First and second Maccabees are contained in a group of books called Apocrypha (hidden or secret), which were once in the canonical Bible between the old and new testaments. This book details the history of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire as well as the founding and earliest history of the independent Hasmonean kingdom. It describes the promulgation of decrees forbidding traditional Jewish practices by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the formation of a rebellion against him by Mattathias of the Hasmonean family and his five sons. Mattathias’s son Judas Maccabeus takes over the revolt and the rebels as a group are called the Maccabees. The time period described is from around 170 BC to 134 BC.

The First Book of Maccabees

Chapter 1

1 Mac 1:1 “It came to pass after Alexander of Macedon, the son of Philip, who came from the land of Chittim, had utterly defeated Darius, the king of the Medes and Persians, that he reigned in his stead, as he had before reigned over Greece.”
1 Mac 1:2 “And he waged many wars and captured fortresses and slaughtered the kings of the earth;”
1 Mac 1:3 “And he made his way to the ends of the earth and despoiled a multitude of nations. The whole earth was silent before him, and he became exalted, and his heart was uplifted.”
1 Mac 1:4 “He mustered a very mighty army and ruled over the lands and rulers of the heathen, and they paid him tribute.”
1 Mac 1:5 “Afterward he fell sick, and knew that he was going to die.”
1 Mac 1:6: “So he called in his distinguished servants who had been brought up with him, and divided his kingdom among them while he was still alive.”
1 Mac 1:7 “Alexander had reigned twelve years when he died.”
1 Mac 1:8 “His servants succeeded him, each in his own domain.”
1 Mac 1:9 “After his death they all put on crowns, as did their sons after them, for many years, and they did much evil on the earth.”
1 Mac 1:10 “There sprang from them a sinful shoot named Antiochus Epiphanes, the son of King Antiochus; he had been a hostage in Rome and he became king in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the Greek kingdom.”
1 Mac 1:11 “In those days there arose out of Israel lawless men who persuaded many, saying, “Let us go and make a treaty with the heathen around us, for ever since the time we became separated from them, many misfortunes have overtaken us.”
1 Mac 1:12 “The plan seemed good in their eyes,”
1 Mac 1:13 “And some of the people went eagerly to the king, and he authorized them to introduce the practices of the heathen.”
1 Mac 1:14 “And they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, in the heathen fashion,
1 Mac 1:15 “And submitted to uncircumcision, and disowned the holy agreement; they allied themselves with the heathen and became the slaves of wrongdoing.”
1 Mac 1:16 “When his rule appeared to Antiochus to be established, he conceived the idea of becoming king of the land of Egypt, so that he might reign over the two kingdoms.”
1 Mac 1:17 “So he entered Egypt with a strong force, with chariots and elephants and cavalry and a great fleet.”
1 Mac 1:18 “And he made war on Ptolemy, king of Egypt, and Ptolemy turned and fled before him, and many fell wounded.”
1 Mac 1:19 “And they captured the walled cities in the land of Egypt, and he plundered the land of Egypt.”
1 Mac 1:20 “After subduing Egypt, in the one hundred and forty-third year, Antiochus turned back and came up against Israel and entered Jerusalem with a strong force.”
1 Mac 1:21 “And in his arrogance he went into the sanctuary and took the gold altar and the lampstand for the light, and all its furniture.”
1 Mac 1:22 “And the table for the Presentation Bread and the cups and the bowls and the gold censers and the curtain and the crowns and the gold ornamentation on the front of the temple, for he stripped it all off.”
1 Mac 1:23 “And he took the silver and the gold, and the choice dishes, and he took the secret treasures, which he found;”
1 Mac 1:24 “He took them all and went back to his own country. He massacred people and spoke with great arrogance.”
1 Mac 1:25 “And there was great mourning everywhere throughout Israel.”
1 Mac 1:26 “Rulers and elders groaned, girls and young men fainted away, and the beauty of the women was altered.”
1 Mac 1:27 “Every bridegroom began to lament, and she that sat in the bridal chamber grieved.”
1 Mac 1:28 “The very earth was shaken over its inhabitants, and the whole household of Jacob was covered with shame.”
1 Mac 1:29 “After two years the king sent an officer to collect tribute, to the towns of Judah, and he entered Jerusalem with a strong force.
1 Mac 1:30 “And he spoke to them craftily in peaceful terms, and they trusted him. Then he suddenly fell upon the city and struck it a great blow and destroyed many of the people in Israel.”
1 Mac 1:31 “He plundered the city, and burned it down, and tore down the houses in it and the walls around it.”
1 Mac 1:32 “And they took the women and children captive and possessed themselves of the cattle.”
1 Mac 1:33 “Then they fortified the City of David with a great, strong wall, with strong towers, and it became their citadel.”
1 Mac 1:34 “And they put sinful heathen there, who did not obey the law, and they entrenched themselves there.”
1 Mac 1:35 “And they stored up weapons and provisions, and they collected the spoils of Jerusalem and laid them up there, and they became a great threat,”
1 Mac 1:36 “And it proved a place of ambush against the sanctuary and a wicked adversary to Israel constantly.”
1 Mac 1:37 “And they shed innocent blood all around the sanctuary, And polluted the sanctuary itself.”
1 Mac 1:38 “The inhabitants of Jerusalem fled away because of them, And she became a place where strangers lived, And she became strange to her own offspring, And her children forsook her.”
1 Mac 1:39 “Her sanctuary became desolate like a wilderness, her feasts were turned into grief, her sabbaths became a reproach, And her honor became contempt.”
1 Mac 1:40 “Her dishonor was as great as her glory had been, And her exaltation was turned into grief.”
1 Mac 1:41 “Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that they should all become one people,”
1 Mac 1:42 “And everyone should give up his particular practices. And all the heathen assented to the command of the king.”
1 Mac 1:43 “And many from Israel agreed to his kind of worship and offered sacrifice to idols and broke the sabbath.
1 Mac 1:44 “And the king sent word by messengers to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah to follow practices foreign to the country;”
1 Mac 1:45 “And put a stop to whole burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings at the sanctuary, and to break the sabbaths and profane the feasts;”
1 Mac 1:46 “And pollute sanctuary and sanctified;”
1 Mac 1:47 “To build altars and sacred precincts and idol temples and sacrifice hogs and unclean cattle;”
1 Mac 1:48 “And to leave their sons uncircumcised and defile themselves with every unclean and profane practice,”
1 Mac 1:49 “So that they might forget the Law and change all their religious ordinances;”
1 Mac 1:50 “And anyone who did not obey the command of the so king should die.”
1 Mac 1:51 “He wrote to his whole kingdom, to this effect, and he appointed inspectors over all the people, and he ordered the towns of Judah every one of them to offer sacrifice.”
1 Mac 1:52 “And many of the people and everyone who was ready to forsake the Law joined with them and they did wrong in the land,”
1 Mac 1:53 “And forced Israel to hide in every hidingplace they had.”
1 Mac 1:54 “On the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifth year, he erected a dreadful desecration upon the altar, and in the towns of Judah round about they built altars,”
1 Mac 1:55 “And at the doors of their houses and in the squares they burned incense,”
1 Mac 1:56 “And wherever they found the book of the Law, they tore them up and burned them,”
1 Mac 1:57 “And if anyone was found to possess a book of the agreement or respected the Law, the king’s decree condemned him to death.”
1 Mac 1:58 “The Israelites who appeared from month to month in the towns they treated with force.”
1 Mac 1:59 “On the twenty-fifth of the month they offered sacrifice upon the altar which was set up on the altar of burnt offering.”
1 Mac 1:60 “The women who had circumcised their children they put to death under the decree,”
1 Mac 1:61 “Hanging the babies around their necks, and destroying their families and the men who had circumcised them.”
1 Mac 1:62 “Yet many in Israel stood firm and resolved in their hearts not to eat what was unclean;”
1 Mac 1:63 “They preferred death to being polluted with food or profaning the sacred agreement, and so they died.”
1 Mac 1:64 “And Israel suffered intensely.”

Chapter 2

1 Mac 2:1 “In those days Mattathias, the son of John, the son of Simeon, a priest of the descendants of Joarib, removed from Jerusalem, and settled in Modin.”
1 Mac 2:2 “He had five sons, John, surnamed Gaddi,”
1 Mac 2:3 “Simon, called Thassi,”
1 Mac 2:4 “Judas, called Maccabeus,
1 Mac 2:5 “Eleazar, called Avaran, and Jonathan, called Apphus.”
1 Mac 2:6 “He saw the impious things that were going on in Judah and Jerusalem,”
1 Mac 2:7 “And he said, “Alas! Why was I born to witness the ruin of my people and the ruin of the holy city, and to sit by while it is being given up to its enemies, and the sanctuary to aliens?”
1 Mac 2:8 “Her temple has come to be like a man disgraced,”
1 Mac 2:9 “Her glorious furniture has been captured and carried off, Her infant children have been killed in her streets, Her young men with the enemy’s sword.”
1 Mac 2:10 “What nation has not appropriated, What kingdom has not seized, her spoils?”
1 Mac 2:11 “Her adornment has all been taken away. Instead of a free woman, she has become a slave.”
1 Mac 2:12 “Behold, our sanctuary and our beauty And our glory have been laid waste, And the heathen have profaned them!”
1 Mac 2:13 “Why should we live any longer?”
1 Mac 2:14 “And Mattathias and his sons tore open their clothes and put on sackcloth and grieved bitterly.”
1 Mac 2:15 “Then the king’s officers who were forcing the people to give up their religion, came to the town of Modin, to make them offer sacrifice.”
1 Mac 2:16 “And many Israelites went to them, and Mattathias and his sons gathered together.
1 Mac 2:17 “Then the king’s messengers answered and said to Mattathias, “You are a leading man, great and distinguished in this town, surrounded with sons and brothers;”
1 Mac 2:18 “Now be the first to come forward and carry out the king’s command as all the heathen and the men of Judah and those who are left in Jerusalem have done, and you and your sons will be counted among the Friends of the king, and you and your sons will be distinguished with presents of silver and gold and many royal commissions.”
1 Mac 2:19 “Then Mattathias answered and said in a loud voice, “If all the heathen in the king’s dominions listen to him and forsake each of them the religion of his forefathers, and choose to follow his commands instead,”
1 Mac 2:20 “Yet I and my sons and my brothers will live in accordance with the agreement of our forefathers.”
1 Mac 2:21 “God forbid that we should abandon the Law and the ordinances.”
1 Mac 2:22 “We will not listen to the message of the king, or depart from our religion to the right hand or to the left.”
1 Mac 2:23 “As he ceased to utter these words, a Jew went up before the eyes of all of them to offer sacrifice as the king commanded, on the altar in Modin.”
1 Mac 2:24 “And Mattathias saw him and was filled with zeal, and his heart was stirred, and he was very properly roused to anger, and ran up and slaughtered him upon the altar.”
1 Mac 2:25 “At the same time he killed the king’s officer who was trying to compel them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar.”
1 Mac 2:26 “Thus he showed his zeal for the Law, just as Phineas did to Zimri, the son of Salom.”
1 Mac 2:27 “Then Mattathias cried out in a loud voice in the town and said, “Let everybody who is zealous for the Law and stands by the agreement come out after me.”
1 Mac 2:28 “And he and his sons fled to the mountains and left all they possessed in the town.”
1 Mac 2:29 “Then many seekers for uprightness and justice went down into the wilderness to settle,”
1 Mac 2:30 “With their sons and their wives and their cattle, because their hardships had become so severe.”
1 Mac 2:31 “And news reached the king’s agents and the forces that were in Jerusalem, in the City of David, that men who had disregarded the king’s order had gone down to the hidingplaces in the wilderness.”
1 Mac 2:32 “And they pursued them in force and overtook them, and pitched their camp against them and prepared to attack them on the sabbath day.”
1 Mac 2:33 “And they said to them, “Enough! Come out and do as the king commands, and you will live.”
1 Mac 2:34 “And they said, “We will not come out nor do as the king commands, and break the sabbath.”
1 Mac 2:35 “Then they hastened to attack them.”
1 Mac 2:36 “And they made no response to them; they did not throw a stone at them nor block up their hidingplaces,”
1 Mac 2:37 “For they said, “Let us all die guiltless. We call heaven and earth to witness that you destroy us unlawfully.”
1 Mac 2:38 “So they attacked them on the sabbath, and they died, with their wives and their children and their cattle, to the number of a thousand people.”
1 Mac 2:39 “And Mattathias and his friends learned of it, and they grieved bitterly over them.”
1 Mac 2:40 “And one said to another, “If we all do as our brothers have done, and refuse to fight against the heathen for our lives and what we believe is right, they will very soon destroy us from the face of the earth.”
1 Mac 2:41 “On that day they reached this decision: “If anyone attacks us on the sabbath day, let us fight against him and not all die, as our brothers died in the hidingplaces.”
1 Mac 2:42 “Then they were joined by a company of Hasideans, warlike Israelites, every one a volunteer for the Law.”
1 Mac 2:43 “And all who had fled to escape harsh treatment joined them and reinforced them.”
1 Mac 2:44 “And they mustered a force and struck down sinners in their anger, and in their wrath those who disobeyed the Law, and the rest fled to the heathen to save themselves.”
1 Mac 2:45 “And Mattathias and his friends went about and tore down the altars,”
1 Mac 2:46 “And forcibly circumcised all the uncircumcised children that they found within the limits of Israel.”
1 Mac 2:47 “And they drove the arrogant before them, and the work prospered in their hands.”
1 Mac 2:48 “So they rescued the Law from the hands of the heathen and their kings, and would not let the sinner triumph.”
1 Mac 2:49 “When the time drew near for Mattathias to die, he said to his sons, “Arrogance and reproach have now grown strong; it is a time of disaster and hot anger.”
1 Mac 2:50 “Now, my children, you must so be zealous for the Law, and give your lives for the agreement of our forefathers.”
1 Mac 2:51 “Remember the deeds of our forefathers which they did in their generations, and you will win great glory and everlasting renown.”
1 Mac 2:52 “Was not Abraham found faithful when he was tried, and it was credited to him as uprightness?”
1 Mac 2:53 “Joseph in his time of distress observed the commandment and became master of Egypt.”
1 Mac 2:54 “Phineas our forefather for his intense zeal obtained the promise of an everlasting priesthood.”
1 Mac 2:55 “Joshua for carrying out his orders became a judge in Israel.”
1 Mac 2:56 “Caleb for bearing witness before the congregation obtained an inheritance in the land.”
1 Mac 2:57 “David for being merciful inherited a royal throne forever.”
1 Mac 2:58 “Elijah for his intense zeal for the Law was caught up into heaven.”
1 Mac 2:59 “Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael had faith in God and were saved from the fire.”
1 Mac 2:60 “Daniel for his innocence was delivered from the mouths of the lions.”
1 Mac 2:61 “Observe this from generation to generation, that none who hope in him will fail in strength.”
1 Mac 2:62 “Do not be afraid of the words of a sinful man, for his glory will turn to dung and worms.”
1 Mac 2:63 “Today he will be exalted, and tomorrow he will be nowhere to be found, for he has returned to dust, and what he plotted will perish.”
1 Mac 2:64 “My children, be manful and strong for the Law, for by it you will obtain glory.”
1 Mac 2:65 “Now here is Simon your brother; I know that he is a man of discretion. You must always listen to him; he will be a father to you.”
1 Mac 2:66 “And Judas Maccabeus has been warlike from his youth; he will be your captain and conduct the people’s warfare.”
1 Mac 2:67 “And you must gather about you all who observe the Law, and avenge the wrongs of your people.”
1 Mac 2:68 “Pay back the heathen for what they have done, and give heed to what the Law commands.”
1 Mac 2:69 “Then he blessed them and was gathered to his forefathers.”
1 Mac 2:70 “He died in the one hundred and forty-sixth year and was buried in the tombs of his forefathers in Modin, and all Israel made loud lamentation for him.”

Chapter 3

1 Mac 3:1 “Then his son Judas, who was called Maccabeus, arose in his stead,
1 Mac 3:2 “And all his brothers and all who had stood by his father helped him, and with gladness carried on Israel’s war.”
1 Mac 3:3 “And he increased the glory of his people, and put on a breastplate like a giant, and he belted on his weapons and organized campaigns, protecting his camp with the sword.”
1 Mac 3:4 “He was like a lion in his actions, and like a cub roaring for its prey.”
1 Mac 3:5 “He pursued and hunted out those who disobeyed the Law, and those who harassed his people he consumed.”
1 Mac 3:6 “Those who disobeyed the Law were convulsed with fear of him and all who broke the Law were dismayed and deliverance was accomplished by his hand.”
1 Mac 3:7 “He angered many kings and gladdened Jacob by his deeds, and his memory will be blessed forever.”
1 Mac 3:8 “He went among the towns of Judah and destroyed the ungodly and cast them out of her, and averted wrath from Israel.
1 Mac 3:9 “He was renowned to the ends of the earth, and rallied those who were perishing.”
1 Mac 3:10 “Then Apollonius gathered the heathen together, with a large force from Samaria, to make war on Israel.”
1 Mac 3:11 “And Judas learned of it and went out to meet him and he struck him down and killed him. And many fell wounded, and the rest made their escape.”
1 Mac 3:12 “And they took their spoils, and Judas took the sword of Apollonius and fought with it all his life.”
1 Mac 3:13 “Then Seron, the commander of the Syrian army, heard that Judas had gathered a following and a company of the faithful about him, and of men used to going out to war.”
1 Mac 3:14 “And he said, “I will make myself a reputation and gain distinction in the kingdom, and I will make war on Judas and those who are with him, who set the king’s command at naught.”
1 Mac 3:15 “And with him there went up again a strong body of ungodly men, to help him to take vengeance on the Israelites.”
1 Mac 3:16 “And he approached the pass of Bethhoron. And Judas went out with very few men to meet him.”
1 Mac 3:17 “But when they saw the army coming to meet them, they said to Judas, “How can we, few as we are, fight with such a strong host? Besides we are faint, for we have had nothing to eat today.”
1 Mac 3:18 “And Judas said, “It is easy for many to be inclosed in the hands of a few, and there is no difference in the sight of heaven between saving through many or through few,”
1 Mac 3:19 “For victory in war does not depend upon the size of the force, but strength comes from heaven.”
1 Mac 3:20 “They come against us full of violence and lawlessness, to destroy us and our wives and our children, and to plunder us,”
1 Mac 3:21 “But we are fighting for our lives and our laws.”
1 Mac 3:22 “He himself will crush them before us, and you must not be afraid of them.”
1 Mac 3:23 “When he ceased to speak, he fell suddenly upon them, and Seron and his army were crushed before him,
1 Mac 3:24 “And they pursued him from the pass of Bethhoron to the plain, and eight hundred of them fell, and the rest made their escape into the country of the Philistines.”
1 Mac 3:25 “So the fear of Judas and his brothers and the dread of them began to fall upon the heathen around them,”
1 Mac 3:26 “And his fame reached even the king, and the heathen talked of the tactics of Judas.”
1 Mac 3:27 “When King Antiochus heard these reports, he was very angry, and he sent and gathered all the forces of his kingdom, a very strong army.”
1 Mac 3:28 “And he opened his treasury and gave his forces a year’s pay, and ordered them to be in readiness for any need that might arise.”
1 Mac 3:29 “And he saw that the money in his treasuries was exhausted, and the tribute of the country was small because of the division and distress that he had brought upon the land in doing away with the laws which had been in effect from the earliest times,”
1 Mac 3:30 “And he feared that he would not have enough, as he formerly had, for his expenses and for the presents which he had been used to give before with a lavish hand, beyond the kings that went before him.”
1 Mac 3:31 “So he was very much perplexed and resolved to go to Persia and get the tribute of those countries and raise a large sum of money.”
1 Mac 3:32 “And he left Lysias, a man of distinction, of the royal blood, to have charge of the king’s affairs from the river Euphrates to the borders of Egypt,”
1 Mac 3:33 “And to take care of Antiochus his son until his return.”
1 Mac 3:34 “He turned over to him half his forces and his elephants and gave him orders about everything he wanted done, and about the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem,”
1 Mac 3:35 “Against whom he was to send a force to crush out and destroy the strength of Israel and what was left of Jerusalem, and to efface their memory from the place,”
1 Mac 3:36 “And settle aliens in all their borders, and distribute their land among them.”
1 Mac 3:37 “Then the king took the remaining half of his forces and set off from Antioch, his royal city, in the one hundred and forty seventh year and crossed the Euphrates River and went through the interior.”
1 Mac 3:38 “Then Lysias chose Ptolemy, son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor and Gorgias, warlike men among the Friends of the king,
1 Mac 3:39 “And he sent with them forty thousand men and seven thousand horse to go to the land of Judah and destroy it, as the king had commanded.”
1 Mac 3:40 “And he set off with all his force, and they came and encamped near Emmaus in the level country.”
1 Mac 3:41 “And the merchants of the country heard about them and they took a great quantity of silver and gold, and fetters, and came to the camp to get the Israelites for slaves. And they were joined by forces from Syria and the land of the Philistines.
1 Mac 3:42 “And Judas and his brothers saw that the situation was very grave and that the forces were encamped within their borders, and they knew what the king had said, when he ordered them to inflict utter destruction on the people,”
1 Mac 3:43 “And they said to one another, “Let us repair the destruction of our people, and let us fight for our people and for the sanctuary.”
1 Mac 3:44 “And the congregation gathered together to make ready for war and to pray and ask for mercy and compassion.”
1 Mac 3:45 “Jerusalem was uninhabited like a wilderness, There was not one of her children who came in or went out, The sanctuary was trodden down, The sons of aliens were in the citadel, it was a stopping place for heathen. Joy vanished from Jacob, And the flute and harp ceased to play.”
1 Mac 3:46 “Then they gathered together and went to Mizpeh, opposite Jerusalem, for Israel formerly had a praying-place in Mizpeh.”
1 Mac 3:47 “And they fasted that day and put on sackcloth, and sprinkled ashes upon their heads, and tore open their clothes.”
1 Mac 3:48 “And they unrolled the roll of the Law, such as the heathen used to hunt out and look through for pictures of their idols.”
1 Mac 3:49 “And they brought out the priestly garments and the firstfruits and the tithes and they gathered the Nazirites who had fulfilled their vows,”
1 Mac 3:50 “And they called aloud to heaven, “What are we to do to these men, and where can we take them,”
1 Mac 3:51 “When your sanctuary is trodden down and profaned, and your priests are grieved and humiliated?”
1 Mac 3:52 “Here the heathen are gathered together against us to destroy us; you know their designs against us.”
1 Mac 3:53 “How can we make a stand before them unless you help us?”
1 Mac 3:54 “And they sounded the trumpets and gave a great shout.”
1 Mac 3:55 “Then Judas appointed officers over the people, colonels and captains and lieutenants and sergeants.”
1 Mac 3:56 “And he ordered those who were building houses or planting vineyards or betrothed to women or were afraid, every one of them to return home, as the Law provided.”
1 Mac 3:57 “And the army moved and encamped to the south of Emmaus.”
1 Mac 3:58 “And Judas said, “Prepare yourselves and be brave men and be ready in the morning to fight these heathen who are gathered together against us, to destroy us and our sanctuary,”
1 Mac 3:59 “For it is better for us to die in battle than to witness the ruin of our nation and our sanctuary.”
1 Mac 3:60 “But he will do just as shall be the will of heaven.”

Chapter 4

1 Mac 4:1 “Then Gorgias took five thousand men and a thousand picked horse, and his army moved under cover of night;”
1 Mac 4:2 “So as to fall upon the camp of the Jews and attack them suddenly; and the men of the citadel were his guides.”
1 Mac 4:3 “And Judas heard of it and he and his gallant men moved to attack the king’s force in Emmaus,
1 Mac 4:4 “While the forces were still scattered from the camp.”
1 Mac 4:5 “And Gorgias came into the camp of Judas in the night, and found no one there, and he hunted for them in the mountains, for he said, “They are fleeing from us!”
1 Mac 4:6 “And at daybreak Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men, though they did not have such armor and swords as they wished.”
1 Mac 4:7 “And they saw the camp of the heathen strongly fortified, with horsemen patrolling it, and these, expert in war.”
1 Mac 4:8 “And Judas said to the men who were with him, “Do not be afraid of their numbers, and do not fear their charge.”
1 Mac 4:9 “Remember how our forefathers were saved at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with an armed force.”
1 Mac 4:10 “So now let us cry to heaven, if perhaps he will accept us and remember his agreement with our forefathers, and crush this camp before us today.”
1 Mac 4:11 “Then all the heathen will know that there is one who ransoms and preserves Israel.”
1 Mac 4:12 “Then the aliens lifted up their eyes and saw them coming against them,”
1 Mac 4:13 “And they came out of the camp to battle. And Judas’ men sounded the trumpets”
1 Mac 4:14 “And attacked, and the heathen broke and fled to the plain,”
1 Mac 4:15 “And all the hindmost fell by the sword. And they pursued them as far as Gazara and the plains of Idumea and Azotus and Jamnia, and there fell of them fully three thousand men.”
1 Mac 4:16 “And Judas and his force returned from the pursuit of them,”
1 Mac 4:17 “And he said to the people, “Do not set your hearts on plunder, for there is a battle before us,”
1 Mac 4:18 “For Gorgias and his army are near us, in the mountain. Now stand your ground against our enemies, and fight them, and afterward you can take their spoils boldly.”
1 Mac 4:19 “Before Judas had finished saying this, a detachment of them appeared reconnoitering from the mountain,”
1 Mac 4:20 “And they saw that they had been routed and that they were burning the camp, for the sight of the smoke showed them what had happened.”
1 Mac 4:21 “And when they perceived this, they were very much alarmed, and seeing Judas’ army in the plain ready to attack,”
1 Mac 4:22 “They all fled to the land of the Philistines.”
1 Mac 4:23 “And Judas turned back to plunder the camp, and they took a great deal of gold and silver, and sapphire and sea-purple stuffs, and great wealth.”
1 Mac 4:24 “And they returned singing and blessing heaven, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.”
1 Mac 4:25 “So Israel had a great deliverance that day.”
1 Mac 4:26 “Those of the aliens who escaped went and reported to Lysias all that had happened.”
1 Mac 4:27 “And when he heard it, he was dismayed and discouraged, because it was not at all what he wished that had happened to Israel, and it had not turned out as the king had ordered.”
1 Mac 4:28 “So in the following year he gathered together sixty thousand picked men, to conquer them.”
1 Mac 4:29 “And they came into Idumea and encamped at Bethsura, and Judas met them with ten thousand men.”
1 Mac 4:30 “And he saw that their camp was strong, and he prayed and said, “Blessed are you, Savior of Israel, who stopped the rush of the champion by the hand of your slave David, and delivered the camp of the Philistines into the hands of Jonathan, the son of Saul, and of his armor-bearer.
1 Mac 4:31 “In like manner shut up this camp in the hand of your people Israel, and let them be ashamed of their army and their horsemen.”
1 Mac 4:32 “Make them cowardly and melt the boldness of their strength, and let them tremble at their destruction.”
1 Mac 4:33 “Strike them down with the sword of those that love you, and let all who know your name praise you with hymns.”
1 Mac 4:34 “Then they joined battle, and there fell of the army of Lysias fully five thousand men; they fell right before them.”
1 Mac 4:35 “But when Lysias saw that his army had been routed, and that Judas had grown bold, and that they were ready either to live or to die nobly, he withdrew to Antioch and hired soldiers in the greatest numbers, to come again to Judea.
1 Mac 4:36 “And Judas and his brothers said, “Now that our enemies are crushed, let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it.”
1 Mac 4:37 “And the whole army gathered together, and they went up to Mount Zion.”
1 Mac 4:38 “And they found the sanctuary desolated and the altar polluted and the doors burned up, and weeds growing in the courts as they do in a wood or on some mountain, and the priests’ quarters torn down.”
1 Mac 4:39 “And they tore open their clothes and uttered great lamentation and covered themselves with ashes,”
1 Mac 4:40 “And fell on their faces on the ground, and sounded the ceremonial trumpets, and cried out to heaven.”
1 Mac 4:41 “Then Judas appointed men to fight the garrison in the citadel, until he should purify the sanctuary.”
1 Mac 4:42 “And he appointed priests that were without blemish and adherents of the Law,”
1 Mac 4:43 “And they purified the sanctuary and carried out the stones that had defiled it to an unclean place.”
1 Mac 4:44 “And they deliberated as to what they should do about the altar of burnt offering, which had been polluted.”
1 Mac 4:45 “And a good idea occurred to them – to take it down, so that it might never be thrown up to them that the heathen had polluted it; so they took down the altar, and deposited the stones in the temple mountain, in a suitable place, until a prophet should come and declare what should be done with them.”
1 Mac 4:46 “And they took whole stones, as the Law required, and built a new altar like the former one.”
1 Mac 4:47 “And they built the sanctuary and the interior of the temple and consecrated the courts.”
1 Mac 4:48 “And they made new holy dishes and they brought the lampstand and the altar of incense and the table into the temple.”
1 Mac 4:49 “And they burned incense on the altar, and lighted the lamps on the lampstand, and they lighted the temple.”
1 Mac 4:50 “And they put the loaves of bread on the table and hung up the curtains, and completed all the work they had undertaken.”
1 Mac 4:51 “And they arose early on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year,”
1 Mac 4:52 “And offered sacrifice according to the Law upon the new altar of burnt offering which they had made.”
1 Mac 4:53 “At the time and on the day the heathen had polluted it, it was rededicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals.”
1 Mac 4:54 “And all the people fell on their faces and blessed heaven which had prospered them.”
1 Mac 4:55 “And they celebrated the rededication of the altar for eight days and offered burnt offerings with joy, and offered a sacrifice of deliverance and praise.”
1 Mac 4:56 “And they decorated the front of the temple with gold crowns and small shields and rededicated the gates and the priests’ quarters, and fitted them with doors.”
1 Mac 4:57 “And there was very great joy among the people, and the reproach the heathen had cast upon them was wiped out.”
1 Mac 4:58 “And Judas and his brothers and all the congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication of the altar should be observed at their season, every year, for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth of the month of Chislev, with gladness and joy.”
1 Mac 4:59 “At that time they built high walls and strong towers around Mount Zion, so that the heathen might not come and tread them down as they had done before.”
1 Mac 4:60 “And he established a force there to hold it, and he fortified Bethsura to hold it, so that the people might have a stronghold facing Idumea.”

Chapter 5

1 Mac 5:1 “It happened when the heathen round about heard that the altar had been rebuilt and the sanctuary rededicated as before, that it made them very angry,
1 Mac 5:2 “And they resolved to destroy the descendants of Jacob that were among them, and they began to kill and ravage among the people.”
1 Mac 5:3 “And Judas fought against the sons of Esau in Idumea, and against Akrabattene, because they beset Israel, and he dealt them a severe blow and crushed them, and plundered them.”
1 Mac 5:4 “And he remembered the wickedness of the sons of Baean, who became a snare and stumbling block to the people, lying in wait for them upon the roads.”
1 Mac 5:5 “And he shut them up in their towers, and he encamped against them and utterly destroyed them, and burned her towers with fire, and all who were in them.”
1 Mac 5:6 “He passed on to the Ammonites, and there he found a strong arm, and a large body of people, with Timotheus in command of them.”
1 Mac 5:7 “And he fought many battles with them, and they were crushed before him, and he struck them down.”
1 Mac 5:8 “And he occupied Jazer and its villages, and returned to Judea.”
1 Mac 5:9 “Then the heathen in Gilead gathered together against Israel, to destroy those who were in their borders, and they fled to the stronghold of Dathema,”
1 Mac 5:10 “And sent a letter to Judas and his brothers, saying, “The heathen around us have gathered together against us to destroy us,”
1 Mac 5:11 “And they are preparing to come and seize this stronghold in which we have taken refuge, and Timotheus is the leader of their force.”
1 Mac 5:12 “So come and rescue us from his hand, for a great many of us have fallen,
1 Mac 5:13 “And all our brothers who were in the district of Tob have been put to death, and they have carried off their wives and children as captives, with their property, and they have destroyed a regiment of men there.”
1 Mac 5:14 “They were still reading the letter when other messengers arrived from Galilee, with their clothes torn open, with a report to the same effect,”
1 Mac 5:15 “Saying that people from Ptolemais and Tyre and Sidon, and all Galilee of the aliens had gathered against them, they said, “to destroy us.”
1 Mac 5:16 “When Judas and the people heard this message, a great meeting was held to decide what they should do for their brothers who were in such distress and were being attacked by them.”
1 Mac 5:17 “And Judas said to his brother Simon, “Choose men for yourself and go and save our brothers who are in Galilee, and I and my brother Jonathan will go into Gilead.”
1 Mac 5:18 “And he left Joseph, the son of Zechariah, and Azariah, a leader of the people, with the remainder of the force, in Judea, to guard it.”
1 Mac 5:19 “And he gave them their orders, saying, “Take command of these people, and do not join battle with the heathen until we return.”
1 Mac 5:20 “Simon was allotted three thousand men, to go into Galilee, and Judas eight thousand men, to go into Gilead.”
1 Mac 5:21 “And Simon went into Galilee, and engaged in many battles with the heathen, and the heathen were beaten before him,”
1 Mac 5:22 “And he pursued them to the very gate of Ptolemais. There fell of the heathen fully three thousand men, and he plundered them.”
1 Mac 5:23 “And he took with him those who were in Galilee and in Arbatta with their wives and children and all that they had, and brought them back to Judea with great rejoicing.”
1 Mac 5:24 “And Judas Maccabeus and his brother Jonathan crossed the Jordan, and marched three days’ journey into the wilderness.”
1 Mac 5:25 “And they encountered the Nabateans and met them peaceably, and told them all that had happened to their brothers in Gilead,”
1 Mac 5:26 “And that many of them were shut up in Bosorra and Bosor, in Alema, Chaspho, Maked, and Karnaim (all large, fortified towns).”
1 Mac 5:27 “And that they were shut up in the other towns of Gilead, and that they planned on the next day to attack the strongholds and take them, and destroy all these men in one day.”
1 Mac 5:28 “And Judas and his army turned suddenly by the wilderness road to Bosorra, and he took the town and killed every male in it with the sword, and he took all their spoils, and burned it with fire.
1 Mac 5:29 “And he left there by night, and they arrived at the stronghold.”
1 Mac 5:30 “And at daybreak they looked up, and there was a crowd of people without number, bringing ladders and engines to take the stronghold, and they were attacking them.”
1 Mac 5:31 “And Judas saw that the battle had begun, and the cry from the city went up to heaven, with trumpets and loud shouting,”
1 Mac 5:32 “And he said to the men of his force, “Fight for our brothers today!”
1 Mac 5:33 “And he went out after them in three companies, and they sounded the trumpets and cried aloud in prayer.”
1 Mac 5:34 “And the army of Timotheus saw that it was Maccabeus, and they fled before him, and he struck them a severe blow, and there fell of them that day fully eight thousand men.”
1 Mac 5:35 “Then he turned aside to Alema and fought against it and took it, and he killed every male in it, and plundered it and burned it with fire.”
1 Mac 5:36 “Then he moved on and seized Chaspho, Maked, and Bosor and the other towns of Gilead.”
1 Mac 5:37 “After that, Timotheus gathered another army, and he pitched his camp opposite Raphon, on the other side of the torrent.”
1 Mac 5:38 “And Judas sent men to reconnoiter the camp, and they reported to him, “All the heathen around us have gathered and joined him, an immensely great force,”
1 Mac 5:39 “And they have hired Arabs to help them, and they are encamped across the torrent, in readiness to attack you.” And Judas went to meet them.”
1 Mac 5:40 “Then Timotheus said to the officers of his army, when Judas and his army approached the stream, “If he crosses over to us first, we will not be able to stand against him, for he will easily defeat us.”
1 Mac 5:41 “But if he is afraid and pitches his camp on the other side of the river, we will cross over to him and defeat him.”
1 Mac 5:42 “When Judas came near the stream, he stationed the officers of the people by the stream, and gave them their orders, saying, “Do not permit anyone to encamp, but let them all advance to battle.”
1 Mac 5:43 “And he crossed over against them first, with all the people after him, and all the heathen were beaten before them, and they threw away their arms and fled to the temple enclosure of Karnaim.”
1 Mac 5:44 “Then they took the town, and burned the temple enclosure with all who were in it. So Karnaim was conquered, and they could not make a stand before Judas any longer.”
1 Mac 5:45 “And Judas gathered all the Israelites that were in Gilead, from the least to the greatest, with their wives and children and their belongings, a very great body of people, to go to the land of Judah.”
1 Mac 5:46 “And they reached Ephron; it was a large town, strongly fortified, on their way; they could not turn aside from it to the right or left, but had to go through the center of it.”
1 Mac 5:47 “And the people of the town shut them out and blocked up the gates with stones.”
1 Mac 5:48 “And Judas sent them a peaceful message, saying, “We are going through your country to reach our country, and no one will do you any harm, we will simply pass by on foot.” But they would not open to him.”
1 Mac 5:49 “Then Judas ordered proclamation to be made throughout the body that everyone should encamp where he was.”
1 Mac 5:50 “So the men of the army encamped, and he fought against the city all that day and all that night, and the town was delivered into his hands.”
1 Mac 5:51 “And he destroyed every male with the sword, and he destroyed it and plundered it, and he passed through the city over the slain.”
1 Mac 5:52 “And they crossed the Jordan to the great plain opposite Bethshean.”
1 Mac 5:53 “And Judas kept gathering up those who fell behind and encouraging the people, all the way until he reached the land of Judah.”
1 Mac 5:54 “And they went up to Mount Zion with gladness and joy, and offered whole burnt offerings because not one of them had fallen before they returned in peace.”
1 Mac 5:55 “In the days when Judas and Jonathan were in the land of Gilead and Simon his brother was in Galilee, opposite Ptolemais,”
1 Mac 5:56 “Joseph, the son of Zechariah, and Azariah, the leaders of the forces, heard of the warlike exploits they had performed,”
1 Mac 5:57 “And they said, “Let us also make a name for ourselves, and let us go and fight the heathen around us.”
1 Mac 5:58 “And he gave orders to the part of the army that was with them, and they marched to Jamnia.”
1 Mac 5:59 “And Gorgias came out of the town with his men to meet them in battle.”
1 Mac 5:60 “And Joseph and Azariah were routed, and they were pursued to the borders of Judea. And there fell that day of the people of Israel fully two thousand men.”
1 Mac 5:61 “And there was a great rout among the people, because they had not listened to Judas and his brothers, but thought they would perform some exploit.”
1 Mac 5:62 “They did not belong to the family of those who were permitted to save Israel with their hands.
1 Mac 5:63 This man Judas and his brothers were greatly renowned in all Israel and among all the heathen, wherever their name was heard of;
1 Mac 5:64 “And men gathered about them commending them.”
1 Mac 5:65 “And Judas and his brothers went forth and made war on the sons of Esau in the country to the south, and he struck down Hebron and its villages, and he tore down its fortifications and burned its towers around it.”
1 Mac 5:66 “And he set off to go to the land of the Philistines, and reached Mareshah.”
1 Mac 5:67 “Some priests fell in battle that day, when they went out to war without due consideration, because they wished to distinguish themselves.”
1 Mac 5:68 “And Judas turned aside to Azotus, to the land of the Philistines, and he tore down their altars and burned up the carved images of their gods and plundered the towns, and returned to the land of Judah.”

Chapter 6

1 Mac 6:1 “As King Antiochus was making his way through the interior, he heard that there was in Persia a town called Elymais, renowned for its wealth, its silver and gold.”
1 Mac 6:2 “The temple in it was very rich, and there were there gold shields and breastplates and arms left there by Alexander, the son of Philip, king of Macedon, who was the first to reign over the Greeks.”
1 Mac 6:3 “And he went and tried to take the town, and plunder it, but he could not do it, because his design became known to the men of the town,”
1 Mac 6:4 “And they opposed him in battle, and he fled and set out from there in great distress to return to Baby]on.”
1 Mac 6:5 “And someone came to him in Persia to bring him word that the forces that had marched into the land of Judah had been routed,”
1 Mac 6:6 “And that Lysias had gone at first with a strong force, and had been put to flight before them, and that they had grown strong by reason of the quantity of arms and spoils they had taken from the armies they had destroyed,”
1 Mac 6:7 “And that they had taken down the horror which he had built on the altar in Jerusalem, and had surrounded the sanctuary with high walls, as it had been before, and also his town of Bethsura.”
1 Mac 6:8 “And it happened when the king heard these accounts, that he was astounded and dreadfully shaken, and he took to his bed, and fell sick with grief, for matters had not gone as he intended.”
1 Mac 6:9 “He was sick for a long time, for his grief was intensified, and he concluded that he was going to die.”
1 Mac 6:10 “So he called in all his Friends and said to them, “Sleep departs from my eyes, and my heart fails with anxiety.
1 Mac 6:11 “I have said to myself, ‘What distress I have reached, and what a great flood I am now in.’ For I was gracious and beloved in my exercise of power.”
1 Mac 6:12 “But now I remember the wrongs which I did in Jerusalem, when I took away all the gold and silver dishes that were in it, and sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without any cause.”
1 Mac 6:13 “I know that it is because of this that these misfortunes have overtaken me. Here I am dying of grief in a strange land.”
1 Mac 6:14 “And he summoned Philip, one of his Friends, and put him in charge of his whole kingdom.”
1 Mac 6:15 “He gave him his diadem and his robe and his signet ring, so that he might educate his son Antiochus and bring him up to be king.”
1 Mac 6:16 “And King Antiochus died there in the one hundred and forty-ninth year.”
1 Mac 6:17 “And when Lysias learned that the king was dead, he set up Antiochus his son to reign, whom he had taken care of as a boy, and he named him Eupator.”
1 Mac 6:18 “The men in the citadel kept hemming Israel in about the sanctuary, harassing them continually and giving support to the heathen.”
1 Mac 6:19 “So Judas planned to destroy them, and he called all the people together to lay siege to them.”
1 Mac 6:20 “And they assembled and laid siege to it in the one hundred and fiftieth year, and he built siege towers and engines.”
1 Mac 6:21 “And some of them escaped from the blockade, and some ungodly Israelites joined them,”
1 Mac 6:22 “And they made their way to the king and said, “How long will you delay doing justice and avenging our brothers?”
1 Mac 6:23 “We agreed to serve your father and to conduct ourselves in accordance with his orders and to follow his commands.”
1 Mac 6:24 “On account of this the sons of our people have besieged it and become hostile to us. Such of us as they found, they put to death, and they have plundered our property.”
1 Mac 6:25 “They have stretched out their hands not only against us but against all the lands on their borders.
1 Mac 6:26 “Here today they have encamped against the citadel in Jerusalem to capture it, and they have fortified the sanctuary and Bethsura.”
1 Mac 6:27 “And unless you act against them quickly, they will do greater things than these, and you will not be able to check them.”
1 Mac 6:28 “When the king heard this, he was angry, and he gathered all his Friends, the officers of his army, and those in charge of the cavalry.”
1 Mac 6:29 “And mercenary forces came to him from other kingdoms and from the islands in the sea.”
1 Mac 6:30 “And his forces numbered a hundred thousand infantry and twenty thousand cavalry, and thirty-two elephants trained for war.”
1 Mac 6:31 “And they passed through Idumea and pitched their camp against Bethsura and fought against it for a long time, and built engines of war. And they sallied out and burned them down, and fought bravely.”
1 Mac 6:32 “Then Judas left the citadel and pitched his camp at Bethzechariah, opposite the king’s camp.
1 Mac 6:33 “And the king got up early in the morning and moved his army precipitately along the road to Beth-zechariah, and his forces armed themselves for battle, and sounded the trumpets.”
1 Mac 6:34 “And they showed the elephants the juice of grapes and mulberries to incite them to battle.”
1 Mac 6:35 “They distributed the animals among the phalanxes and stationed with each elephant a thousand men in chain armor with brass helmets on their heads, and five hundred picked horsemen were assigned to each animal.”
1 Mac 6:36 “These were posted in advance wherever the animal was to be, and wherever it went they accompanied it; they did not leave it.”
1 Mac 6:37 “There were wooden towers upon them, strong and covered over, on each animal, ingeniously fastened on, and on each one were four powerful men who fought on them, beside the Indian driver.”
1 Mac 6:38 “The rest of the cavalry he stationed on this side and on that, on the two wings of the army, threatening the enemy and again finding shelter among the phalanxes.
1 Mac 6:39 “And when the sun fell on the gold and brass shields, the mountains flashed back and shone like blazing torches.”
1 Mac 6:40 “One wing of the king’s army spread over the high mountains, while some were on low ground, but they advanced steadily, in good order.”
1 Mac 6:41 “And all who heard the noise of their multitude and of the marching of the multitude and the rattle of their arms trembled, for the army was very great and strong.”
1 Mac 6:42 “Then Judas and his army advanced to battle, and six hundred men from the king’s army fell.”
1 Mac 6:43 “And Eleazar Avaran saw that one of the animals was armed with royal armor, and stood higher than all the other animals, and he thought that the king was on it;”
1 Mac 6:44 “And he gave his life to save his people and win everlasting renown for himself.”
1 Mac 6:45 “For he ran boldly up to it in the midst of the phalanx slaying to right and left, and they opened before him on this side and on that,”
1 Mac 6:46 “And he slipped under the elephant and stabbed it underneath and killed it, and it fell to the earth upon him, and he died there.”
1 Mac 6:47 “And when they saw the strength of the kingdom and the impetuosity of its forces, they gave way before them.”
1 Mac 6:48 “But the men of the king’s army went up to Jerusalem to meet them, and the king pitched his camp in Judea, and opposite Mount Zion.”
1 Mac 6:49 “And he made peace with the men of Bethsura, and they evacuated the town, because they had no food there to support a siege, for it was a sabbatical year.”
1 Mac 6:50 “So the king occupied Bethsura and stationed a garrison so there to hold it.”
1 Mac 6:51 “And he encamped against the sanctuary for a long time, and set up siege towers there and war engines and machines to throw fire and stones, and ballistas to shoot arrows, and slings.”
1 Mac 6:52 “And they also built war engines against their war engines and fought for a long time.”
1 Mac 6:53 “But there were no provisions in the storerooms, because it was a sabbatical year, and those who had taken refuge in Judea from the heathen had consumed what was left of the stores.”
1 Mac 6:54 “And there were few men left in the sanctuary for the famine had been too much for them, and they had scattered, each man to his home.”
1 Mac 6:55 “Then Lysias heard that Philip, whom King Antiochus before his death had appointed to bring up his son to be king,”
1 Mac 6:56 “Had returned from Persia and Media, with the forces that had gone with the king, and that he was seeking to get control of the government.”
1 Mac 6:57 “So he hastily agreed to withdraw, and he said to the king and the officers of the army and the men, “We are growing weaker every day, and our provisions are getting short and the place we are besieging is strong, and the affairs of the kingdom depend upon us,”
1 Mac 6:58 “So let us now come to terms with these men, and make peace with them and with all their nation,”
1 Mac 6:59 “And make an agreement with them that they shall follow their own laws, as they used to do, for it was on account of their laws which we abolished that they became angry and did all this.”
1 Mac 6:60 “And the proposal pleased the king and his officers, and he sent to them, to make peace, and they agreed.”
1 Mac 6:61 “And the king and the officers made oath to them; then they evacuated the stronghold.”
1 Mac 6:62 “But when the king went into Mount Zion and saw the strength of the place, he broke the oath that he had sworn, and gave orders to tear down the wall that encircled it.”
1 Mac 6:63 “Then he departed in haste and returned to Antioch and found Philip in possession of the city, and he fought against him and took the city by force.”

Chapter 7

1 Mac 7:1 “In the one hundred and fifty-first year Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, came out from Rome and went with a few men to a seaside town and became king there.
1 Mac 7:2 “And it happened when he sought to enter the royal city of his forefathers, that the troops seized Antiochus and Lysias, to bring them before him.”
1 Mac 7:3 “When the matter was made known to him, he said, “Do not let me see their faces.”
1 Mac 7:4 “So the soldiers killed them, and Demetrius took his seat upon his royal throne.”
1 Mac 7:5 “And all the lawless and ungodly men of Israel came to him, and Alcimus who wished to be high priest was their leader.”
1 Mac 7:6 “And they accused the people to the king, and said, “Judas and his brothers have destroyed all your Friends, and have scattered us out of our land.”
1 Mac 7:7 “So now send a man in whom you have confidence, and let him go and see all the damage he has done to us and to the king’s country, and let him punish them and all their helpers.”
1 Mac 7:8 “And the king chose Bacchides, one of the king’s Friends, who was governor of the country beyond the river, and was a great man in the kingdom, and faithful to the king.”
1 Mac 7:9 “And he sent him and the ungodly Alcimus, and assured him of the high priesthood, and ordered him to take vengeance on the Israelites.”
1 Mac 7:10 “And they set forth and came with a strong force to the land of Judah, and he sent messengers to Judas and his brothers, with a peaceful message, but in guile.”
1 Mac 7:11 “But they paid no attention to their message, for they saw that they had come with a strong force.”
1 Mac 7:12 “And a body of scribes gathered before Alcimus and Bacchides, to ask for justice.”
1 Mac 7:13 “The foremost among the Israelites that asked for peace from them were the Hasideans,”
1 Mac 7:14 “For they said, “A priest of the blood of Aaron has come with the forces, and he will not do us any wrong.”
1 Mac 7:15 “And he talked peaceably with them, and made oath to them, saying, “We will not attempt to injure you or your friends.”
1 Mac 7:16 “And they trusted him. And he arrested sixty of them and killed them in a single day, just as he said who wrote,”
1 Mac 7:17 “The flesh and blood of your saints they scattered around Jerusalem, and they had no one to bury them.”
1 Mac 7:18 “Then the fear and dread of them fell upon all the people, for they said, “There is no truth or justice in them, for they broke the agreement and the oath that they swore.”
1 Mac 7:19 “And Bacchides left Jerusalem and pitched his camp in Bethzaith and he set and seized many of the deserters that had been with him, and some of the people, and he slaughtered them and threw them into the great pit.
1 Mac 7:20 “And he established Alcimus over the country, and left a force with him to help him. Then Bacchides went back to the king.”
1 Mac 7:21 “Alcimus strove to maintain his high priesthood.”
1 Mac 7:22 “And all those who harassed their people gathered about him, and they took possession of the land of Judah and did great harm in Israel.”
1 Mac 7:23 “And Judas saw all the damage that Alcimus and his men had done to the Israelites, more even than the heathen had,”
1 Mac 7:24 “And he went out into all the outer borders of Judea and took vengeance on the men who had deserted him, and kept them from going out into the country.”
1 Mac 7:25 “But when Alcimus saw that Judas and his men were growing strong, and realized that he could not withstand them, he returned to the king and made wicked charges against them.”
1 Mac 7:26 “Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his distinguished officers, who hated Israel bitterly, and ordered him to destroy the people.”
1 Mac 7:27 “And Nicanor went to Jerusalem with a strong force, and he deceitfully sent a peaceful message to Judas and his brothers, saying,”
1 Mac 7:28 “Let us have no battle between me and you. I will come with a few men to have a peaceable personal meeting.”
1 Mac 7:29 “So he came to Judas, and they greeted one another peaceably. But the enemy were ready to kidnap Judas.”
1 Mac 7:30 “And the fact that he had come to him in deceit became known to Judas, and he was very much afraid of him and would not meet him again.”
1 Mac 7:31 “And Nicanor knew that his plan had been discovered, and he went out to meet Judas in battle at Capharsalama,”
1 Mac 7:32 “And about five hundred of Nicanor’s men fell, and they fled to the City of David.”
1 Mac 7:33 “After this, Nicanor went up to Mount Zion, and some of the priests came out of the sanctuary with some of the elders of the people to greet him peaceably, and show him the whole burnt offering that was being offered for the king.”
1 Mac 7:34 “And he jeered at them and laughed at them and polluted them, and spoke arrogantly;”
1 Mac 7:35 “And swore angrily, “If Judas and his army are not immediately delivered into my hands, it will happen that if I return safely, I will burn this house up!” And he went away in great anger.”
1 Mac 7:36 “And the priests went in and stood before the altar and the sanctuary and they wailed and said,”
1 Mac 7:37 “You chose this house to bear your name, to be a house for prayer and petition for your people.”
1 Mac 7:38 “Take vengeance on this man and on his army, and let them fall by the sword. Remember their sacrilegious words and let them not continue.”
1 Mac 7:39 “And Nicanor set out from Jerusalem and pitched his camp in Bethhoron, and the Syrian army met him there.”
1 Mac 7:40 “And Judas encamped in Adasa with three thousand men, and Judas prayed and said,”
1 Mac 7:41 “When the king’s men uttered blasphemy, your angel went forth and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand of them.”
1 Mac 7:42 “Crush this army before us today, in the same way, and let the rest know that he spoke wickedly against your sanctuary, and judge him as his wickedness deserves.”
1 Mac 7:43 “And the armies met in battle on the thirteenth of the month of Adar, and Nicanor’s army was beaten, and he himself was the first to fall in the battle.”
1 Mac 7:44 “But when his army saw that Nicanor had fallen, they threw down their arms and fled.”
1 Mac 7:45 “And they pursued them a day’s journey, from Adasa until you come to Gazara, and they sounded the ceremonial trumpets behind them.”
1 Mac 7:46 “And people came forth out of all the villages of Judea around, and hemmed them in, and turned them back toward the pursuers, and they all fell by the sword; not one of them was left.”
1 Mac 7:47 “And they took the spoils and the plunder, and they cut off Nicanor’s head and his right hand, which he had stretched out so arrogantly, and brought them and displayed them at Jerusalem.”
1 Mac 7:48 “And the people rejoiced greatly, and they observed that day as a day of great gladness.”
1 Mac 7:49 “And they decreed that that day should be annually observed, on the thirteenth so of Adar.”
1 Mac 7:50 “Then the land of Judah was quiet for a short time.”

Chapter 8

1 Mac 8:1 “And Judas heard of the reputation of the Romans, that they were powerful, and favored all who joined them, and established friendly relations with those who approached them, and were powerful.
1 Mac 8:2 “And they told him about their wars and the exploits they had performed among the Gauls, and how they had subdued them and made them pay tribute,”
1 Mac 8:3 “And what they had done in the land of Spain, in getting possession of the silver and gold mines there,”
1 Mac 8:4 “And how by their planning and patience they had become masters of that whole region, though it was very far away from them, and about the kings who had come against them from the ends of the earth, until they had crushed them and inflicted great losses upon them, and how the rest paid them tribute every year;”
1 Mac 8:5 “And how they had crushed Philip and Perseus, the king of Chittim, and those who had opposed them they had beaten in battle and subdued;”
1 Mac 8:6 “And how Antiochus, the great king of Asia, had marched against them with a hundred and twenty elephants and horses and chariots and a very great force, and had been beaten by them,
1 Mac 8:7 “And they had captured him alive and had required him and those who succeeded him to pay a great tribute and give hostages,”
1 Mac 8:8 “And a section of country, in India, Media, and Lydia, of the best lands, and they had taken them from him and given them to King Eumenes;”
1 Mac 8:9 “And how the men of Greece had planned to come and destroy them,”
1 Mac 8:10 “And they had learned of the matter, and they sent one general against them, and they fought with them and many of them fell wounded, and they took their wives and children captive and they plundered them and conquered the land and tore down their strongholds and enslaved them unto this day;”
1 Mac 8:11 “And how they had destroyed and enslaved all the other kingdoms and islands that had ever opposed them,”
1 Mac 8:12 “But had maintained friendly relations with their friends and those who relied upon them; and how they had conquered kings far and near, and all who heard their name were afraid of them.”
1 Mac 8:13 “Those whom they wished to help and make kings, became kings, and those whom they wished, they deposed; and they were greatly exalted;”
1 Mac 8:14 “Yet with all this they never any of them put on a diadem, or wore purple, as a mark of magnificence.”
1 Mac 8:15 “And they had built themselves a senate house, and every day three hundred and twenty men deliberated, constantly planning for the people, that they might conduct themselves properly,”
1 Mac 8:16 “And they intrusted the government to one man every year, and the authority over all their country, and they all obeyed that one man, and there was no envy or jealousy among them.”
1 Mac 8:17 “And Judas chose Eupolemus, the son of John, the son of Hakkoz, and Jason, the son of Eleazar, and sent them to Rome, to establish friendly relations and an alliance with them,”
1 Mac 8:18 “So that they might relieve them of their yoke, for they saw that the rule of the Greeks was reducing Israel to slavery.”
1 Mac 8:19 “And they went to Rome, though the journey was very long, and they went into the senate house and answered and said,”
1 Mac 8:20 “Judas, who is called Maccabeus, and his brothers and the Jewish people have sent us to you, to make an alliance and firm peace with you, and that we may be enrolled as allies and friends of yours.”
1 Mac 8:21 “They were pleased with the proposal,”
1 Mac 8:22 “And this is a copy of the letter which they wrote in answer, on brass tablets, and sent to Jerusalem, to remain there among them, as a memorial of peace and alliance.”
1 Mac 8:23 “Good fortune to the Romans and to the Jewish nation by sea and land, forever! May sword and foe be far from them!”
1 Mac 8:24 “But if war is made on Rome first, or on any of their allies, in all her dominion,”
1 Mac 8:25 “The Jewish nation will act as their allies, as the occasion shall demand of them, with all their hearts.”
1 Mac 8:26 “And to those who make the war they shall not give or supply wheat, arms, money, or ships, as Rome decides, and they shall observe their obligations, accepting nothing from the other side.”
1 Mac 8:27 “In like manner, if war is made on the Jewish nation first, the Romans will heartily act as their allies as occasion demands,”
1 Mac 8:28 “And no wheat, arms, money, or ships will be supplied to the allies, as Rome decides, and they shall observe these obligations in good faith.”
1 Mac 8:29 “On these terms the Romans have made a treaty with the Jewish people.”
1 Mac 8:30 “But if hereafter one party or the other decides to add or subtract anything, they shall do as they choose, and whatever they add or subtract shall be valid.”
1 Mac 8:31 “And about the wrongs that King Demetrius is doing you, we have written to him, saying, ‘Why have you made your yoke heavy upon our friends and allies the Jews?”
1 Mac 8:32 “So if they appeal to us against you again, we will do them justice and make war upon you by land and sea.”

Chapter 9

1 Mac 9:1 “When Demetrius heard that Nicanor and his troops had fallen in battle, he sent Bacchides and Alcimus into the land of Judah again a second time, with the right wing of his army.”
1 Mac 9:2 “And they marched by the Gilgal road, and pitched their camp against Mesaloth, in Arbela, and took it, and destroyed many people.”
1 Mac 9:3 “And in the first month of the one hundred and fifty second year they encamped against Jerusalem.”
1 Mac 9:4 “Then they set out and marched to Berea with twenty thousand men and two thousand horse.”
1 Mac 9:5 “And Judas was encamped at Elasa, and had three thousand picked men with him.”
1 Mac 9:6 “And they saw that the number of the troops was great and they were greatly terrified, and many slipped out of the camp; not more than eight hundred men were left.”
1 Mac 9:7 “And Judas saw that his army had slipped away, and that the battle was imminent, and he was troubled in mind, for he had no time to rally them.”
1 Mac 9:8 “And in desperation he said to those who were left, “Let us get up and go against our opponents; perhaps we can fight against them.”
1 Mac 9:9 “And they tried to dissuade him, saying, “We certainly cannot; but let us save our lives now, and come back with our brothers and fight against them; we are so few.”
1 Mac 9:10 “And Judas said, “I will never do this thing, and flee from them; and if our time has come, let us die bravely for our brothers, and not leave a stain upon our honor.”
1 Mac 9:11 “So the army set out from the camp and formed its lines to join battle, and the cavalry was divided into two parts, and the slingers and archers marched before the army, and all the powerful men who formed the front line.”
1 Mac 9:12 “But Bacchides was on the right wing. And the phalanx advanced on the two sides, and they sounded their trumpets,”
1 Mac 9:13 “And Judas’ men also sounded their trumpets, and the earth shook with the shout of the armies, and the battle raged from morning till evening.”
1 Mac 9:14 “And when Judas saw that Bacchides and the strength of his army were on the right wing, all the stouthearted went with him,”
1 Mac 9:15 “And the right wing was beaten back by them, and he pursued them as far as Mount Azotus.”
1 Mac 9:16 “And the men on the left wing saw that the right wing was beaten back, and they turned and followed the track of Judas and his men from behind.”
1 Mac 9:17 “And the fight became desperate, and many on both sides fell wounded.”
1 Mac 9:18 “And Judas fell and the rest fled.”
1 Mac 9:19 “And Jonathan and Simon took their brother Judas and buried him in the tombs of his forefathers in Modin.”
1 Mac 9:20 “And they wept over him, and all Israel lamented him greatly and mourned for a long time, saying,”
1 Mac 9:21 “What a hero is fallen, the Savior of Israel!”
1 Mac 9:22 “The rest of the deeds of Judas, and his wars, and the exploits that he performed, and his greatness are unrecorded, for they were very many.”
1 Mac 9:23 “It happened after the death of Judas that those who had no regard for the Law raised their heads all over Israel, and all the wrongdoers reappeared.”
1 Mac 9:24 “In those days there was a very great famine, and the country went over to their side.”
1 Mac 9:25 “And Bacchides chose the ungodly men and appointed them masters of the country.”
1 Mac 9:26 “And they searched and sought out the friends of Judas and brought them to Bacchides, and he punished them and mocked them.”
1 Mac 9:27 “And there was great distress in Israel, such as there had not been since the time when the prophets ceased to appear to them.”
1 Mac 9:28 “And all the friends of Judas gathered together and said to Jonathan,”
1 Mac 9:29 “Since the death of your brother Judas, there has been no one like him to go in and out against our enemies and Bacchides and among those of our nation who are hostile.”
1 Mac 9:30 “So now we have chosen you today to be our ruler and leader in his place, to carry on our war.”
1 Mac 9:31 “And Jonathan accepted the command at that time, and took the place of his brother Judas.”
1 Mac 9:32 “And Bacchides learned of this, and tried to kill him.”
1 Mac 9:33 “And Jonathan and his brother Simon and all his men learned of it, and they fled into the wild country about Tekoa, and they pitched their camp by the waters of the pool of Asphar.”
1 Mac 9:34 “And Bacchides learned of it on the sabbath, and he and all his army came across the Jordan.”
1 Mac 9:35 “Now Jonathan had sent his brother, a leader of the multitude, and entreated the Nabateans, as his friends, to let them leave with them their baggage, of which there was a great deal.”
1 Mac 9:36 “But the sons of Jambri, from Medaba, came out and seized John and all that he had, and went off with it.”
1 Mac 9:37 “Afterward, news came to Jonathan and his brother Simon that the sons of Jambri were making a great wedding, and were conducting the bride, the daughter of one of the great nobles of Canaan, with a great retinue, from Nadabath.”
1 Mac 9:38 “And they remembered the blood of their brother John, and they went up and hid under the shelter of the mountain.”
1 Mac 9:39 “And they looked up and saw, and there was confusion, and a great deal of baggage, for the bridegroom had come out with his friends and his kinsmen to meet them, with drums and musicians and many weapons.”
1 Mac 9:40 “Then they fell upon them from their ambush and killed them, and many fell wounded, and the survivors fled into the mountain, and they took all their spoils.”
1 Mac 9:41 “So the wedding was turned into grief and the voice of their musicians into lamentation.”
1 Mac 9:42 “And when they had fully avenged their brother’s blood, they turned back to the marshes of the Jordan.”
1 Mac 9:43 “And Bacchides heard of it, and he came on the sabbath to the banks of the Jordan, with a strong force.”
1 Mac 9:44 “And Jonathan said to his men, “Let us get up now and fight for our lives, for today is not like yesterday or the day before,”
1 Mac 9:45 “For here is the battle in front of us and behind us, and on one side the water of the Jordan, and on the other marsh and thicket, and there is no room to retreat.”
1 Mac 9:46 “So now, cry out to heaven that you may be delivered from the hands of our enemies.”
1 Mac 9:47 “And the battle was joined, and Jonathan stretched out his hand to strike Bacchides down, and he gave ground before him.”
1 Mac 9:48 “Then Jonathan and his men jumped into the Jordan and swam over to the other side; and they did not cross the Jordan in pursuit of them.”
1 Mac 9:49 “And fully a thousand of Bacchides’ men fell that day.”
1 Mac 9:50 “And he returned to Jerusalem, and they built fortified towns in Judea; the stronghold in Jericho, and Emmaus, and Bethhoron, and Bethel, and Timnath Pharathon, and Tephon, with high walls and barred gates;”
1 Mac 9:51 “And he put garrisons in them to harass Israel.”
1 Mac 9:52 “And he fortified the town of Bethsura, and Gazara, and the citadel, and he put troops in them, and stores of provisions.”
1 Mac 9:53 “And he took the sons of the principal men of the country as hostages, and put them in custody in the citadel at Jerusalem.”
1 Mac 9:54 “In the one hundred and fifty-third year, in the second month, Alcimus gave orders to tear down the wall of the inner court of the sanctuary; he thus destroyed the work of the prophets,”
1 Mac 9:55 “But he began to tear it down. At that very time, Alcimus was stricken, and his work hindered and his mouth stopped, and he was paralyzed and could no longer utter a word, or give orders about his household.”
1 Mac 9:56 “So Alcimus died at that time, in great agony.”
1 Mac 9:57 “And when Bacchides saw that Alcimus was dead, he went back to the king, and the land of Judah was quiet for two years.”
1 Mac 9:58 “Then all those who disregarded the Law plotted, saying, “Here Jonathan and his men are living undisturbed and secure, so now we will bring Bacchides back, and he will arrest them all in a single night.”
1 Mac 9:59 “And they went and consulted him.”
1 Mac 9:60 “And he set out and came with a strong force and he sent letters secretly to all his allies in Judea to arrest Jonathan and his men, but they could not because their plan became known to them.”
1 Mac 9:61 “And they seized fully fifty of the men of the country who were ringleaders in this wickedness, and killed them.”
1 Mac 9:62 “And Jonathan and Simon and their men withdrew to Bethbasi, in the wild country, and he rebuilt the parts that had been torn down, and they strengthened it.”
1 Mac 9:63 “And Bacchides learned of it, and he gathered all his host and sent word to the men of Judea,”
1 Mac 9:64 “And he came and pitched his camp against Bethbasi, and fought against it for a long time and set up siege engines.”
1 Mac 9:65 “Then Jonathan left his brother Simon in the town and went out into the country, and he went with a small force.”
1 Mac 9:66 “And he struck down Odomera and his brothers, and the sons of Phasiron in their tent,”
1 Mac 9:67 “And they began to strike and attacked with their forces. And Simon and his men went out of the town and set fire to the siege engines,”
1 Mac 9:68 “And they fought with Bacchides, and he was beaten by them, and they pressed him very hard, for his plan and his attack were in vain.”
1 Mac 9:69 “And he was very angry with the men who disregarded the Law who had advised him to come into the country, and he killed many of them, and resolved to go back to his country.”
1 Mac 9:70 “And Jonathan learned of it, and he sent envoys to him to make peace with him, and obtain the release of his prisoners.”
1 Mac 9:71 “And he agreed and did as he promised and made oath to him that he would not seek to injure him so long as he lived.”
1 Mac 9:72 “And he released to him the prisoners that he had taken before from the land of Judea, and he went away and returned to his own country, and did not come into their borders again.”
1 Mac 9:73 “So the sword ceased in Israel And Jonathan lived in Michmash. And Jonathan began to judge the people, and he destroyed the ungodly out of Israel.”

Chapter 10

1 Mac 10:1 “In the one hundred and sixtieth year, Alexander Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus, went up and took possession of Ptolemais, and they welcomed him, and he became king there.
1 Mac 10:2 “When King Demetrius heard of it, he mustered very strong forces and went out to meet him in battle.”
1 Mac 10:3 “And Demetrius sent letters to Jonathan in peaceful terms to flatter him, for he said to himself,”
1 Mac 10:4 “Let us be the first to make peace with them, before he makes peace with Alexander against us,”
1 Mac 10:5 “For he will remember all the wrongs we have done him and his brothers and his nation.”
1 Mac 10:6 “And he gave him authority to muster troops, and to procure arms and to be his ally, and he gave orders that they should turn over to him the hostages that were in the citadel.”
1 Mac 10:7 “So Jonathan went up to Jerusalem, and read the letters in the hearing of all the people, and of the men who were in possession of the citadel;”
1 Mac 10:8 “And they were dreadfully frightened when they heard that the king had given him authority to muster troops.”
1 Mac 10:9 “And the men in the citadel turned over the hostages to Jonathan, and he gave them back to their parents.”
1 Mac 10:10 “And Jonathan lived in Jerusalem, and he began to build and renovate the city.”
1 Mac 10:11 “And he ordered those who did the work to build the walls and encircle Mount Zion with four-foot stones for its fortification, and they did so.”
1 Mac 10:12 “And the foreigners who were in the strongholds that Bacchides had built fled;”
1 Mac 10:13 “Each one left his post and went back to his own country,”
1 Mac 10:14 “Except that in Bethsura there were left some of those who had forsaken the Law and the commandments, for it served as a refuge for them.”
1 Mac 10:15 “And King Alexander heard of all the promises that Demetrius had sent to Jonathan, and they related to him the battles and exploits that he and his brothers had performed, and the troubles they had endured,”
1 Mac 10:16 “And he said to himself, “Can we find another man like him? Now we must make him our friend and ally.”
1 Mac 10:17 “So he wrote letters and sent them to him, in the following terms:”
1 Mac 10:18 “King Alexander sends greetings to his brother Jonathan.”
1 Mac 10:19 “We have heard that you are a valiant warrior, and fit to be our friend.”
1 Mac 10:20 “Now we have today appointed you to be high priest of your nation and to be called a Friend of the king” (and he sent him a purple robe and a gold crown) “and to side with us and maintain friendly relations with us.”
1 Mac 10:21 “So Jonathan put on the holy vestments in the seventh month of the one hundred and sixtieth year, at the Camping Out festival¹, and he mustered troops and provided arms in abundance.”
1 Mac 10:22 “And Demetrius heard of these things, and he was annoyed, and said,”
1 Mac 10:23 “Why have we brought it about that Alexander has gotten ahead of us in establishing friendly relations with the Jews, to strengthen his position?”
1 Mac 10:24 “I too will write them a message of encouragement and distinction, with promises of gifts, so that they may become a support for me.”
1 Mac 10:25 “So he sent one to them in these terms: “King Demetrius sends greetings to the Jewish nation.”
1 Mac 10:26 “Since you have kept your agreement with us, and remained true to our friendship, and have not gone over to our enemies, we have rejoiced to hear of it.”
1 Mac 10:27 “So now continue to keep faith with us, and we will deal favorably with you in return for your dealings with us,”
1 Mac 10:28 “And we will grant you many exemptions and make you presents.”
1 Mac 10:29 “So I do now free you and I release all the Jews from paying tribute and from the salt tax and the crown tax.”
1 Mac 10:30 “And instead of one-third of the grain and instead of half of the fruit of the trees, which it falls to me to receive, I surrender from this day forward the right to take them from the land of Judea and from the three districts which are attached to it from Samaria and Galilee, from this day forth and for all time.”
1 Mac 10:31 “Let Jerusalem and her territory, her tithes and her taxes, be holy and free.”
1 Mac 10:32 “I relinquish also my authority over the citadel in Jerusalem, and I give it to the high priest, in order that he may put men whom he shall choose in possession of it, to garrison it.”
1 Mac 10:33 “And every Jewish person who has been carried into captivity from the land of Judea into any part of my kingdom, I set at liberty without payment, and let all officials cancel the taxes upon their cattle also.”
1 Mac 10:34 “And let all the festivals and sabbaths and new moons and appointed days, and three days before each festival, and three days after each festival, be days of exemption and immunity for all the Jews in my kingdom,”
1 Mac 10:35 “And no one shall have authority to exact anything from any of them or to trouble any of them about any matter.”
1 Mac 10:36 “And among the king’s forces at least thirty thousand Jews shall be enrolled, and they shall receive pay, as all the king’s forces have a right to do.”
1 Mac 10:37 “And some of them shall be stationed in the king’s great strongholds, and some shall be put in positions of trust in the kingdom. And those who are set over them and those who govern them shall be of their own number, and they shall follow their own laws, as the king has commanded in the land of Judea.”
1 Mac 10:38 “And the three districts that have been added to Judea from the country of Samaria shall be added to Judea so that they may be considered as under one man, and not obey any other authority than the high priest.”
1 Mac 10:39 “Ptolemais and the land pertaining to it I have presented to the sanctuary in Jerusalem, for the expenses incident to the sanctuary.”
1 Mac 10:40 “And I will give fifteen thousand silver shekels every year, from the king’s revenues, from such places as are convenient.”
1 Mac 10:41 “And the additional grant, which the administration has not paid over as it formerly did, they shall henceforth pay in full toward the service of the temple.”
1 Mac 10:42 “In addition, the five thousand silver shekels which they used to take out of the dues of the temple, from the revenue every year, is also canceled, for it rightfully belongs to the priests who conduct the worship.
1 Mac 10:43 “And whoever takes refuge in the temple at Jerusalem, and in any of its precincts, who owes money to the king or any other obligation shall be released from it, with all his property in my realm.”
1 Mac 10:44 “The cost of rebuilding and renovating the fabric of the sanctuary shall be provided out of the king’s revenue.”
1 Mac 10:45 “The cost of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and of fortifying it all around, and of building the walls in Judea, shall also be provided out of the king’s revenue.”
1 Mac 10:46 “But when Jonathan and the people heard these terms, they did not believe them or accept them, for they remembered the great injury he had done to Israel, and that he had distressed them intensely.”
1 Mac 10:47 “And they took Alexander’s side, for he had been first in addressing them in peaceful terms, and they always remained his allies.”
1 Mac 10:48 “Then King Alexander gathered large forces and pitched his camp against Demetrius.”
1 Mac 10:49 “And the two kings joined battle, and the army of Demetrius fled, and Alexander pursued him and defeated them,”
1 Mac 10:50 “And he pressed the fighting hard, until sunset, and Demetrius fell that day.”
1 Mac 10:51 “Then Alexander sent envoys to Ptolemy, king of Egypt, with this message:”
1 Mac 10:52 “Since I have returned to my kingdom, and have taken my seat on the throne of my forefathers, and have taken over the government, and have defeated Demetrius and taken possession of our country.”
1 Mac 10:53 “(For I have met him in battle, and he and his army were defeated by us, and we have taken our seat on the throne of his kingdom.)”
1 Mac 10:54 “Let us now establish friendly relations with one another, so give me your daughter to be my wife, and I will be your son-in-law, and give you and her gifts worthy of you.”
1 Mac 10:55 “And King Ptolemy answered, “It was a happy day when you returned to the country of your forefathers and took your seat on the throne of their kingdom.”
1 Mac 10:56 “I will now do for you what you wrote, but meet me in Ptolemais, so that we may see each other, and I will be your father in-law, as you have said.”
1 Mac 10:57 “So Ptolemy came up from Egypt, with his daughter Cleopatra, and reached Ptolemais in the one hundred and sixty-second year.
1 Mac 10:58 “And King Alexander met him, and he gave him his daughter Cleopatra in marriage, and he celebrated her wedding at Ptolemais with great pomp, as kings do.”
1 Mac 10:59 “Then King Alexander wrote to Jonathan to come to meet him.”
1 Mac 10:60 “And he went in splendor to Ptolemais and met the two kings, and gave them and their friends silver and gold and many gifts, and was well received by them.”
1 Mac 10:61 “Some malcontents from Israel, who disregarded the Law, gathered against him, to lay charges against him, but the king paid no attention to them.”
1 Mac 10:62 “And the king gave orders, and they took Jonathan’s clothes off and clothed him in purple; they did as he ordered.”
1 Mac 10:63 “And the king made him sit beside him, and said to his officers, “Go out with him into the middle of the city, and make a proclamation that no one is to appeal against him on any ground, and no one must interfere with him on any account.”
1 Mac 10:64 “So it happened that when those who were complaining of him saw the distinction with which he was treated, as the herald proclaimed, and saw him clothed in purple, they all fled.”
1 Mac 10:65 “And the king treated him with distinction, and enrolled him among his Best Friends, and made him general and governor.”
1 Mac 10:66 “So Jonathan returned to Jerusalem in peace and gladness.”
1 Mac 10:67 “In the one hundred and sixty-fifth year, Demetrius’ son Demetrius came from Crete to the country of his forefathers.”
1 Mac 10:68 “When King Alexander heard of it, he was greatly disturbed and returned to Antioch.”
1 Mac 10:69 “And Demetrius appointed Apollonius who was in command of Coelesyria, and he gathered a strong force and pitched his camp at Jamnia, and sent to Jonathan the high priest saying,”
1 Mac 10:70 “You are all alone in resisting us, but I am laughed at and reproached because of you. Why do you claim your authority against us up in the mountains?”
1 Mac 10:71 “If you really trust in your troops, come down into the plain to us and let us measure our strength together there, for I have control of the towns.”
1 Mac 10:72 “So inquire and find out who I am, and who the others are who help us, and they will tell you that you will have no foothold before us, for your forefathers have been routed twice in their land.”
1 Mac 10:73 “So now you will not be able to stand against the cavalry and such a force as this on the plain, where there is no stone or pebble, or place to escape to.”
1 Mac 10:74 “When Jonathan heard the message of Apollonius, his heart was stirred, and he chose ten thousand men, and set out from Jerusalem, and his brother Simon joined him to help him.”
1 Mac 10:75 “And he pitched his camp against Joppa, and the men of the town shut him out, for Apollonius had a garrison in Joppa;
1 Mac 10:76 “And they fought against it. Then the men of the town were frightened and they opened the gates, and Jonathan took possession of Joppa.”
1 Mac 10:77 “And Apollonius heard of it and he mustered three thousand horsemen and a strong force and he marched to Azotus as though he meant to travel on, but at the same time he advanced into the plain, because he had a large force of cavalry and relied upon it.”
1 Mac 10:78 “And he pursued him to Azotus, and the armies joined battle.”
1 Mac 10:79 “And Apollonius had left a thousand horse in hiding in their rear,”
1 Mac 10:80 “And Jonathan learned that there was an ambuscade in his rear. And they surrounded his army and showered their arrows upon the people from morning till evening,”
1 Mac 10:81 “But the people stood fast, as Jonathan had ordered, while the enemy’s horses were tired out.”
1 Mac 10:82 “Then Simon advanced his force and joined battle with the phalanx, for the cavalry were exhausted, and they were defeated by him, and fled,”
1 Mac 10:83 “And the cavalry were scattered over the plain. And they fled to Azotus and took refuge in Bethdagon, their idol’s temple.
1 Mac 10:84 “And Jonathan burned Azotus and the towns around it, and plundered them, and he burned up the temple of Dagon and those who had taken refuge in it.”
1 Mac 10:85 “And those who had fallen by the sword, together with those who were burned up came to fully eight thousand men.”
1 Mac 10:86 “And Jonathan set forth and pitched his camp against Askalon, and the men of the town came out to meet him with great pomp.”
1 Mac 10:87 “Then Jonathan returned to Jerusalem with his men, with a great quantity of plunder.”
1 Mac 10:88 “And it happened that, when King Alexander heard of these things, he treated Jonathan with still more distinction,”
1 Mac 10:89 “And he sent him a gold buckle, such as are usually given to the members of the royal family; and he gave him Ekron and all that district for settlement.”

Chapter 11

1 Mac 11:1 “And the king of Egypt gathered strong forces, like the sand on the seashore, and many ships, and undertook to possess himself of Alexander’s kingdom by deceit, and to add it to his own kingdom.”
1 Mac 11:2 “And he set out for Syria with peaceful professions, and the people of the towns opened their gates to him, and met him, for King Alexander had ordered them to meet him, as he was his father-in law.”
1 Mac 11:3 “But when Ptolemy entered the towns, he placed a garrison of his troops in each town.”
1 Mac 11:4 “And when they reached Azotus, they showed him the temple of Dagon burned, and Azotus and its suburbs torn down and corpses lying about, and those who had been burned, whom he had burned in the war, for they had piled them in heaps in his way.”
1 Mac 11:5 “And they told the king what Jonathan had done, in order to throw blame on him, and the king was silent.”
1 Mac 11:6 “And Jonathan met the king with pomp at Joppa, and they greeted one another and spent the night there.”
1 Mac 11:7 “And Jonathan traveled with the king as far as the river called the Eleutherus, and then returned to Jerusalem.”
1 Mac 11:8 “But Ptolemy made himself master of the coast towns all the way to Seleucia which is by the sea, and formed wicked designs about Alexander.”
1 Mac 11:9 “And he sent envoys to King Demetrius, saying, “Come, let us make an agreement with each other, and I will give you my daughter, whom Alexander had, and you shall reign over your father’s kingdom.”
1 Mac 11:10 “For I regret having given him my daughter, for he has undertaken to kill me.”
1 Mac 11:11 “But he threw blame on him because he coveted his kingdom.”
1 Mac 11:12 “So he took his daughter away from him, and gave her to Demetrius, and was estranged from Alexander, and their enmity became manifest.”
1 Mac 11:13 “And Ptolemy entered Antioch, and assumed the diadem of Asia, so he put two diadems upon his head, that of Egypt and that of Asia.”
1 Mac 11:14 “But King Alexander was in Cilicia, at that time, for the people of those regions were in revolt.”
1 Mac 11:15 “When Alexander heard of it, he marched against him. And Ptolemy led out his army and met him with a strong force, and routed him.”
1 Mac 11:16 “And Alexander fled to Arabia to find shelter, but King Ptolemy was triumphant.”
1 Mac 11:17 “And Zabdiel the Arab cut off Alexander’s head and sent it to Ptolemy.”
1 Mac 11:18 “Three days later King Ptolemy died, and his men in the strongholds were destroyed by the men of the strongholds.”
1 Mac 11:19 “And in the one hundred and sixty-seventh year, Demetrius became king.”
1 Mac 11:20 “In those days Jonathan mustered the men of Judea to attack the citadel, and he set up many siege engines against it.”
1 Mac 11:21 “And some breakers of the Law, who hated their own nation, went to the king and reported to him that Jonathan was besieging the citadel.”
1 Mac 11:22 “When he heard of it, he was angry, but upon hearing it he immediately set out and came to Ptolemais, and wrote Jonathan not to continue the siege but to meet him as soon as possible at Ptolemais, for a conference.”
1 Mac 11:23 “When Jonathan heard this, he gave orders to continue the siege, and he selected some of the elders of Israel and of the priests and put himself in danger,”
1 Mac 11:24 “For he took silver and gold and clothing and a great many other presents, and went to the king, at Ptolemais, and he pleased the king.”
1 Mac 11:25 “And when some of the men of his nation who disregarded the Law complained of him,”
1 Mac 11:26 “The king treated him just as his predecessors had done, and showed him great honor in the presence of all his Friends.”
1 Mac 11:27 “He confirmed him in the high priesthood, and all the other honors he had received before, and made him chief of his Best Friends.”
1 Mac 11:28 “Jonathan asked the king to free Judea and the three provinces and Samaria from tribute, and promised him three hundred talents.”
1 Mac 11:29 “The king agreed, and wrote a letter to Jonathan on all these matters as follows:”
1 Mac 11:30 “King Demetrius sends greetings to his brother Jonathan and to the Jewish nation.”
1 Mac 11:31 “This copy of the letter which we have written to Lasthenes our kinsman, we have written to you also, so that you may be acquainted with it.”
1 Mac 11:32 “King Demetrius sends greeting to his father Lasthenes.”
1 Mac 11:33 “We have determined to favor the Jewish nation, who are friends of ours, and observe their obligations to us, because of the good will they have shown us.”
1 Mac 11:34 “So we have recognized as theirs the territory of Judea and the three districts of Aphaerema, Lydda, and Ramathaim (they were transferred from Samaria to Judea) and everything pertaining to them, for all those who offer sacrifice in Jerusalem, instead of the royal dues which the king formerly took from them annually from the produce of the land and the fruit of the trees.”
1 Mac 11:35 “And the other things that fall to us, of the tithes and dues that fall to us, and the salt pits and the crown tax that fall to us, all these we will from henceforth make over to them.”
1 Mac 11:36 “And not one of these things shall be annulled from this time forth forever.”
1 Mac 11:37 “So now take care to make a copy of this, and have it given to Jonathan and set up in a prominent place on the holy mount.”
1 Mac 11:38 “And King Demetrius saw that the country was quiet before him, and that there was no opposition to him, and he dismissed all his troops, every man to his home, except the foreign forces that he had hired from the islands of the heathen, so the old soldiers of his fathers had a grudge against him.”
1 Mac 11:39 “Now Trypho was one of Alexander’s old party, and when he saw that all the troops were grumbling at Demetrius, he went to Imalkue the Arab who was bringing up Antiochus, the little son of Alexander,”
1 Mac 11:40 “And he insisted that he should turn him over to him, to become king in his father’s place. And he reported to him all that Demetrius had done, and told him of the animosity his troops felt for him; and he stayed with him a long time.”
1 Mac 11:41 “Then Jonathan sent to King Demetrius asking him to expel the garrison of the citadel from Jerusalem, and the garrisons from the strongholds, for they kept fighting against Israel.”
1 Mac 11:42 “And Demetrius sent to Jonathan and said, “I will not only do this for you and your nation, but I will greatly honor you and your nation if I find an opportunity.”
1 Mac 11:43 “So now please send me men who will fight for me, for all my troops are in revolt.”
1 Mac 11:44 “So Jonathan sent three thousand able-bodied men to Antioch, and they came to the king, and he was glad they had come.”
1 Mac 11:45 “And the people of the city, fully a hundred and twenty thousand of them, gathered in the midst of the city, and wanted to kill the king.”
1 Mac 11:46 “And the king fled to the palace, and the people of the city seized the thoroughfares of the city, and began to fight.”
1 Mac 11:47 “Then the king summoned the Jews to his aid, and they all together rallied about him, and scattered over the city and killed that day fully a hundred thousand people.”
1 Mac 11:48 “And they set the city on fire, and took a great quantity of spoil that day, and saved the king.”
1 Mac 11:49 “When the people of the city saw that the Jews controlled the city as they pleased, their hearts failed them, and they cried out to the king in entreaty, saying,”
1 Mac 11:50 “Give us your pledge and make the Jews stop fighting against us and the city.”
1 Mac 11:51 “And they threw down their arms and made peace. And the Jews were in high honor with the king, and with all his subjects, and they returned to Jerusalem with a great quantity of spoil.”
1 Mac 11:52 “And King Demetrius sat on his royal throne, and the land was quiet before him.”
1 Mac 11:53 “But he lied in all that he had said, and became estranged from Jonathan and did not return the favors he had done him, but treated him very harshly.”
1 Mac 11:54 “Now after this Trypho returned, bringing with him the little child Antiochus. And he became king and assumed the diadem.
1 Mac 11:55 “And all the troops that Demetrius had cast off rallied about him, and they fought against Demetrius and he was routed, and fled.”
1 Mac 11:56 “And Trypho took the animals and took possession of Antioch.”
1 Mac 11:57 “And the youthful Antiochus wrote to Jonathan, saying, “I confirm you in the high priesthood and appoint you over the four districts, and to be one of the king’s Friends.”
1 Mac 11:58 “And he sent him gold plate and table service, and gave him the right to drink from gold goblets, and dress in purple and wear a gold buckle.”
1 Mac 11:59 “And he made his brother Simon governor from the Ladder of Tyre to the frontier of Egypt.”
1 Mac 11:60 “And Jonathan set out and traveled across the river and among the towns, and the whole army of Syria rallied about him, to ally themselves with him. And he went to Askalon, and the people of the town received him with honor.”
1 Mac 11:61 “And he went from there to Gaza, but the people of Gaza shut their gates against him, so he laid siege to it, and fired its suburbs and plundered them.”
1 Mac 11:62 “Then the people of Gaza asked for terms, and he gave them his pledge and took the sons of their leaders as hostages, and sent them to Jerusalem; and he went through the country as far as Damascus.”
1 Mac 11:63 “And Jonathan heard that the officers of Demetrius were at Kadesh in Galilee, with a strong force, wishing to remove him from his office,”
1 Mac 11:64 “So he went to meet them, but he left his brother Simon in the country.”
1 Mac 11:65 “And Simon pitched his camp against Bethsura, and fought against it a long time, and shut it in.”
1 Mac 11:66 “And they asked him to give them pledges and he did so; and he put them out of it and took possession of the town and put a garrison in it.”
1 Mac 11:67 “And Jonathan and his army pitched their camp by the water of Gennesaret, and early in the morning they went to the Plain of Hazor.”
1 Mac 11:68 “And, behold, the army of the foreigners met him in the plain; they had set an ambush for him in the mountains, but they themselves met him face to face.”
1 Mac 11:69 “But the ambush rose out of their places and joined battle, and all who were on Jonathan’s side fled;”
1 Mac 11:70 “Not one was left of them except Mattathias, the son of Absalom, and Judas, the son of Chalphi, who were captains of the forces.”
1 Mac 11:71 “And Jonathan tore open his clothes and threw dust on his head and prayed.”
1 Mac 11:72 “And he turned against them again in battle and routed them, and they fled.”
1 Mac 11:73 “Those who were fleeing on his side saw it and returned to him and pursued them with him as far as Kadesh all the way to their camp, and they pitched their camp there.”
1 Mac 11:74 “And there fell of the foreigners that day fully three thousand men. And Jonathan returned to Jerusalem.”

Chapter 12

1 Mac 12:1 “And Jonathan saw that the time was favorable, and he selected men and sent them to Rome to confirm and renew friendly relations with them.”
1 Mac 12:2 “And he sent letters to the Spartans and to other places to the same effect.”
1 Mac 12:3 “And they went to Rome and went into the senate house and said, “Jonathan the high priest and the Jewish people have sent us to renew friendly relations and alliance on their behalf, as they have been heretofore.”
1 Mac 12:4 “And they delivered to them in each place letters addressed to them, asking them to see them off for the land of Judah in peace.”
1 Mac 12:5 “This is the copy of the letter that Jonathan wrote to the Spartans:”
1 Mac 12:6 “Jonathan, the high priest, and the council of the nation and the priests and the rest of the Jewish people send greeting to their brothers the Spartans.”
1 Mac 12:7 “In former times a letter was sent to the high priest Onias from Arius who was then king among you, to say that you are our kinsmen, as the copy of it that is appended to this shows.”
1 Mac 12:8 “And Onias showed honor to the man who was sent to him, and accepted the letter, which contained a declaration of alliance and friendliness.”
1 Mac 12:9 “So, though we are in no need of these, since we find our encouragement in the sacred books that are in our keeping,”
1 Mac 12:10 “We have undertaken to send to renew relations of brotherhood and friendliness with you, so that we may not become entirely estranged from you, for it is a long time since you sent to us.”
1 Mac 12:11 “So we on every occasion unremittingly at our festivals and on other appropriate days remember you at the sacrifices that we offer and in our prayers, as it is right and proper to remember kinsmen.”
1 Mac 12:12 “We rejoice in your renown.”
1 Mac 12:13 “But many hardships and wars have beset us, and the kings around us have made war on us.”
1 Mac 12:14 “We have not wished to trouble you or our other allies and friends about these wars,”
1 Mac 12:15 “For we have the help that comes from heaven to aid us, and we have been saved from our enemies, and our enemies have been humbled.”
1 Mac 12:16 “So we have chosen Numenius, the son of Antiochus, and Antipater, the son of Jason, and have sent them to the Romans to renew our former relations of friendliness and alliance with them.”
1 Mac 12:17 “So we have instructed them to go to you also and greet you, and to deliver to you our letter about the renewal of our fraternal relations.”
1 Mac 12:18 “Now please reply to us about this.”
1 Mac 12:19 “And this is the copy of the letter which they had sent to Onias:”
1 Mac 12:20 “Arius, king of the Spartans, sends greetings to Onias, the chief priest.”
1 Mac 12:21 “It has been found in a writing concerning the Spartans and Jews, that they are kinsmen, and that they are descended from Abraham.”
1 Mac 12:22 “Now since we have learned this, please write us about your welfare.”
1 Mac 12:23 “We for our part write you that your cattle and property are ours and ours are yours. So we command them to report to you to this effect.”
1 Mac 12:24 “And Jonathan heard that Demetrius’ officers had returned with a stronger force than before to make war on him.
1 Mac 12:25 “And he set out from Jerusalem and met them in the country of Hamath, for he did not give them time to make their way into his own country.”
1 Mac 12:26 “And he sent spies into their camp and they came back and reported to him that they were forming in a certain way so as to fall upon him that night.”
1 Mac 12:27 “But when the sun set, Jonathan ordered his men to be on the watch and to remain under arms so as to be ready for battle all night long, and he stationed outposts around the camp.”
1 Mac 12:28 “And his adversaries heard that Jonathan and his men were ready for battle, and they were frightened and were terrified at heart, and they lighted fires in their camp.”
1 Mac 12:29 “But Jonathan and his men did not know of it until morning, for they saw the fires burning.”
1 Mac 12:30 “Then Jonathan pursued them, but he could not overtake them, for they had crossed the river Eleutherus.”
1 Mac 12:31 “So Jonathan turned aside against the Arabs who are called Zabadeans, and he defeated them and plundered them.”
1 Mac 12:32 “And he set forth and went to Damascus, and traveled all through the country.”
1 Mac 12:33 “And Simon set out and made his way to Askalon, and the strongholds near it, and he turned aside to Joppa and took it by surprise,”
1 Mac 12:34 “For he had heard that they wanted to turn over the stronghold to Demetrius’ men, and he stationed a garrison there to hold it.”
1 Mac 12:35 “When Jonathan returned, he called together the elders of the people, and planned with them to build strongholds in Judea,”
1 Mac 12:36 “And to increase the height of the walls of Jerusalem, and to build a great mound between the citadel and the city, to separate it from the city, so that it might be by itself, so that they could not buy or sell in it.”
1 Mac 12:37 “So they gathered together to build up the city, and part of the east wall by the ravine collapsed, and he replaced it with the so-called Chaphenatha.”
1 Mac 12:38 “And Simon built Adida in the lowlands and he fortified it and fitted it with barred gates.
1 Mac 12:39 “And Trypho undertook to become king of Asia and assume the diadem, and to raise his hand against King Antiochus.”
1 Mac 12:40 “But he was afraid that Jonathan would not permit him to, but would fight against him, so he undertook to seize him, in order to destroy him. And he set out and came to Bethshean.”
1 Mac 12:41 “And Jonathan went out to meet him with forty thousand picked fighting men, and came to Bethshean.”
1 Mac 12:42 “And Trypho saw that he had come with a strong force, and he was afraid to raise his hand against him,”
1 Mac 12:43 “So he received him with honor, and he introduced him to all his Friends, and gave him presents, and instructed his Friends and his forces to obey him as they would himself.”
1 Mac 12:44 “And he said to Jonathan, “Why have you burdened all these people, when there is no war between us?”
1 Mac 12:45 “Come, send them home, and choose yourself a few men to remain with you, and come with me to Ptolemais and I will turn it over to you, together with the rest of the strongholds and the rest of the forces and all the officials, and I will go back again, for it was for this that I came.”
1 Mac 12:46 “And he trusted him and did as he said and dismissed his forces, and they returned to the land of Judah.”
1 Mac 12:47 “He left himself three thousand men, two thousand of whom he left in Galilee, and one thousand went with him.”
1 Mac 12:48 “But when Jonathan entered Ptolemais, the people of Ptolemais closed the gates and seized him, and all who had come in with him they put to the sword.”
1 Mac 12:49 “And Trypho sent forces and cavalry to Galilee and the great plain to destroy all Jonathan’s men.”
1 Mac 12:50 “And they found out that he had been taken and had so perished with his men, but they encouraged one another and marched away in close order, ready to fight.”
1 Mac 12:51 “And when their pursuers saw that they were ready to fight for their lives, they turned back.”
1 Mac 12:52 “And they all reached the land of Judah unmolested, but they mourned over Jonathan and his men, and they were greatly frightened; and all Israel mourned for him bitterly.”
1 Mac 12:53 “And all the heathen around them tried to destroy them utterly, for they said, “They have no leader or helper, so now let us make war on them and destroy their memory from among men.”

Chapter 13

1 Mac 13:1 “And Simon heard that Trypho had gathered a strong force to invade the land of Judah and destroy it utterly.”
1 Mac 13:2 “And he saw that the people were trembling and alarmed, and he went up to Jerusalem and gathered the people together,”
1 Mac 13:3 “And encouraged them and said to them, “You know yourselves all that I and my brothers and my father’s house have done for the laws and the sanctuary, and the wars and hardships we have been through.”
1 Mac 13:4 “As a result, my brothers have all perished for Israel’s sake, and I alone am left.”
1 Mac 13:5 “Now I never want to spare my own life in any emergency, for I am no better than my brothers.”
1 Mac 13:6 “But I will avenge my nation and the sanctuary and your wives and children, because all the heathen have gathered out of hatred, to destroy us utterly.”
1 Mac 13:7 “And when they heard these words, the spirit of the people revived,”
1 Mac 13:8 “And they answered with a great shout, “You are our leader, in the place of Judas and Jonathan your brothers.”
1 Mac 13:9 “Carry on our war, and we will do all that you tell us.”
1 Mac 13:10 “So he called together all the fighting men, and made haste to finish the walls of Jerusalem and put fortifications around it.”
1 Mac 13:11 “And he sent Jonathan, the son of Absalom, with a considerable force to Joppa, and he drove out the men who were in it and remained there in possession.”
1 Mac 13:12 “Then Trypho set out from Ptolemais with a strong force to invade Judah, taking Jonathan with him in custody.
1 Mac 13:13 “But Simon pitched his camp in Adida facing the plain.”
1 Mac 13:14 “And Trypho learned that Simon had risen to take the place of his brother Jonathan and that he was going to make war on him, and he sent envoys to him, saying,”
1 Mac 13:15 “It is for money that your brother Jonathan owed the royal treasury in connection with the offices that he held, that we are holding him.”
1 Mac 13:16 “So now send a hundred talents of silver and two of his sons as hostages, so that when he is released he will not revolt against us, and we will let him go.”
1 Mac 13:17 “And Simon knew that they were speaking to him treacherously, but he sent to get the money and the children, so that he should not incur deep animosity on the part of the people,”
1 Mac 13:18 “And they should say, “Because I did not send him the money and the children, he perished.”
1 Mac 13:19 “So he sent the children and the hundred talents. But Trypho played him false and would not let Jonathan go.
1 Mac 13:20 “After this he came to invade the country, and destroy it, and they went around by the road to Adora, and Simon and his army kept abreast of him everywhere he went.”
1 Mac 13:21 “And the men in the citadel sent envoys to Trypho urging him to come to them by way of the wild country and send them provisions.”
1 Mac 13:22 “And Trypho got all his cavalry ready to go, but that night there was a very heavy snow, and he could not go because of the snow, so he set forth and went into Gilead.”
1 Mac 13:23 “And when he approached Bascama, he killed Jonathan, and he was buried there.”
1 Mac 13:24 “And Trypho went back to his own country again.”
1 Mac 13:25 “And Simon sent and got the bones of his brother Jonathan, and buried him in Modin, the town of his forefathers.”
1 Mac 13:26 “And all Israel lamented him greatly and mourned over him for a long time.”
1 Mac 13:27 “And Simon built a monument over the grave of his father and his brothers, and made it high so that it could be seen, with polished stone on back and front.”
1 Mac 13:28 “And he erected seven pyramids in a row, for his father and his mother and his four brothers.”
1 Mac 13:29 “And he made devices for these, setting up great columns and putting on the columns trophies of armor for an everlasting memorial, and beside the armor carved prows of ships, so that they could be seen by all who sailed the sea.”
1 Mac 13:30 “Such was the monument that he built at Modin, and that still stands today.”
1 Mac 13:31 “Now Trypho dealt treacherously with King Antiochus the younger and killed him;”
1 Mac 13:32 “And became king in his place and assumed the diadem of Asia, and brought great calamity upon the country.”
1 Mac 13:33 “But Simon built the strongholds of Judea and surrounded them with high towers and thick walls and barred gates, and he stored up provisions in the strongholds.”
1 Mac 13:34 “And Simon chose men and sent them to King Demetrius so that he should give the country relief, because all that Trypho did was to plunder.”
1 Mac 13:35 “And King Demetrius sent him a message in these terms, and answered him and wrote a letter, as follows:”
1 Mac 13:36 “King Demetrius sends greeting to Simon, the high priest and the Friend of kings, and to the Jewish elders and nation.”
1 Mac 13:37 “The gold crown and the palm branch which you sent we have received, and we are ready to make a lasting peace with you, and to write to our officials to grant you the immunities you ask.”
1 Mac 13:38 “The things we have guaranteed to you stand assured, and the strongholds which you have built shall be yours.”
1 Mac 13:39 “Any oversights and deficiencies up to this time we forgive, as well as the crown tax that you owe, and if any other tax was collected in Jerusalem, it shall no longer be collected.”
1 Mac 13:40 “And if any of you are suitable persons to be enrolled at our court, they shall be so enrolled, and there shall be peace between us.”
1 Mac 13:41 “It was in the one hundred and seventieth year that the yoke of the heathen was lifted from Israel.
1 Mac 13:42 “And the people began to write in their contracts and agreements, “In the first year of Simon, the great high priest and governor and commander of the Jews.”
1 Mac 13:43 “In those days he pitched his camp against Gazara, and surrounded it with troops; and he built a siege engine and brought it up to the town and attacked a tower and took it.”
1 Mac 13:44 “And the men who were on the engine sprang out into the town. And there was a great stir in the town,
1 Mac 13:45 “And the people of the town with their wives and children went up on the wall with their clothes torn open and cried with a great shout asking Simon to treat with them,”
1 Mac 13:46 “And they said, “Do not treat us as our wickedness deserves, but have mercy on us.”
1 Mac 13:47 “So Simon came to terms with them and did not fight them, but he put them out of the city and purified the houses in which the idols were, and then he entered it with songs and praise.”
1 Mac 13:48 “And he expelled all impurity from it, and settled men in it who observed the Law, and he fortified it more strongly and built himself a dwelling there.”
1 Mac 13:49 “But the men in the citadel in Jerusalem were being kept from going in and out of the country to buy and sell, and they were famished and a good many of them died of starvation.
1 Mac 13:50 “And they cried out to Simon to make terms with them, and he did so. And he expelled them from it and purified the citadel from its defilements.”
1 Mac 13:51 “And they took possession of it on the twenty-third day of the second month in the one hundred and seventy-first year, with praise and palm branches and with Iyres and cymbals and harps, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been destroyed out of Israel.”
1 Mac 13:52 “And he decreed that they should observe that day with gladness every year. And the temple mount facing the citadel he fortified more strongly, and he and his men lived there.”
1 Mac 13:53 “And Simon saw that his son John was now a man and he made him commander of all his forces; and he lived in Gazara.”

Chapter 14

1 Mac 14:1 “In the one hundred and seventy-second year King Demetrius gathered his forces and marched into Media to obtain help so that he could fight against Trypho.”
1 Mac 14:2 “And Arsaces, king of Persia and Media, heard that Demetrius had entered his territory and he sent one of his officers to take him alive.”
1 Mac 14:3 “And he went and defeated Demetrius’ army and captured him and brought him to Arsaces, and he put him under guard.”
1 Mac 14:4 “And the land of Judah was at peace as long as Simon lived; he sought the good of his nation; his rule and his renown pleased them all his life.”
1 Mac 14:5 “With all his other glories, he took Joppa for a port and made it a way of access to the islands of the sea.”
1 Mac 14:6 “He enlarged the territory of his nation, and became master of the land.”
1 Mac 14:7 “He gathered many captives and made himself master of Gazara and Bethsura and the citadel, and he removed from it what defiled it, and there was no one who could resist him.”
1 Mac 14:8 “And they cultivated their land in peace, and the land yielded its produce, and the trees in the plains bore their fruit.”
1 Mac 14:9 “The old men sat in the streets; they all talked together of their well-being; and the young men put on splendid warlike attire.”
1 Mac 14:10 “He supplied the towns with provisions, and he furnished them with fortifications, until his renown was spoken of to the ends of the earth.”
1 Mac 14:11 “He made peace in the land, and Israel rejoiced with great joy.”
1 Mac 14:12 “Each man sat under his vine and his fig tree, and there was no one that could make them afraid.”
1 Mac 14:13 “There was no one left in the land to fight them, and the kings were destroyed in those days.”
1 Mac 14:14 “He reestablished all those of his people who had been humbled; he sought out the Law, and removed everyone who was lawless and wicked.”
1 Mac 14:15 “He made the sanctuary glorious and increased the equipment of the sanctuary.”
1 Mac 14:16 “It was reported in Rome and as far as Sparta that Jonathan was dead, and they grieved bitterly.”
1 Mac 14:17 “But when they heard that his brother Simon had been made high priest in his place, and that he was in control of the country and the towns in it,”
1 Mac 14:18 “They wrote to him on brass tablets to renew with him the friendly relations and alliance they had established with his brothers Judas and Jonathan;”
1 Mac 14:19 “And they were read before the assembly in Jerusalem.”
1 Mac 14:20 “And this is the copy of the letter which the Spartans sent: “The chief magistrates and the city of the Spartans send greeting to Simon, the chief priest, and to the elders and the priests and the rest of the Jewish people, our kinsmen.”
1 Mac 14:21 “The envoys that were sent to our people told us of your splendor and wealth, and we were glad of their coming.”
1 Mac 14:22 “We have recorded what they said in the decrees of the people, as follows: “Numenius, the son of Antiochus, and Antipater, the son of Jason, envoys of the Jews, came to us to renew their friendly relations with us.”
1 Mac 14:23 “And the people were pleased to receive the men with honor and to deposit the copy of what they said among the public records, so that the Spartan people may have a record of it. And they sent a copy of this to Simon the high priest.”
1 Mac 14:24 “After this Simon sent Numenius to Rome with a great gold shield weighing a thousand pounds, to confirm their alliance with them.”
1 Mac 14:25 “But when the people heard these things, they said, “How shall we thank Simon and his sons?”
1 Mac 14:26 “For he and his brothers and his father’s house have stood fast, and have fought and driven from them the enemies of Israel, and secured his freedom.”
1 Mac 14:27 “So they engraved it on brass tablets and set it on pillars on Mount Zion. And this is the copy of what they wrote: “On the eighteenth day of Elul, in the one hundred and seventy-second year, that is, the third year of the high priesthood of Simon,”
1 Mac 14:28 “The prince of God’s people in a great congregation of priests and people and leaders of the nation and elders of the country, this has been reported to us:”
1 Mac 14:29 “On the frequent occasions when wars have arisen in the country, Simon, the son of Mattathias the priest, of the descendants of Joarib, and his brothers have exposed themselves to danger and resisted the adversaries of their nation so that their sanctuary and their law might be upheld, and they have reflected great glory upon their nation.
1 Mac 14:30 “Jonathan rallied their nation and became their high priest, and was gathered to his people.”
1 Mac 14:31 “And when their enemies resolved to invade their country, and attack their sanctuary,”
1 Mac 14:32 “Simon resisted them, and fought for his nation, and spent a great deal of money of his own, and armed the warlike men of his nation, and gave them wages.”
1 Mac 14:33 “And he fortified the towns of Judea and Bethsura on the borders of Judea, where their enemies formerly kept their arms, and he stationed a garrison of Jews there.
1 Mac 14:34 “And he fortified Joppa, on the seacoast, and Gazara, on the borders of Azotus, where their enemies formerly lived, and he settled Jews there, and all that was necessary for the restoration of them he put in them.”
1 Mac 14:35 “And when the people saw Simon’s faithfulness and the glory that he designed to bring to his nation, they made him their leader and high priest, because he had done all these things and because of the uprightness and fidelity he had shown to his nation, and because he had sought in every way to exalt his people.”
1 Mac 14:36 “In his days matters prospered in his hands so that the heathen were driven out of their country, as well as those in the City of David, in Jerusalem, who had built themselves a citadel, from which they would go out and pollute the surroundings of the sanctuary, and did great damage to its purity.”
1 Mac 14:37 “He settled Jews in it and fortified it to make the land and the city safe, and he made the walls of Jerusalem high.”
1 Mac 14:38 “In view of these things, King Demetrius confirmed him in the high priesthood,”
1 Mac 14:39 “And made him one of his Friends, and treated him with great honor.”
1 Mac 14:40 “For he had heard that the Jews had been addressed by the Romans as friends and allies and kinsmen, and that they had received Simon’s envoys with great honor.”
1 Mac 14:41 “And the Jews and their priests resolved that Simon should be their leader and high priest forever until a true prophet should appear,”
1 Mac 14:42 “And that he should be their general, to appoint them to their duties, and to set them over the country and over the arms and over the fortifications; and that he should take care of the sanctuary,”
1 Mac 14:43 “and that all should obey him, and that all contracts in the country should be dated in his reign and that he should be clothed in purple and wear gold.”
1 Mac 14:44 “And no one of the people or of the priests shall be allowed to set aside any of these things, or to contradict what he shall say or to gather an assembly in the country without him, or to be clothed in purple or pin on a gold buckle.”
1 Mac 14:45 “Whoever disobeys these actions or disregards any of them shall be liable to punishment.”
1 Mac 14:46 “And all the people agreed to decree that they should do these things to Simon,”
1 Mac 14:47 “And Simon accepted them and agreed to be high priest and general and governor of the Jews and the priests, and to preside over them all.”
1 Mac 14:48 “And they ordered that this decree should be inscribed on brass tablets and that they should be set up in a conspicuous place in the sanctuary enclosure,”
1 Mac 14:49 “And that copies of it be deposited in the treasury, so that Simon and his sons might have it.”

Chapter 15

1 Mac 15:1 “And Antiochus, the son of King Demetrius, sent a letter from the islands of the sea to Simon, the priest and governor of the Jews, and to the whole nation,”
1 Mac 15:2 “And it ran as follows: “King Antiochus sends greeting to Simon, the chief priest and governor, and to the Jewish nation.”
1 Mac 15:3 “As some ruffians have made themselves masters of the kingdom of our fore-fathers, and I wish to claim the kingdom, so that I may restore it to its former state, and have raised a large force of mercenaries and prepared ships of war,”
1 Mac 15:4 “And propose to land in the country to go in search of the men who have ruined our country and have laid waste many towns in my kingdom,”
1 Mac 15:5 “I now guarantee to you all the immunities which the kings before me have granted you, and whatever other gifts they have released you from.”
1 Mac 15:6 “And I give you authority to coin money for your country with your own stamp,”
1 Mac 15:7 “And Jerusalem and the sanctuary shall be free, and all the arms you have prepared and the strongholds you have built and now hold, shall remain yours.”
1 Mac 15:8 “And any royal obligation and all future royal obligations shall be remitted for you from this time forth forever.”
1 Mac 15:9 “And when we get possession of our kingdom, we will greatly glorify you and your nation and the temple so that your glory will be visible to the whole earth.”
1 Mac 15:10 “In the one hundred and seventy-fourth year Antiochus went forth into the country of his forefathers, and all the troops joined him, so there were very few left with Trypho.”
1 Mac 15:11 “And Antiochus pursued him, and he came in his flight to Dor by the sea,”
1 Mac 15:12 “For he knew that misfortune had overtaken him and his troops had deserted him.”
1 Mac 15:13 “And Antiochus pitched his camp against Dor with a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers and eight thousand horse.”
1 Mac 15:14 “And he surrounded the town, and ships joined in the attack from the sea, and he pressed the town hard by land and sea, and did not allow anyone to go out or in.”
1 Mac 15:15 “And Numenius and his companions came back from Rome with letters to the kings and the countries, in which this was written:”
1 Mac 15:16 “Lucius, consul of the Romans, sends greeting to King Ptolemy.”
1 Mac 15:17 “The envoys of the Jews have come to us as our friends and allies, to renew the old friendly relations and alliance, having been sent by Simon, the high priest, and the Jewish people,”
1 Mac 15:18 “And they have brought a gold shield weighing a thousand pounds.”
1 Mac 15:19 “It is our pleasure therefore to write to the kings and the countries not to injure them or fight them or their towns or their country, and not to ally themselves with those who fight against them.”
1 Mac 15:20 “And we have determined to accept the shield from them.”
1 Mac 15:21 “So if any miscreants flee from their country to you, hand them over to Simon, the high priest, so that he may punish them in accordance with their law.”
1 Mac 15:22 “He wrote the same message to King Demetrius and to Attalus, and to Ariarathes, and to Arsaces,”
1 Mac 15:23 “And to all the countries, and to Sampsames and the Spartans, and to Delos, and to Myndos, and to Sicyon, and to Caria, and to Samos, and to Pamphylia, and to Lycia, and to Halicarnassus, and to Rhodes, and to Phaselis, and to Cos, and to Side, and to Aradus and Gortyna and Cnidus and Cyprus and Cyrene.”
1 Mac 15:24 “And they wrote a copy for Simon, the high priest.”
1 Mac 15:25 “And King Antiochus attacked Dor on the second day, continually throwing his forces against it, and erecting war engines, and he prevented Trypho from going in or out.”
1 Mac 15:26 “And Simon sent him two thousand picked men to fight for him, and silver and gold and a quantity of war material.”
1 Mac 15:27 “But he would not accept them but disregarded all the agreements he had made with him before, and he was estranged from him.”
1 Mac 15:28 “And he sent one of his Friends named Athenobius to him, to confer with him, saying, “You are holding Joppa and Gazara, and the citadel in Jerusalem, cities of my kingdom.
1 Mac 15:29 “You have laid waste their territories and done great injury to the country, and you have taken possession of many places in my kingdom.”
1 Mac 15:30 “So now give up the towns that you have seized, and the tribute of the places you have taken possession of outside the borders of Judea,”
1 Mac 15:31 “Or else give me five hundred talents of silver for them, and five hundred talents of silver more, for the damage you have done and for the tribute of the towns; or else we will come and make war on you.”
1 Mac 15:32 “So Athenobius the king’s Friend came to Jerusalem, and saw Simon’s splendor, and the sideboard with gold and silver plate and his great pomp, and he was amazed; and he gave him the king’s message.”
1 Mac 15:33 “And Simon said to him in reply, “We have neither taken other men’s land, nor are we in possession of other men’s property, but of the inheritance of our forefathers; it was wrongfully held by our enemies at one time,”
1 Mac 15:34 “But we, grasping our opportunity, hold firmly the inheritance of our forefathers.”
1 Mac 15:35 “But as for Joppa and Gazara, which you demand, while they have done great damage to our people and in our country, we will give a hundred talents for them.” He made him no answer,”
1 Mac 15:36 “But went back to the king in anger, and reported these words to him, and Simon’s splendor and all that he had seen, and the king was extremely angry.”
1 Mac 15:37 “But Trypho embarked on a ship and fled to Orthosia.”
1 Mac 15:38 “And the king appointed Cendebaeus commander-in-chief of the seacoast, and gave him infantry and cavalry,”
1 Mac 15:39 “And ordered him to pitch his camp before Judea, and he ordered him to wall Kedron and fortify its gates and fight against the people, but the king pursued Trypho.”
1 Mac 15:40 “And Cendebaeus arrived at Jamnia, and began to provoke the people and to invade Judea, and to take the people captive and to kill them.”
1 Mac 15:41 “And he built the walls of Kedron, and he stationed cavalry and other forces there, so that they might go out and make raids on the highways of Judea, as the king had ordered him to do.”

Chapter 16

1 Mac 16:1 “And John went up from Gazara and told his father Simon what Cendebaeus had done.
1 Mac 16:2 “And Simon called in his two eldest sons, Judas and John, and said to them, “I and my brothers and my father’s house have fought the battles of Israel from our youth until today, and we have succeeded in delivering Israel many times.”
1 Mac 16:3 “But now I am old, and you by his mercy are old enough; you must take my place and my brother’s, and go out and fight for our nation, and the help that comes from heaven be with you!”
1 Mac 16:4 “And he chose twenty thousand soldiers and cavalry from the country, and they marched against Cendebaeus and spent the night at Modin.”
1 Mac 16:5 “And they got up in the morning and marched into the plain, and here a great force came to meet them, horse and foot, and there was a stream between them.”
1 Mac 16:6 “And he encamped opposite them, with his people. And he saw that his people were afraid to cross the stream, so he crossed first; and his men saw him and they crossed after him.”
1 Mac 16:7 “And he divided the people, putting the cavalry in the midst of the infantry, for the enemy’s cavalry were very numerous.”
1 Mac 16:8 “And they sounded the trumpets, and Cendebaeus and his army were routed, and many of them fell wounded, and those who were left fled to the stronghold.”
1 Mac 16:9 “At that time Judas, John’s brother, was wounded, but John pursued them until he came to Kedron, which had been walled.”
1 Mac 16:10 “And they fled to the towers in the fields of Azotus, and he burned it up, and fully two thousand of them fell. And he returned to Judea in peace.”
1 Mac 16:11 “Now Ptolemy, the son of Abubus, had been appointed governor over the plain of Jericho, and he had a great deal of silver and gold,”
1 Mac 16:12 “For he was the son-in-law of the high priest.”
1 Mac 16:13 “And his heart was elated and he plotted deceitfully against Simon and his sons, to remove them.”
1 Mac 16:14 “Simon was making visits to the towns in the country, and providing for their care. And he went down to Jericho with his sons Mattathias and Judas, in the one hundred and seventy-seventh year, in the eleventh month, the month of Shebat.”
1 Mac 16:15 “And Abubus’ son deceitfully entertained them in the fortress called Dok, which he had built, and he had a great banquet for them, and he had men hidden there.”
1 Mac 16:16 “And when Simon and his sons were drunk, Ptolemy and his men got up and got their weapons and went to the banquet hall to attack Simon and killed him and his two sons and some of his servants.”
1 Mac 16:17 “So he committed an act of great treachery and returned evil for good.”
1 Mac 16:18 “And Ptolemy wrote of this and sent it to the king, so that he might send troops to his aid, and that he might turn over to him their country and towns.”
1 Mac 16:19 “And he sent others to Gazara to make away with John, and he sent letters to the colonels, telling them to come to him, so that he might give them silver and gold and presents;”
1 Mac 16:20 “And he sent others to take possession of Jerusalem, and the temple, mount.”
1 Mac 16:21 “And a man ran ahead to Gazara and informed John that his father and his brothers had perished, and said, “He has sent to kill you also!”
1 Mac 16:22 “He was greatly amazed when he heard it, and he seized the men who came to destroy him and killed them, for he knew that they meant to destroy him.”
1 Mac 16:23 “The rest of the acts of John, and his wars and the exploits that he performed, and the building of the walls that he effected, and his deeds;”
1 Mac 16:24 “Behold, they are written in the chronicles of his high priesthood, from the time that he became high priest after his father.”

First and second Maccabees are contained in a group of books called Apocrypha (hidden or secret), which were once in the canonical Bible between the old and new testaments. This book, like First Maccabees, details the history of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire as well as the founding and earliest history of the independent Hasmonean kingdom. The work is not a sequel to First Maccabees but rather its own independent rendition of the historical events of the Maccabean Revolt. It starts with an incident with the Seleucid official Heliodorus attempting to tax the Second Temple in 178 BC, and ends with the Battle of Adasa in 161 BC.

Chapter 1

2 Mac 1:1 “To the Jewish brothers in Egypt, the Jewish brothers in Jerusalem and the land of Judea send greetings and wish you perfect peace.”
2 Mac 1:2 “May God bless you, and remember his agreement with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, his faithful slaves,”
2 Mac 1:3 “And give you all a mind to worship him and do his will with a stout heart and a willing spirit.”
2 Mac 1:4 “May he open your mind with his Law and his statutes, and make peace,”
2 Mac 1:5 “And listen to your prayers and be reconciled to you, and not forsake you in adversity.”
2 Mac 1:6 “This is our prayer for you here.”
2 Mac 1:7 “In the reign of Demetrius, in the one hundred and sixty ninth year, we Jews wrote you in the extreme distress that overtook us in those years, from the time that Jason and his men revolted from the holy land and the kingdom,”
2 Mac 1:8 “And set fire to the gateway and shed innocent blood. And we besought the Lord, and were heard, and we offered sacrifice and the meal offering, and we lighted the lamps, and set out the Presentation Loaves.”
2 Mac 1:9 “And you must keep the Camping Out festival¹ in the month of Chislev.”
2 Mac 1:10 “The one hundred and eighty-eighth year. Those who are in Jerusalem and those in Judea and the senate and Judas send greetings and good wishes to Aristobulus, the teacher of King Ptolemy, who is of the stock of the anointed priests, and to the Jews in Egypt.”
2 Mac 1:11 “As we have been saved by God from great dangers, we offer devout thanks to him as men who array themselves against a king;”
2 Mac 1:12 “For he drove out those who arrayed themselves against him in the holy city.”
2 Mac 1:13 “For when their leader reached Persia, with an army about him that seemed irresistible, they were cut down in the temple of Nanaea, through treachery on the part of the priests of Nanaea.”
2 Mac 1:14 “For Antiochus with his friends came to the place on the pretext of marrying her, in order to get a large sum of money by way of dowry.”
2 Mac 1:15 “And when the priests of the temple of Nanaea had brought out the money, and he had come with a few followers inside the wall of the temple inclosure, they shut the temple when Antiochus had gone in,”
2 Mac 1:16 “And opened the secret door in the ceiling, and threw stones and struck down the leader, and dismembered him and threw their heads to the people who were outside.”
2 Mac 1:17 “(Blessed in every way be our God who brought the impious to justice!)”
2 Mac 1:18 “As we are about to celebrate the purification of the temple, on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev, we think it necessary to inform you, so that you too may observe the Camping Out festival² and the kindling of the fire, when Nehemiah, who built the temple and the altar, offered sacrifices.”
2 Mac 1:19 “For when our forefathers were being taken to Persia, the pious priests of that day took some of the fire on the altar and hid it secretly in the hollow of an empty cistern, where they made it secure, so that the place was unknown to anyone.”
2 Mac 1:20 “Many years after, when it pleased God, Nehemiah was commissioned by the king of Persia, and sent the descendants of the priests who had hidden the fire to get it. But when they reported to us that they could not find any fire but only muddy water,”
2 Mac 1:21 “He ordered them to dip some out and bring it to him. And when the things to be sacrificed had been put in place, Nehemiah ordered the priests to sprinkle the water on the wood and the things that were laid on it.”
2 Mac 1:22 “And when this was done and some time had passed, and the sun, which had been clouded over, shone out, a great blaze was kindled, so that they all wondered.”
2 Mac 1:22 (Grk) “When this was done, and the time came that the sun shone, which before was hid in the cloud, there was a great fire kindled, so that every man marveled.”
2 Mac 1:23 “And the priests uttered a prayer while the sacrifice was being consumed – the priests and all present, Jonathan leading and the rest responding, as Nehemiah did.”
2 Mac 1:24 “And this was the prayer: “O Lord, Lord God, creator of all things, who are terrible and strong and upright and merciful, who alone are king and good,”
2 Mac 1:25 “The only patron, who alone are upright and almighty and eternal, who save Israel from every evil, who chose our forefathers and sanctified them,”
2 Mac 1:26 “Accept this sacrifice on behalf of all your people Israel, and watch over your allotment, and make it holy.”
2 Mac 1:27 “Gather together our scattered people, set at liberty those who are in slavery among the heathen, look upon those who are despised and abhorred, and let the heathen know that you are our God.”
2 Mac 1:28 “Afflict our oppressors and those who are violent in their arrogance.”
2 Mac 1:29 “Plant your people in your holy place, as Moses said.”
2 Mac 1:30 “Then the priests struck up the hymns.”
2 Mac 1:31 “And when the things that were sacrificed were consumed, Nehemiah ordered them to pour the water that was left on large stones.”
2 Mac 1:32 “And when this was done, a flame was kindled, but when the light shone back from the altar, it went out.”
2 Mac 1:33 “And when the thing became known, and the king of Persia was told that in the place where the priests that were deported had hidden the fire, water had appeared, and with it Nehemiah’s people had burned up the things they sacrificed,”
2 Mac 1:34 “The king, after investigating the matter, made the place a sacred inclosure,”
2 Mac 1:35 “And the king exchanged many different gifts with his favorites.”
2 Mac 1:36 “Nehemiah’s people called this Nephthar, which is translated “Purification,” but most people call it Nephthai.”

Chapter 2

2 Mac 2:1 “It is also found in the records that the prophet Jeremiah ordered those who were carried away to take some of the fire, as has been described,”
2 Mac 2:2 “And that after giving them the Law, the prophet charged those who were carried away not to forget the Lord’s commands, and not to be led astray in their minds when they saw gold and silver idols and their ornamentation.”
2 Mac 2:3 “And with other similar exhortations he told them that the Law should not pass from their hearts.”
2 Mac 2:4 “It was also in the writing that the prophet, in obedience to a revelation, gave orders that the tent and the ark should accompany him, and that he went away to the mountain where Moses went up and beheld God’s inheritance.”
2 Mac 2:5 “And Jeremiah came and found a cave-dwelling, and he took the tent and the ark and the incense altar into it, and he blocked up the door.”
2 Mac 2:6 “And some of those who followed him came up to mark the road, and they could not find it.”
2 Mac 2:7 “But when Jeremiah found it out, he blamed them and said, “The place shall be unknown until God gathers the congregation of his people together and shows his mercy.”
2 Mac 2:8 “Then shall the Lord show them these things, and the glory of the Lord shall appear, and the cloud also, as it was shown under Moses, and as when Solomon desired that the place might be honorably sanctified.”
2 Mac 2:8 (Grk) “Then the Lord will show where they are, and the glory of the Lord will appear, as they were shown in the days of Moses, and when Solomon asked that the place might be made very sacred.”
2 Mac 2:9 “It was also stated that he, in his wisdom, offered a dedicatory sacrifice at the completion of the temple,”
2 Mac 2:10 “And just as Moses prayed to the Lord, and fire came down from heaven and consumed the offerings, so Solomon also prayed, and the fire came down and burned up the whole burnt offerings.”
2 Mac 2:11 “And Moses said, “Because the sin offering had not been eaten, it was consumed.”
2 Mac 2:12 “In like manner Solomon also kept the eight days.”
2 Mac 2:13 “The same thing was related also in the records and memoirs about Nehemiah, and that he founded a library and collected the books about the kings and the prophets, and the works of David, and royal letters about sacred gifts.”
2 Mac 2:14 “In like manner Judas also collected for us all the books that had been scattered because of the outbreak of war, and they are in our hands.”
2 Mac 2:15 “So, if you want them, send men to get them for you.”
2 Mac 2:16 “So as we are about to celebrate the Purification, we write to you. Please observe these days.”
2 Mac 2:17 “It is God that has saved all his people and given them back their heritage and kingdom and priesthood and consecration,”
2 Mac 2:18 “As he promised through the Law; for in God we have hope that he will speedily have mercy on us, and gather us together from under heaven to the holy place, for he has delivered us from great misfortunes and has purified the place.”
2 Mac 2:19 “Now the story of Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, and the purification of the great temple, and the rededication of the altar,”
2 Mac 2:20 “And also of the wars with Antiochus Epiphanes and his son Eupator,”
2 Mac 2:21 “And the heavenly manifestations shown to those who zealously championed the Jewish religion, so that few as they were, they plundered the whole country and drove out the barbarian hordes;”
2 Mac 2:22 “And recovered the world-renowned temple, and freed the city, and restored the laws which were on the point of being destroyed, since the Lord, with great forbearance had shown mercy to them,”
2 Mac 2:23 “All this, as related by Jason of Cyrene in five books, we will try to condense into one volume.”
2 Mac 2:24 “For in view of the flood of statistics and the difficulty created by the abundance of the material, for those who wish to plunge into the historical narratives,”
2 Mac 2:25 “We have aimed at attracting those who like to read, and at making it easy for those who are disposed to memorize, and at being of use to all our readers.”
2 Mac 2:26 “For us, who have taken upon ourselves the painful task of abridgment, the thing is not easy, and takes sweat and midnight oil,”
2 Mac 2:27 “Just as it is no easy matter for a man who prepares a banquet and strives to benefit others. Still, to win the gratitude of so many, we will gladly endure the painful task,”
2 Mac 2:28 “Leaving to the historian the investigation of details, but taking pains to follow the lines of an epitome.”
2 Mac 2:29 “For as the builder of a new house must have the whole structure in mind, while the man who undertakes to decorate and paint it has only to seek out what is suitable for its adornment, so I think it is with us.”
2 Mac 2:30 “To enter upon the subject and discuss matters fully and elaborate the details is the task of the original historian,”
2 Mac 2:31 “But one who rewrites it must be permitted to seek brevity of expression, and to forego the labored treatment of the matter.”
2 Mac 2:32 “Here then let us begin the story, without adding more to what has already been said; for it is foolish to write a long preface to the history and then abbreviate the history itself.”

Chapter 3

2 Mac 3:1 “When the holy city was inhabited in perfect peace, and the laws were strictly observed, because of the piety of Onias, the high priest, and his hatred of wickedness,
2 Mac 3:2 “It came to pass that even the kings themselves did honor to the place, and glorified the temple with most noble gifts,”
2 Mac 3:3 “So that even Seleucus, king of Asia, from his own revenues provided all the expense of the sacrificial service.”
2 Mac 3:4 “But a man named Simon, of the tribe of Benjamin, who had been appointed governor of the temple, had a difference with the high priest about the conduct of the city market.”
2 Mac 3:5 “When he failed to carry his point against Onias, he went to Apollonius of Tarsus, who was at that time governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia,”
2 Mac 3:6 “And reported to him that the treasury in Jerusalem was full of such untold quantities of money that the amount of the funds was beyond computation; and that they did not belong to the account of the sacrifices and they might fall under the control of the king.”
2 Mac 3:7 “When Apollonius met the king, he informed him of the money that had been pointed out to him. And he appointed Heliodorus, who was his chancellor, and sent him with instructions to effect the removal of this money.”
2 Mac 3:8 “Heliodorus immediately set out on his journey, under the guise of visiting the towns of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, but in reality to carry out the king’s design.”
2 Mac 3:9 “When he reached Jerusalem, and had been cordially welcomed by the high priest and the city, he laid before them the disclosure that had been made to him, and explained why he had come, and inquired whether this was really true.”
2 Mac 3:10 “The high priest pointed out that some deposits belonged to widows and orphans,”
2 Mac 3:11 “And one belonged to Hyrcanus, son of Tobias, a man of very high position – so falsely had the impious Simon spoken; that it all amounted to four hundred talents of silver and two hundred of gold,”
2 Mac 3:12 “And that it was absolutely impossible that those who were relying on the sacredness of the place and on the sanctity and inviolability of the temple, which was respected all over the world, should be wronged.”
2 Mac 3:13 “But Heliodorus, because of the royal orders he had received, said that anyway this must be confiscated for the royal treasury.”
2 Mac 3:14 “So he set a day, and went in to conduct an inspection of these funds; and there was no little distress all over the city.”
2 Mac 3:15 “The priests in their priestly robes threw themselves down before the altar, and called to heaven on him who had given the law about deposits to keep these safe for those who had deposited them.”
2 Mac 3:16 “One could not observe the appearance of the high priest without being pierced to the heart, for his expression and his change of color revealed the anguish of his soul.”
2 Mac 3:17 “For terror and bodily shuddering had come over the man, which plainly showed to those who looked at him the pain that was in his heart.”
2 Mac 3:18 “Moreover the people in the houses came flocking out to make a general supplication because the place was on the point of being treated with contempt.”
2 Mac 3:19 “The women, with sackcloth girt under their breasts, thronged the streets, while maidens who were kept indoors ran together, some to the gateways, some to the walls, and some looked out from the windows;”
2 Mac 3:20 “And all raised their hands to heaven and uttered their supplication.”
2 Mac 3:21 “One could not help pitying the multitude, all prostrating themselves in a body, and the anxiety of the high priest in his great anguish.”
2 Mac 3:22 “While they therefore called upon the Almighty Lord to keep the things that had been intrusted to him in perfect security for those who had intrusted them to him,”
2 Mac 3:23 “Heliodorus was carrying out what had been decided upon.”
2 Mac 3:24 “But no sooner had he and his guards arrived before the treasury than the Sovereign of spirits and of all authority caused a great manifestation so that all who had been daring enough to come with him were appalled at the power of God and fainted with terror.”
2 Mac 3:25 “For there appeared to them a horse with a dreadful rider, adorned with magnificent trappings, and rushing swiftly at Heliodorus it struck at him with its forefeet. His rider seemed clad in golden armor.”
2 Mac 3:26 “Two young men also appeared to him, remarkably strong and gloriously beautiful and splendidly dressed, who stood on each side of him and flogged him continually, inflicting many stripes on him.”
2 Mac 3:27 “He fell suddenly to the ground and was enveloped in deep darkness, and men picked him up and put him on a stretcher and carried him off;”
2 Mac 3:28 “The man that had just entered that treasury with a great retinue and his whole guard but was now rendered helpless – and they clearly recognized the sovereign power of God.”
2 Mac 3:29 “So through the divine intervention he lay prostrate, bereft of all hope of deliverance,”
2 Mac 3:30 “While they blessed the Lord who had marvelously honored his own place; and the temple, which a little while before had been full of fear and commotion, now that the Almighty Lord had manifested himself was filled with joy and gladness.”
2 Mac 3:31 “Some of the intimate friends of Heliodorus soon asked Onias to call upon the Most High and grant him his life, as he lay at his very last gasp.”
2 Mac 3:32 “The high priest suspected that the king might form the opinion that some villainy had been practiced upon Heliodorus by the Jews, and offered a sacrifice for the man’s recovery.”
2 Mac 3:33 “But as the high priest was offering the sacrifice of propitiation, the same young men again appeared to Heliodorus, clad in the same clothes, and they stood beside him and said, “Be very grateful to Onias the high priest, for the Lord has spared your life for his sake;”
2 Mac 3:34 “And since you have been flogged from heaven, proclaim to all men the sovereign power of God.” When they had said this, they vanished.”
2 Mac 3:35 “So Heliodorus offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made very great vows to him who had saved his life, and after a friendly meeting with Onias marched back to the king.”
2 Mac 3:36 “And he bore witness before all men to the deeds of the supreme God which he had seen.”
2 Mac 3:37 “When the king asked Heliodorus what kind of man was suitable to be sent once more to Jerusalem, he said,”
2 Mac 3:38 “If you have an enemy or a conspirator against the government, send him there, and you will get him back soundly flogged, if he escapes with his life, for there is certainly some divine power about the place.”
2 Mac 3:39 “For he whose dwelling is in heaven watches over that place and helps it, and strikes down and destroys those who come to injure it.”
2 Mac 3:40 “This was the way the matter of Heliodorus and the protection of the treasury turned out.”

Chapter 4

2 Mac 4:1 “But this Simon who had informed about the money and against his country, made accusations against Onias, saying that he had incited Heliodorus and had been the actual author of these troubles.”
2 Mac 4:2 “He dared to charge with conspiracy against the government the benefactor of the city, the protector of his countrymen, and the champion of the laws!”
2 Mac 4:3 “But when his enmity reached such a point that murders were committed by one of Simon’s trusted men,
2 Mac 4:4 “Onias, becoming aware of the danger of their contention, and that Apollonius, the son of Menestheus, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, was increasing Simon’s malice,”
2 Mac 4:5 “Resorted to the king, not to be an accuser of his fellow-citizens, but as looking after the welfare, public and private, of all the people;”
2 Mac 4:6 “For he saw that without the king’s interest it was impossible for the government to secure peace again, and that Simon would not abandon his folly.”
2 Mac 4:7 “But when Seleucus departed this life and Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, succeeded to the kingdom, Onias’ brother Jason obtained the high priesthood by corruption,”
2 Mac 4:8 “Promising the king in his petition three hundred and sixty talents of silver, and eighty talents from other revenues.”
2 Mac 4:9 “Besides this he promised to pay a hundred and fifty more, if he was given authority to set up a gymnasium and a training place for youth there and to enroll the people of Jerusalem as citizens of Antioch.”
2 Mac 4:10 “When the king had consented, and he had taken office, he immediately brought his countrymen over to the Greek way of living.”
2 Mac 4:11 “He set aside the royal ordinances especially favoring the Jews, secured through John, the father of Eupolemus, who went on the mission to the Romans to establish friendly relations and an alliance with them, and abrogating the lawful ways of living he introduced new customs contrary to the Law.”
2 Mac 4:12 “For he willingly established a gymnasium right under the citadel, and he made the finest of the young men wear the Greek hat.”
2 Mac 4:13 “And to such a pitch did the cultivation of Greek fashions and the coming in of foreign customs rise, because of the excessive wickedness of this godless Jason, who was no high priest at all,”
2 Mac 4:14 “That the priests were no longer earnest about the services of the altar, but disdaining the sanctuary and neglecting the sacrifices, they hurried to take part in the unlawful exercises in the wrestling school, after the summons to the discus-throwing,”
2 Mac 4:15 “Regarding as worthless the things their forefathers valued, and thinking Greek standards the finest.”
2 Mac 4:16 “As a result, they found themselves in a trying situation, for those whose mode of life they cultivated, and whom they wished to imitate exactly, became their enemies and punished them.”
2 Mac 4:17 “For it is no small matter to sin against the laws of God, as the period that followed will show.”
2 Mac 4:18 “Now when the quinquennial (every fifth year) games were being held at Tyre, and the king was present,”
2 Mac 4:19 “The vile Jason sent envoys who were citizens of Antioch to represent Jerusalem, to carry three hundred silver drachmas for the sacrifice to Hercules. But even those who carried it thought it should not be used for a sacrifice, as that was not fitting, but should be spent in some other way.”
2 Mac 4:20 “So this money intended by its sender for the sacrifice to Hercules, was applied because of those who carried it to the fitting out of triremes.”
2 Mac 4:21 “When Apollonius, the son of Menestheus, was sent into Egypt to attend the coronation of King Philometor, Antiochus, learning that the latter was disaffected toward his government, took measures for his own security, so he came to Joppa and visited Jerusalem.”
2 Mac 4:22 “He was magnificently welcomed by Jason and received with torches and acclamations. Then he marched into Phoenicia.”
2 Mac 4:23 “After the lapse of three years, Jason sent Menelaus, the brother of this Simon, to take the money to the king and to present papers relating to necessary business.”
2 Mac 4:24 “But he, on being presented to the king, extolled him with such apparent authority that he obtained the high priesthood for himself, outbidding Jason by three hundred talents of silver.”
2 Mac 4:25 “Upon receiving the royal commission, he came back, possessing nothing that qualified him for the high priesthood, but with the passions of a savage tyrant and the rage of a wild beast.”
2 Mac 4:26 “So Jason, who had supplanted his own brother, was supplanted by another, and driven as a fugitive into the country of the Ammonites.”
2 Mac 4:27 “So Menelaus held the office, but he did not pay any of the money he had promised to the king, and when Sostratus, the governor of the citadel, demanded it,”
2 Mac 4:28 “For it was his duty to collect the revenues, the two men were summoned by the king to appear before him on account of it.
2 Mac 4:29 “Menelaus left his brother Lysimachus to act in his place in the high priesthood, and Sostratus left Crates, the viceroy of Cyprus, to act in his.”
2 Mac 4:30 “In this state of things, the people of Tarsus and Mallus made an insurrection because they had been given as a present to Antiochis, the king’s mistress.”
2 Mac 4:31 “So the king went in haste to Cilicia to adjust matters there, leaving a man of high rank named Andronicus to act in his place.”
2 Mac 4:32 “Then Menelaus, thinking he had found a favorable opening, presented Andronicus with some gold dishes from the temple, which he had appropriated; he had already sold others at Tyre and the neighboring towns.”
2 Mac 4:33 “When Onias was certain of this, he sternly rebuked him, after retiring to a place of sanctuary at Daphne, near Antioch.”
2 Mac 4:34 “So Menelaus took Andronicus aside and urged him to arrest Onias. And he went to Onias, and having been persuaded to use treachery, offered him sworn pledges and gave him his right hand, and persuaded him, notwithstanding his suspicions, to leave his sanctuary, and immediately without regard to justice put him in prison.”
2 Mac 4:35 “This made not only Jews but many people of other nationalities indignant and angry over the wicked murder of the man.”
2 Mac 4:36 “And when the king came back from Cilicia, the Jews in the city, with the support of the Greeks who abhorred the crime, appealed to him about the unjustifiable killing of Onias.”
2 Mac 4:37 “So Antiochus, as he was sincerely sorry, and moved to pity, and shed tears over the sober and well-ordered life of the departed,”
2 Mac 4:38 “In a fiery passion stripped the purple robe from Andronicus and tore off his underclothes and led him about through the whole city to the very place where he had sinned against Onias, and there he dispatched the murderer, and the Lord rendered him the punishment he deserved.”
2 Mac 4:39 “When many thefts from the temple had been committed in the city by Lysimachus with the connivance of Menelaus, and the report of them spread abroad, the people gathered against Lysimachus, as a great deal of gold plate had already been scattered.”
2 Mac 4:40 “But when the people made an uprising and were inflamed with anger, Lysimachus armed about three thousand men, and commenced hostilities with a man named Avaranus, who was as foolish as he was aged, in command.”
2 Mac 4:41 “And when they were aware of Lysimachus’ attack, some picked up stones and others sticks of wood and others caught up handfuls of the ashes that were lying about, and flung them pell-mell at Lysimachus and his men.”
2 Mac 4:42 “As a result, they wounded many of them, and felled many, and put them all to flight, and the temple-robber himself they killed beside the treasury.”
2 Mac 4:43 “Charges were made against Menelaus about this affair,”
2 Mac 4:44 “And when the king visited Tyre, the three men sent by the senate presented the case before him.”
2 Mac 4:45 “Menelaus was now facing defeat, but he promised a large sum of money to Ptolemy, son of Dorymenes, to prevail upon the king.”
2 Mac 4:46 “So Ptolemy took the king aside into a colonnade, as if to take the air, and persuaded him to change his mind,”
2 Mac 4:47 “And he acquitted Menelaus, who was to blame for all the trouble, of the charges against him, and condemned to death the wretched men who would have been dismissed as innocent if they had pleaded even before Scythians.”
2 Mac 4:48 “So the advocates of the city and the people and the sacred plate promptly suffered this unjust punishment.”
2 Mac 4:49 “This caused some Tyrians, in their detestation of the crime, to provide magnificently for their burial.”
2 Mac 4:50 “But Menelaus, because of the covetousness of the authorities, remained in power, increasing in wickedness and persistently plotting against his fellow-citizens.”

Chapter 5

2 Mac 5:1 “About that time Antiochus made his second attack upon Egypt.”
2 Mac 5:2 “And it happened that all over the city for about forty days, there appeared horsemen charging in mid-air, in robes inwrought with gold, fully armed, in companies, with spears and drawn swords;”
2 Mac 5:3 “Squadrons of cavalry drawn up, charges and countercharges taking place on this side and on that, with brandishing of shields, forests of spears, showers of missiles, the flash of gold trappings, and armor of every kind.”
2 Mac 5:4 “Therefore all men prayed that the manifestation betokened good.”
2 Mac 5:5 “There arose a false rumor that Antiochus had departed this life, and Jason took fully a thousand men and made a sudden attack upon the city. As the troops upon the walls gave way, and the city was already virtually captured, Menelaus took refuge in the citadel.”
2 Mac 5:6 Then Jason unsparingly slaughtered his fellow-citizens, regardless of the fact that success gained over one’s kindred is the greatest failure, and fancying that he was winning trophies from his enemies, not from his countrymen.
2 Mac 5:7 “He did not get control of the government, however, and in the end got only shame from his conspiracy, and had to take refuge again as a fugitive in the country of the Ammonites.”
2 Mac 5:8 “So finally he met a miserable end; accused before Aretas, the sovereign of Arabians, fleeing from city to city, pursued by all men, hated as an apostate from the laws, and abhorred as the butcher of his country and his fellow-citizens, he was driven into Egypt,”
2 Mac 5:9 “And he who had sent many from their own country into exile died in a strange land, crossing the sea to the Lacedaemonians hoping to find protection there because of his relationship to them.”
2 Mac 5:10 “So he who had thrown many out to lie unburied had none to mourn for him, and had no funeral at all and no place in the tomb of his forefathers.”
2 Mac 5:11 “When news of what had happened reached the king, he thought that Judea was in revolt; so he set out from Egypt Iike a wild beast and took the city by storm.”
2 Mac 5:12 “And he ordered his soldiers to cut down without distinction anyone they met and to slay those who took refuge in their houses.”
2 Mac 5:13 “Then there was a massacre of young and old, an annihilation of boys, women and children, a slaughter of girls and babies.”
2 Mac 5:14 “In no more than three days eighty thousand people were destroyed, forty thousand of them in hand-to-hand encounter, and as many were sold into slavery as were slain.”
2 Mac 5:15 “Not content with this, he dared to go into the most holy temple in all the world, guided by Menelaus who had betrayed both the laws and his country;”
2 Mac 5:16 “And took the sacred plate in his polluted hands, and with his profane hands he swept away what had been dedicated by other kings to enhance the glory and honor of the place.”
2 Mac 5:17 “In the elation of his spirit, Antiochus did not realize that it was because of the sins of the inhabitants of the city that the Lord was angered for a little, so that he had not had regard for the place.”
2 Mac 5:18 “But if they had not happened to be entangled in so many sins this man, like Heliodorus, who was sent by King Seleucus to inspect the treasury, would have been flogged and turned back from his presumptuous purpose as soon as he approached.”
2 Mac 5:19 “But the Lord did not select the nation for the sake of the place, but the place for the sake of the nation.”
2 Mac 5:20 “Therefore the place itself, after sharing in the misfortunes that overtook the nation, participated afterward in its benefits; and what was forsaken by the Almighty in his wrath was restored in all its glory when its great Master became reconciled to it.”
2 Mac 5:21 “So Antiochus carried away eighteen hundred talents from the temple, and hurried off to Antioch, thinking in his arrogance that he would make the land navigable and the sea traversable on foot, he was so intoxicated in mind.”
2 Mac 5:22 “And to harass the people he left governors in Jerusalem, Philip, a Phrygian by nationality, but in character more barbarous than the man who appointed him;”
2 Mac 5:23 “In Gerizim, Andronicus, and besides these, Menelaus, who was worse than the others in his overbearing treatment of his townsmen. In his hostile attitude to the Jewish citizens,”
2 Mac 5:24 “He sent Apollonius, the Mysian captain, with a force of twenty-two thousand, with orders to slay all the grown men, and to sell the women and younger men as slaves.”
2 Mac 5:25 “When this man arrived at Jerusalem, he pretended to be peacefully disposed, and waited till the holy sabbath day; then finding the Jews refraining from work, he ordered his men to parade under arms;”
2 Mac 5:26 “And so he slew all them that were gone to the celebrating of the sabbath, and running through the city with weapons slew great multitudes.”
2 Mac 5:26 (Grk) “And put to the sword all those who came out to see them, and rushing into the city with his armed men he destroyed them in great multitudes.”
2 Mac 5:27 “But Judas Maccabeus with some nine others got away to the wild country and kept himself alive with his comrades in the mountains as wild animals do, and they lived on what grew wild rather than suffer pollution with the rest.”

Chapter 6

2 Mac 6:1 “Not long after, the king sent an old Athenian to force the Jews to forsake the laws of their forefathers and cease to live according to the laws of God,”
2 Mac 6:2 “But to pollute the temple in Jerusalem and to call it that of the Olympian Zeus, and to call the one in Gerizim that of Zeus the Hospitable, in keeping with the character of those who lived there.”
2 Mac 6:3 “This harshly and most grievously intensified the evil.”
2 Mac 6:4 “For the heathen filled the temple with profligacy and revelry, amusing themselves with prostitutes and lying with women within the sacred precincts, and bringing into it things that were forbidden.”
2 Mac 6:5 “The altar was covered with abominable offerings, which the laws forbade.”
2 Mac 6:6 “A man could not keep the sabbath or celebrate the festivals of his forefathers, or admit he was a Jew at all.”
2 Mac 6:7 “On the monthly celebration of the king’s birthday, they were taken by bitter necessity to taste the sacrifices, and when the festival of Dionysus was celebrated, they were compelled to wear wreaths of ivy and march in procession in his honor.”
2 Mac 6:8 “At Ptolemy’s suggestion a decree was issued to the neighboring Greek towns, that they should adopt the same policy toward the Jews and make them taste the sacrifices,”
2 Mac 6:9 “And that they should slay any who would not agree to adopt Greek customs. So anyone could see how their misery was intensified.”
2 Mac 6:10 “For two women were brought in for circumcising their children, and they led them publicly about the city with their babies hanging at their breasts, and then threw them down from the top of the wall.”
2 Mac 6:11 “Others who had gathered in caves near by, to keep the seventh day in secret, were betrayed to Philip and all burned together, because they had scruples about defending themselves, in their respect for the dignity of that most holy day.”
2 Mac 6:12 “So I beseech those who read this book not to be cast down by such misfortunes but to consider that these punishments were meant not for the destruction of our people but for their correction.”
2 Mac 6:13 “For it is a mark of great benevolence not to let the impious alone for a long time but to punish them promptly.”
2 Mac 6:14 “For in the case of other nations, the Master is long suffering and waits before he punishes them until they have reached the full measure of their sins; but in our case he has decided differently,”
2 Mac 6:15 “So that he may not take vengeance on us afterward when our sins have reached their height.
2 Mac 6:16 “So he never withdraws his mercy from us, and although he disciplines us with misfortune, he does not abandon his own people.”
2 Mac 6:17 “This much let us say by way of reminder; after these few words we must resume our story.”
2 Mac 6:18 “Eleazar, one of the leading scribes, a man of advanced age and fine appearance, was being forced to open his mouth and eat pork.” (4 Mac 5:4-6:30)
2 Mac 6:19 “But he, welcoming a glorious death in preference to a life of pollution went up of his own accord to the torture wheel,”
2 Mac 6:20 “Setting an example of how those should come forward who are steadfast enough to refuse food which it is wrong to taste even for the natural love of life.”
2 Mac 6:21 “Those who were in charge of that unlawful sacrificial meal, because of their long-standing acquaintance with the man, took him aside, and privately urged him to bring meat provided by himself, which he could properly make use of, and pretend that he was eating the meat of the sacrifice, as the king had ordered,”
2 Mac 6:22 “So that by doing this he might escape the death penalty, and on account of his lifelong friendship with them be kindly treated.”
2 Mac 6:23 “But he, making a high resolve, worthy of his years and the dignity of his age and the hoary hair which he reached with such distinction, and his admirable life even from his childhood, and still more of the holy and divine legislation, declared himself in accord with these, telling them to send him down to Hades at once.”
2 Mac 6:24 “For,” said he, “it does not become our time of life to pretend, and so lead many young people to suppose that Eleazar when ninety years old has gone over to heathenism,”
2 Mac 6:25 “And to be led astray through me, because of my pretense for the sake of this short and insignificant life, while I defile and disgrace my old age.”
2 Mac 6:26 “For even if for the present I escape the punishment of men, yet whether I live or die I shall not escape the hands of the Almighty.”
2 Mac 6:27 “Therefore by manfully giving up my life now, I will prove myself worthy of my great age,”
2 Mac 6:28 “And leave to the young a noble example of how to die willingly and nobly for the sacred and holy laws.” With these words he went straight to the torture wheel,”
2 Mac 6:29 “While those who so shortly before had felt kindly toward him became hostile to him, because the words he had uttered were in their opinion mere madness.”
2 Mac 6:30 “As he was about to die under the strokes, he said with a groan, “The Lord, in his holy knowledge, knows that, though I might have escaped death, I endure dreadful pains in my body from being flogged; but in my heart I am glad to suffer this, because I fear him.”
2 Mac 6:31 “And so he died, leaving in his death a pattern of nobility and a memorial of virtue not only to the young but to the mass of his nation.”

Chapter 7

2 Mac 7:1 “It happened that seven brothers were also arrested with their mother, and were tortured with whips and thongs by the king, to force them to taste of the unlawful swine’s meat.”
2 Mac 7:2 “One of them made himself their advocate and said, “What do you expect to ask and learn from us? For we are ready to die, rather than transgress the laws of our fore-fathers.”
2 Mac 7:3 “The king was infuriated and gave orders that pans and caldrons should be heated.”
2 Mac 7:4 “And when they were immediately heated, he commanded that the tongue of the one who had been their advocate should be cut out, and that they should scalp him and cut off his extremities, while his brothers and his mother looked on.”
2 Mac 7:5 “And when he was utterly crippled, he ordered them to bring him to the fire and fry him. And as the vapor from the pan spread thickly, they with their mother encouraged one another to die nobly, saying,”
2 Mac 7:6 “The Lord God is looking on, and he truly relents toward us, as Moses declared in his Song, which bore witness against them face to face, when he said, ‘And he will relent toward his slaves.”’
2 Mac 7:7 “When the first one had departed in this manner, they brought the second one to be mocked, and they tore off the skin of his head with the hair, and asked him, “Will you eat, or have your body punished limb by limb?”
2 Mac 7:8 “But he replied in the language of his forefathers and answered, “No.” So he also underwent the same series of tortures as the first suffered.”
2 Mac 7:9 “But when he was at his last gasp, he said, “You wretch, you release us from this present life, but the king of the world will raise us up, because we have died for his laws, to an everlasting renewal of life.”
2 Mac 7:10 “After him, the third was mocked, and when he was told to put out his tongue, he did so quickly, and courageously stretched out his hands,”
2 Mac 7:11 “And said nobly, “I got these from heaven, and for the sake of its laws I disregard them, and from it I hope to receive them back again,”
2 Mac 7:12 “So that the king himself and those who were with him were amazed at the young man’s spirit, because he made light of his sufferings.”
2 Mac 7:13 “And when he had departed, they tortured and maltreated the fourth in the same way.”
2 Mac 7:14 “And when he was near his end, he spoke thus: “It is better to die by men’s hands and look for the hopes God gives of being raised again by him; for you will have no resurrection to life.”
2 Mac 7:15 “Next they brought up the fifth and maltreated him.”
2 Mac 7:16 “But he looked at him and said, “Since you have authority among men, though you are mortal, you do what you please; but do not suppose that our race has been abandoned by God.”
2 Mac 7:17 “But follow your course and see how his mighty power will torment you and your posterity.”
2 Mac 7:18 “After him they brought the sixth. And when he was at the point of death, he said, “Do not be falsely deceived; for we suffer these things because of ourselves, for we sin against our own God, so these amazing things have happened.”
2 Mac 7:19 “But you must not suppose that you will go unpunished for having attempted to fight against God.”
2 Mac 7:20 “But their mother was surpassingly wonderful, and deserves a blessed memory, for though she saw her seven sons perish within a single day, she bore it with good courage, because of her hope in the Lord.”
2 Mac 7:21 “And she encouraged each of them in the language of their forefathers, for she was filled with a noble spirit and stirred her woman’s heart with manly courage, and said to them,”
2 Mac 7:22 “I do not know how you appeared in my womb, for it was not I that gave you life and breath, and it was not I that brought into harmony the elements of each.”
2 Mac 7:23 “Therefore the creator of the world, who formed the human race and arranged the generation of all things, will give you back again life and breath in his mercy, as you now are regardless of yourselves for the sake of his laws.”
2 Mac 7:24 “Now Antiochus, thinking that he was being treated with contempt, and suspecting her reproachful cry, as the youngest still survived, not only appealed to him in words but also promised him with oaths that he would make him rich and envied, if he would give up the ways of his forefathers, and would make him his Friend and intrust him with office.”
2 Mac 7:25 “But when the young man paid no attention to him, the king called the mother to him and urged her to advise the boy to save himself.”
2 Mac 7:26 “After he had labored with her a long time, she undertook to persuade her son.”
2 Mac 7:27 “She bent over him, and mocking the cruel tyrant, she spoke thus, in the language of her forefathers: “My son, have pity on me, who carried you nine months in the womb, and nursed you for three years, and brought you up and brought you to your present age, and supported you.”
2 Mac 7:28 “I beseech you, my child, to look up at the heaven and the earth, and see all that is in them, and perceive that God did not make them out of the things that existed, and in that way the human race came into existence.”
2 Mac 7:29 “Do not be afraid of this butcher, but show yourself worthy of your brothers, and accept death, so that by God’s mercy I may get you back again with your brothers.”
2 Mac 7:30 “Before she could finish, the young man said, “What are you waiting for? I will not obey the command of the king, but I obey the command of the Law that was given to our forefathers through Moses.”
2 Mac 7:31 “But you, who have designed every kind of evil against the Hebrews, will not escape the hands of God.”
2 Mac 7:32 “For we are suffering because of our own sins.”
2 Mac 7:33 “And though our living Lord is angry for a little while, to rebuke and discipline us, he will be reconciled with his own slaves again.”
2 Mac 7:34 “But you, impious man, the vilest of all men, do not foolishly buoy yourself up in your insolence with uncertain hopes, when you raise your hand against the children of heaven;”
2 Mac 7:35 “For you have not yet escaped the judgment of the Almighty all-seeing God.”
2 Mac 7:36 “For our brethren, who now have suffered a short pain, are dead under God’s covenant of everlasting life; but thou, through the judgment of God, shall receive just punishment for thy pride.”
2 Mac 7:36 (Grk) “For our brothers after enduring a brief suffering have drunk everlasting life, under the agreement of God. But you, by the judgment of God, will receive the rightful penalty of your arrogance.”
2 Mac 7:37 “I, like my brothers, give up body and soul for the laws of my forefathers, calling upon God speedily to show mercy to our nation, and to lead you to confess, in trials and plagues, that he alone is God;”
2 Mac 7:38 “And to stay through me and my brothers the wrath of the Almighty, which has justly fallen on our whole nation.”
2 Mac 7:39 “But the king was infuriated and treated him worse than the others, being embittered at his mockery.”
2 Mac 7:40 “So he passed away unpolluted, trusting firmly in the Lord.”
2 Mac 7:41 “Last of all, the mother met her end, after her sons.”
2 Mac 7:42 “So much then for the eating of sacrifices and excessive barbarities.”

Chapter 8

2 Mac 8:1 “But Judas, who was called Maccabeus, and his followers secretly entered the villages and called on their kinsmen to join them, and by enlisting those who had clung to the Jewish religion, they mustered as many as six thousand.”
2 Mac 8:2 “And they called upon the Lord to look upon the people who were oppressed by all men and to have pity on the sanctuary which had been profaned by the godless,”
2 Mac 8:3 “And to have mercy on the city which was being ruined and would soon be leveled with the ground, and to hearken to the blood that cried to them,”
2 Mac 8:4 “And to remember the lawless destruction of the innocent babies and the blasphemies uttered against his name, and to hate their wickedness.”
2 Mac 8:5 “And as soon as Maccabeus got them organized, the heathen found him irresistible, for the wrath of the Lord now turned to mercy.”
2 Mac 8:6 “He would go unexpectedly to towns and villages and set fire to them, and in recovering advantageous positions and putting to flight not a few of the enemy,”
2 Mac 8:7 “He found the nights especially favorable for such attacks. And the country rang with talk of his valor.”
2 Mac 8:8 “When Philip saw that the man was gaining ground little by little, and that his successful advances were becoming more frequent, he wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, to support the king’s side.”
2 Mac 8:9 “And he promptly selected Nicanor, the son of Patroclus, one of the king’s chief friends and sent him, putting him in command of not less than twenty thousand heathen of various nationalities, to wipe out the whole race of Judea. And he associated with him Gorgias, a general and a man of experience in military service.”
2 Mac 8:10 “But Nicanor resolved by taking the Jews captive to make up for the king the tribute which he owed to the Romans, which amounted to two thousand talents.”
2 Mac 8:11 “And he immediately sent to the coast towns, inviting them to buy Jewish slaves, and promising to deliver them at ninety for a talent, little expecting the judgment from the Almighty that was to overtake him.”
2 Mac 8:12 “When news of Nicanor’s advance reached Judas, and when he informed his followers of the arrival of the army,”
2 Mac 8:13 “Those who were cowardly and doubtful about the judgment of God ran away and took themselves off.”
2 Mac 8:14 “And others sold everything they had left and besought the Lord together to deliver those who had been sold in advance by the impious Nicanor;”
2 Mac 8:15 “If not for their own sakes, for the sake of the agreements made with their forefathers, and because they had been called by his revered and glorious name.”
2 Mac 8:16 “And Maccabeus gathered his men together, to the number of six thousand, and exhorted them not to be panic-stricken at the enemy, or to fear the vast multitude of the heathen who were coming against them wrongfully, but to fight nobly,”
2 Mac 8:17 “Keeping before their eyes the lawless outrage they had committed against the holy place, and the tormenting of the derided city, and besides, the destruction of their ancestral mode of life.”
2 Mac 8:18 “For they,” he said, “trust in arms and daring, but we trust in the Almighty God, for he is able with a mere nod to strike down not only our enemies but the whole world.”
2 Mac 8:19 “And he told them besides of the times when help had been given them in the days of their forefathers, and how in the time of Sennacherib a hundred and eighty-five thousand had perished,”
2 Mac 8:20 “And the help that came in Babylonia, in the battle with the Galatians, when they went into the affair eight thousand in all, with four thousand Macedonians, and when the Macedonians were hard pressed, the eight thousand destroyed the hundred and twenty thousand, because of the help that came to them from heaven, and took a great quantity of booty.”
2 Mac 8:21 “When he had revived their courage with these words, and made them ready to die for their laws and their country, he divided his army into four parts.
2 Mac 8:22 “He put his brothers Simon and Joseph and Jonathan each in command of a division, putting fifteen hundred men under each,”
2 Mac 8:23 “Besides Eleazar also, and he read aloud from the holy book, and gave “the Help of God” as the watchword, and taking command of the first division himself, he joined battle with Nicanor.”
2 Mac 8:24 “And the Almighty was their ally, and they slaughtered more than nine thousand of the enemy, and wounded and disabled most of Nicanor’s army, and forced them all to flee.”
2 Mac 8:25 “And they captured the money of those who had come to buy them. And after pursuing them for a considerable distance, they were obliged to turn back because of the time of day;”
2 Mac 8:26 “For it was the day before the sabbath, and for that reason they could not prolong their pursuit of them.”
2 Mac 8:27 “But after collecting the enemy’s arms and stripping them of their spoils, they busied themselves about the sabbath, fervently blessing and thanking the Lord who had preserved them to see that day, because he had begun to show them mercy.”
2 Mac 8:28 “After the sabbath, they gave some of the spoils to the wounded and to the widows and orphans and divided the rest with their children.”
2 Mac 8:29 “When they had accomplished this, they made a common supplication, and besought the merciful Lord to be wholly reconciled to his slaves.
2 Mac 8:30 “When they encountered the forces of Timotheus and Bacchides, they killed more than twenty thousand of them, and obtained possession of some exceedingly high strong holds, and they divided a great amount of plunder, giving shares equal to their own to the wounded and orphans and widows, and also to the older people as well.”
2 Mac 8:31 “And they carefully collected all their own arms and deposited them in the advantageous places, and the rest of the spoils they carried to Jerusalem.”
2 Mac 8:32 “And they killed the cavalry commander of Timotheus’ forces, a most impious man, who had greatly injured the Jews.”
2 Mac 8:33 “And in celebrating their victory in the city of their forefathers, they burned those who had set fire to the sacred gates, and Callisthenes, who had taken refuge in a cottage; so he received the proper reward for his impious conduct.”
2 Mac 8:34 “But the thrice-accursed Nicanor, who had brought the thousand slave-dealers to buy the Jews,”
2 Mac 8:35 “After being humbled through the Lord’s help by those whom he had thought of no account, took off his fine clothes and going alone like a runaway across country reached Antioch, having been supremely successful in destroying his army!”
2 Mac 8:36 “So the man who had undertaken to secure tribute for the Romans by the capture of the people of Jerusalem proclaimed that the Jews had a champion, and that the Jews were invulnerable because of their way of life, because they followed the laws laid down by him.”

Chapter 9

2 Mac 9:1 “Now about that time it happened that Antiochus returned in disorder from the region of Persia.”
2 Mac 9:2 “For he had entered the city called Persepolis, and tried to rob the temples and get control of the city. At this the people naturally had swift recourse to arms, and they were routed, and the result was that Antiochus was put to flight by the people of the country and left in disgrace.”
2 Mac 9:3 “And while he was at Ecbatana, news came to him of what had happened to Nicanor and the forces of Timotheus.”
2 Mac 9:4 “And excited by anger, he thought he would fasten upon the Jews the injury done him by those who had put him to flight, so he ordered his charioteer to drive without stopping until he finished the journey, although the judgment of heaven accompanied him. For in his arrogance he said, “I will make Jerusalem the common graveyard of the Jews, when I get there.”
2 Mac 9:5 “But the All-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him down with an incurable but unseen blow, for he had hardly uttered the words when he was seized with an incurable pain in his bowels and sharp internal pains,”
2 Mac 9:6 “Very justly, for he had tormented the bowels of others with many unusual miseries.”
2 Mac 9:7 “He did not desist at all from his insolence, but was more and more filled with arrogance, breathing fire in his fury against the Jews, and giving orders to hasten the journey. But it happened that he fell out of his chariot as it was rushing along, and was racked in every part of his body from the fall.”
2 Mac 9:8 “And the man who just now presumed to command the waves of the sea, in his superhuman boastfulness and thought he could weigh the mountain heights in his scales, was flat on the ground and had to be carried in a horse litter – making the power of God manifest to all men,”
2 Mac 9:9 “So that worms swarmed from the impious creature’s body, and while he was still alive in anguish and pain, his flesh fell off, and because of the stench the whole army turned from his corruption in disgust.”
2 Mac 9:10 “The man who shortly before thought he could touch the stars of heaven, no one could now bear to carry, because of his intolerable stench.”
2 Mac 9:11 “So it was then that, broken in spirit, he began for the most part to give up his arrogance, and under the scourge of God to attain some knowledge, for he was tortured with pain every instant.”
2 Mac 9:12 “And when he could not even endure his own stench, he said this: “It is right to submit to God and, since man is mortal, not to think he is God’s equal.”
2 Mac 9:13 “And the vile fellow made a vow to the Lord who would no longer have mercy on him, stating:”
2 Mac 9:14 “That he declared the holy city, which he was hastening to level with the ground and to make a common graveyard, free;”
2 Mac 9:15 “And as for the Jews, who he had decided were unworthy of burial, but should be thrown out with their children to the wild animals, for the birds to pick, that he would make them all equal to citizens of Athens;”
2 Mac 9:16 “And the holy sanctuary, which before he had plundered, he would adorn with the finest offerings, and he would give back all the sacred dishes many times over, and the expenses incident to the sacrifices he would supply from his own revenues;”
2 Mac 9:17 “And in addition to this, he would become a Jew and visit every inhabited place to proclaim the power of God.”
2 Mac 9:18 “But when his suffering by no means ceased, for God’s judgment had come justly upon him, in despair about himself he wrote the Jews the following letter, assuming the attitude of a suppliant.”
2 Mac 9:19 “It ran thus: “To the esteemed Jewish citizens, Antiochus, the king and general, sends hearty greetings and wishes for their health and prosperity.”
2 Mac 9:20 “If you and your children are well and your affairs are going as you wish, I am glad. As my hope is in heaven,”
2 Mac 9:21 “I remember with affection your esteem and good will. On my way back from the regions of Persia, I have been taken seriously ill, so I have thought it necessary to plan for the general welfare of all.”
2 Mac 9:22 “Not that I despair of myself, for I have strong hopes of recovering from my sickness.”
2 Mac 9:23 “But observing that my father, on the occasions when he campaigned in the upper country, appointed his successor,”
2 Mac 9:24 “So that, if anything unexpected happened, or any disturbing news came, the people at home, knowing to whom the government was left, should not be disturbed;”
2 Mac 9:25 “And in addition to this, perceiving that the adjacent princes, who are neighbors to the kingdom, watch for opportunities and are expectant of what may turn up, I have appointed my son Antiochus king, whom I have often committed and commended to most of you, when I hurried off to the upper provinces; and I have written him what is written below.”
2 Mac 9:26 “I beg and beseech you to remember the public and private services rendered you and to continue your good will to me and my son.”
2 Mac 9:27 “For I am convinced that he will follow my policy with mildness and kindness, in his relations with you.”
2 Mac 9:28 “So the murderer and blasphemer, after the most intense sufferings, such as he had inflicted on other people, ended his life most pitiably, among the mountains, in a foreign land.”
2 Mac 9:29 “And his foster-brother Philip took his body home, and then, as he feared the son of Antiochus, he went over to Ptolemy Philometor in Egypt.”

Chapter 10

2 Mac 10:1 “Now Maccabeus and his followers under the Lord’s leadership regained the temple and the city,”
2 Mac 10:2 “And tore down the altars that had been built by the aliens in the public square, and also the sacred inclosures.”
2 Mac 10:3 “And when they had purified the sanctuary, they built another altar of sacrifice, and striking flints and getting fire from them, they offered sacrifices, after an interval of two years, and they burned incense and lighted lamps and set out the Presentation Loaves. (shewbread)”
2 Mac 10:4 “And when they had done this, they fell on their faces and besought the Lord that they might never again encounter such misfortune, but that, if they should ever sin, he would discipline them with forbearance, and not hand them over to blasphemous and barbarous heathen.
2 Mac 10:5 “And it came about that on the very same day on which the sanctuary had been profaned by aliens, the purification of the sanctuary took place, that is, on the twenty-fifth day of the same month, which was Chislev.”
2 Mac 10:6 “And they celebrated it for eight days with gladness, like the Camping Out festival³, and recalled how, a little while before, during the Camping Out festival they had been wandering in the mountains and caverns like wild animals.”
2 Mac 10:7 “So carrying wands wreathed with leaves and beautiful branches and palm leaves too they offered hymns of praise to him who had brought to pass the purifying of his own place.”
2 Mac 10:8 “And they passed a public ordinance and decree that the whole Jewish nation should observe these days every year.”
2 Mac 10:9 “Such was the end of Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes.”
2 Mac 10:10 “We will now set forth what took place under Antiochus Eupator, who was the son of that godless man, summarizing the principal disasters of the wars.”
2 Mac 10:11 “For this man, upon succeeding to the kingdom, appointed one Lysias to have charge of the government, and to be governor-in-chief of Coelesyria and Phoenicia.”
2 Mac 10:12 “For Ptolemy who was called Macron instituted the practice of showing justice to the Jews because of the wrong that had been done them, and attempted to carry on his dealings with them amicably.”
2 Mac 10:13 “As a result, he was accused before Eupator by the king’s friends, and on all sides heard himself called a traitor, because he had abandoned Cyprus which Philometor had intrusted to him, and gone over to Antiochus Epiphanes, and, as he could not maintain the dignity of his office, he took poison and ended his life.”
2 Mac 10:14 “But Gorgias, when he became governor of the region, maintained mercenaries and kept on warring against the Jews at every turn.”
2 Mac 10:15 “In addition to that, the Idumeans, who held important forts, were harassing the Jews, and enlisting those from Jerusalem who took refuge there, they sought to continue the war.”
2 Mac 10:16 “But Maccabeus and his men made a supplication and besought God to be their ally, and then threw themselves upon the forts of the Idumeans,”
2 Mac 10:17 “And attacking them vigorously they made themselves masters of the positions, and fought off those who manned the wall, and slaughtered those whom they encountered, killing not less than twenty thousand.”
2 Mac 10:18 “As fully nine thousand had taken refuge in two very strong towers well supplied for a siege,”
2 Mac 10:19 “Maccabeus left Simon and Joseph and in addition Zaccheus and his men, making a force strong enough to besiege them, and set off for places that were more urgent.”
2 Mac 10:20 “But the men with Simon were covetous and were bribed by some of the men in the towers, and on receiving seventy thousand drachmas let some of them escape.”
2 Mac 10:21 “But when news of what had happened reached Maccabeus, he gathered the leaders of the people together, and charged them with having sold their brothers for money, by freeing their enemies to fight them.”
2 Mac 10:22 “So he killed those men for having proved traitors, and immediately captured the towers.”
2 Mac 10:23 “And as he was successful in arms in everything he undertook, he destroyed more than twenty thousand men in the two forts.”
2 Mac 10:24 “But Timotheus, who had been defeated by the Jews before, gathered enormous mercenary forces, and mustering no small number of Asiatic cavalry, came as though he would take Judea by storm.”
2 Mac 10:25 “But when he approached, Maccabeus and his men sprinkled earth on their heads and put sackcloth on their loins,”
2 Mac 10:26 “And falling down upon the step before the altar begged him to favor them and be the enemy of their enemies, and oppose their adversaries, as the Law declares.
2 Mac 10:27 “And when they had ended their prayer, they took their arms, and advanced a considerable distance from the city, and when they got near the enemy, they halted.”
2 Mac 10:28 “And just as the dawn was breaking, the two armies joined battle, those on one side having besides their valor their assurance of success and victory in having taken refuge with the Lord, while those on the other followed their passions as leader in the contest.
2 Mac 10:29 “And when the fighting had become fierce, there appeared to the enemy from heaven five splendid figures on horses with gold bridles, leading the Jews,”
2 Mac 10:30 “And they surrounded Maccabeus and protected him with their armor and kept him unhurt, while they shot arrows and hurled thunderbolts at the enemy, so that, confused and blinded, they were thrown into disorder and cut to pieces.”
2 Mac 10:31 “Twenty thousand five hundred were slaughtered, and six hundred horsemen.”
2 Mac 10:32 “Timotheus himself took refuge in a stronghold called Gazara, which was strongly garrisoned and under the command of Chaereas.”
2 Mac 10:33 “Then Maccabeus and his men were glad, and they besieged the fort for four days.”
2 Mac 10:34 “And those who were inside, relying on the strength of the place, blasphemed dreadfully and uttered impious speeches.”
2 Mac 10:35 “But at dawn the fifth day, twenty young men in the army of Maccabeus, fired with anger by these blasphemies, manfully assaulted the wall and in savage fury cut down everyone they met.”
2 Mac 10:36 “Others who had climbed up in the same way, in the confusion over those who had gotten in, set the towers on fire and starting fires burned the blasphemers alive. Still others broke open the gates, and let in the rest of the force, capturing the city.”
2 Mac 10:37 “They killed Timotheus, who was hidden in a cistern, and his brother Chaereas and Apollophanes.”
2 Mac 10:38 “When they had accomplished this, with hymns and thanksgivings they blessed the Lord who does great services to Israel, and gives them victory.”

Chapter 11

2 Mac 11:1 “A very short time after, Lysias, the guardian and relative of the king, who was in charge of the government, being greatly annoyed at what had happened,
2 Mac 11:2 “Mustered about eighty thousand men and all his cavalry, and came against the Jews, with the intention of making the city a place for Greeks to live in,”
2 Mac 11:3 “And of imposing tribute on the temple, as they did on the other sacred places of the heathen, and of offering the high priesthood for sale every year,”
2 Mac 11:4 “Taking no account at all of the power of God, but uplifted by his tens of thousands of infantry, and his thousands of cavalry, and his eighty elephants.”
2 Mac 11:5 “And he entered Judea, and approached Bethsura, a fortified place about five-eighths of a mile from Jerusalem, and pressed it hard.”
2 Mac 11:6 “But when Maccabeus and his men got news that he was besieging the strongholds, with lamentations and tears they and the people besought the Lord to send some valiant angel to save Israel.”
2 Mac 11:7 “Maccabeus himself was the first to take up arms and called on the others to risk their lives with him and go to the aid of their brothers. So they hurried off eagerly together.”
2 Mac 11:8 “But there, while they were still near Jerusalem, one on horseback, clothed in white, appeared at their head, brandishing gold weapons.”
2 Mac 11:9 “And they all blessed the merciful God together, and their hearts were strengthened, and they felt equal to overcoming not only men but the fiercest animals and iron walls.”
2 Mac 11:10 “So they advanced in good order with their heavenly ally, for the Lord had had mercy on them.”
2 Mac 11:11 “And flying at the enemy like lions they killed eleven thousand of them and sixteen hundred horsemen, and forced all the rest to flee.”
2 Mac 11:12 “The most of them got away stripped and wounded, and Lysias himself escaped only by a disgraceful flight.”
2 Mac 11:13 “But as he was not without understanding, he thought over the defeat he had met with, and perceived that the Hebrews were invincible, because the mighty God was their ally, so he sent to them,”
2 Mac 11:14 “And persuaded them to come to a general settlement on just terms, because he would persuade the king and prevail upon him to become their friend.”
2 Mac 11:15 “And Maccabeus agreed to all that Lysias proposed, thus looking out for the common good, for the king granted all the demands that Maccabeus made in writing to Lysias for the Jews.”
2 Mac 11:16 “For the letter written to the Jews by Lysias was as follows: “Lysias sends greeting to the Jewish people.
2 Mac 11:17 “Your emissaries John and Absalom have presented the accompanying petition and asked about the matters set forth in it.”
2 Mac 11:18 “So I informed the king of the matters that needed to be laid before him, and he has agreed to all that was possible.”
2 Mac 11:19 “If then you will continue your loyalty to the government, I will endeavor to further your interests in the future.”
2 Mac 11:20 “But about the details of these matters, I have ordered these men and my representatives to confer with you.”
2 Mac 11:21 “Goodbye. The hundred and forty-eighth year, Dioscorinthius twenty-fourth.”
2 Mac 11:22 “The king’s letter ran thus: “King Antiochus sends greeting to his brother Lysias.”
2 Mac 11:23 “Now that our father has departed to the gods, we desire the subjects of the kingdom to be unmolested and to busy themselves with the care of their own affairs,”
2 Mac 11:24 “And as we have heard that the Jews will not agree to our father’s policy of making them adopt Greek practices, but prefer their own way of living, and ask to be allowed to follow their own customs,”
2 Mac 11:25 “We wish this nation also to be undisturbed, and our decision is that their temple be returned to them, and that they follow their ancestral customs.”
2 Mac 11:26 “Please send messengers to them therefore, and give them assurances, so that they may know our purpose and be of good cheer, and contentedly go about the conduct of their affairs.”
2 Mac 11:27 “The king’s letter to the nation ran as follows: “King Antiochus sends greeting to the Jewish senate and to the rest of the Jews.”
2 Mac 11:28 “If you are well, it is what we desire; we too are well.”
2 Mac 11:29 “Menelaus has informed us that you want to go home and look after your own affairs.”
2 Mac 11:30 “Therefore, those who go home by the thirtieth of Xanthicus will have our assurance:”
2 Mac 11:31 “That the Jews can fearlessly enjoy their own food and laws, as before; and none of them shall be molested in any way for what he may have ignorantly done.”
2 Mac 11:32 “I have sent Menelaus also to cheer you.”
2 Mac 11:33 “Goodbye. The hundred and forty-eighth year, Xanthicus fifteenth.”
2 Mac 11:34 “The Romans also sent them a letter to this effect: “Quintus Memmius and Titus Manius, envoys of the Romans, send greeting to the Jewish people.”
2 Mac 11:35 “With regard to what Lysias, the king’s relative, has granted you, we also give our approval.”
2 Mac 11:36 “But as to the matters which he decided should be referred to the king, as soon as you have considered the matter, send us word, so that we may take proper action. For we are going to Antioch;”
2 Mac 11:37 “So make haste and send men to us, so that we also may know what your intentions are.”
2 Mac 11:38 “Goodbye. The hundred and forty-eighth year, Xanthicus fifteenth.”

Chapter 12

2 Mac 12:1 “After this agreement was reached, Lysias went back to the king, and the Jews went about their farming.
2 Mac 12:2 “But some of the local governors, Timotheus and Apollonius, the son of Gennaeus, besides Hieronymus and Demophon, as well as Nicanor, the governor of Cyprus, would not leave them alone and let them live in peace.”
2 Mac 12:3 “Some people of Joppa also perpetrated the following outrage. They invited the Jews who lived among them to embark with their wives and children on boats they had provided, with no hint of any ill will toward them,”
2 Mac 12:4 “But in accordance with the public regulations of the town. And when they accepted, as they wished to live peaceably and had no suspicion, they took them out to sea and drowned fully two hundred of them.”
2 Mac 12:5 “When Judas got news of the cruelty that had been practiced on his countrymen, he called his men together,”
2 Mac 12:6 “And calling on God, the righteous judge, he attacked the murderers of his brothers, and one night set the harbor on fire and burned the boats, and put those who had taken refuge there to the sword.”
2 Mac 12:7 “But as the town shut its gates against him, he retired, meaning to come back and exterminate the whole community of Joppa.”
2 Mac 12:8 “But learning that the people of Jamnia meant to treat the Jews there in the same way,”
2 Mac 12:9 “He attacked the people of Jamnia in the night, and set fire to the harbor as well as the fleet, so that the glow of the fire was visible in Jerusalem, thirty miles away.”
2 Mac 12:10 “When they had gone more than a mile from there, on their march against Timotheus, fully five thousand Arabs with five hundred horsemen attacked them.”
2 Mac 12:11 “After a hard fight, by the help of God Judas and his men were victorious, and the nomads, being worsted, besought Judas to make friends with them, promising to give him cattle and to help them in other ways.”
2 Mac 12:12 “Judas thought they would really be useful in many ways, and agreed to make peace with them, so after receiving his assurances, they left for their camp.”
2 Mac 12:13 “He also attacked a town strengthened with earthworks and encircled with walls, inhabited by heathen of all sorts, and named Caspin.”
2 Mac 12:14 “Its occupants, relying on the strength of their walls and their stores of provisions, scoffed madly at Judas and his men, and went so far as to blaspheme and makes impious speeches.”
2 Mac 12:15 “But Judas and his men called upon the great Sovereign of the world, who without rams or war engines threw down the walls of Jericho in the days of Joshua, and rushed furiously upon the walls.”
2 Mac 12:16 “And by the will of God they took the city, and slaughtered untold numbers, so that the neighboring lake, a quarter of a mile wide, seemed to be filled with running blood.”
2 Mac 12:17 “When they had gone ninety-five miles from there, they reached Charax, and the Jews who are called Tybiani.”
2 Mac 12:18 “They could not find Timotheus in those regions, for he had gone away unsuccessful, but leaving behind him in one place a very strong garrison.”
2 Mac 12:19 “But Dositheus and Sosipater who were captains under Maccabeus, marched out and destroyed the force Timotheus had left in the stronghold, more than ten thousand men.
2 Mac 12:20 “Maccabeus however arranged his army in divisions and put them in command of the divisions and hurried after Timotheus, who had with him a hundred and twenty thousand infantry and two thousand, five hundred cavalry.”
2 Mac 12:21 “But when Timotheus learned of the advance of Judas, he sent the women and children and the rest of the baggage train ahead to a place called Carnaim, for that stronghold was hard to besiege or to reach, because of the difficulty of all that region.”
2 Mac 12:22 “But when Judas’ first division appeared and terror came over the enemy and fear came upon them at the manifestation of him who beholds all things, they hastily fled in all directions, so that in many cases they were hurt by their own men and wounded by the points of their swords.”
2 Mac 12:23 “But Judas pressed the pursuit increasingly, putting the wretches to the sword, and destroyed fully thirty thousand men.”
2 Mac 12:24 “But Timotheus himself, falling into the hands of Dositheus and Sosipater and their men, besought them with much guile to spare his life and let him go, because he had the parents of many of them and the brothers of some in his power, and it would go hard with these.”
2 Mac 12:25 “So when he had most fully guaranteed to restore them unharmed, to save their brothers they let him go.”
2 Mac 12:26 “Then Judas marched against Carnaim and the temple of Atargatis, and slaughtered twenty-five thousand people.”
2 Mac 12:27 “After the rout and destruction of these, he marched against Ephron, a fortified town, where Lysias lived and multitudes of all nationalities. Hardy young men posted before the walls vigorously defended it, and large quantities of war engines and missiles were kept there.”
2 Mac 12:28 “But they called upon the Sovereign who forcibly shatters the might of his enemies, and took the town, and slew fully twenty-five thousand of those who were in it.”
2 Mac 12:29 “Then they set out from there and marched rapidly to Scythopolis, which is seventy-five miles from Jerusalem.”
2 Mac 12:30 “But when the Jews there bore witness to the good will shown them by the people of Scythopolis, and their kind treatment of them in times of misfortune,”
2 Mac 12:31 “They thanked them and exhorted them to be well disposed to their race in the future also. Then, as the festival of Weeks was close at hand, they went up to Jerusalem.”
2 Mac 12:32 “After the festival called Pentecost⁴ they marched hurriedly against Gorgias, the governor of Idumea.”
2 Mac 12:33 “And he came out with three thousand infantry and four hundred cavalry.”
2 Mac 12:34 “And when they joined battle, it happened that a few of the Jews fell.”
2 Mac 12:35 “But a man named Dositheus, one of Bacenor’s men, a mounted man of great strength, caught hold of Gorgias and grasping his cloak was dragging him off by main strength, meaning to take the accursed rascal alive, when one of the Thracian horsemen bore down upon him and disabled his shoulder, so that Gorgias escaped and reached Mareshah.”
2 Mac 12:36 “But as Esdris and his men had been fighting a long time and were tired out, Judas called upon the Lord to show himself their ally and leader in the fight;”
2 Mac 12:37 “Then raising the war cry and war songs in their ancestral language, he charged Gorgias’ men unexpectedly and put them to flight.”
2 Mac 12:38 “Then Judas assembled his army and went to the town of Adullam. And as the next day was the seventh day, they purified themselves as they were accustomed to do, and kept the sabbath.”
2 Mac 12:39 “On the following day, as by that time it had become necessary, Judas’ men went to gather up the bodies of the fallen, and bring them back to lie with their relatives in the graves of their forefathers.”
2 Mac 12:40 “But on every one of the dead, under the shirt, they found amulets of the idols of Jamnia, which the Law forbids the Jews to wear; and it became clear to all that this was why they had fallen.”
2 Mac 12:41 “So they all blessed the ways of the Lord, the righteous Judge, who reveals the things that are hidden,
2 Mac 12:42 “And fell to supplication, begging that the sin that had been committed should be wholly blotted out. And the noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, after having seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen.”
2 Mac 12:43 “He also took a collection, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, each man contributing, and sent it to Jerusalem, to provide a sin offering,⁵ acting very finely and properly in taking account of the resurrection.”
2 Mac 12:44 “For if he had not expected that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead;”
2 Mac 12:45 “Or if it was through regard for the splendid reward destined for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be set free from their sin.”

Chapter 13

2 Mac 13:1 “In the hundred and forty-ninth year, news reached Judas and his men that Antiochus Eupator had come with great hosts against Judea,”
2 Mac 13:2 “Bringing with him Lysias, his guardian, who had charge of the government, each with a Greek force of a hundred and ten thousand infantry, and five thousand three hundred cavalry, and twenty-two elephants and three hundred chariots armed with scythes.”
2 Mac 13:3 “Menelaus also joined them, and with loud pretenses encouraged Antiochus, not to save his country, but because he thought he would be put in charge of the government.”
2 Mac 13:4 “But the King of kings aroused the anger of Antiochus against the rascal, and when Lysias informed him that this man was to blame for all the trouble, he ordered them to take him to Berea and to put him to death in the way that is customary there.
2 Mac 13:5 “For there is a tower there fifty cubits high, filled with ashes, and it had an arrangement running all around it dropping straight into the ashes.”
2 Mac 13:6 “There they all push a man guilty of sacrilege or notorious for other crimes to destruction.”
2 Mac 13:7 “By such a fate it came to pass that Menelaus the transgressor died, not even getting burial in the ground. And very justly,”
2 Mac 13:8 “For as he had committed many sins against the altar, the fire and ashes of which were holy, through ashes he came by his death.”
2 Mac 13:9 “But the king, enraged in mind, was coming to inflict on the Jews the worst of the things they had suffered in his father’s time.”
2 Mac 13:10 “And when Judas got news of it, he ordered the people to call on the Lord all day and all night now if ever to help those who were on the point of losing their Law and their country and the holy temple,”
2 Mac 13:11 “And not to let the people who had just begun to revive fall into the hands of profane heathen.”
2 Mac 13:12 “And when they had all done this together and besought the merciful Lord for three days without ceasing, with weeping and fasting and prostrations, Judas encouraged them and ordered them to rally to him.”
2 Mac 13:13 “After a private meeting with the elders, he decided that they should march out and decide the matter by the help of God before the king could get his army into Judea and get possession of the city.”
2 Mac 13:14 “So committing the decision to the creator of the world and encouraging his men to fight nobly to the death for laws, temple, city, country, and government, he pitched his camp at Modin.”
2 Mac 13:15 “And giving his men “God’s Victory,” for the watchword, he threw himself upon the camp in the night and reached the royal tent, and killed fully two thousand men, and stabbed the leading elephant and his driver,”
2 Mac 13:16 “And finally filled the camp with terror and confusion, and got away successfully.”
2 Mac 13:17 “This happened by the Lord’s help and protection, just as day was dawning.”
2 Mac 13:18 “After this taste of the Jews’ hardihood, the king resorted to stratagem in attempting their positions.”
2 Mac 13:19 “He advanced against Bethsura, a strong Jewish fort; he was turned back, stumbled, failed.”
2 Mac 13:20 “Judas sent what was necessary in to the garrison.”
2 Mac 13:21 “But Rhodocus, a man of the Jewish force, gave secret information to the enemy; he was found out, arrested, and put in prison.”
2 Mac 13:22 “The king again approached the people in Bethsura, gave assurances, received them, withdrew, attacked Judas and his men, was worsted,”
2 Mac 13:23 “Got news that Philip, who had been left in charge of the government at Antioch, had gotten desperate, was dismayed, conciliated the Jews, yielded, and swore to all that was just, settled with them and offered sacrifice, honored the sanctuary and respected the holy place,”
2 Mac 13:24 “Received Maccabeus, left Hegemonides as governor in control from Ptolemais to Gerar.”
2 Mac 13:25 “He went to Ptolemais; the people of Ptolemais were angry about the treaty, for they were so indignant that they wanted to annul the agreements.”
2 Mac 13:26 “Lysias appeared to speak publicly, made as good a defense as was possible, convinced them, appeased them, won them over, and set out for Antioch. This was the course of the king’s attack and withdrawal.”

Chapter 14

2 Mac 14:1 “Three years later, news reached Judas and his men that Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, had sailed into the harbor of Tripolis with a strong force and a fleet,”
2 Mac 14:2 “And had made away with Antiochus and his guardian Lysias and taken possession of the country.”
2 Mac 14:3 “But Alcimus, who had formerly been high priest, but had polluted himself of his own accord in the days when there was no communication with the heathen, considering that there was no way for him to save himself or to obtain access to the holy altar,”
2 Mac 14:4 “Went to King Demetrius in the hundred and fifty-first year, and presented him with a gold crown and palm, and in addition to them some of the customary olive branches from the temple and he kept silence that day.”
2 Mac 14:5 “But when he found an opportunity favorable to his mad purpose, being invited by Demetrius to a council, and asked about the temper and intentions of the Jews, he answered,”
2 Mac 14:6 “It is the Jews who are called Hasidaeans, under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus, that keep the war alive, and stir up sedition, and will not let the kingdom enjoy tranquillity.”
2 Mac 14:7 “That is why, renouncing my ancestral glory (I mean the high priesthood), I have now come here,”
2 Mac 14:8 “First, because I am genuinely concerned for the king’s interests, and secondly out of regard for my fellow-citizens; for through the inconsiderate behavior of those whom I have mentioned, our whole nation is in no small misfortune.”
2 Mac 14:9 “Inform yourself, O king, about these things in detail, and act in the interests of our country and our hard-pressed nation, with the courteous consideration that you show to all.”
2 Mac 14:10 “For as long as Judas lives, it is impossible for the government to find peace.”
2 Mac 14:11 “When he said this, the rest of the Friends, who were hostile to Judas, immediately inflamed Demetrius further against him.”
2 Mac 14:12 “He immediately chose Nicanor, who had been master of the elephants, and appointed him governor of Judea, and sent him out,”
2 Mac 14:13 “With orders to make away with Judas himself, and scatter his men, and install Alcimus as high priest of the sublime temple.”
2 Mac 14:14 “And all the heathen in Judea who had driven Judas into exile flocked to join Nicanor, thinking that the reverses and disasters of the Jews would be to their advantage.”
2 Mac 14:15 “But when they heard of Nicanor’s expedition and the attack of the heathen, they sprinkled themselves with earth and intreated him who had established his own people forever, and always upholds his own portion by manifesting himself.”
2 Mac 14:16 “Then, when the leader gave the order, he set forth at once from there and joined battle with them at the village of Adasa.”
2 Mac 14:17 “Simon, Judas’ brother, had encountered Nicanor, and had recently been checked because of the consternation his antagonists inspired.”
2 Mac 14:18 “Still Nicanor, hearing of the valor of Judas and his men, and their courage in their battles for their country, hesitated to decide the matter by the sword.”
2 Mac 14:19 “So he sent Posidonius and Theodotus and Mattathias to propose terms.”
2 Mac 14:20 “After full consideration of these, when each leader had communicated them to his people, and their judgment proved favorable, they agree to the treaty.”
2 Mac 14:21 “So they fixed a day on which to meet by themselves, a chariot advanced from each side, couches were placed in position;”
2 Mac 14:22 “Judas posted armed men in readiness at suitable points, through fear that some treachery might suddenly develop on the part of the enemy; they held the appropriate conference.
2 Mac 14:23 “Nicanor stayed in Jerusalem, and did nothing improper, but sent home the thronging crowds that had gathered.”
2 Mac 14:24 “He kept Judas constantly in his company; he had become warmly attached to the man;”
2 Mac 14:25 “He urged him to marry and have children. He did marry, settled down, took part in life.”
2 Mac 14:26 “But when Alclmus realized their good understanding with each other, and got hold of the treaty they had made, he went to Demetrius and told him that Nicanor was disloyal to the government, for he had appointed Judas, the conspirator against the kingdom, as his successor.”
2 Mac 14:27 “The king was excited and incensed by the rascal’s accusations, and wrote Nicanor stating that he was dissatisfied with the treaty, and ordering him to send Maccabeus as a prisoner to Antioch without delay.”
2 Mac 14:28 “ When Nicanor received the message, he was troubled and annoyed at having to cancel the agreement when the man had done no wrong.”
2 Mac 14:29 “But as it was not possible to oppose the king, he watched for an opportunity to accomplish this by strategy.”
2 Mac 14:30 “But Maccabeus observed that Nicanor began to treat him more stiffly and was acting more rudely than usual, and concluding that this stiffness was not a very good sign, he mustered no small number of his men and went into hiding from Nicanor.”
2 Mac 14:31 “When the latter realized that he had been splendidly out-maneuvered by the man, he went to the great and holy temple as the priests were offering the customary sacrifices, and ordered them to deliver the man up.”
2 Mac 14:32 “And when they protested with oaths that they did not know where the man he sought was,”
2 Mac 14:33 “He stretched out his right hand toward the sanctuary and uttered this oath: “If you do not hand Judas over to me as a prisoner, I will level this sacred precinct of God with the ground and tear down the altar, and build here a splendid temple to Dionysus.”
2 Mac 14:34 “With these words he left. But the priests stretched out their hands to heaven and called upon him who always fights for our nation, and said,”
2 Mac 14:35 “Lord of all, who are self-sufficient, you consented to have a temple for your habitation among us;”
2 Mac 14:36 “Now therefore, holy Lord of all consecration, keep undefiled forever this house that has been so lately purified.”
2 Mac 14:37 “Now one of the elders of Jerusalem named Razis was reported to Nicanor as a man who loved his countrymen and was very well thought of, and was called father of the Jews for his benevolence.”
2 Mac 14:38 “For in former times, when there was no communication with the Gentiles, he had been accused of Judaism, and had most zealously risked soul and body for it.”
2 Mac 14:39 “And Nicanor, wishing to manifest the enmity he felt for the Jews, sent more than five hundred soldiers to arrest him;
2 Mac 14:40 “For he thought that in arresting him he would be doing them an injury.”
2 Mac 14:41 “But when this force was on the point of capturing the tower and was forcing the courtyard door and demanding that fire be brought and the doors set on fire, as he was surrounded he fell upon his sword,”
2 Mac 14:42 “Preferring to die nobly rather than to fall into the wretches’ hands and suffer outrages unworthy of his rank.”
2 Mac 14:43 “But he missed his stroke in the haste of the struggle, and with the crowd streaming in through the doors, he ran gallantly up on the wall and bravely threw himself down into the crowd.”
2 Mac 14:44 “But as they quickly drew back, and a space opened, he fell in the middle of the open space.”
2 Mac 14:45 “But being still alive and fired with anger he got up and with his blood gushing out, though severely wounded, he ran through the crowd and standing on a steep rock,”
2 Mac 14:46 “As he was losing the last of his blood, he pulled out his bowels with both hands and hurled them at the crowd, and so expired, calling upon him who is lord of life and spirit, to give these back to him again.”

Chapter 15

2 Mac 15:1 “But Nicanor, getting word that Judas and his men were in the region of Samaria, resolved to attack them in perfect safety, on the day of rest. (the sabbath day)
2 Mac 15:2 “And when the Jews who were forced to follow him said, “Do not destroy them savagely and barbarously like this, but show respect for the day which has been pre-eminently honored with holiness by him who beholds all things,”
2 Mac 15:3 “The thrice-accursed wretch asked if there was a sovereign in heaven who had commanded them to keep the sabbath day;”
2 Mac 15:4 “And when they declared, “It is the living Lord himself, the Sovereign in heaven, who bade us observe the seventh day,”
2 Mac 15:5 “He said, “I am a sovereign too, on earth, and I command you to take up arms and finish the king’s business.” Nevertheless, he did not succeed in carrying out his cruel purpose.”
2 Mac 15:6 “And Nicanor in his utter haughtiness and pretense had determined to erect a public monument of victory over Judas and his men.”
2 Mac 15:7 “But Maccabeus did not cease to trust with perfect confidence that he would get help from the Lord,”
2 Mac 15:8 “And he exhorted his men not to fear the attack of the heathen but to keep in mind all the help that had come to them before from heaven, and to look now for the victory which would come to them from the Almighty.”
2 Mac 15:9 “And encouraging them from the Law and the prophets and reminding them of the battles they had fought, he made them more eager.”
2 Mac 15:10 “And when he had aroused their courage, he gave his orders, and at the same time pointed out the perfidy of the heathen and their breaking of their oaths.”
2 Mac 15:11 “Then he armed each one, not so much with the security of shields and spears as with the encouragement of brave words, and cheered them all by telling a dream that was worthy of belief, a kind of vision.”
2 Mac 15:12 “The sight he saw was this: Onias, the former high priest, a fine, good man, of dignified appearance, but mild in manner and one who spoke fittingly, and trained from childhood in all that belongs to character, with outstretched hands praying for the whole Jewish community;”
2 Mac 15:13 “Then in the same fashion another man appeared, distinguished by his gray hair and dignity, and wrapped in marvelous, most majestic sublimity;”
2 Mac 15:14 “And Onias answered and said, “This is Jeremiah, the prophet of God, who loves the brothers, and prays fervently for the people and the holy city.”
2 Mac 15:15 “And Jeremiah stretched out his right hand and delivered to Judas a gold sword, and as he gave it to him, he addressed him thus:”
2 Mac 15:16 “Take this holy sword as a gift from God, with which you will strike down your adversaries.”
2 Mac 15:17 “Encouraged by Judas’ words, which were so fine, and so fitted to rouse men to valor and to stir the souls of the young to manliness, they determined not to carry on a campaign but to charge gallantly and engaging them hand to hand with the utmost manfulness to decide the matter, because the city and the sanctuary and the temple were in peril.”
2 Mac 15:18 “For they were not so much alarmed about wives and children, or about brothers and relatives, but first and foremost about the consecrated sanctuary.”
2 Mac 15:19 “And those who were left in the city felt no slight distress, for they were anxious about the encounter in the open.”
2 Mac 15:20 “When they were all now awaiting the decisive moment and the enemy had already joined battle, and the army was drawn up and the animals had been posted in a convenient position, and the cavalry stationed on the wings,”
2 Mac 15:21 “Maccabeus, realizing the hosts before him, and the elaborate supply of arms, and the fierceness of the animals, stretched out his hands to heaven and called upon the Lord who works wonders, for he knew that it is not won by arms but that as he decides he gains the victory for those who deserve it.”
2 Mac 15:22 “And he called upon him in these words, “It was you, Lord, who sent your angel in the time of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and he destroyed fully a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of Sennacherib.”
2 Mac 15:23 “So now also, Sovereign of the heavens, send forth a brave angel to carry fear and terror before us.”
2 Mac 15:24 “By the might of your arm may those who blasphemously come against your holy people be struck down.” With these words he ended.”
2 Mac 15:25 “But Nicanor and his men advanced with trumpets and battle songs.”
2 Mac 15:26 “And Judas and his men met the enemy with entreaties and prayers.”
2 Mac 15:27 “So fighting with their hands and praying to God with their hearts, they laid low no less than thirty-five thousand, being greatly cheered by God’s manifest aid.”
2 Mac 15:28 “When the business was over, and they were joyfully returning, they recognized Nicanor, lying dead, in his armor.”
2 Mac 15:29 “And there was shouting and tumult, and they blessed the Sovereign in the language of their forefathers.”
2 Mac 15:30 “Then the man who was in body and soul the perfect champion of his fellow-citizens, who maintained the good will of his youth toward his fellow-citizens, ordered them to cut off Nicanor’s head and arm and carry them to Jerusalem.”
2 Mac 15:31 “And when he arrived there, and had called his countrymen together, and stationed the priests before the altar, he sent for those who were in the citadel.”
2 Mac 15:32 “And he showed them the vile Nicanor’s head and the wretch’s hand, which he had boastfully stretched forth against the holy house of the Almighty,”
2 Mac 15:33 “And he cut out the impious Nicanor’s tongue, and said he would give it piecemeal to the birds, and hang up the reward of his folly in front of the sanctuary.”
2 Mac 15:34 “And they all looked up to heaven and blessed the Lord who had so manifested himself, and said, “Blessed be he who has kept his own place from being defiled.”
2 Mac 15:35 “And he hung Nicanor’s head from the citadel, a clear and conspicuous proof to all of the Lord’s help.”
2 Mac 15:36 “And they all decreed by popular vote of the people never to let this day go by without observing it, but to celebrate the thirteenth day of the twelfth month – which is called Adar in Aramaic- the day before Mordecai’s day.”
2 Mac 15:37 “So this was the way Nicanor’s efforts turned out; and as the city was held by the Hebrews from that time, I too will here conclude my account.”
2 Mac 15:38 “If it has been well and pointedly written, that is what I wanted; but if it is poor, mediocre work, that was all I could do.”
2 Mac 15:39 “For just as it is harmful to drink wine by itself, or again to drink water by itself, while wine mixed with water is delicious and enhances one’s enjoyment, so the style in which an account is composed delights the ears of those who read the work. So this will be the end.”