克色尼则乌斯神。
6:3
这种种邪恶的侵入，实在令人难以忍受。
6:4
因为圣殿内充满了外邦人的放荡和纵饮，他们与娼妓淫欢，甚至在圣殿的围墙内与女人私通，将犯禁的东西带入殿内。
6:5
祭坛上充满了法律所禁止的不洁之物，
6:6
并且不准遵守安息日，不准举行祖传的庆节，连承认自己是犹太人也不许可。
6:7
每月遇到国王诞生的那一天，他们都被胁迫参与祭祀；一到彫尼索节，应头戴长春藤冠，参与庆祝彫尼索的游行。
6:8
且因仆托肋买城内居民的唆使，王又向附近受到希腊文化影响的城邑，颁发一道命令，令人以同样的方式对待犹太人，迫使他们分食祭品。
6:9
谁若决意不采用希腊风俗，依法处以死刑。从此可知大难已临头。
6:10
有两个妇人，因为给孩子割损，就被逮捕受审，令人将孩子挂在她们乳房前，游街示众，然后将她们由城墙高处扔下去。
6:11
此外还有些人在附近的山洞里聚集，暗地里举行安息日；有人报告给斐理伯，他便下令把他们活活烧死，因他们宁愿遵守圣日，不愿自卫。
苦难的真谛
6:12 至此，我劝告本书的读者，不要因了这些不幸而灰心丧志，反该相信这些灾祸并不是为消灭，而只是为惩戒我们的民族。
6:13
因为作恶的人不得任其长久放纵，反而即刻遭受惩罚，这实是大开恩的明证。
6:14
对于其他的民族，上主尽量含忍，待他们罪恶满盈，即施以惩罚，对于我们，他却不是这样：
6:15
他不等我们的罪恶到达项点，就责罚我们。
6:16
因此，他的怜悯总不离弃我们：虽然用患难来惩戒自己的百姓，却不放弃他们。
6:17
上面所说的，只是叫你们注意。说完这些话，就该言归正传。
厄肋阿匝尔殉道
6:18 厄肋阿匝尔是一位杰出的经师，又是位年已古稀，仪表庄严的老人。有人用力拉开了他的口，强迫他吃猪肉；
6:19
但他宁愿光荣舍命，不愿受辱而偷生，遂自动走上刑架，
6:20
且把肉吐出。其实，凡决意拒绝吃违法食物的人，都该如此，宁死不屈。
6:21
那些监督这违法祭餐的人，因为与他有多年的交情，便把他叫到一边，再三劝他带要自己预备合法可吃的肉，假装吃王命的祭肉；
6:22
如此就可免一死，而且因他与他们多年的交情，还可获得优待。
6:23
但他立即作了一豪爽的决断，这决断相称他的高龄和声望，相称他因积劳而生的白发，和自幼至今的善行，更符合于天主所立的神圣法律。因此他说明自己的意见，告诉人快把他送到阴府里去，说：
6:24
「象我这样年龄的人，决不宜作伪，免得许多青年想年高九十的厄肋阿匝尔也接受了外教礼俗，
6:25
因我的作伪和贪恋残生，他们也都因我的缘故而误人歧途；如此，不免在我的高龄上涂上一层污点和耻辱！
6:26
况且，即使目前我能逃避人的刑罚；可是，或生或死，我总逃不出全能者的手。
6:27
所以现在，我若是勇敢舍生，我不愧有此高龄，
6:28
因为我已给青年留下了一个为可敬的神圣法律，甘愿慷慨牺牲的高尚榜样。」说完这话，就立刻走上刑架。
6:29
方才和颜悦色劝说他的人一听他说出这样的话，以为他疯了，逐一变而采取仇视的态度。
6:30
当他受刑快要断气的时候，呻吟着说：「具有圣智的上主，明知我能逃脱死亡，但是为了敬畏他，我的肉身在痛打之下，虽受到很大的疼痛，但我的心灵却喜乐忍受这一切。」
6:31
他便这样死了。他的死，不但给青年人，而且给全国大多数的人民，留下了刚勇的模范，和大德不凡的记录。
第七章(42)
母子八人壮烈殉难
7:1 事后，又有兄弟七人与他们的母亲一同被捕，国王命人用鞭子和牛筋痛打他们，强迫他们吃法律禁止的猪肉。
7:2
其中一个，代表发言说：「你想问什么？你愿由我们知道什么？我们已经准备，宁死不愿背叛我们祖先的法律。」
7:3
于是国王大怒，命人取过锅釜来，放在火上。
7:4
及至锅釜瞬息间烧红以后，就命人在其余的兄弟和母亲眼前，将那发言人的舌头割下来，剥去他的头皮，割下他的四肢，
7:5
肢体被分割后，王命人将他拉到火边，活生生地放在锅里煎熬。当锅内的蒸气往上升起时，其余的兄弟和母亲都互相劝勉作壮烈的牺牲说：
7:6
「上主天主看见，必要怜恤我们，正如梅瑟在谴责歌中所明说的：他必怜恤自己的仆人！」
7:7
第一个这样死去以后，遂领第二个来赴刑。将他的头皮与头发一起削去，以后问他说：「在你的身体一块一块地分解以前，你吃不吃猪肉？」
7:8
他用祖国的话答说：「不！」因比，他也象第一个一般受了刑罚。
7:9
他在快要断气的一刹那，高声说：「你这穷凶极恶的人！你使我失去现世的生命，但是宇宙的君王必要使我们这些为他的法律而殉难的人复活，获得永生。」
7:10
这一个以后，轮到第三个受刑了！在命他伸舌头时他就爽快地伸出，且毅然伸开双手,
7:11
慷慨他说：「这些肢体是从上天得来的，但是现在为了他的法律，我不吝惜这一切，希望有一天从他那里仍再得到。」
7:12
国王和他的侍从都惊异这少年人不怕受苦的精神。
7:13
他死了以后，他们用同样酷刑处罚第四个。
7:14
他临死时这样说：「深信天主使人复活许诺的人，死在人手中，是求之不得的；可是为你，却没有进入生命的复活。」
7:15
接着，人就带第五个来受刑。
7:16
他向国王瞪着眼说：「你这有死有坏的人，现今你对人有权柄为所欲为；可是不要想我们的民族已被天主摈弃。
7:17
你等着看罢！你必要看见他的大能，看他要怎样惩罚你和你的子孙！」
7:18
在他以后，带了第六个来，他快死时说：「你不要糊涂自欺！我们遭受这一切，正是因为我们得罪了我们的天主，因而遭受了这样严重的灾难。
7:19
可是，你不要想你对抗天主能侥幸免罚！」
7:20
尤当称奇，最值得光荣记念的，还是他们的母亲。她在一日之内亲见七个儿子死去，还能欣然忍受，因为她全心寄望于上主。
7:21
她心中充满高尚的情绪，以大丈夫的气概，奋发她女性柔弱的情怀，用本国话一一鼓励他们说：
7:22
「我不知道你们怎样出现在我的腹中：不是我给了你们灵魂与生命，也不是我构成了你们每一个人的身体。
7:23
世界的创造者，既然形成了人的初生，赐与万物以起源，也必仁慈偿还你们灵魂和生命，因为你们现在为爱护他的法律不顾惜自己。」
7:24
安提约古自觉受了轻慢，猜想这番话必是讽刺自己，就趁最幼的一个尚在，不断用话劝诱，且向他起誓，只要他舍弃自己祖传的一切，保证他必享富贪幸福，作自己的朋友，获得高官厚禄。
7:25
可是,少年人对这话毫不介意，因此王就召他的母亲来，劝她给少年人出个得救的主意。
7:26
国王再三劝了她，她才同意去劝说自己的儿子。
7:27
于是她弯身向他，嘲弄着暴君，用祖国的话这样对他说：「我儿，你怜恤我罢！我在腹中怀育你九个月，三年哺养你，又栽培提携养育你，直到现在的年纪。
7:28
我儿，我恳求你仰视天，俯视地，观察天地间形形色色的万物！你该知道这一切都是天主从无中造成的，人类也是如此造成的。
7:29
你不要怕这刽子手，反该对得起你的哥哥们，视死如归，好叫我在天主显示仁慈的时候，可迎接你的哥哥们和你！」
7:30
她刚说完了话，青年人就说：「你们还等什么？我决不听从国王的命令，我只听从梅瑟给我们祖宗立定的法律命令。
7:31
你这设法迫害希伯来人的罪魁，你决不能逃脱天主的手！
7:32
我们受难是为了我们的罪恶。
7:33
我们永生的上主，为责罚和惩戒我们，一时向我们发怒，但终究要与自己的仆人重新和好。
7:34
至于你这恶人！你这人类中的妖孽！你虽然伸手毒害上天的子女，可是别糊里糊涂，洋洋得意，妙想天开，
7:35
因为你逃脱不了全能全知天主的审判。
7:37
我哥哥们既忍受了暂时的苦痛，如今他们按照天主的盟约，得到了永生。你却因着天主的审判，将受你骄傲应得的刑罚。我要如同我哥哥们一样，甘心为祖宗的法律舍弃我的肉身和生命，求天主早日怜恤我们的民族，并用苦难与灾祸，迫使你承认他是唯一的天主。
7:38
愿全能者向我们全族所发的义怒，在我和我哥哥们身上就此止息。」。
7:39
国王难以忍受他的凌辱，于是勃然大怒，加给他的刑罚比其他的更凶残。
7:40
这样，这个少年一心依靠上主，冰清玉洁，走入了另一世界。
7:41
儿子们相继致命，最后母亲也致了命。
7:42
以上所述，足以叫人明了，当时关于吃祭品和因此而掀起的惨酷刑罚。
第八章(36)
犹大招募游击队
8:1 犹大玛加伯与他的同人暗暗走到各乡村，向同族的人呼吁，把固守犹太教的人，集合起来，约有六千人。
8:2
他们恳求上主，垂顾为人人蹂躏的民族，怜悯被恶人亵渎的圣殿，
8:3
怜恤已经毁坏且快夷为平地的京城，俯听向他喊冤的血声，
8:4
记念无罪婴儿所遭的残杀，向咒骂他圣名的恶人发怒泄恨。
8:5
玛加伯组成一支军队以后，外邦人就无法抵抗他，因为上主的义怒已经变成了怜悯。
8:6
他屡次在人不料想的时候，去袭击城镇，放火焚烧，占据要塞，使敌人屡遭溃败。
8:7
他为作战顺利，特别喜爱夜间进袭，因此他勇敢的声誉传遍各地。
犹大挫败尼加诺尔
8:8 斐理伯见这人势力渐渐强大，所作的事日渐成功，遂致书与切肋叙利亚和腓尼基的总督仆托肋米，请他援助国王的事务。
8:9
他遂立时指派了帕托克罗的儿子尼加诺尔，君王的一个知心好友，带领各国的联军，人数不下二万，去消灭犹太民族；又派了一位富有作战经验的大将哥尔基雅援助他。
8:10
尼加诺尔想贩卖掳来的犹太人，去填补国王欠罗马人的两千「塔冷通」税款。
8:11
于是立时派入到沿海各城市去，叫他们收买犹太奴隶，与他们约定每九十人一「塔冷通」，却一点也不想全能者正要加于他的刑罚。
8:12
有人将尼加诺尔进军的消息报告给犹大，他就把敌军进袭的消息告诉了他的部下。
8:13
那些胆小的和不依恃上主公义的人就逃到别的地方去了；
8:14
其余的人变卖了自己尚存的一切，一同祈求上主拯救那些在交战以前，就被凶恶的尼加诺尔卖掉了的人们，
8:15
求主若不为了他们自己，至少为了与他们祖先立的盟约，为了在他们身上称呼的可敬而伟大的圣名，拯救他们。
8:16
玛加伯集合自己同人，约有六千，劝他们不要临敌惊慌，不要怕那些无理袭击他们的外方人数目众多，只要勇敢作战，
8:17
把外方人无理加于圣所的亵渎，京城遭受的凌辱与虐待，以及传统制度遭受的破坏等事放在眼前。
8:18
继而又说：「他们仗着武器和奋勇；至于我们只应依靠全能的天主，他能转瞬之间，击倒攻打我们的敌人和整个世界。」
8:19
玛加伯还给他们引述了他们的祖先获得的救助：在散乃黑黎布时，怎样十八万五千人一时同归于尽；
8:20
在巴比伦与迦拉达人作战时，来作战的人共有八千，此外还有四千马其顿人助战。当马其顿人陷于困境时，这八千人怎样赖上天的助佑，消灭了十二万敌人，并且还得了许多战利品。
8:21
用这番话激发起他们的勇气，叫大家准备为法律和国家而牺牲；以后他就把军队分成四队：
8:22
立自己的兄弟息孟、若瑟和约纳堂为每队的队长，叫他们各人率领一千五百人。
8:23
此外，又令厄次辣诵读圣经，然后立定「天主助佑」为口号；犹大就亲自率领第一队，进攻尼加诺尔：
8:24
因为全能者与他们一同作战，击杀了敌军九千多人，使尼加诺尔的军队大部分受了伤，成了残废，迫使剩下的都逃走了。
8:25
来购买他们的人带来的银钱，也都夺回来，且追赶他们直至相当远的路程；只因为时光有限，才得赶回来，
8:26
因为那时正值安息日前夕，所以不能继续追赶。
8:27
他们拾取敌人的武器，掠取他们的财物，以后就举行安息日，全心称谢赞颂上主，因为他今日开始把恩露洒在他们身上。
8:28
过了安息日，他们便把一部分战利品分赠给受害的人、孤儿和寡妇剩下的他们自己和子女分了。
8:29
办完这事，又共同祈祷，恳求仁慈的上主，完全与他的仆人们和好。
犹大击败提摩太及巴基德
8:30 他们又与提摩太和巴基德的军队交战，杀死了他们两万多人，并且也占领了几座很高大的堡垒，将获得的无数战利品，平均分为两分：一份为他们自己，一份为受害的人、孤儿、寡妇和老人。
8:31
又拾取了敌人的军械。把这一切细心安放在适宜的地方。余下的战利品悉数运到耶路撒冷去。
8:32
又杀了提摩太部队的一个军长，这人非常暴虐无道，曾残害过犹太人。
8:33
当他们在祖国庆祝胜利时，将从前焚烧过圣殿的门，而如今与卡里斯特乃逃到一个小房里的人，都用火烧死。如此他们得了因行亵渎应得的报应。
尼加诺尔逃命
8:34 那曾带一千商人来购买犹太人的万恶的尼加诺尔，
8:35
如今却因上主赐给犹太人的救助，被他所最轻视的人们制服了。他脱去了自己耀武扬威的官服，似亡命之徒，独自一人跑过了旷野；在他全军复没以后，他还能跑到安提约基雅去，这为他算是太幸运了。
8:36
曾负责以贩卖耶路撒冷俘虏的价钱偿还罗马人的税款的人，如今反倒声明犹太人确实有一位保护者，若是犹太人遵从他立的法律，他们绝对不会受任何伤害。
九章(29)
安提约古遭受显罚
9:1 这时安提约古正从波斯地域含羞归来，
9:2
他原来去了名叫波斯波里的京城，企图劫掠神殿和占领该城。但是当地民众都起来，以武力抗拒，安提约古终于被当地的民众打败，含羞退回。
9:3
他一到厄克巴塔纳，就听说尼加诺尔和提摩太的军队溃败了，
9:4
遂勃然大怒，想把别人打败他的耻辱向犹太人报复；于是命御者不停加紧赶路。其实是上天的惩罚催迫着他，因为他傲慢地说：「我到了耶路撒冷，必使这城变为犹太人的坟场。」
9:5
但是，无所不见的上主，以色列的天主用不可救药和从未见过的病症打击了他。他刚说完这话，他的脏腑就痛不可忍，五内感到剧痛。
9:6
这是极其公道的，因为他从前曾用各钟罕见的刑罚，难为过别人的脏腑。
9:7
他不但不止息他的蛮横，反而更加骄傲，向犹太人发泄他的怒焰，下命快跑。正当御车风驰电掣的时刻，他忽然跌下来，且跌得十分惨重，浑身的肢体都错了节。
9:8
刚才自命不凡，叱咤风云，想衡量山岳的人，如今却躺在地上，被人用床抬起：这事叫人们知道是天主威能的显示。
9:9
况且，又从这万恶的人身上生出了蛆虫，他虽还活着，可是肌肉却一块一块的脱落，痛苦万状，腐烂的臭味使全军作呕。
9:10
刚才仿佛要触摸天上星辰的人，现今为他这难忍的臭味，没有一个人愿抬他。
9:11
这样，因痛苦缠身，他的狂傲才开始止息；因天主的惩罚，痛苦逐渐增加，他也逐渐觉悟。
9:12
当他自己也无法忍受自己的臭味时，就说：「服从天主是理所当然的，有死有坏的人，绝不可妄想与天主平衡！」
9:13
这恶人不住向那不再怜悯他的上主许愿说：
9:14
他要把从前急于夷为平地，化为坟场的圣城，宣布为自由之地；
9:15
要使一切先前决定不配埋葬，而该与子女一同投给飞禽走兽作食物的犹太人，得享与雅典人平等的待遇；
9:16
要用最珍贵的礼物点缀他先前劫掠的圣殿，加倍偿还一切圣器，以自己的收入支付祭献的费用；
9:17
此外自己还要作一个犹太人，周游凡有人烟的地方，宣扬天主全能。
安提约古致犹太人函
9:18 然而，他的痛苦并未因此减轻，因为天主公义的审判已经来到他身上。他见自己，已无希望，于是用哀恳的言词给犹太人写了下面的一封信：
9:19
「安提约古王兼大元帅，祝良善的犹大国民安好！并祝健康幸福！
9:20
倘若你们及你们的子女健康，万事如意，我就非常感谢上天。
9:21
我今毫无能力，躺在床上，很怀念你们。自从我由波斯地域回来，即患重病，所以将有关公益的事，安排一下，我以为很有需要。
9:22
不是因为我对我的病症已感绝望，反之，我极希望脱离这病苦。
9:23
不过我想起先父每次带兵出征高原地区时，常先定下他的继承人，
9:24
好在发生什么不测的事情，或传来什么不幸的消息时，各省的居民都知道国事已有继承，不致发生暴乱；
9:25
此外，我察觉近邦的王子与邻国的君主，都在窥探时机，等待事变，所以我指定我的儿子安提约古为王，他就是我出巡高原各省时，曾给你们许多人托付介绍过的那位。我还给他写了下面所写的一封信。
9:26
因此我恳切哀求你们，回想我对你们所施的公私恩惠，对我和我的儿子保持原有的友谊，
9:27
因为我深信他必温柔和善地履行我的意旨，甘愿就和你们。」
9:28
如此，这个渎神的杀人王，受尽了象他加于别人的剧烈痛苦，在国外的群山中，悲惨地结束了自己的性命。
9:29
他的挚友斐理伯收殓了他的尸首。但他害怕安提约古的儿子，就去了埃及，投奔仆托肋米非罗默托。
第十章(38)
光复圣殿
10:1 玛加伯及他的部下在上主领导之下，收复了圣殿和京城。
10:2
他们把外方人在广场上建立的一切祭坛，以及庙宇都予以拆毁。
10:3
洁净圣殿以后，他们另建立了一座祭坛，然后打石取火，用取来的火重献中断了两年的祭献，又焚香、点灯、供饼。
10:4
此后，他们便俯伏在地，祈求上主不要让他们再遭遇这样的祸患；如果他们仍再犯罪，求他减轻惩罚，不要再将他们交付与渎神的野蛮民族。
10:5
正在外邦人玷污圣殿的那个纪念日，他们举行了洁殿礼，即「基色娄」月二十五日；
10:6
按着举行帐棚节的仪式，兴高彩烈地庆祝了八天；回想不久之前，过帐棚节时，还象野兽一样藏在山上或洞里；
10:7
为此他们都拿着花枝，青枝和棕榈树枝，歌颂那位赐他们能顺利清洁圣殿的天主；
10:8
并且大家一致表决，规定犹太全国人民应每年举行这庆节。
10:9
有关安提约古号称厄丕法乃的结局，已如上述。
后编维护宗教自由的战争(10:10——15:37)
战胜依杜默雅人
10:10 现在我们要述说这恶人的儿子安提约古欧帕托尔在位时所发生的事情，略述所有的战祸。
10:11
他登极后，便立了一位名叫里息雅的为国务总理，兼任切肋叙利亚和腓尼基的总督。
10:12
此时，号称玛克龙的仆托肋米，首先对犹太人主持正义，为了他们受的委屈，就尽力和平对待他们；
10:13
因此王的一些朋友在欧帕托尔面前控告了他，说他在各方面堪称为叛臣，因为他曾离弃了非罗默托托他管理的塞浦路斯，而投奔安提约古厄丕法乃。因为他自觉不配荣居高位，遂服毒自尽。
10:14
当哥尔基雅作了那地的总督以后，便招募外方人从军，利用各种机会同犹太人交战。
10:15
同时占有一些重要堡垒的依杜默雅人也骚扰犹太人，收留从耶路撒冷逃亡的人，意图发动战争。
10:16
玛加伯及他的部下，在哀恳祈求天主协助自己作战以后，就动员攻击依杜默雅人的堡垒。
10:17
他们英勇作战，占据了那些据点，把城墙上作战的人都击退，凡落在他们手中的，都一概杀尽，杀了不下两万人。
10:18
有九千多人逃到两座特别坚固且贮藏有各种急需物品的堡垒里。
10:19
玛加伯留下息孟、若瑟、匝刻约和他的军队，足够围困堡垒，自己便往危急的地方去了。
10:20
但是息孟的部队贪财，受了堡垒中一些人的贿赂，收得七万「达玛」，而让他们一些人逃走了。
10:21
玛加伯一知道这事，就召集军民的军长，斥责他们为银钱出卖自己的兄弟，把与自己交战的敌人放走，
10:22
因此把这些叛徒处死，并立时进攻这两座堡垒。
10:23
战事在他的手中进行的很是顺利，在这两个堡垒里又杀了两万多人。
战胜提摩太
10:24
从前被犹太人打败的提摩太，又聚集一大批外方士兵，并招募不少来自亚细亚的骑兵，想用武力去占领犹太。
10:25
但他快来近时，玛加伯和他的部下都头上撒土，腰束苦带，恳求天主，
10:26
跪伏在祭坛的前阶上，恳求天主向他们大发慈悲，按着法律所宣示的，与他们的仇人为仇，与他们的敌人为敌。
10:27
祈祷完毕,就拿起武器出发，走到离城相当远的地方，靠近敌人，就停住了。
10:28
天一破晓，两军交锋：这一方不是依靠兵力，而是依靠天主，作为成功和胜利的保证；另一方却只仗自己的勇气，而来作战。
10:29
战争正在激烈进行时，敌人看见从天上降下五个光辉灿烂的人，骑着金辔的马，走在犹太人的前面，
10:30
把玛加伯围在中央，用自己的的盔甲掩护他，使他不受伤害；然后向敌人放射箭矢，和雷电，使他们目眩惶惑，秩序大乱。
10:31
结果，杀死步兵二万五百，骑兵六百；
10:32
提摩太只得逃到一座凯勒阿管辖的，名叫革则尔最稳固的堡垒里去。
10:33
玛加伯与他的部下，四天奋勇围攻这坚固的堡垒。
10:34
里面的人，仗着地势险要，狂傲谩骂，口出恶言。
10:35
至第五天破晓时分，玛加伯军中有二十个少年，被这些谩骂激得怒火如焚，于是奋勇越墙而上，咆哮如野兽，逢人便杀。
10:36
同时，有别的一些人，也越墙而上，四面袭击里面的人，又放火烧楼燃起烈火，把谩骂的人活活地烧死。另有一些人却冲破城门，让其余的军队进去，迅速地把城市占领，
10:37
杀了藏在蓄水池中的提摩太和他的兄弟凯勒阿与阿颇罗法乃。
10:38
战后他们咏诗唱歌，赞美上主，因为他对以色列特降鸿恩，使他们获得了胜利。
第十一章(38)
里息雅战败
11:1 此后不久，王的亲戚和监护人并国务总理里息雅对所遭遇的事，异常愤恨。
11:2
便募集了八万步兵及所有的骑兵，出发进攻犹太人，企图将圣城作为希腊人的居所；
11:3
向圣殿征税，象对其他各国的寺庙一样；并且每年高价出售大司祭的职位。
11:4
他毫不想天主的威能，而只信赖他的几万步兵，数千骑兵和八十匹象。
11:5
侵入犹太之后，逼近离耶路撒冷约三十二公里的一个要塞贝特族尔，倾全力围攻。
11:6
玛加伯与部下听说他围攻那堡垒，便与民众一同叹息流泪，恳求上主派一位好天使来拯救以色列。
11:7
玛加伯自己首先拿起武器，然后激励众人跟他去冒险拯救同胞；众人都自告奋勇与他前去。
11:8
他们离耶路撒冷不远，有位身穿白衣，手挥金武器的骑兵出现，作他们的前锋。
11:9
他们一致称扬仁慈的天主，个个勇往直前，不但准备冲锋杀敌，而且还敢与最凶猛的野兽搏斗，冲破铜墙铁壁。
11:10
他们既得上主垂怜，从天上获得联军助战，就列阵前进，
11:11
冲向敌人如猛狮一般，击杀了步兵一万一千，骑兵一千六百，迫得其余的人都望风而逃，
11:12
大半负伤弃甲逃命，连里息雅自己也得抱头鼠窜，才得苟全性命。
11:13
但他并不是个愚昧人：当他回想自己所遭遇的失败，便知希伯来人是不可战胜的，因为有全能的天主与他们共同作战；
11:14
于是派遣使者去同犹太人说和，立平等的条件，且许下尽力劝国王与他们做朋友。
11:15
玛加伯为顾全公共的利益，就接受了里息雅所提出的一切，王也批准了玛加伯为犹太人向里息雅书面所要求的各项条件。
四件媾和文件
11:16 里息雅给犹太人所写的函件如下：「里息雅祝犹太人民安好！
11:17
你们的使者若望及阿贝沙隆呈递下附的函件，请求批准所列的事项。
11:18
凡应转呈君王的，我已禀呈；凡是可允准的，他一概允准了。
11:19
若你们对政府仍保持友好，今后我必尽力为你们谋求幸福。
11:20
关于这些及其余详细事项，我已吩咐你们的使者和我的特派员与你们会商。
11:21
祝你们健康！一四八年「彤斯苛洛」月二十四日。
11:22
王的谕文如下：「安提约古王祝兄弟里息雅安好！
11:23
自从先父归于诸神以后，我们愿意所属人民，自管其国，不受骚忧;
11:24
我们也听说犹太人不满意先父令他们随从希腊风俗，而愿保守自己固有的生活方式，并且要求许可遵守自己的法律。
11:25
其实，我们很愿意这民族不受骚扰，决意将圣殿交还他们，准许他们按照祖先的习例度日。
11:26
所以你更好派使者到他们那里去，与他们和好，好使他们认清我们的意思，安心乐意处理自己的事务。」
11:27
王给犹太民族所颁的诏书如下：「安提约古王祝犹太参议院与其余犹太人安好！
11:28
如果你们安康，那正是我们的希望，我们也很平安。
11:29
默乃劳向我们呈报说，你们愿意回乡，从事己业。
11:30
因此，凡在「散提苛」月三十日以前回家的，一概得享平安，
11:31
并允许犹太人象昔日一样享用自己规定的食物，遵守自己的法律；如果有人无意做了什么错事，谁也不可干涉。
11:32
此外，我又派默乃特去慰问你们。
11:33
谨此祝你们健康！一四八年「散提苛」月十五日」。
11:34
罗马人也寄给犹太人一封公函，其原文如下：「罗马人的使者昆突默米，提突玛尼祝犹太人民安好！
11:35
王的亲人里息雅与你们商定的事，我们也表示赞同。
11:36
对于那些他认为应请示国王的事，在你们仔细考虑以后，即刻派一人来，使我们能依照你们的利益去建议，因为我们快要起身到安提约基雅去。
11:37
请急速派几个人来，叫我们知道究竟你们有什么意见。
11:38
谨此祝你们健康！一四八年「散提苛月十五日。」
第十二章(45)
犹大攻打约培及雅木尼雅
12:1 条约既定，里息雅便回到王那里，犹太人则去从事农业。
12:2
可是，有几位地方总督如提摩太、革纳约的儿子阿颇罗尼、耶洛尼摩、德摩丰、和塞浦路斯军队的总司令尼加诺尔，仍然不让犹太人安居乐业。
12:3
而且，约培的居民又作出一件残暴的事：他们邀请那些住在他们中间的犹太人携带妻子儿女，登上他们预备好的船，表面上毫无加害他们的意思，
12:4
并说是按市民大众的决议行事。犹太人因爱好和平，不疑有诈，便接受了邀请；到了海中，他们即被推到海中，至少淹死了二百人。
12:5
犹大听说同胞们遭受了这样的残害，便集合起他的部下，
12:6
呼求了公义的判官天主以后，就出击那些残杀自己同胞的人，夜间放火烧港，焚毁船只，杀了所有逃避在那里的人。
12:7
由于城市已经关闭，他便暂且收兵，有意再次歼灭约培城中所有的人民。
12:8
同时他又得知雅木尼雅人对侨居的犹太人也将采取同样的行动，
12:9
便乘夜袭击雅木尼雅人，放火焚烧港口及船只，火光烛天，以致远在二百四十「斯塔狄」外的耶路撒冷都可看见。
征讨基肋阿得各地
12:10 他们从那里起程，走了不到九「斯塔狄」，正要去攻打提摩太的时候，阿刺伯人便前来迎击，计有步兵不下五千，骑兵五百。
12:11
战事极其激烈，犹大的军队赖天主的协助，获得全胜；这些打败的游牧民族，便向犹大求和，许下送给他牲畜，并在各种事上接济他。
12:12
犹大知道他们在许多事上，的确对自己有利，所以同意与他们讲和；双方握手言好之后，都回了自己的营幕。
12:13
犹大又进军攻击一座筑有垣墙与堡垒的坚城，住在里面的是些混杂的民族，城名叫做卡斯平。
12:14
城内的人仗着城墙坚固，又有储备的食粮，就以蛮横的态度对待犹大及他的部下，百般辱骂，口出恶言。
12:15
但是，犹大与他的部下呼号了那位在若苏厄时代，不用冲城车和军械倾复了耶里哥城的宇宙大主宰以后，就猛攻城墙。
12:16
因天主的旨意，他们占据了这城，大加屠杀，以致附近宽约二「斯塔狄」的湖，好象注满了血。
12:17
他们由此再向前推进，走了约七百五十「斯塔狄」，便到达哈辣斯，以往称为托布人的犹太人住在那里。
12:18
他们在那里没有找到提摩太，因为他既一无所成，已离开那里，只在某地留下一批极精锐的军队。
12:19
玛加伯的将军多息太及索息帕托便动身往那里去，剿灭了提摩太留在堡中的一万多人。
12:20
同时，玛加伯把自己的军队分成数队，并给每队指派一人作统帅，然后引军进攻率领十二万步兵和二千五百骑兵的提摩太。
12:21
提摩太听说犹大来攻。就先将妇孺及行李遣送到名叫卡尔纳殷的地方去，因为那地方四周地势险要，不易围攻，难以侵犯。
12:22
犹大的前锋部队一出现，因了无所不见者的显现，敌人感到恐怖惊惶，夺路奔逃，甚至自相残杀，彼此刀锋相刺。
12:23
于是犹大奋勇追击子杀了这批罪犯，歼灭了约三万人，
12:24
连提摩太自己也落在多息太及索息帕托部队的手里；那人却以巧言花语求他们释放自己，得保性命，因为他说：「在他权下尚有很多犹太人的父母兄弟，如他本人受害，这些人也必遭凶祸。」
12:25
他用了很多话来说服他们，且也发誓许下把那些人遣回；他们就为了自己弟兄的安全将他释放了。
12:26
犹大又进攻卡尔纳殷及阿塔加提庙，击杀了二万五千人。
12:27
杀退了这些仇人以后，犹大又领兵进攻里息雅及各族军民驻扎的厄斐龙坚城；城外有健壮的青年军人列阵把守，城内存有大批的军械和箭矢。
12:28
但犹太人呼号以威力粉碎敌军的主宰以后，遂占领了这城，杀死约二万五千居民。
12:29
又从那里出发，进攻距离耶路撒冷六百「斯塔狄」的史托颇里。
12:30
但是那里的犹太侨民证明史托颇里居民对他们非常友善，在患难时特别恩待他们;
12:31
因此犹大与其部下表示感激，也忠告他们以后对自己的民族继续表示友善。因七七节来近了，他们便回了耶路撒冷。
与哥尔基雅作战
12:32 过了所谓的五旬节以后，他们又出发进攻依舍默雅的总督哥尔基雅。
12:33
哥尔基雅率领三千步兵，四百骑兵出来应战。
12:34
双方交锋后，有些犹太人阵亡了。
12:35
那时，托布队中一名叫多息太的，骁勇善骑，赶上哥尔基雅，扯住他的外衣，用力拉他，想活活捉住这个可咒骂的人。不料有个特辣克的骑兵，向他扑来，砍伤多息太的肩膀。这样哥尔基雅便逃到玛黎撒去了。
12:36
此时，厄刺辣的部下，由于长久作战，都感厌倦；犹大便呼求上主显示助战，作他们作战的领导；
12:37
然后用祖国的语言高呼战斗的口号，歌唱诗歌，进攻突袭哥尔基雅的部队，使他们瓦解。
为亡者献祭
12:38 事后，犹大率领兵马，到了阿杜蓝城；因为已到第七日，他们就在那里照例自洁，过了安息日。
12:39
第二天，由于事不宜迟，犹大的部队便出去收敛阵亡的尸体，好把他们安葬在祖坟里，与亲族在一起。
12:40
当时在每个死者的内衣下，发现都有雅木尼雅偶像的符录，这原是法律禁止佩带的；众人便都明白这正是他们阵亡的原因。
12:41
于是众人称赞秉公审判及揭示隐密的上主，
12:42
同心哀祷，使所犯过恶，得以完全赦免。随后英勇的犹大劝勉民众避免犯罪，因为人都亲眼看见这些阵亡者因罪所受的罚。
12:43
于是大众募集了二千银「达玛」，送到耶路撒冷作赎罪祭的献仪：他作的是一件很美妙高超的事，因为他想念着复活；
12:44
如果他不希望那些死过的人还要复活，为亡者祈祷，便是一种多余而糊涂的事。
12:45
何况他还想到为那些善终的人保留下的超等报酬：这实在是一个圣善而虔诚的思想。为此，他为亡者献赎罪祭，是为叫他们获得罪赦。
第十三章(26)
默乃劳的惨死
13:1 一四九年，犹大和他的部下听说安提约古欧帕托尔率领大军来进攻犹太，
13:2
他的监护人里息雅总理也与他同来；各自率领着希腊兵，共计步兵一万，骑兵五千三百，象二十二头，镰刀车三百辆。
13:3
默乃劳也混入其中，假仁假义地激励安提约古；他如此作，并非为了国家的安全，而是只想巩固自己的职位。
13:4
但万王之王激动安提约古恼恨这个恶徒；里息雅向君王证明此人是万恶的罪魁，安提约古即下令解送他到贝洛雅去，按当地的刑法处死他。
13:5
在那里有一座塔，高五十余肘，里面满是火灰，设有一架旋机，能从各方面把人投入火灰中。
13:6
凡盗窃庙物，或犯其他重罪的人，都应投入里面处死。
13:7
这犯法的默乃劳就是受这刑罚而死的，死后也不得入土。
13:8
祭坛上的火和灰原是圣洁的：他既多次亵渎祭坛，如今死在火灰中是极公平的。
犹大夜袭敌营
13:9 此时，国王起了一种野蛮和强横的念头，想加害犹太人，比他父亲所行的还要残酷。
13:10
犹大一知道这事，便命民众日夜呼求上主，求他这次还如从前一样拯救他们，不使法律、国家和圣殿遭受浩劫，
13:11
不让这刚才复兴的民族落在渎神的异民手中。
13:12
众人一致顺命，一连三天俯伏在地，哀哭禁食，恳求仁慈的上主。于是犹大勉励众人后，下令备战，
13:13
先与长老们私下商议，然后决定在国王的军队尚未开入犹太和占领京城以前，就出发迎击，赖天主的助佑来决定一切。
13:14
将战争的胜负全托付于宇宙的创造者；又劝勉自己的部下，应同他一起为法律、圣殿、京城、祖国及民权奋勇作战，死而后己。于是他就在摩丁附近扎了营。
13:15
他给军队规定以「天主胜利」为口号，然后选拔一队骁勇的少年士兵，夜袭国王营幕，在营内杀了二千守兵，刺杀了象队中的领队大象，以及木楼里驭象的人。
13:16
最后使全营敌人惊慌失措，遂凯旋而归。
13:17
因了上主保护犹大战事完了，天才破晓。
安提约古与犹大议和
13:18 国王虽经验到犹太人的英勇，但仍设法侵略他们的地方。
13:19
于是进攻犹太人坚固的堡垒贝特族尔，但被击退；再次进攻，又遭挫败。
13:20
犹大输送一切必需品，接济被围困的人，
13:21
但有个犹太军人，名叫洛多苛的，向敌人告密；这人被查出后，即被捕处死。
13:22
国王二次与贝特族尔居民握手议和，遂离开了那里，去攻击犹大的军队，可是又遭到惨败。
13:23
那时王听说，他留在安提约塞雅摄政的斐理伯造反，就心慌意乱遂与犹太人媾和，宣誓接受他们一切合理的条件；讲和后，他也献了祭，对圣殿起敬起畏，对圣所也表示慷慨大方。
13:24
王又善侍了玛加伯，留下赫革摩尼德为总督，管理由仆托肋买至革勒尼人所居住的地方。
13:25
王回到仆托肋买，那里的居民却愤愤不平，不满意这些和约，要废除所议定的事项。
13:26
里息雅便登台竭力辩解，说服了他们，赢得了他们的信心，使他们宁静下来，然后回安提约基雅去了。这就是王进军及撤兵的事。
第十四章(46)
犹大被谗谤
14:1 过了三年，犹大和他的部下知道色娄苛的儿子德默特琉带着大军及战船已在特黎颇里海口登陆，
14:2
占领了那地，杀了安提约古及他的监护人里息雅。
14:3
从前任大同祭的阿耳基慕，在与外邦人绝交时期，曾甘心自污，自知无论如何不得安全，也不能再走近圣坛；
14:4
于是在一五一年，去见德默特琉王，献给他一顶金冠和金棕榈枝，此外还献上些圣殿内常供奉的橄榄枝；他那一天没有说什么。
14:5
但当德默特琉召他来会议，询问他犹太人有何心思和企图时，他便乘机贡献那无耻的计策说：
14:6
「有一些号称哈息待的，并以犹大玛加伯为领袖的犹太人，时常发动战争，叛变无常，不让国家获得安宁。
14:7
因此，我既然被他们剥夺了祖传的光荣，即大司祭的地位，现今我来到这里：
14:8
第一，是为诚心图谋国王的福利；第二，是为替我同胞着想，因为，因了上述那些人的胆大妄为，我们整个民族受到不少的苦楚。
14:9
如今请陛下将这些事先一一调查清楚，以后设法依照陛下对天下所怀的仁德，照顾我们的家乡，及我们遭难的民族，
14:10
因为犹大一息尚存，国家决不能平安。」
14:11
他正说这些话时，王的其他憎恨犹大的亲信，也在旁助长德默特琉的声势。
14:12
于是国王立即选定曾任象队司令的尼加诺尔，委他为犹太总督，派他前去；
14:13
令他去杀犹大，解散他的部下，立阿耳基慕为那庄严圣殴的司祭长。
14:14
犹太各地被犹大所驱逐的外邦人，便都成群结队来协助，尼加诺尔认为犹太人的不幸和灾害，都于自己有利。
尼加诺尔与犹大和好
14:15 犹太人听说尼加诺尔来侵，外邦人来犯，便头上撒土，哀号那位永远保存自己的民族，又常显奇迹保护自己产业的天主,
14:16
然后遵照领袖的命令,立时从那里动身，在德扫村与敌人交锋。
14:17
犹大的兄弟息孟已经与尼加诺尔交战，但因敌兵的突击，稍感不利。
14:18
可是,尼加诺尔因为听说犹大和他的部下骁勇善战，以及他们为国作战的雄心，不敢用武力来解决，
14:19
于是派颇息多尼、特奥多托和玛塔提雅去与犹太人商议和谈。
14:20
将条件详细考虑后，首领通知众军队，大家既一致赞同，他才同意媾和。
14:21
双方也规定了同到一地会商的日期，那天，各乘轿车来就已布置好的席位。
14:22
犹大在适宜的地方派兵防守，以免敌人背后突击；双方的谈判终于获得协议。
14:23
尼加诺尔逗留在耶路撒冷时，没有做出什么越轨的事，而且还解散了那些来协助他的队伍。
14:24
他常要犹大在自己的身边，心里也很喜欢他；
14:25
于是劝他娶妻生子，犹大便娶了妻子，享受人生乐趣。
友好再次决裂
14:26 阿耳基慕见他们二人交好，便带了一分订的和约，到德默特琉面前，说尼加诺尔对国事有异心，因为他已指定了叛国的犹大为自己的继承人。
14:27
王被这恶徒的谗言所惑，勃然大怒，写信给尼加诺尔，表示不满意他所订的和约，并命令他从速逮捕玛加伯，把他解送到安提约基雅去。
14:28
尼加诺尔得到这道谕令，极感不安，因为对方没有什么不对，不好轻易违背与他订的和约；
14:29
但又不能违抗君王，所以只好寻找机会，运用机智来完成这道命令。
14:30
玛加伯见尼加诺尔对自己冷淡，谈话的态度也比以前粗暴，便了解这种粗暴态度决非好现象；于是召集自己不少的部下，暗自离开了尼加诺尔。
14:31
尼加诺尔见自己被犹大玩弄，便在司祭正献日常祭时，闯进庄严的圣殿，命他们交出玛加伯来。
14:32
他们就起誓说不知道他找的人在那里。
14:33
他就向圣殿伸出右手发誓道：你们若不将犹大逮捕交给我，我要将天主的这座殿宇夷为平地，将祭坛拆毁，并在这里给彫尼索建筑一座壮丽的庙宇。
14:34
说完这话就走了。司祭们举手向天，呼求那常为自己的民族作战者说：
14:35
「万有的上主！你一无所缺，但是你却乐意在我们中有一座圣殿作你的住所。
14:36
那么至圣的上主！求你保护这座才洁净的圣殿，使它永远不受亵渎！」
辣齐斯壮烈牺牲
14:37 在耶路撒冷有位长老，名叫辣齐斯，被人在尼加诺尔跟前控告了；他原是热心爱国，极负盛名的人，因为为人慈祥，人都称他为犹太人之父。
14:38
他在与外邦人绝交的初期，也曾因犹太教而被控告；他已决意为犹太教牺牲自身和性命。
14:39
尼加诺尔为发泄自己对犹太人所怀的仇恨，便派了五百多人去捉拿他，
14:40
认为逮捕这个人一定能给犹太人一个极大的打击。
14:41
当军队正要占据堡垒，撞开庭院大门，下令放火烧门时，辣齐斯见四面受敌，便伏剑自刎，
14:42
宁愿壮烈牺牲，不愿陷在恶人手中，使自己的身分遭受不堪的凌辱。
14:43
但因伏剑过急，没有刺中要害，那时敌人已闯进门内，他便奋身跑到墙上，毅然跳到人群中，
14:44
众人都急忙后退，让出一块空地，他便落在空地上。
14:45
这时他还活着，于是怒火如焚的爬起来，虽然血流如注，伤势甚重，还跑着穿过人群，屹立在一块岩石上；
14:46
血快要流尽的时候，又将五脏扯出来，双手捧着，向人群抛去，恳求那掌管生命及灵魂的主宰，把这一切再还给他；他就这样死了。
第十五章(39)
最后的胜负
15:1 尼加诺尔听说犹大和他的部下都在撒玛黎雅附近，便决意要在安息日那天攻击他们，可确保胜利；
15:2
但那些被迫跟随他的犹太人却反对说：「你切不要这样残忍凶悍地去屠杀人，应当尊敬观察万物者所圣化的日子！」
15:3
那罪大恶极的人问道：「天上是否有位命令守安息日的主宰？」
15:4
他们率直地答说：「有一位永生的天主是天上的主宰，他命令守安息日。」
15:5
他答说：「在地上我是主宰。我命令你们拿出武器，执行君王的命令！」虽然如此，他却没有完成那残酷的计谋。
15:6
可是尼加诺尔骄傲自大，仍决意要建立一座象征击败犹大和其部下的凯旋坊；
15:7
玛加伯却时常怀着坚定的信念，全心信赖必得到上主的援助，
15:8
劝勉自己的同伴，不必害怕外邦人的攻击，只该怀念昔日从天上赐予他们的援助，深信此时全能者也必赐给他们胜利。
15:9
后又用法律和先知的话来鼓励他们，又叫他们回忆所经历的战争，使他们都热情勃发。
15:10
激起他们作战的精神以后，又宣示外邦人如何失信，违犯誓言，遂发出攻击的命令。
15:11
他武装每个兵士，并不靠盾牌和长枪，而是用极富鼓励的话向他们讲述了一个很可信的梦，----即一个异象----使他们非常高兴。
15:12
他所见的异象是这样的：他看见一个人，举起双手为整个犹太民族祈祷。这人就是为人善良敦厚，待人谦和，态度温雅，善于辞令，自幼勤修各样德行的前任大司祭敖尼雅。
15:13
接着，又看见一人显现，同样为犹太民族祈祷。他头发苍白，体面端雅尊严非凡，令人起敬。
15:14
敖尼雅便解释说：「这就是爱护弟兄，常为百姓及圣城祈祷，天主的先知耶肋米亚。」
15:15
随后耶肋米亚伸出右手，交给犹大一把金剑说：
15:16
「你收下这把圣剑，这是天主的恩赐，你要用来击杀敌人！」
15:17
有了犹大这番美妙言辞的鼓励，人心大为振作，青年的斗志因而坚强，大家决定不再留守营中，却要奋勇向前进攻，拼命与敌人决战，因为京城、宗教与圣殿，都陷在危险中。
15:18
他们对妻子、儿女、兄弟及亲友并不怎么挂虑，最挂虑的却是神圣的圣殿。
15:19
留在城中的人也非常焦虑，为那些在外作战的人放心不下。
15:20
众人都期待着快要来临的决战。那时，敌人都已聚集严阵以待，象队已摆在重要的据点，马队已分成左右两翼。
15:21
玛加伯见配备各样武器的大军，及凶猛的象队已摆好阵势，便举手向天，呼求施行奇迹的上主；他知道胜利并不在乎武器，而在于上主断定谁应胜利，就使谁胜利。
15:22
犹大又祈祷说：「无上的主宰！在犹大王希则克雅时，你曾派遣你的天使，斩杀了里散乃黎黑布的军队约十八万五千人。
15:23
上天的主宰，求你现在也派遣一位好天使来，在我们前散布恐怖惊惶。
15:24
求你用你大能的手，打击这些谩骂和攻击你圣民的人！」他就这样结束了祈祷。
15:25
那时，尼加诺尔率领军队，吹着号角，唱着军歌，蜂拥而来。
15:26
犹大的部下却在哀求与祈祷声中，前去迎敌，
15:27
徒手作战，心中不住呼求天主，因此击杀了不下三万五千人，万分高兴天主明显的助佑。
15:28
战后，他们兴高彩烈回来时，发觉尼加诺尔穿着全副武装，卧地阵亡，
15:29
一时高声欢呼，用本国语言称颂无上的主宰。
15:30
那位完全奉献身心为同胞奋斗，一生热爱民族的犹大便命人将尼加诺尔的头和手臂砍下，带到耶路撒冷去。
15:31
他一到那里，便召集同胞和司祭，又派人将堡垒里的人召来；然后站在祭坛前，
15:32
将这可恶的尼加诺尔的头，并将他为亵渎谩骂全能者圣殿而举过的手，出示给众人看。
15:33
然后又割下这邪恶尼加诺尔的舌头，下令切成碎块，以饲飞鸟，并将这狂妄的手臂，挂在圣殿前面。
15:34
那时众人部向天赞颂荣耀的上主说：「那位保卫圣所不受玷污的，应受赞美！」
15:35
犹大又将尼加诺尔的头，悬在堡垒上，作为上主援助极显明昭著的记号。
15:36
众人一致决议不可让这一天平淡地过去，而该在每年十二月，叙利亚语名「阿达尔」月十三日，即摩尔德开节前日，隆重庆祝。
本书结论
15:37 这就是有关尼加诺尔的事。从此以后，京城便由希伯来人占领。我也就此结束我的著作。
15:38
此书若叙述得体，编辑完善，这才是我的愿望；若嫌写得肤浅平凡，但我已尽了我之所能。
15:39
比方人只喝酒，或只喝水，都不免有害；但酒水调和了再喝，才有滋味，畅快人心；同样，若史事编纂的巧妙，读此史事的人，才感兴趣----全书终。
BOOK ENDS. Seraphim, April 2009.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 1
I. LETTERS TO
THE JEWS OF EGYPT
FIRST LETTER
1:1 Greetings to their
brothers, the Jews in Egypt, from their brothers, the Jews in Jerusalem and in
the country of Judaea, and prosperity and peace.
1:2 May God prosper you,
remembering his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, his faithful
servants.
1:3 May he give you all a
heart to worship him and to do his will with a generous mind and a willing
spirit.
1:4 May he open your hearts to
his Law and his precepts, and give you peace.
1:5 May he hear your prayers
and be reconciled with you, and not abandon you in time of evil.
1:6 Here we are now praying
for you.
1:7 When Demetrius was king,
in the year one hundred and sixty-nine, we Jews wrote to you as follows, 'in
the desperate affliction that has come on us in these years since Jason and his
associates betrayed the Holy Land and the kingdom,
1:8 they burned the Temple
gateway and shed innocent blood. Then we prayed to the Lord and were heard; we
offered a sacrifice with wheat-flour, kindled the lamps and set out the
loaves'.
1:9 And we now recommend you
to keep the feast of Tabernacles of the month of Chislev. In the year one
hundred and eighty-eight[*a].
SECOND LETTER[*b]
Address
1:10 The people of Jerusalem
and of Judaea, the senate and Judas[*c], to Aristobulus, tutor to King Ptolemy
and one of the family of the anointed priests, and to the Jews in Egypt,
greetings and good health.
Thanksgiving for the
punishment of Antiochus
1:11 Since we have been
rescued by God from great dangers, we give him great thanks for championing our
cause against the king,
1:12 for it was He who drove
out those who had taken up arms against the Holy City.
1:13 For when their leader
reached Persia with his seemingly irresistible army, he was cut to pieces in
the temple of Nanaea[*d], as the result of a ruse employed by the priests who
served that goddess.
1:14 On the pretext of making
a marriage with Nanaea, Antiochus came to the place with his friends, intending
to take its many treasures as a dowry.
1:15 The priests of Nanaea had
put these on display, and he entered the sacred is precincts with a small
retinue. As soon as Antiochus was inside they closed the temple,
1:16 opened the secret door in
the ceiling and struck down the leader and his party by hurling stones like
thunderbolts. They then dismembered them, cut off their heads and flung them to
those outside.
1:17 Blessed in all things be
our God, who has given the godless their deserts!
The miraculous
preservation of the sacred fire
1:18 As we shall be
celebrating the purification of the Temple on the twenty-fifth of Chislev, we
consider it proper to notify you, so that you may celebrate the feast of
Tabernacles and of the fire that appeared when Nehemiah, the builder of the
Temple and the altar, offered sacrifice.
1:19 For when our ancestors
were being deported to Persia the devout priests of the time took some of the
fire from the altar and hid it secretly in the hollow of a dry well, where they
concealed it in such a way that the place was unknown to anyone.
1:20 When some years had
elapsed, in God's good time, Nehemiah, commissioned by the king of Persia, sent
the descendants of the priests who had hidden the fire to recover it; but they
notified us that they had found not fire but a thick liquid. Nehemiah ordered
them to draw some out and bring it back.
1:21 When the materials for
the sacrifice had been set out, Nehemiah ordered the priests to pour the liquid
over the wood and what lay on it.
1:22 When this had been done,
and when in due course the sun, which had previously been clouded over, shone
out, a great fire flared up, to the astonishment of all.
1:23 While the sacrifice was
being burned, the priests and all those present with the priests offered
prayer, Jonathan intoning and the rest responding with Nehemiah.
1:24 The prayer took this
form: 'Lord, Lord God, creator of all things, dreadful, strong, just, merciful,
the only king and benefactor,
1:25 the only provider, who
alone are just, almighty and everlasting, the deliverer of Israel from every
evil, who made our fathers your chosen ones and sanctified them,
1:26 accept this sacrifice on
behalf of all your people Israel, and protect your heritage and consecrate it.
1:27 Bring together those of
us who are dispersed, set free those in slavery among the heathen, look favourably
on those held in contempt or abhorrence, and let the heathen know that you are
our God.
1:28 Punish those who oppress
us and affront us by their insolence,
1:29 and plant your people
firmly in your Holy Place, as Moses promised.'
1:30 The priests then chanted
hymns.
1:31 When the sacrifice was
all burned, Nehemiah ordered the remaining liquid to be poured over large
stones,
1:32 and when this was done a
flame flared up, to be absorbed in the corresponding blaze of light from the
altar.
1:33 When the matter became
known and the king of the Persians heard that in the place where the exiled
priests had hidden the fire a liquid had appeared, with which Nehemiah and his
people had purified the materials of the sacrifice,
1:34 the king after verifying
the facts, had the place enclosed and pronounced sacred.
1:35 The king exchanged many
valuable presents with those who enjoyed his favour.
1:36 Nehemiah and his people
termed this stuff 'nephtar', which means 'purification', but it is generally
called 'naphtha'.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 2
Jeremiah conceals
the tabernacle, ark and altar
2:1 We find in the archives
that the prophet Jeremiah[*a], when he had given the deportees the order to
take the fire, as we have described,
2:2 in giving them the Law
warned the deportees never to forget the Lord's precepts, nor to let their
thoughts be tempted by the sight of gold and silver statues or the finery
adorning them.
2:3 Among other similar
admonitions he urged them not to let the Law depart from their hearts.
2:4 The document also
described how the prophet, warned by an oracle, gave orders for the tabernacle
and the ark to go with him when he set out for the mountain which Moses had
climbed to survey God's heritage.
2:5 On his arrival Jeremiah
found a cave-dwelling, into which he brought the tabernacle, the ark and the
altar of incense, afterwards blocking up the entrance.
2:6 Some of his companions
came up to mark out the way, but were unable to find it.
2:7 When Jeremiah learned
this, he reproached them: 'The place is to remain unknown' he said 'until
God gathers his people together again and shows them his mercy.
2:8 Then the Lord will bring
these things once more to light, and the glory of the Lord will be seen, and so
will the cloud, as it was revealed in the time of Moses and when Solomon prayed
that the Holy Place might be gloriously hallowed.'
2:9 It was also recorded how
Solomon in his wisdom offered the sacrifice of the dedication and
completion of the sanctuary.
2:10 As Moses had prayed to
the Lord and fire had come down from heaven and burned up the sacrifice, so
Solomon also prayed, and the fire from above burned up the holocausts.
2:11 Moses had said, 'It is
because it had not been eaten that the sin-offering was burned up'.
2:12 Solomon kept the feast in
the same way for eight days.
Nehemiah's library
2:13 In addition to the above,
it was also recorded, both in the archives and in the Memoirs of Nehemiah[*b]
how he founded a library and made a collection of the books dealing with the
kings and the prophets, the writings of David and the letters of the kings on
the subject of offerings.
2:14 In the same way Judas
made a complete collection of the books dispersed in the late war, and these we
still have.
2:15 If you need any of them,
send someone to fetch copies for you.
An invitation to
the dedication
2:16 To conclude, since we are
now about to celebrate the purification of the Temple, we are writing to you
requesting you to observe the same days.
2:17 God, who has saved his
whole people, conferring on all the heritage, kingdom, priesthood and
sanctification
2:18 as he promised through
the Law, will surely, as our hope is in him, be swift to show us mercy and
gather us together from everywhere under heaven to the Holy Place, since he has
rescued us from great evils and has purified the Temple.
II. COMPILER'S
PREFACE
2:19 The story of Judas
Maccabaeus and his brothers, the purification of the great Temple, the
dedication of the altar,
2:20 together with the wars against
Antiochus Epiphanes and his son Eupator,
2:21 and the manifestations
from heaven that came to hearten the brave champions of Judaism, so that, few
though they were, they despoiled the whole country, routed the barbarian
hordes,
2:22 recovered the sanctuary
renowned the whole world over, liberated the city and re-established the laws
which were all but abolished, the Lord showing his favour by all his gracious
help to them-
2:23 all this, already related
in five books by Jason of Cyrene, we shall attempt to condense into a single
digest.
2:24 Considering the spate of
figures and the difficulty encountered, because of the mass of material, by
those who wish to immerse themselves in historical records,
2:25 we have aimed at
providing diversion for those who merely want something to read, a saving of
labour for those who enjoy committing things to memory, and profit for each and
all.
2:26 For us who have
undertaken the drudgery of this abridgement, this has been no easy task but a
matter of sweat and midnight oil,
2:27 comparable to the
exacting task of a man organising a banquet, whose aim is to satisfy a variety
of tastes; nevertheless, for the sake of rendering a general service we
remain glad to endure this drudgery,
2:28 leaving accuracy of
detail to the historian and concentrating our effort on tracing the outlines in
this condensed version.
2:29 Just as the architect of
a new house is responsible for the construction as a whole, while the man
undertaking the ceramic painting is responsible for estimating the decorative
requirements, so, I think, it is with us.
2:30 To make the subject his
own, to explore its by-ways, to be meticulous about details, is the business of
the original historian,
2:31 but the man making the
adaptation must be allowed to aim at conciseness of expression and to forgo any
exhaustive treatment of his subject.
2:32 So now let us begin our
narrative, without adding any more to what has been said above; there would be
no sense in expanding the preface to the history and curtailing the history
itself.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 3
III. THE STORY OF
HELIODORUS
The arrival of
Heliodorus in Jerusalem
3:1 While the Holy City was
inhabited in all peace and the laws were observed as perfectly as possible,
through the piety of Onias the high priest and his hatred of wickedness,
3:2 it came about that the
kings themselves honoured the Holy Place and enhanced the glory of the Temple
with the most splendid offerings,
3:3 even to the extent that
Seleucus[*a] king of Asia defrayed from his own revenues all the expenses
arising out of the sacrificial services.
3:4 But a certain Simon, of
the tribe of Bilgah, on being appointed administrator of the Temple, came into
conflict with the high priest over the regulation of the city markets.
3:5 Unable to get the better
of Onias, he went off to Apollonius of Tarsus, who at that time was military
commissioner for Coele-Syria and Phoenicia,
3:6 and made out to him that
the Treasury in Jerusalem was groaning with untold wealth, that the amount
contributed was incalculable and out of all proportion to expenditure on the
sacrifice, but that it could all be brought under the control of the king.
3:7 Apollonius met the king
and told him about the wealth that had been disclosed to him; whereupon the
king selected Heliodorus, his chancellor, and sent him with instructions to
effect the removal of the reported wealth.
3:8 Heliodorus lost no time in
setting out, ostensibly to inspect the towns of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, but
in fact to accomplish the king's purpose.
3:9 On his arrival in
Jerusalem, and after a hospitable reception from the high priest and the city,
he announced what had been disclosed, thus revealing the reason for his
presence, and asked if this was indeed the true situation.
3:10 The high priest explained
that there were funds set aside for widows and orphans,
3:11 with some belonging to
Hyrcanus son of Tobias, a man occupying a very exalted position, and that the
whole sum, in contrast to what the evil Simon had alleged, amounted to four
hundred talents of silver and two hundred of gold.
3:12 He also added that it was
entirely out of the question that an injustice should be done to those who had
put their trust in the sanctity of the place and the inviolable majesty of a
Temple venerated throughout the entire world.
Consternation in
Jerusalem
3:13 But Heliodorus, because
of his instructions from the king, peremptorily insisted that the funds must be
confiscated for the royal exchequer.
3:14 Fixing a day for the
purpose, he went in to draw up an inventory of the funds. There was
consternation throughout the city;
3:15 the priests in their
sacred vestments prostrated themselves before the altar and called upon heaven,
the author of the law governing deposits, to preserve these funds intact for
the depositors.
3:16 The appearance of the
high priest was enough to pierce the heart of the beholder, his expression and
his altered colour betraying the anguish of his soul;
3:17 the man was so
overwhelmed by fear and bodily trembling that those who saw him could not
possibly mistake the distress he was suffering.
3:18 People rushed headlong
from the houses intent on making public supplication because of the indignity
threatening the Holy Place.
3:19 Women thronged the
streets swathed in sackcloth below their breasts; girls secluded indoors ran
together, some to the doorways, some to the city walls, while others leaned out
of the windows,
3:20 all stretching out their
hands to heaven in entreaty.
3:21 It was pitiful to see the
people crowding together to prostrate themselves and the foreboding of the high
priest in his deep anguish.
3:22 While they were calling
on the all-powerful Lord to preserve the deposits intact for the depositors, in
full security,
3:23 Heliodorus carried on
with his appointed task.
The punishment of
Heliodorus
3:24 He had already arrived
with his bodyguard near the Treasury, when the Sovereign of spirits and of
every power caused so great an apparition that all who had dared to accompany
Heliodorus were dumbfounded at the power of God, and were reduced to abject
terror.
3:25 Before their eyes
appeared a horse richly caparisoned and carrying a fearsome rider. Rearing
violently, it struck at Heliodorus with its forefeet. The rider was seen to be
accoutred entirely in gold.
3:26 Two other young men of
outstanding strength and radiant beauty, magnificently apparelled, appeared to
him at the same time, and taking their stand on either side of him flogged him
unremittingly, inflicting stroke after stroke.
3:27 Suddenly Heliodorus fell
to the ground, enveloped in thick darkness. His men came to his rescue and
placed him in a litter,
3:28 this man who but a moment
before had made his way into the Treasury, as we said above, with a great
retinue and his whole bodyguard; and as they carried him away, powerless to
help himself, they openly acknowledged the sovereign power of God.
3:29 While Heliodorus lay
prostrate under the divine visitation, speechless and bereft of all hope
of deliverance,
3:30 the Jews blessed the Lord
who had miraculously glorified his own Holy Place. And the Temple, which a
little while before had been filled with terror and commotion, now overflowed
with joy and gladness at the manifestation of the almighty Lord.
3:31 Some of Heliodorus'
companions quickly begged Onias to call upon the Most High, to bestow life on a
man lying at the very point of death.
3:32 The high priest, afraid
that the king might suspect the Jews of some foul play concerning Heliodorus,
did indeed offer a sacrifice for the man's recovery.
3:33 And while the high priest
was performing the rite of atonement, the same young men again appeared to
Heliodorus wearing the same apparel, and standing beside him said, 'Be very
grateful to Onias the high priest, since it is for his sake that the Lord has
granted you your life.
3:34 As for you, who have been
scourged from heaven, you must proclaim to all men the grandeur of God's
power.' So saying, they vanished.
The conversion of
Heliodorus
3:35 Heliodorus offered
sacrifice to the Lord and made most solemn vows to the preserver of his life,
and then took courteous leave of Onias and marched his forces back to the king.
3:36 He openly testified to
all men of the works of the supreme God which he had seen with his own eyes.
3:37 When the king asked
Heliodorus what sort of man would be the right person to send to Jerusalem on a
second occasion, he replied,
3:38 'If you have some enemy
or a rebel against the government, send him there, and you will get him back
well flogged, if he survives at all, for there is certainly some peculiar power
of God about that place.
3:39 He who has his dwelling
in heaven watches over the place and defends it, and he strikes down and
destroys those who come to harm it.'
3:40 This was the outcome of
the affair of Heliodorus and the preservation of the Treasury.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 4
IV. HELLENISTIC
PROPAGANDA AND PERSECUTION UNDER ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES
The misdeeds of
Simon, administrator of the Temple
4:1 The Simon mentioned above
as the informer against the funds and his own country began to slander Onias,
insinuating that it was the high priest who had treated Heliodorus so harshly
and had himself contrived these startling events.
4:2 Simon now had the
effrontery to name this benefactor of the city, this protector of his
compatriots, this zealot for the laws, as an enemy of the public good.
4:3 This hostility reached
such proportions that murders were actually committed by some of Simon's
agents,
4:4 and at this point Onias,
recognising how mischievous this rivalry was, and aware that Apollonius son of
Menestheus, military commissioner for Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, was
encouraging Simon in his malice,
4:5 went to see the king, not
to play the accuser of his fellow citizens, but having the public and private
welfare of the entire people at heart.
4:6 He saw that without some
intervention by the king an orderly administration would no longer be possible,
nor would Simon be forced to put a stop to his folly.
Jason, the high
priest, introduces hellenism
4:7 When Seleucus had departed
this life and Antiochus styled Epiphanes had succeeded to the kingdom, Jason,
brother of Onias[*a], usurped the high-priesthood by underhand methods;
4:8 he approached the king with
a promise of three hundred and sixty talents of silver, with eighty talents to
come from some other source of revenue.
4:9 He further committed
himself to guarantee another hundred and fifty if he was allowed to use his
authority to establish a gymnasium and a youth centre, and to enrol men in
Jerusalem as Antiochists.
4:10 When the king gave his
assent, Jason set about introducing his fellow countrymen to the Greek way of
life as soon as he was in power.
4:11 He suppressed the
existing royal concessions to the Jews, granted at the instance of John, father
of that Eupolemus who was later to be sent on the embassy of friendship and
alliance with the Romans, and, overthrowing the lawful institutions, introduced
new usages contrary to the Law.
4:12 He went so far as to
plant a gymnasium at the very foot of the Citadel, and to fit out the noblest
of his cadets in the petasos.[*b]
4:13 Godless wretch that he
was and no true high priest, Jason set no bounds to his impiety; indeed the
hellenising process reached such a pitch
4:14 that the priests ceased
to show any interest in the services of the altar; scorning the Temple and
neglecting the sacrifices, they would hurry to take part in the unlawful
exercises on the training ground as soon as the signal was given for the
discus.
4:15 They disdained all that
their ancestors had esteemed, and set the highest value on hellenic honours.
4:16 But all this brought its
own retribution; the very people whose way of life they envied, whom they
sought to resemble in everything, proved to be their enemies and executioners.
4:17 It is no small thing to
violate the divine laws, as the period that followed will demonstrate.
4:18 On the occasion of the
quinquennial games at Tyre in the presence of the king,
4:19 the vile Jason sent some
Antiochists from Jerusalem as official spectators; these brought with them
three hundred silver drachmae for the sacrifice to Hercules. But even those who
brought the money thought it should not be spent on the sacrifice-this would
not be right-and decided to reserve it for some other item of expenditure;
4:20 and so what the sender
had intended for the sacrifice to Hercules was in fact applied, at the
suggestion of those who brought it, to the construction of triremes.
Antiochus Epiphanes
is acclaimed in Jerusalem
4:21 Apollonius son of
Menestheus had been sent to Egypt to attend the enthronement of King
Philometor. Learning that the king had become hostile to his policies,
Antiochus began to think of his own safety; and so he left Joppa and moved to
Jerusalem.
4:22 He was given a
magnificent welcome by Jason and the city, and was received with torches and
acclamations; following this, he withdrew his army to Phoenicia.
Menelaus becomes
high priest
4:23 When three years had
passed, Jason sent Menelaus, brother of the Simon mentioned above, to convey
the money to the king and get his decisions on various essential matters made
effective.
4:24 But Menelaus, on being
presented to the king, flattered him by his own appearance of authority, and so
secured the high-priesthood for himself, outbidding Jason by three hundred
talents of silver.
4:25 He returned with the
royal mandate, bringing nothing worthy of the high-priesthood and supported
only by the fury of a cruel tyrant and the rage of a savage beast.
4:26 Thus Jason, who had
supplanted his own brother, was in turn supplanted by a third, and obliged to
take refuge in Ammonite territory.
4:27 As for Menelaus, he
retained his high office, but he defaulted altogether on the sums promised to
the king,
4:28 although Sostratus, the
commandant of the Citadel, whose business it was to collect the revenue, kept
demanding payment. The pair of them in consequence were summoned before the
king,
4:29 Menelaus leaving his
brother Lysimachus as deputy high priest, while Sostratus left Crates, the
commander of the Cypriots, to act for him.
The murder of Onias
4:30 While all this was going
on, it happened that the people of Tarsus and Mallus revolted, because their
towns had been given as a present to Antiochis, the king's concubine.
4:31 The king therefore
hurried off to settle the affair, leaving Andronicus, one of his dignitaries,
to act as his deputy.
4:32 Thinking he had found a
favourable opportunity, Menelaus abstracted a number of golden vessels from the
Temple and presented them to Andronicus, and managed to sell others to Tyre and
the surrounding cities.
4:33 On receiving clear
evidence to this effect, Onias retired to a place of sanctuary at Daphne near
Antioch and then taxed him with it.
4:34 Thereupon Menelaus,
taking Andronicus aside, urged him to murder Onias. Andronicus sought out Onias
and, after deceitfully reassuring him by offering him his right hand on oath,
succeeded in persuading him, in spite of his lingering suspicions, to leave the
sanctuary; whereupon he immediately put him to death, in defiance of all
justice.
4:35 The result was that not
only the Jews but many of the other nations were appalled and indignant at this
impious murder.
4:36 On the kings return from
the region of Cilicia the Jews of the capital, and those Greeks who shared
their hatred of the crime, appealed to him about the insensate murder of Onias.
4:37 Antiochus was profoundly
grieved and filled with pity, and he wept for the prudence and great moderation
of the dead man.
4:38 His indignation was
roused, and he immediately stripped Andronicus of the purple, tore his garments
off him, and, parading him through the length of the city, rid the world of the
assassin on the very spot where he had laid impious hands on Onias, the Lord
dealing out to him the punishment he deserved.
Lysimachus killed
in an insurrection
4:39 Now Lysimachus, with the
connivance of Menelaus, had committed many sacrilegious thefts in the city, and
when the facts had become widely known, the populace rose against Lysimachus,
who had already disposed of many pieces of gold plate.
4:40 The infuriated mob was
becoming menacing, and Lysimachus armed nearly three thousand men and took
aggressive action; the troops were led by a certain Auranus, a man advanced in
years and no less in folly.
4:41 Recognising this act of
aggression as the work of Lysimachus, some snatched up stones, others cudgels,
while others scooped up handfuls of ashes lying at hand, and all hurled
everything indiscriminately at Lysimachus' men,
4:42 to such effect that they
wounded many of them, even killing a few, and routed them all; the Temple
robber himself they killed outside the treasury.
Menelaus buys his
acquittal
4:43 As a result of this,
legal proceedings were taken against Menelaus.
4:44 When the King came down
to Tyre, the three men sent by the elders maintained the justice of their case
in his presence.
4:45 Menelaus, seeing he was
already defeated, promised a substantial sum to Ptolemy son of Dorymenes if he
would influence the king in his favour.
4:46 Ptolemy then took the
king aside into a colonnade for some fresh air, and persuaded him to change his
mind;
4:47 the king actually
dismissed the charges against Menelaus, the cause of all this evil, while he
condemned to death the other poor wretches who, had they pleaded before even
Scythians, would have been let off scot-free.
4:48 No time was lost in
carrying out this unjust punishment on those who had championed the cause of
the city, the rural communities and the sacred vessels.
4:49 Some Tyrians even were so
outraged so by the crime that they provided sumptuously for their funeral,
4:50 while as a result of the
greed of those in high places Menelaus retained his high office, growing in
wickedness and establishing himself as the chief enemy of his fellow citizens.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 5
Menelaus buys his
acquittal
5:1 About this time Antiochus
undertook his second expedition[*a] against Egypt.
5:2 It then happened that all
over the city for nearly forty days there were apparitions of horsemen
galloping through the air, in cloth of gold, troops of lancers fully armed,
5:3 squadrons of cavalry in
order of battle, attacks and charges this way and that, a flourish of shields,
a forest of pikes, brandishing of swords, hurling of missiles, a glitter of
golden accoutrements and armour of all kinds.
5:4 So everyone prayed that
this manifestation might prove a good omen.
5:5 Then on the strength of a
false report that Antiochus was dead, Jason took at least a thousand men and
launched an unexpected attack on the city. The troops manning the wall were
forced back, and Menelaus, with the city all but captured, took refuge in the
Citadel.
5:6 Jason, however, was still
making a pitiless slaughter of his own fellow citizens, not stopping to
consider that success against his own countrymen was the greatest of disasters,
but rather picturing himself as setting up trophies won from some enemy, not
from his own flesh and blood.
5:7 Even so, he did not
succeed in seizing power; in the end his conspiracy brought him nothing but
disgrace, and once again he took refuge in Ammonite territory.
5:8 His career of wickedness
was thus brought to a halt. Kept under restraint by Aretas the Arab despot,
fleeing from town to town, the quarry of all men, hated as a rebel against the
laws, abhorred as the butcher of his country and his countrymen, he drifted to
Egypt,
5:9 and at last this man, who
had exiled so many from their fatherland, himself perished on foreign soil,
having travelled to Sparta in the hope that for kinship's sake they might
harbour him.
5:10 So many carcasses he had
thrust out to lie unburied; now he himself had none to mourn him, no funeral
rites, no place in the tomb of his ancestors.
Antiochus Epiphanes
plunders the Temple
5:11 When the king came to
hear of what had happened, he concluded that Judaea was in revolt. He therefore
marched from Egypt, raging like a wild beast, and began by storming the city.
5:12 He then ordered his
soldiers to cut down without mercy everyone they encountered, and to butcher
all who took refuge in their houses.
5:13 It was a massacre of
young and old, a slaughter of women and children, a butchery of virgins and
infants.
5:14 There were eighty thousand
victims in the course of those three days, forty thousand dying by violence and
as many again being sold into slavery.
5:15 Not satisfied with this,
he had the audacity to enter the holiest Temple in the entire world, Menelaus,
that traitor to the laws and to his country as his guide;
5:16 with his unclean hands he
seized the sacred vessels, and his impious hands swept away what other kings
had presented for the advancement, the glory and the honour of the place.
5:17 Antiochus, so much above
himself, did not realise that the Lord was angry for the moment at the sins of
the inhabitants of the city, hence his unconcern for the Holy Place.
5:18 Had it not happened that
they were entangled in many sins, Antiochus too, like Heliodorus when King
Seleucus sent him to inspect the Treasury, would have been flogged the moment
he arrived and checked in his presumption.
5:19 However, the Lord had not
chosen the people for the sake of the place, but the place for the sake of the
people;
5:20 and so the place itself,
having shared the disasters that befell the people, in due course also shared
their good fortune; forsaken by the Almighty in the time of his anger, it was
reinstated in all its glory, once the great Sovereign had been reconciled.
High commissioners
in Judaea
5:21 Antiochus went off with
eighteen hundred talents he had stolen from the Temple, and hurried back to
Antioch; in his arrogance he would have undertaken to make the dry land
navigable and the sea passable on foot, so high his ambition soared.
5:22 But he left high
commissioners to plague the nation: in Jerusalem, Philip, a Phrygian by
race[*b], and by nature more barbarous than the man who appointed him; on Mount
Gerizim, Andronicus;
5:23 and besides these
Menelaus, who lorded it over his countrymen worse than all the others. In his
rooted hostility to the Jews,
5:24 the king also sent the
mysarch Apollonius at the head of an army twenty-two thousand strong, with
orders to put to death all men in their prime and to sell the women and
children.
5:25 Arriving in Jerusalem and
posing as a man of peace, this man waited until the holy day of the sabbath and
then, taking advantage of the Jews as they rested from work, ordered his men to
parade fully armed;
5:26 all those who came out to
watch he put to the sword; then, running through the city with his armed
troops, he cut down an immense number of people.
5:27 Judas called Maccabaeus,
however, with about nine others, withdrew into the wilderness, and lived like
wild animals in the hills with his companions, eating nothing but wild plants
to avoid contracting defilement.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 6
Pagan cults imposed
6:1 Shortly afterwards, the
king sent an old man from Athens to compel the Jews to abandon their ancestral
customs and live no longer by the laws of God;
6:2 and to profane the Temple
in Jerusalem and dedicate it to Olympian Zeus, and that on Mount Gerizim to
Zeus, patron of strangers, as the inhabitants had requested[*a].
6:3 The imposition of this
evil was oppressive and altogether intolerable.
6:4 The Temple was filed with
revelling and debauchery by the pagans, who took their pleasure with
prostitutes and had intercourse with women in the sacred precincts, introducing
other indecencies besides.
6:5 The altar of sacrifice was
loaded with victims proscribed by the laws as unclean.
6:6 A man might neither keep
the sabbath nor observe the traditional feasts, nor so much as admit to being a
Jew.
6:7 People were driven by
harsh compulsion to eat the sacrificial entrails at the monthly celebration of
the king's birthday; and when a feast of Dionysus occurred they were forced to
wear ivy wreaths and walk in the Dionysiac procession.
6:8 A decree was issued at the
instance of the people of Ptolemais for the neighbouring Greek cities,
enforcing the same conduct on the Jews there, obliging them to share in the
sacrificial meals,
6:9 and ordering the execution
of those who would not voluntarily conform to Greek customs. So it became clear
that disaster was imminent.
6:10 For example, there were
two women charged with having circumcised their children. They were paraded
publicly round the town, with their babies hung at their breasts, and then
hurled over the city wall.
6:11 Other people who had
assembled in the caves to keep the seventh day without attracting attention
were denounced to Philip and all burned together, since their consciences would
not allow them to defend themselves, out of respect for the holiness of the
day.
Providential
interpretation of the persecution
6:12 Now I urge anyone who may
read this book not to be dismayed at these calamities, but to reflect that such
visitations are not intended to destroy our race but to discipline it.
6:13 Indeed when evil-doers
are not left for long to their own devices but incur swift retribution, it is a
sign of great benevolence.
6:14 In the case of the other
nations the Master waits patiently for them to attain the full measure of their
sins before he punishes them, but with us he has decided to deal differently,
6:15 rather than have to
punish us later, when our sins come to a head.
6:16 And so he never entirely
withdraws his mercy from us; he may discipline us by some disaster, but he does
not desert his own people.
6:17 Let this be said simply
by way of reminder; we must return to our story without more ado.
The martyrdom of
Eleazar
6:18 Eleazar, one of the
foremost teachers of the Law, a man already advanced in years and of most noble
appearance, was being forced to open his mouth wide to swallow pig's flesh.
6:19 But he, resolving to die
with honour rather than to live disgraced, went to the block of his own accord,
6:20 spitting the stuff out,
the plain duty of anyone with the courage to reject what it is not lawful to
taste, even from a natural tenderness for his own life.
6:21 Those in charge of the
impious banquet, because of their long-standing friendship with him, took him
aside and privately urged him to have meat brought of a kind he could properly
use, prepared by himself, and only pretend to eat the portions of sacrificial
meat as prescribed by the king;
6:22 this action would enable
him to escape death, by availing himself of an act of kindness prompted by
their long friendship.
6:23 But having taken a noble
decision worthy of his years and the dignity of his great age and the well
earned distinction of his grey hairs, worthy too of his impeccable conduct from
boyhood, and above all of the holy legislation established by God himself, he
publicly stated his convictions, telling them to send him at once to Hades.
6:24 'Such pretence' he said
'does not square with our time of life; many young people would suppose that
Eleazar at the age of ninety had conformed to the foreigners' way of life,
6:25 and because I had played
this part for the sake of a paltry brief spell of life might themselves be led
astray on my account; I should only bring defilement and disgrace on my old
age.
6:26 Even though for the
moment I avoid execution by man, I can never, living or dead, elude the grasp
of the Almighty.
6:27 Therefore if I am man
enough to quit this life here and now I shall prove myself worthy of my old
age,
6:28 and I shall have left the
young a noble example of how to make a good death, eagerly and generously, for
the venerable and holy laws.' With these words he went straight to the block.
6:29 His escorts, so recently
well disposed towards him, turned against him after this declaration, which
they regarded as sheer madness.
6:30 Just before he died under
the blows, he groaned aloud and said, 'The Lord whose knowledge is holy sees
clearly that, though I might have escaped death, whatever agonies of body I now
endure under this bludgeoning, in my soul I am glad to suffer, because of the
awe which he inspires in me'.
6:31 This was how he died,
leaving his death as an example of nobility and a record of virtue not only for
the young but for the great majority of the nation.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 7
The martyrdom of
the seven brothers
7:1 There were also seven
brothers who were arrested with their mother. The king tried to force them to
taste pig's flesh, which the Law forbids, by torturing them with whips and
scourges.
7:2 One of them, acting as
spokesman for the others, said, 'What are you trying to find out from us? We
are prepared to die rather than break the laws of our ancestors.'
7:3 The king, in a fury,
ordered pans and cauldrons to be heated over a fire.
7:4 As soon as they were
red-hot he commanded that this spokesman of theirs should have his tongue cut
out, his head scalped and his extremities cut off, while the other brothers and
his mother looked on.
7:5 When he had been rendered
completely helpless, the king gave orders for him to be brought, still
breathing, to the fire and fried alive in a pan. As the smoke from the pan
drifted about, his mother and the rest encouraged one another to die nobly,
with such words as these,
7:6 'The Lord God is watching,
and surely he takes pity on us, as in the song in which Moses bore witness
against the people to their face, proclaiming that "he will certainly take
pity on his servants"'.
7:7 When the first had left
the world in this way, they led on the second for their brutal amusement. After
stripping the skin from his head, hair and all, they asked him, 'Will you eat,
before your body is tortured limb by limb?'
7:8 But he retorted in the
language of his ancestors, 'Never!' And so he too was put to the torture in his
turn.
7:9 With his last breath he
exclaimed, 'Inhuman fiend, you may discharge us from this present life, but the
King of the world will raise us up, since it is for his laws that we die, to
live again for ever'.
7:10 After him, they amused
themselves with the third, who on being asked for his tongue promptly thrust it
out and boldly held out his hands,
7:11 with these honourable
words, 'it was heaven that gave me these limbs; for the sake of his laws I
disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again'.
7:12 The king and his
attendants were astounded at the young man's courage and his utter indifference
to suffering.
7:13 When this one was dead
they subjected the fourth to the same savage torture.
7:14 When he neared his end he
cried, 'Ours is the better choice, to meet death at men's hands, yet relying on
God's promise that we shall be raised up by him; whereas for you there can be
no resurrection, no new life'.
7:15 Next they brought forward
the fifth and began torturing him.
7:16 But he looked at the king
and said, 'You have power over men, mortal as you are, and can act as you
please. But do not think that our race has been deserted by God. Only wait, and
you shall see in your turn how his mighty power will torment you and your
race.'
7:18 After him they led out
the sixth, and his dying words were these, 'Do not delude yourself: we are
suffering like this through our own fault, having sinned against our own God;
the result has been terrible,
7:19 but do not think you
yourself will go unpunished for attempting to make war on God'.
7:20 But the mother was
especially admirable and worthy of honourable remembrance, for she watched the
death of seven sons in the course of a single day, and endured it resolutely
because of her hopes in the Lord.
7:21 Indeed she encouraged
each of them in the language of their ancestors; filled with noble conviction,
she reinforced her womanly argument with manly courage, saying to them,
7:22 'I do not know how you
appeared in my womb; it was not I who endowed you with breath and life, I had
not the shaping of your every part.
7:23 It is the creator of the
world, ordaining the process of man's birth and presiding over the origin of
all things, who in his mercy will most surely give you back both breath and
life, seeing that you now despise your own existence for the sake of his laws.'
7:24 Antiochus thought he was
being ridiculed, suspecting insult in the tone of her voice[*a], and as the
youngest was still alive he appealed to him not with mere words but with
promises on oath to make him both rich and happy if he would abandon the
traditions of his ancestors; he would make him his Friend and entrust him with
public office.
7:25 The young man took no
notice at all, and so the king then appealed to the mother, urging her to
advise the youth to save his life.
7:26 After a great deal of
urging on his part she agreed to try persuasion on her son.
7:27 Bending over him, she
fooled the cruel tyrant with these words, uttered in the language of their
ancestors, 'My son, have pity on me; I carried you nine months in my womb and
suckled you three years, fed you and reared you to the age you are now (and
cherished you).
7:28 I implore you, my child,
observe heaven and earth, consider all that is in them, and acknowledge that
God made them out of what did not exist, and that mankind comes into being in
the same way.
7:29 Do not fear this
executioner, but prove yourself worthy of your brothers, and make death welcome,
so that in the day of mercy I may receive you back in your brothers' company.'
7:30 She had scarcely ended
when the young man said, 'What are you all waiting for? I will not comply with
the king's ordinance; I obey the ordinance of the Law given to our ancestors
through Moses.
7:31 As for you, sir, who have
contrived every kind of evil against the Hebrews, you will certainly not escape
the hands of God.
7:32 We are suffering for our
own sins;
7:33 and if, to punish and
discipline us, our living Lord vents his wrath upon us, he will yet be
reconciled with his own servants.
7:34 But you, unholy wretch,
bloodiest villain of all mankind, do not be carried away with senseless
elation, crowing with false confidence as you raise your hand against his
servants,
7:35 for you have not yet
escaped the judgement of God the almighty, the all-seeing.
7:36 Our brothers already,
after enduring their brief pain, now drink of ever-flowing life, by virtue of
God's covenant, while you, by God's judgement, will have to pay the just
penalty for your arrogance.
7:37 I too, like my brothers,
surrender my body and life for the laws of my ancestors, calling on God to show
his kindness to our nation and that soon, and by trials and afflictions to
bring you to confess that he alone is God,
7:38 so that with my brothers
and myself there may be an end to the wrath of the Almighty, rightly let loose
on our whole nation.'
7:39 The king fell into a rage
and treated this one more cruelly than the others, for he was himself smarting
from the young man's scorn.
7:40 And so the last brother
met his end undefiled and with perfect trust in the Lord.
7:41 The mother was the last
to die, after her sons.
7:42 But let this be
sufficient account of the ritual meals and excessive torments.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 8
V. THE VICTORY OF
JUDAISM
THE DEATH OF THE
PERSECUTOR AND THE PURIFICATION OF THE TEMPLE
Judas Maccabaeus
and the resistance
8:1 Judas Maccabaeus and his
companions made their way secretly among the villages, rallying their kinsfolk;
they recruited those who remained loyal to Judaism, and assembled about six
thousand.
8:2 They called upon the Lord
to have regard for the people oppressed on all sides, to take pity on the
Temple profaned by the godless,
8:3 to have mercy on the city
falling into ruin and nearly levelled to the ground, to hear the blood of the
victims that cried aloud to him,
8:4 to remember the criminal
slaughter of innocent babies and to avenge the blasphemies perpetrated against
his name.
8:5 As soon as Maccabaeus had
an organised force he at once proved invincible to the pagans, the Lord's anger
having turned into compassion.
8:6 Making surprise attacks on
towns and villages, he fired them; he captured favourable positions and
inflicted a number of reverses on the enemy,
8:7 generally availing himself
of the cover of night for such enterprises. The fame of his valour spread far
and wide.
Early exploits
8:8 When Philip saw Judas was
making steady progress and winning more and more frequent successes, he wrote
to Ptolemy, the military commissioner for Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, asking for
reinforcements in the royal interest.
8:9 Ptolemy appointed Nicanor
son of Patroclus, one of the king's First Friends, and sent him without delay
at the head of an international force of at least twenty thousand men, to
exterminate the entire Jewish race. As his associate he appointed Gorgias, a
professional general of wide military experience.
8:10 Nicanor determined to
raise the two thousand talents of tribute money owed by the king to the Romans,
by the sale of Jewish prisoners of war.
8:11 He lost no time in
sending the seaboard towns an invitation to come and buy Jewish manpower,
promising delivery of ninety head for one talent; but he did not reckon on the
judgement from the Almighty that was soon to overtake him.
8:12 When news reached Judas
of Nicanor's advance, he warned his men of the enemy's approach,
8:13 whereupon the
fainthearted and those who lacked confidence in the justice of God took to
their heels and ran away.
8:14 The rest sold all their
remaining possessions, at the same time praying the Lord to deliver them from
the godless Nicanor, who had sold them even in advance of any encounter -
8:15 if not for their
own sakes, then at least out of consideration for the covenants made with their
ancestors, and because they themselves bore his sacred and majestic name.
8:16 Maccabaeus marshalled his
men, who numbered about six thousand, and exhorted them not to be dismayed at
the enemy or discouraged at the vast horde of pagans wickedly advancing against
them, but to fight bravely,
8:17 keeping before their eyes
the criminal outrage inflicted by these men on the Holy Place, and the agony of
the humiliated city, not to mention the destruction of their traditional way of
life.
8:18 'They may put their trust
in their weapons and their exploits,' he said 'but our confidence is in
almighty God, who is able with a nod to overthrow both those marching on us and
the whole world with them.'
8:19 He reminded them of the
occasions on which their forbears had received help: that time when, under
Sennacherib, a hundred and eighty-five thousand men had perished;
8:20 that time in Babylonia
when in the battle with the Galatians the Jewish combatants numbered only eight
thousand and four thousand Macedonians, yet when the Macedonians were hard
pressed, the eight thousand wiped out a hundred and twenty thousand because of
the help they received from heaven, and won incalculable gains.
8:21 Having so roused their
courage by these words that they were ready to die for the laws and their
country, he then divided his army roughly into four,
8:22 putting his brothers,
Simon, Joseph and Jonathan in command of one division each, and assigning them
fifteen hundred men apiece.
8:23 Next, he ordered
Esdrias[*a], to read the sacred book aloud, and gave them their watchword 'Help
from God'; then he put himself at the head of the first division and joined
battle with Nicanor.
8:24 With the Almighty for
their ally, they slaughtered over nine thousand of the enemy, wounded and
crippled the greater part of Nicanor's army and put them all to flight.
8:25 The money of their
prospective purchasers fell into their hands. After pursuing them for a good
while, they turned back, since time was pressing:
8:26 it was the eve of the
sabbath, and for that reason they did not prolong their pursuit.
8:27 They collected the
enemy's weapons and stripped them of their spoils, and then celebrated the
sabbath with heartfelt praise and thanks to the Lord, who had reserved that day
for distilling on them the first dew of his mercy.
8:28 when the sabbath was over
they distributed some of the booty among the victims of the persecution and the
widows and orphans; the rest they divided among themselves and their children.
8:29 They then joined in
public supplication, imploring the merciful Lord to be fully reconciled with
his servants.
The defeat of
Timotheus and Bacchides
8:30 They also challenged the
forces of Timotheus and Bacchides and wiped out over twenty thousand of them,
gaining possession of several high fortresses. They divided their enormous
booty into two equal shares, one for themselves, the other for the victims of
the persecution and the orphans and widows, not forgetting the aged.
8:31 They carefully collected
the enemy's weapons and stored them in convenient places. The rest of the
spoils they took to Jerusalem.
8:32 They killed the officer
commanding Timotheus' bodyguard, an extremely wicked man who had done great
harm to the Jews.
8:33 In the course of their
victory celebrations in Jerusalem they burned the men that had fired the holy
gates, who with Callisthenes had taken refuge in one small house; so these
received a fitting reward for the sacrilege.
The flight and
testimony of Nicanor
8:34 The triple-dyed scoundrel
Nicanor, who had brought the thousand merchants to buy the Jews,
8:35 finding himself humbled,
with the Lord's help, by men he had himself reckoned as of very little account,
stripped off his robes of state, and made his way across country unaccompanied,
like a runaway slave, reaching Antioch by a singular stroke of fortune,
considering that his army was destroyed.
8:36 Thus the man who had
promised the Romans to make good their tribute money by selling the prisoners
from Jerusalem testified that the Jews had a defender, and that on this account
the Jews were invulnerable, because they followed the laws which that defender
had ordained.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 9
The last days of
Antiochus Epiphanes
9:1 About that time, as it
happened, Antiochus had retreated in disorder from the country of Persia.
9:2 He had entered the city
called Persepolis, planning to rob the temple and occupy the city; but the
population at once sprang to arms to defend themselves, with the result that
Antiochus was routed by the inhabitants and forced to beat a humiliating
retreat.
9:3 On his arrival in Ecbatana
he learned what had happened to Nicanor and to Timotheus' forces.
9:4 Flying into a passion, he
resolved to make the Jews pay for the disgrace inflicted by those who had
routed him, and with this in mind he ordered his charioteer to drive without
stopping and get the journey over. But the condemnation of heaven travelled
with him. He had said in his pride, 'When I reach Jerusalem I will turn it into
a mass grave for the Jews'.
9:5 But the all-seeing Lord,
the God of Israel, struck him with an incurable and unseen complaint. The words
were hardly out of his mouth when he was seized with an incurable pain in his
bowels and with excruciating internal torture;
9:6 and this was only right,
since he had inflicted many barbaric tortures on the bowels of others.
9:7 Even so he in no way
diminished his arrogance; still bursting with pride, breathing fire in his
wrath against the Jews, he was in the act of ordering an even keener pace when
he suddenly hurtled from his chariot, and the violence of his headlong fall
racked every bone in his body.
9:8 He who only a little while
before had thought in his superhuman boastfulness to command the waves of the
sea, he who imagined he could weigh mountain peaks in a balance, found himself
flat on the ground, borne in a litter, a visible demonstration to all of the
power of God,
9:9 in that the very eyes of
this godless man teemed with worms and his flesh rotted away while he lingered
on in agonising pain, and the stench of his decay sickened the whole army.
9:10 A short while beforehand
he had thought to grasp the stars of heaven; now no one could bring himself to
act as his bearer, for the stench was unbearable.
9:11 In consequence he began
there and then, in his shattered state, to shed his excessive pride and to come
to his senses under the divine lash, for he was tormented with pain all the
time.
9:12 His stench became
unendurable even to himself, and he exclaimed, 'It is right to submit to God;
no mortal should aspire to equality with the godhead'.
9:13 The wretch began to pray
to the Master, who would never take pity on him now, declaring
9:14 that the Holy City,
towards which he had been speeding to raze it to the ground and turn it into a
mass grave, should be declared free;
9:15 as for the Jews, whom he
had considered as not even worth burying, so much carrion to be thrown out with
their children for birds and beasts to prey on, he would make them all the
equals of the citizens of Athens;
9:16 the holy Temple which he
had once plundered he would now adorn with the finest offerings; he would
restore all the sacred vessels many times over; he would defray from his
personal revenue the expenses incurred for the sacrifices;
9:17 and to crown it all he
would himself turn Jew and visit every place where men lived, proclaiming the
power of God.
Antiochus writes to
the Jews
9:18 Finding no respite at all
from his suffering, because God had punished him with his righteous sentence,
he abandoned all hope for himself and wrote the Jews the letter transcribed
below, which takes the form of an appeal in these terms:
9:19 'To the excellent Jews
his citizens, Antiochus, king and commander-in-chief, sends hearty greetings,
wishing them all health and prosperity.
9:20 If you and your children
are well and your affairs are as you would wish, then I am profoundly thankful.
9:21 For my part, though
prostrate with sickness, I cherish tender memories of you. On my return from
the country of Persia I fell seriously ill, and thought it necessary to make
provision for the common security of all.
9:22 Not that I despair of my
condition, for I have great hope of shaking off the malady,
9:23 but considering how my
father, whenever he was making an expedition into the uplands, would designate
his successor,
9:24 so that in case of any
unforeseen event or disquieting rumour the people of the provinces might know
to whom he had left the conduct of affairs and thus remain undisturbed:
9:25 furthermore, being well
aware that the princes on our frontiers and neighbours of our realm are
watching for opportunities and waiting to see what will happen, I have
designated as king my son Antiochus, whom I have more than once entrusted and
commended to most of you when I was setting out for the upland satrapies; a
transcript of my letter to him is appended hereto.
9:26 I therefore urge and
require you to remember past favours both public and personal, and to persist,
each one of you, in your existing goodwill towards myself and my son.
9:27 I am confident that he
will pursue my own policy with benevolence and humanity, and will prove
accommodating to your interests.'
9:28 And so this murderer and
blasphemer, having endured the same terrible suffering as he had made others
endure, met his pitiable fate, and ended his life among the remote and
inhospitable mountains.
9:29 His comrade Philip
brought back his body, and then, fearing Antiochus's son, withdrew to Egypt, to
the court of Ptolemy Philometor.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 10
The purification of
the Temple[*a]
10:1 Maccabaeus and his
companions, under the Lord's guidance, restored the Temple and the city,
10:2 and pulled down the
altars erected by the foreigners in the market place, as well as the sacred
enclosures.
10:3 They purified the
sanctuary and built another altar; then striking fire from flints and using
this fire, they offered the first sacrifice for two years, burning incense,
lighting the lamps and setting out the loaves.
10:4 When they had done this
they threw themselves flat on the ground, and implored the Lord never again to
let them fall into such adversity, but if they should ever sin, to correct them
with moderation and not to deliver them over to blasphemous and barbarous nations.
10:5 This day of the
purification of the Temple fell on the very day on which the Temple had been
profaned by the foreigners, the twenty-fifth of the same month, Chislev.
10:6 They kept eight festal
days with rejoicing, in the manner of the feast of Tabernacles, remembering
how, not long before at the time of the feast of Tabernacles, they had been
living in the mountains and caverns like wild beasts.
10:7 Then, carrying branches,
leafy boughs and palms, they offered hymns to him who had brought the cleansing
of his own Holy Place to a happy outcome.
10:8 They also decreed by
public edict, ratified by vote, that the whole Jewish nation should celebrate
those same days every year.
VI. THE STRUGGLE OF
JUDAS AGAINST THE NEIGHBOURING PEOPLES, AND AGAINST LYSIAS, EUPATOR`S
HIGH COMMISSIONER
The disgrace of
Ptolemy Macron
10:9 Such were the
circumstances attending the death of Antiochus styled Epiphanes.
10:10 Our task now is to
unfold the history of Antiochus Eupator, son of that godless man, and relate briefly
the evil effects of the wars.
10:11 On coming to the throne,
this prince put at the head of affairs a certain Lysias, high commissioner for
Coele-Syria and Phoenicia.
10:12 Now Ptolemy, Macron as
he was styled, the first governor to treat the Jews with any justice, had done
his best to govern them peacefully to make up for the wrongs inflicted on them
in the past.
10:13 Denounced to Eupator by
the Friends of the King, he heard himself called traitor at every turn for
having abandoned Cyprus, which had been entrusted to him by Philometor, and for
going over to Antiochus Epiphanes; having shed no lustre on his illustrious
office, he committed suicide by poisoning himself.
Gorgias and the
Idumaean fortresses
10:14 Gorgias now became
military commissioner for that region; he maintained a force of mercenaries and
a continual state of war with the Jews.
10:15 At the same time the
Idumaeans, who controlled important fortresses, were exerting pressure on the
Jews, welcoming outlaws from Jerusalem and endeavouring to maintain a state of
war.
10:16 Maccabaeus and his men,
after making public supplication to God, entreating him to support them, hurled
themselves against the Idumaean fortresses.
10:17 Vigorously pressing home
their attack, they seized possession of these vantage points, beating off all
who fought on the ramparts; they slaughtered all who fell into their hands,
accounting for not less than twenty thousand.
10:18 Nine thousand at least
took refuge in two exceptionally strong castles with everything they needed to
withstand a siege,
10:19 whereupon Maccabaeus
left Simon and Joseph, with Zacchaeus and his forces, in sufficient numbers to
besiege them, and himself went off to other places demanding his attention.
10:20 But Simon's men were
greedy for money and allowed themselves to be bribed by some of the men in the
castles; accepting seventy thousand drachmae, they let a number of them escape.
10:21 When Maccabaeus was told
what had happened, he summoned the people's commanders and accused the offenders
of having sold their brothers for money by setting free men who were at war
with them.
10:22 Having executed them as
traitors, he at once proceeded to capture both castles.
10:23 Successful in all that
he undertook by force of arms, in these two fortresses he slaughtered more than
twenty thousand men.
Judas defeats
Timotheus and captures Gezer
10:24 Timotheus, who had been
beaten by the Jews once before, now assembled an enormous force of mercenaries,
mustering cavalry from Asia in considerable numbers, and appeared in Judaea,
expecting to conquer it by force of arms.
10:25 At his approach
Maccabaeus and his men made their supplications to God, sprinkling earth on
their heads and putting sackcloth round their waists.
10:26 Prostrating themselves
on the terrace before the altar, they begged him to support them and to show
himself the enemy of their enemies, the adversary of their adversaries, as the
Law clearly states.
10:27 After these prayers they
armed themselves and advanced a fair distance from the city, halting when they
were close to the enemy.
10:28 As the first light of
dawn began to spread, the two sides joined battle, the one having as their
pledge of success and victory not only their own valour but their recourse to
the Lord, the other making their own ardour their mainstay in the fight.
10:29 When the battle was at
its height the enemy saw five magnificent men appear from heaven on horses with
golden bridles and put themselves at the head of the Jews;
10:30 surrounding Maccabaeus
and screening him with their own armour, they kept him unscathed, while they
rained arrows and thunderbolts on the enemy until, blinded and confused, they
scattered in complete disorder.
10:31 Twenty thousand five
hundred infantry and six hundred cavalry were slaughtered.
10:32 Timotheus himself fled
to a strongly guarded citadel called Gezer, where Chaereas was in command.
10:33 For four days Maccabaeus
and his men eagerly besieged the fortress,
10:34 while the defenders,
confident in the security of the place, hurled fearful blasphemies and godless
insults at them.
10:35 At daybreak on the fifth
day, twenty young men of Maccabaeus' forces, fired with indignation at the
blasphemies, bravely stormed the wall, and cut down with brutal fury everyone
they encountered.
10:36 Others, in a similar
scaling operation, took the defenders in the rear, and set fire to the towers,
lighting pyres on which they burned the blasphemers alive. Others broke down
the gates and let in the rest of the army, and were the first to occupy the
town.
10:37 Timotheus had hidden in
a cistern, but they killed him, with his brother Chaereas, and Apollophanes.
10:38 When all this was over,
they blessed with hymns and thanksgiving the Lord, who had shown such great
kindness to Israel and given them the victory.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 11
The first campaign
of Lysias
11:1 Almost immediately
afterwards, Lysias, the king's tutor and cousin and his visier, much disturbed
at the turn of events,
11:2 mustered about eighty
thousand foot soldiers and his entire cavalry and advanced against the Jews,
intending to make the Holy City a place for Greeks to live in,
11:3 to levy a tax on the
Temple as was done with other national shrines, and to put the office of high
priest up for sale every year;
11:4 he took no account at all
of the power of God, being sublimely confident in his tens of thousands of
infantrymen, his thousands of cavalry, and his eighty elephants.
11:5 Invading Judaea, he
approached Bethzur, a fortified position about twenty miles from Jerusalem, and
began to subject it to strong pressure.
11:6 When Maccabaeus and his
men learned that Lysias was besieging the fortresses, they and the populace
with them begged the Lord with lamentation and tears to send a good angel to save
Israel.
11:7 Maccabaeus himself was
the first to take up his weapons, and he urged the rest to risk their lives
with him in support of their brothers; so they sallied out resolutely, as one
man.
11:8 They were still near
Jerusalem when a rider attired in white appeared at their head brandishing
golden accoutrements.
11:9 With one accord they all
blessed the God of mercy, and found themselves filled with such courage that
they were ready to lay low not men only but the fiercest beasts and walls of
iron.
11:10 They advanced in battle
order with the aid of their celestial ally, the Lord having had mercy on them.
11:11 Charging like lions on
the enemy, they laid low eleven thousand of the infantry and sixteen hundred
horsemen, and routed all the rest.
11:12 Of those, the majority
got away, wounded and weaponless. Lysias himself escaped only by ignominious
flight.
Lysias makes peace
with the Jews. Four letters concerning the treaty
11:13 Now Lysias was not
lacking in intelligence, and as he reflected on the reverse he had suffered he
realised that the Hebrews were invincible because the mighty God fought for
them. He therefore sent to them
11:14 suggesting a
reconciliation on just terms all round, and promising to induce even the king
to become their friend.
11:15 Maccabaeus, thinking
only of the common good, agreed to all that Lysias proposed, and whatever
Maccabaeus submitted to Lysias in writing concerning the Jews was granted by
the king.
11:16 Here is the text of the
letter Lysias wrote to the Jews, 'From Lysias to the Jewish people, greetings.
11:17 John and Absalom, your
envoys, have delivered to me the communication transcribed below, requesting me
to approve its provisions.
11:18 Anything requiring the
king's attention I have put before him; anything coming within my own
competence I have granted.
11:19 Provided you maintain
your good will towards the administration I will do my best in the future to
promote your advantage.
11:20 As for the details, I
have given orders for your envoys and my own officials to discuss these with
you.
11:21 May you prosper. The
year one hundred and forty-eight, the twenty-fourth day of the month of
Dioscoros.'
11:22 The king's letter was as
follows, 'King Antiochus to his brother Lysias, greetings.
11:23 Now that our father has
taken his place among the gods our will is that the subjects of the realm be
left undisturbed to attend to their own affairs.
11:24 We understand that the
Jews do not approve our father's policy, the adoption of Greek customs, but
prefer their own way of life and ask to be allowed to observe their own laws.
11:25 Accordingly, since we
intend this people to be free from vexation like any other, our ruling is that
the Temple be restored to them and that they conduct their affairs according to
the customs of their ancestors.
11:26 It will therefore be
your concern to send them a mission of friendship, so that on learning our
policy they may have confidence and proceed happily about their own affairs.'
11:27 The king's letter to the
Jewish nation was in these terms, 'King Antiochus to the Jewish senate and the
rest of the Jews, greetings.
11:28 If you are well, that is
as we would wish; we ourselves are in good health.
11:29 Menelaus informs us that
you wish to return home and attend to your own affairs.
11:30 Accordingly, all those
who return before the thirtieth day of Xanthicus may rest assured that they
have nothing to fear.
11:31 The Jews may make use of
their own kind of food and their own laws as formerly, and none of them is to
be molested in any way for any unwitting offences.
11:32 I am in fact sending
Menelaus to set your minds at rest.
11:33 Farewell. In the hundred
and forty-eighth year, the fifteenth of Xanthicus.'
11:34 The Romans also sent the
Jews a letter, which read as follows, 'Quintus Memmius, Titus Manius,
ambassadors of the Romans, to the people of the Jews, greetings.
11:35 Whatever Lysias, the
king's cousin, has granted you we also approve. As for the matters he decided to
refer to the king, consider them carefully and send someone without delay,
11:36 if we are to interpret
them to your advantage, because we are leaving for Antioch.
11:37 Lose no time, therefore,
in sending us those who can tell us what your intentions are.
11:38 Farewell. In the hundred
and forty-eighth year, the fifteenth of Xanthicus.'
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 12
Incidents at Joppa
and Jamnia
12:1 After these agreements
had been concluded Lysias returned to the king while the Jews went back to
their farming.
12:2 Among the local military
commissioners, Timotheus and Apollonius son of Gennaeus, as also Hieronymus and
Demophon, and Nicanor the Cypriarch as well, would not allow the Jews to live
in peace and quiet.
12:3 The people of Joppa went
so far as to perpetrate the following outrage: they invited the Jews living
among them to go aboard some boats they had lying ready, taking their wives and
children. There was no hint of any intention to harm them;
12:4 there had been a public
vote by the citizens, and the Jews accepted, as well they might, being
peaceable people with no reason to suspect anything. But once out in the open
sea they were all sent to the bottom, a company of at least two hundred.
12:5 When Judas heard of the
cruel fate of his countrymen, he issued his orders to his men
12:6 and after invoking God,
the just judge, he attacked his brothers' murderers. Under cover of dark he set
fire to the harbour, burned the boats and put to the sword everyone who had
taken refuge there.
12:7 As the town gates were
closed, he withdrew, intending to come back and wipe out the whole community of
Joppa.
12:8 But hearing that the
people of Jamnia were planning to treat their resident Jews in the same way,
12:9 he made a night attack on
the Jamnites and fired the harbour with its fleet; the glow of the flames was
seen as far off as Jerusalem, thirty miles away.
The expedition in
Gilead
12:10 When they had left the
town over a mile behind them in their advance on Timotheus, Judas was attacked
by an Arab force of at least five thousand foot soldiers, with five hundred
cavalry.
12:11 A fierce engagement
followed, and with God's help Judas' men won the day; the defeated nomads
begged Judas to offer them the right hand of friendship, and promised to
surrender their herds and make themselves generally useful to him.
12:12 Realising that they
might indeed prove valuable in many ways, Judas consented to make peace with
them and after an exchange of pledges the Arabs withdrew to their tents.
12:13 Judas also attacked a
certain fortified town, enclosed by ramparts and inhabited by a medley of
races; its name was Caspin.
12:14 Confident in the
strength of their walls and their stock of provisions, the besieged adopted an
insolent attitude to Judas and his men, reinforcing their insults with
blasphemies and profanity.
12:15 But Judas and his men
invoked the great Sovereign of the world who without battering-ram or
siege-engine overthrew Jericho in the days of Joshua; they then made a furious
assault on the wall.
12:16 Capturing the city by
the will of God, they made such indescribable slaughter that the nearby lake,
two furlongs across, seemed filled to overflowing with blood.
The battle of
Carnaim
12:17 Ninety-five miles
further on from there, they reached the Charax, in the country of Jews known as
Tubians.
12:18 They did not find
Timotheus himself in that neighbourhood; he had already left the district,
having achieved nothing apart from leaving a very strong garrison at one point.
12:19 Dositheus and Sosipater,
two of the Maccabaean generals, marched out and destroyed the force Timotheus
had left behind in the fortress, amounting to more than ten thousand men.
12:20 Maccabaeus himself
divided his army into cohorts to which he assigned commanders, and then hurried
in pursuit of Timotheus, whose troops numbered one hundred and twenty thousand
infantry and two thousand five hundred cavalry.
12:21 Timotheus's first move
on learning of Judas' advance was to send away the women and children and the
rest of the baggage train to the place called Carnaim, since it was an
impregnable position, difficult of access owing to the narrowness of all the
approaches.
12:22 When the first of Judas'
cohorts came into sight, the enemy were seized with fright; panic-stricken at
this manifestation of the All-seeing, they fled headlong in all directions, so
that they were often wounded by their own men, running on the points of one
another's swords.
12:23 Judas pursued them with
a will, cutting the sinners to pieces and killing something like thirty
thousand men.
12:24 Timotheus himself,
having fallen into the hands of Dositheus and Sosipater and their men, very
craftily pleaded with them to let him go with his life, on the grounds that he
had the parents of most and the brothers of some in his power, and that these
could otherwise expect short shrift.
12:25 When at long last he
convinced them that he would honour his promise and return these people safe
and sound, they let him go for the sake of saving their brothers.
12:26 Reaching Carnaim and the
Atargateion[*a], Judas slaughtered twenty-five thousand men.
The return by way
of Ephron and Scythopolis
12:27 After the rout of these
enemies he led his army against Ephron, a fortified town, where Lysias was
living. Stalwart young men drawn up outside the walls offered vigorous
resistance, while inside there were quantities of war-engines and missiles in
reserve.
12:28 But the Jews, invoking
the Sovereign who by his power shatters enemies' defences, gained control of
the city, and cut down nearly twenty-five thousand of the people inside.
12:29 Moving off from there,
they pressed on to Scythopolis[*b], seventy-five miles from Jerusalem.
12:30 But as the Jews who had
settled there assured Judas that the people of Scythopolis had always treated
them well and had been particularly kind to them when times had been at their
worst,
12:31 he and his men thanked
them and urged them to extend the same friendship to his race in the future. They
reached Jerusalem shortly before the feast of Weeks.
The campaign
against Gorgias
12:32 After Pentecost, as it
is called, they marched against Gorgias, the military commissioner for Idumaea.
12:33 He came out at the head
of three thousand infantry and four hundred cavalry;
12:34 in the course of the
ensuing battle a few Jews lost their lives.
12:35 A man called Dositheus,
one of the Tubians, who was on horseback and a powerful man, grasped Gorgias,
taking him by the cloak, and was forcibly dragging him along, intending to take
the accursed man alive, but one of the Thracian cavalry, hurling himself on
Dositheus, slashed his shoulder, and Gorgias escaped to Marisa.
12:36 Meanwhile since Esdrias
and his men had been fighting for a long time and were exhausted, Judas called
on the Lord to show them he was their ally and leader in battle.
12:37 Then, chanting the
battle cry and other hymns at the top of his voice in the language of his
ancestors, he routed Gorgias' troops.
The sacrifice for
the fallen
12:38 Judas then rallied his
army and moved on to the town of Adullam, and since the seventh day of the week
had arrived they purified themselves according to custom and kept the sabbath
in that place.
12:39 The next day they came
to Judas (since the necessity was by now urgent) to have the bodies of the
fallen taken up and laid to rest among their relatives in their ancestral
tombs.
12:40 But when they found on
each of the dead men, under their tunics, amulets of the idols taken from
Jamnia, which the Law prohibits to Jews, it became clear to everyone that this
was why these men had lost their lives.
12:41 All then blessed the
ways of the Lord, the just judge who brings hidden things to light,
12:42 and gave themselves to
prayer, begging that the sin committed might be fully blotted out. Next, the
valiant Judas urged the people to keep themselves free from all sin, having
seen with their own eyes the effects of the sin of those who had fallen;
12:43 after this he took a
collection from them individually, amounting to nearly two thousand drachmae,
and sent it to Jerusalem to have a sacrifice for sin offered, an altogether
fine and noble action, in which he took full account of the resurrection.
12:44 For if he had not
expected the fallen to rise again it would have been superfluous and foolish to
pray for the dead,
12:45 whereas if he had in
view the splendid recompense reserved for those who make a pious end, the
thought was holy and devout. This was why he had this atonement sacrifice
offered for the dead, so that they might be released from their sin.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 13
Antiochus V and
Lysias. The fate of Menelaus
13:1 In the year one hundred
and forty-nine Judas and his men discovered that Antiochus Eupator was
advancing in force against Judaea,
13:2 and with him Lysias his
tutor and vizir; he had moreover a Greek force of one hundred and ten thousand
infantry, five thousand three hundred cavalry, twenty-two elephants, and three
hundred chariots fitted with scythes.
13:3 Menelaus sided with them,
and with great duplicity kept encouraging Antiochus, not for the welfare of his
own country but in the hope of being confirmed in office.
13:4 But the King of kings
stirred up the anger of Antiochus against the guilty wretch, and when Lysias
made it clear to the king that Menelaus was the cause of all the troubles,
Antiochus gave orders for him to be taken to Beroea and there put to death by
the local method of execution.
13:5 In that place there is a
tower fifty cubits high, filled with ash, with a circular construction sloping
steeply down from all sides towards the ashes.
13:6 If anyone is convicted of
sacrilegious theft or notoriously guilty of certain other crimes, they take him
up to the top and thrust him down to perish.
13:7 In such a manner was the renegade
fated to die; Menelaus had not even the privilege of burial.
13:8 Deserved justice, this;
since he had committed many sins against the altar whose fire, whose very ashes
were holy, it was in ashes that he met his death.
The prayers and
success of the Jews near Modein
13:9 The king, then, was
advancing, his mind filled with barbarous designs, to give the Jews a
demonstration of far worse things than anything that had happened under his
father.
13:10 When Judas heard of this
he ordered the people to call day and night upon the Lord, now if ever, for
this once at least, to come to the help
13:11 of those who were in
peril of being deprived of the Law, their fatherland and the holy Temple, and
not to allow the people, just when they were beginning to breathe again, to
fall into the power of the blaspheming pagans.
13:12 When they had all, as
one man, obeyed his instructions and had made their petitions to the merciful
Lord, weeping, fasting and prostrating themselves for three days continuously,
Judas spoke words of encouragement and told them to keep close to him.
13:13 After separate
consultation with the elders he resolved not to wait for the king's army to
invade Judaea and take possession of the city, but to march out and bring the
whole matter to a decision with the help of God.
13:14 Leaving the outcome to
the creator of the world, and exhorting his soldiers to fight bravely to the
death for the laws, the Temple, the city, their country and their way of life,
he halted his army near Modem.
13:15 Leaving his men with is
the watchword 'Victory from God', he made a night attack on the king's pavilion
with a picked band of the bravest young men. Inside the camp he destroyed about
two thousand, and his men cut down the largest of the elephants with its driver;
13:16 in the end they filled
the whole camp with terror and confusion before withdrawing in triumph.
13:17 Dawn was just breaking
as this was brought to an end, through the protection of the Lord watching over
Judas.
Antiochus in treaty
with the Jews
13:18 The king, having had a
taste of Jewish daring, now tried to attack their is positions strategically.
13:19 He advanced on Bethzur,
a strong fortress of the Jews, but was repulsed, and so checked and
worsted.
13:20 Judas sent in to the
garrison what they needed,
13:21 but Rhodocus, of the
Jewish army, supplied the enemy with secret information; the man was
identified, arrested, and dealt with.
13:22 For the second time the
king parleyed with the garrison of Bethzur; he offered and accepted pledges of
amity, retired, then attacked Judas and his men, but came off worst.
13:23 He was then told that
Philip, left in charge of affairs at Antioch, had made a desperate move. He was
stunned by this, opened negotiations with the Jews, capitulated, and swore to
abide by all reasonable conditions. He reached an agreement, offered sacrifice,
honoured the Temple, and made generous gifts to the Holy Place.
13:24 He received Maccabaeus
kindly, then left Hegemonides behind as military commissioner from Ptolemais to
the territory of the Gerrenians,
13:25 and went to Ptolemais.
The inhabitants of the place disapproved of the treaty; they voiced their
resentment and wanted to annul its articles.
13:26 Lysias mounted the
rostrum and made a persuasive defence of the articles which convinced and
calmed them, and so won their good will. He then withdrew to Antioch. So much
for the episode of the king's offensive and retreat.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 14
VII. THE CONFLICT
WITH NICANOR, GENERAL OF DEMETRIUS I.
THE DAY OF NICANOR
Alcimus the high
priest intervenes
14:1 Three years after this,
Judas and his men learned that Demetrius son of Seleucus had landed at the port
of Tripolis with a strong army and a fleet,
14:2 and that he had occupied the
country and had killed Antiochus and his tutor Lysias.
14:3 A certain Alcimus, a
former high priest, had wilfully incurred defilement at the time of the
insurrection; realising that whichever way he turned there was no security for
him, nor any further access to the holy altar,
14:4 he went to King Demetrius
in about the year one hundred and fifty-one and presented him with a golden
crown and a palm, together with the traditional olive branches from the Temple;
there, for that day, he let the matter rest.
14:5 Presently he found an
opportunity that suited his perverse purpose. When Demetrius called him into
his council and questioned him about the dispositions and intentions of the
Jews, he replied,
14:6 'Those Jews called
Hasidaeans, who are led by Judas Maccabaeus, are warmongers and rebels who are
preventing the kingdom from finding stability.
14:7 That is why, after being
deprived of my hereditary dignity, I mean the high-priesthood, I have come here
now,
14:8 first, out of genuine
concern for the king's interests, and secondly, out of a regard for our own
fellow citizens, because the irresponsible behaviour of those I have mentioned
has brought great degradation on our entire race.
14:9 When your majesty has
taken note of all these points, may it please you to make provision for the
welfare of our country and our oppressed nation, as befits the gracious
benevolence you extend to all;
14:10 for as long as Judas
remains alive the state will never enjoy peace.'
14:11 When Alcimus had
finished this speech, the rest of the Friends of the King, who hated Judas,
seized the occasion to arouse Demetrius' anger against him.
14:12 He at once selected
Nicanor, who had been commander of the elephants, promoted him military
commissioner for Judaea and despatched him
14:13 with instructions to
dispose of Judas, disperse his followers and install Alcimus as high priest of
the greatest of temples.
14:14 The pagans in Judaea,
who had fled before Judas, flocked to join Nicanor, thinking that the
misfortunes and troubles of the Jews would be to their own advantage.
Nicanor comes to
terms with Judas
14:15 When the Jews heard that
Nicanor was coming and that the pagans were about to attack, they sprinkled
dust over themselves and made supplication to him who had established his
people for ever and had never failed to support his own heritage by his direct
intervention.
14:16 On their leader's orders
they at once left the place where they were and came upon the enemy at the
village of Dessau[*a].
14:17 Simon, brother of Judas,
had engaged Nicanor, but because of the unexpected arrival of his adversaries
had suffered a slight check.
14:18 However, Nicanor had
heard how brave Judas and his men were and how resolutely they always fought
for their country, and he did not dare allow bloodshed to decide the issue.
14:19 And so he sent
Posidonius, Theodotus and Mattathias to offer the Jews pledges of friendship
and to accept theirs.
14:20 After careful
consideration of his terms, the leader communicated them to his troops, and
since they were all clearly of one mind they agreed to the treaty.
14:21 A day was fixed on which
the respective leaders were to meet privately on neutral ground: a litter came
out from either side and seats were set up.
14:22 Judas had posted armed
men on the alert in advantageous positions in case of a sudden treacherous move
by the enemy. The leaders held their conference and reached agreement.
14:23 Nicanor took up
residence in Jerusalem and did nothing out of place there; he even sent away
the crowds that had flocked to join him.
14:24 He kept Judas constantly
with him, becoming deeply attached to him
14:25 and he encouraged him to
marry and have children. Judas married, settled down and led a normal life.
Alcimus renews
hostilities, and Nicanor threatens the Temple
14:26 When Alcimus saw how
friendly the two men had become, he went to Demetrius with a copy of the treaty
they had signed and told him that Nicanor was holding ideas against the interests
of the state, and was planning that Judas, an enemy of the realm, should fill
the next vacancy among the Friends of the King.
14:27 The king flew into a
rage; roused by the calumnies of this arch-villain, he wrote to Nicanor,
telling him of his strong displeasure at the treaty and ordering him to send
Maccabaeus to Antioch in chains immediately.
14:28 When the letter reached
Nicanor he was very much upset, for it went against the grain with him to break
his agreement with a man who had done nothing wrong.
14:29 However, there was no
question of opposing the king, so he waited for an opportunity to carry out the
order by a stratagem.
14:30 Maccabaeus began to
notice that Nicanor was treating him more sharply and that his manner of
speaking to him was more abrupt than it had been, and he concluded that such
severity could have no very good motive. He therefore collected a considerable
number of his followers and withdrew from Nicanor.
14:31 The latter, realising
that the man had well and truly outmanoeuvred him, went to the great and holy
Temple at a time when the priests were offering the customary sacrifices, and
ordered them to surrender Judas.
14:32 When they protested on
oath that they did not know where the wanted man could be,
14:33 he stretched out his
right hand towards the Temple and swore this oath, 'If you do not hand Judas
over to me as prisoner, I will raze this sanctuary of God to the ground, I will
demolish the altar, and on this very spot I will erect a splendid temple to
Dionysus'.
14:34 With these words he left
them. The priests stretched out their hands to heaven, calling on him who has
at all times done battle for our nation; this was their prayer:
14:35 'O Lord, you who stand
in need of nothing at all, it has pleased you that there should be in our midst
a Temple for your dwelling place.
14:36 Now therefore, holy Lord
of all holiness, preserve for ever from all profanation this house, so newly
purified.'
The death of Razis
14:37 Now, a certain Razis,
one of the elders of Jerusalem, was denounced to Nicanor. He was a man who
loved his countrymen and stood high in their esteem, and he was known as the
father of the Jews because of his kindness.
14:38 In the earlier days of
the insurrection he had been convicted of Judaism, and he had risked both body
and life for Judaism with the utmost zeal.
14:39 By way of demonstrating
the enmity he had for the Jews, Nicanor sent over five hundred soldiers to
arrest him,
14:40 reckoning that if he
eliminated this man he would be dealing them a severe blow.
14:41 When the troops were on
the point of capturing the tower and were forcing the courtyard gate and
calling for fire to set the doors alight, Razis, finding himself completely
surrounded, fell on his own sword,
14:42 nobly resolving to die
rather than fall into the clutches of these villains and suffer outrages
unworthy of his noble birth.
14:43 But in the heat of
conflict he missed his thrust, and while the troops swarmed in through the
doorways, he ran up with alacrity on to the wall and bravely threw himself down
among the troops.
14:44 But as they instantly
drew back some distance, he fell into the middle of the empty space.
14:45 Still breathing, and
blazing with anger, he struggled to his feet, blood spurting in all directions,
and despite his terrible wounds ran right through the crowd; then, taking his
stand on a steep rock,
14:46 although he had now lost
every drop of blood, he tore out his entrails and taking them in both hands
flung them among the troops, calling on the Master of his life and spirit to
give them back to him one day. Such was the manner of his passing.
JB 2 MACCABEES
Chapter 15
Nicanor's
blasphemies
15:1 Nicanor heard that Judas
and his men were in the neighbourhood of Samaria, so he decided to attack
them, at no risk to himself, on the day of rest.
15:2 Those Jews who had been
compelled to follow him said, 'You must not massacre them in such a savage,
barbarous way, but give its proper honour to the day on which the All-seeing
has conferred a special holiness'.
15:3 At this the triple-dyed
scoundrel asked if there was in heaven a sovereign who had ordered the keeping
of the sabbath day.
15:4 When they answered, 'It
is the living Lord himself, the heavenly sovereign, who has ordered the
observance of the seventh day',
15:5 he retorted, 'And it is I
myself as sovereign on earth who order you to take up arms and carry through
this business of the king'. For all that, he never managed to carry through his
savage plan.
Judas harangues his
men. His dream
15:6 While Nicanor, in his
unlimited boastfulness and pride, was planning to erect a public trophy with
the spoils taken from Judas and his men,
15:7 Maccabaeus remained firm
in his confident conviction that the Lord would stand by him.
15:8 He urged his men not to
be dismayed by the attacks of the pagans but, keeping in mind the help that had
come to them from heaven in the past, to be confident that this time also
victory would be theirs with the help of the Almighty.
15:9 He put fresh heart into
them, citing the Law and the Prophets, and by stirring up memories of the
battles they had already won he filled them with new enthusiasm.
15:10 Having thoroughly roused
their courage, he ended his speech by detailing the treachery of the heathen
and their violation of their oaths.
15:11 Having armed each one of
them not so much with the safety given by shield and lance as with that
confidence that springs from noble language, he encouraged them all by
describing to them a convincing dream-a vision, as it were.
15:12 What he had seen was
this: Onias, the former high priest, that paragon of men, modest of bearing and
gentle of manners, suitably eloquent and trained from boyhood in the practice
of every virtue - Onias was stretching out his hands and praying for the whole
nation of the Jews.
15:13 Next there appeared a
man equally remarkable for his great age and dignity and invested with a
marvellous and impressive air of majesty.
15:14 Onias began to speak:
'This is a man' he said 'who loves his brothers and prays much for the people
and the Holy City-Jeremiah, the prophet of God'.
15:15 Jeremiah then stretched
out his right hand and presented Judas with a golden sword, saying as he gave
it,
15:16 'Take this holy sword as
a gift from God; with it you shall strike down enemies'.
The disposition of
the combatants
15:17 Encouraged by the noble
words of Judas, which had the power to inspire valour and give the young the
spirit of grown men, they decided not to pitch camp but to make a spirited
attack and settle the matter fighting hand to hand with all their courage,
since the city, their holy religion and the Temple were in danger.
15:18 Their concern for their
wives and children, their brothers and relatives, had shrunk to minute
importance; their chief and greatest fear was for the consecrated Temple.
15:19 Those left behind in the
city felt a similar anxiety, alarmed as they were about the forthcoming
encounter in the open country.
15:20 Everyone now awaited the
coming issue. The enemy had already concentrated their forces and stood
formed up in order of battle, with the elephants drawn up in a strategic
position and the cavalry disposed on the wings.
15:21 Maccabaeus took note of
these masses confronting him, the glittering array of armour and the fierce
aspect of the elephants; then, raising his hands to heaven, he called on the
Lord who works miracles, in the knowledge that it is not by force of arms, but
as he sees fit to decide, that victory is granted by him to such as deserve it.
15:22 His prayer was worded
thus: 'You, Master, sent your angel in the days of Hezekiah king of Judaea, and
destroyed no less than one hundred and eighty-five thousand of Sennacherib's
army;
15:23 now once again,
Sovereign of heaven, send a good angel before us to spread terror and dismay.
15:24 May these men be struck
down by the might of your arm, since they have come with blasphemy on their
lips to attack your holy people.' With this, he brought his prayer to an end.
The defeat and
death of Nicanor
15:25 Nicanor and his men
advanced to the sound of trumpets and war songs,
15:26 but the men of Judas
closed with the enemy uttering invocations and prayers.
15:27 Fighting with their
hands and praying to God in their hearts, they cut down at least thirty-five
thousand men and were greatly cheered by this divine manifestation.
15:28 When the engagement was
ended and they were withdrawing in triumph they recognised Nicanor, lying dead
in full armour.
15:29 With shouting and
confusion all around, they blessed the sovereign Master in the language of
their ancestors.
15:30 The man who had devoted
himself entirely, body and soul, to the service of his countrymen, and had
always preserved the love he had felt even in youth for those of his own race,
gave orders for Nicanor's head to be cut off, together with his arm and
shoulder, and taken to Jerusalem.
15:31 When he arrived there
himself, he called together his countrymen and the priests; then standing in
front of the altar he sent for the people from the Citadel.
15:32 He showed them the head
of the infamous Nicanor, and the hand which the blasphemer had stretched out so
insolently against the holy house of the Almighty.
15:33 Then, cutting out the
tongue of the godless Nicanor, he gave orders for it to be fed piecemeal to the
birds, and for the reward of his folly to be hung up in sight of the Temple.
15:34 At this everyone sent
blessings heavenward to the glorious Lord, saying, 'Blessings on him who has
preserved his own dwelling from pollution!'
15:35 He hung Nicanor's head
from the Citadel[*a], a clear and evident sign to all of the help of the Lord.
15:36 They all passed a decree
by unanimous vote never to let that day go by unobserved, but to celebrate the
thirteenth day of the twelfth month, called Adar in Aramaic, the eve of the day
of Mordecai[*b].
Compiler's epilogue
15:37 So ends the episode of
Nicanor, and as, since then, the city has remained in the possession of the
Hebrews, I shall bring my own work to an end here too. If it is well composed
and to the point, that is just what I wanted.
15:38 If it is trashy and
mediocre, that is all I could manage.
15:39 Just as it is injurious
to drink wine by itself, or again water, whereas wine mixed with water is pleasant
and produces a delightful sense of well-being, so skill in presenting the
incidents is what delights the understanding of those who read the story. On
that note I will close.
END OF JB 2
MACCABEES [15 Chapters].