World English Bible

1 It is also found in the records, that Jeremiah the prophet commanded them that were carried away to take of the fire, as has been signifiedabove:

2 and how that the prophet charged them that were carried away, having given them the law, that they should not forget the statutes of the Lord, neither be led astray in their minds, when they saw images of gold and silver, and the adornment thereof.

3 And with other such words exhorted he them, that the law should not depart from their heart.

4 And it wascontainedin the writing, that the prophet, being warned of God, commanded that the tabernacle and the ark should follow with him,when he went forth into the mountain where Moses went up and saw the heritage of God.

5 And Jeremiah came and founda chamber in the rock, and there he brought in the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense; and he made fast the door.

6 And some of those that followed with him came there that they might mark the way, and could not find it.

7 But when Jeremiah perceived it, he blamed them, saying, yes and the place shall be unknown until Godgather the people again together, and mercy come:

8 and then shall the Lord disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord shall be seen, and thecloud.

As also it was showed with Moses; as also Solomon implored that the place might be consecrated greatly,

9 and it was also declared that he, having wisdom, offered a sacrifice of dedication, and of the finishing of the temple;so we would have it now.

10 As Moses prayed to the Lord, and fire came down out of heaven and consumed the sacrifice, even so prayed Solomon also, and the fire came down and consumed the burnt offerings;

11 (and Moses said, Because the sin offering had not been eaten, it was consumed in like mannerwith the rest;)

12 and Solomon kept the eight days.

13 And the same things were relatedboth in the public archives and inthe records that concern Nehemiah; and how he, founding a library, gathered together the books about the kings and prophets, and thebooksof David, and letters of kings about sacred gifts.

14 And in like manner Judas also gathered together for us all thosewritingsthat had been scattered by reason of the war that befell, and they arestillwith us.

15 If therefore you⌃ have need thereof, send some to fetch them to you.

16 Seeing then that we are about to keep the purification, we write to you; you⌃ will therefore do well if you⌃ keep the days.

17 Now God, who saved all his people, and restored the heritage to all, and the kingdom, and the priesthood, and the hallowing,

18 even as he promised through the law,— in God have we hope, that he will quickly have mercy upon us, and gatherustogether out ofall the earth to the holy place: for he delivered us out of great evils, and purified the place.

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19 Now the things concerning Judas Maccabaeus and his brethren, and the purification of thegreat temple, and the dedication of the altar,

20 and further the wars against Antiochus Epiphanes, and Eupator his son,

21 and the manifestations that came from heaven to those that vied with one another in manful deeds for the religion of the Jews; so that, being but a few, theyrescued the whole country, and chased the barbarous multitudes,

22 and recovered again the temple renowned all the world over, and freed the city, and restored the laws which were like to be overthrown, seeing the Lord becamegracious to them with all forbearance:

23 these things, I say,which have been declared by Jason of Cyrene in five books, we will assay to abridge in one work.

24 For having in view the confused mass of the numbers, and thedifficulty which awaits them that would enter into the narratives of the history, by reason of the abundance of the matter,

25 we were careful that they who choose to read may be attracted, and that they who wish wellto our causemay find it easy to recallwhat we have written,and that all readers may have profit.

26 And although to us, who have taken upon us the painful labor of the abridgement, the task is not easy, buta matterof sweat and watching

27 (even as it is no light thing to him that prepares a banquet, and seeks the benefit of others); yet for the sake of the gratitude of the many we will gladly endure the painful labor,

28 leaving to the historian the exact handling of every particular, and againhaving no strength tofill in the outlines of our abridgement.

29 For as the masterbuilder of a new house must care for the wholestructure, and again he that undertakes todecorate and paint it must seek out the things fit for the adorning thereof; even so I think it is also with us.

30 To occupy the ground, and toindulge in long discussions, and to be curious in particulars, becomes the first author of the history:

31 but to strive after brevity of expression, and to avoid a laboured fulness in the treatment, is to be granted to him that would bring a writing into a new form.

32 Here then let us begin the narration, only adding thus much to that which has been alreadysaid; for it is a foolish thing to make a long prologue to the history, and to abridge the historyitself.

1 But the aforesaid Simon, he who had given information of the money, andhad betrayedhis country, slandered Onias,sayingthat it was he who had incited Heliodorus, and made himself the author of these evils.

2 And him that was the benefactor of the city, and the guardian of his fellow countrymen, and a zealot for the laws, he dared to call a conspirator against the state.

3 But when the growing enmitybetween themwaxed so great, that even murders were perpetrated through one ofSimon’s trusted followers,

4 Onias, seeing thedanger of the contention, and thatApolloniusthe sonof Menestheus, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, was increasing Simon’s malice,

5 betook himself to the king, not to be an accuser of his fellow-citizens, but looking to the good of all thepeople, both public and private;

6 for he saw that without the king’s providence it was impossible for the state to obtain peace any more, and that Simon would not cease from his madness.

7 But when Seleucus was deceased, and Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, succeeded to the kingdom, Jason the brother of Onias supplantedhis brotherin the high priesthood,

8 having promised to the king at an audience three hundred and threescore talents of silver, andoutof another fund eighty talents;

9 and beside this, he undertook to assign a hundred and fifty more, if it might be allowed himthrough the king’s authority to set him up aGreekplace of exercise andforma body of youthsto be trained therein,and to register the inhabitants of Jerusalem ascitizensof Antioch.

10 And when the king had given assent, and he had gotten possession of the office, he forthwith brought over them of his own race to the Greek fashion.

11 And setting aside the royal ordinances of special favor to the Jews, granted by the means of John the father of Eupolemus, who went on the ambassage to the Romans for friendship and alliance, and seeking to overthrow the lawful modes of life, he brought in new customs forbidden by the law:

12 for he eagerly established aGreekplace of exercise under the citadel itself; and caused the noblest of the young men to wear theGreekcap.

13 And thus there was an extreme of Greek fashions, and an advance of an alien religion, by reason of the exceeding profaneness of Jason, that ungodly man and no high priest;

14 so that the priests had no more any zeal for the services of the altar: but despising the sanctuary, and neglecting the sacrifices, they hastened toenjoy that which was unlawfully provided in the palaestra, after the summonsof the discus;

15 making of no account the honors of their fathers, and thinking the glories of the Greeks best of all.

16 By reason whereof sore calamity beset them; and the men whose ways of living they earnestly followed, and to whom they desired to be made like in all things, these they had to be their enemies and to punish them.

17 For it is not a light thing to do impiously against the laws of God: butthese things the time following shall declare.

18 Now when certain games that came every fifth year were kept at Tyre, and the king was present,

19 the vile Jason sent sacred envoys,as being Antiochians of Jerusalem, bearing three hundred drachmas of silver to the sacrifice of Hercules, which even the bearers thereof thought not right to use foranysacrifice, because it was not fit, but toexpend on another charge.

20 And though in the purpose of the sender thismoney wasfor the sacrifice of Hercules, yet on account ofpresent circumstances it went to the equipment of the galleys.

21 Now when Apollonius thesonof Menestheus was sent into Egypt for theenthronement ofPtolemyPhilometor as king, Antiochus, learning thatPtolemyhad shewn himself ill affected toward the state, took thought for the security of his realm; wherefore, goingby seato Joppa, he travelled on to Jerusalem.

22 And being magnificently received by Jason and the city, he was brought in with torches and shoutings. This done, he afterward led his army down into Phoenicia.

23 Now after a space of three years Jason sent Menelaus, the aforesaid Simon’s brother, to bear the money to the king, and tomake reports concerning some necessary matters.

24 But he being commended to the king, andhaving glorifiedhimselfby the display of his authority, got the high priesthood for himself, outbidding Jason by three hundred talents of silver.

25 And having received the royal mandates he cameto Jerusalem,bringing nothing worthy the high priesthood, but having the passion of a cruel tyrant, and the rage of a savage beast.

26 And whereas Jason, who had supplanted his own brother, was supplanted by another and driven as a fugitive into the country of the Ammonites,

27 Menelaus had possession of the office: but of the money that had been promised to the king nothingwas duly paid, and that though Sostratus the governor of the citadel demanded it

28 (for to him appertained the gathering of the revenues); for which cause they were both called by the king to his presence.

29 And Menelaus left his own brother Lysimachus for hisdeputy in the high priesthood; and SostratusleftCrates, who was over the Cyprians.

30 Now while such was the state of things, it came to pass that they of Tarsus and Mallus made insurrection, because they were to be given as a present to Antiochis, the king’s concubine.

31 The king therefore cameto Ciliciain all haste to settle matters, leaving for hisdeputy Andronicus, a man of high rank.

32 And Menelaus, supposing that he had gotten a favourable opportunity, presented to Andronicus certain vessels of gold belonging to the temple, which he had stolen: othervesselsalso he had already sold into Tyre and the cities round about.

33 And when Onias had sure knowledgeof this,he sharply reproved him, having withdrawn himself into a sanctuary at Daphne, that lies by Antioch.

34 Wherefore Menelaus, taking Andronicus apart, prayed himto kill Onias. And coming to Onias, andbeing persuaded to use treachery, and being received as a friend,Andronicusgave him his right hand with oathsof fidelity,and, though he was suspectedby him, sopersuaded him to come forth of the sanctuary; and forthwith hedespatched him without regard of justice.

35 For the which cause not only Jews, but many also of the other nations, had indignation and displeasure at the unjust murder of the man.

36 And when the king was come back again from the places in Cilicia, the Jews that werein the city pleaded beforehim against Andronicus(the Greeks also joining with them in hatred of the wickedness), urging that Onias had been wrongfully slain.

37 Antiochus therefore was heartily sorry, and was moved to pity, and wept, because of the sober and well ordered life of him that was dead;

38 and being inflamed with passion, forthwith he stripped off Andronicus’s purple robe, andtore off his under garments, and when he had led him round through the whole city to that very place where he had committed impiety against Onias, there he put the murderer out of the way, the Lord rendering to him the punishment he had deserved.

39 Now when many sacrileges had been committed in the city by Lysimachus with the consent of Menelaus, and when the bruit thereof was spread abroad outside, the people gathered themselves together against Lysimachus, after many vessels of gold had been already dispersed.

40 And when the multitudes were rising againsthim,and were filled with anger, Lysimachus armed about three thousand men, and with unrighteous violence beganthe conflict,one Hauran, a man far gone in years and no less also in madness, leadingthe attack.

41 But when they perceived the assault of Lysimachus, some caught up stones, others logs of wood, and some took handfuls of the ashes that lay near, and they flung them all pell-mell upon Lysimachus and them that were with him;

42 by reason of which they wounded many of them, and some they struck to the ground, and allof themthey forced to flee, but the author of the sacrilege himself they killed beside the treasury.

43 But touching these matters there was an accusation laid against Menelaus.

44 And when the king was come to Tyre, the three men that were sent by the senate pleaded the cause before him.

45 But Menelaus, seeing himself now defeated, promised much money to Ptolemy thesonof Dorymenes, that he might win over the king.

46 Whereupon Ptolemy taking the king aside into a cloister, as it were to take the air, brought him to be of another mind:

47 and him that was the cause of all the evil, Menelaus, he discharged from the accusations; but these hapless men, who, if they had pleaded even before Scythians, would have been discharged uncondemned, them he sentenced to death.

48 Soon then did they that were spokesmen for the city and the familiesof Israeland the holy vessels suffer that unrighteous penalty.

49 For which cause even certain Tyrians, moved with hatred of the wickedness, provided magnificently for their burial.

50 But Menelaus through the covetous dealings of them that were in power remained still in his office,cleaving to wickedness,as a great conspirator against his fellow-citizens.

1 Now about this time Antiochus made his second inroad into Egypt.

2 And itsobefell that throughout all the city, for the space of almost forty days, there appeared in the midst of the sky horsemen in swift motion, wearing robes inwrought with gold andcarryingspears, equipped in troops for battle;

3 and drawing of swords; andon the other sidesquadrons of horse in array; and encounters andpursuits of botharmies;and shaking of shields, and multitudes of lances, and casting of darts, and flashing of golden trappings, and girding on of all sorts of armor.

4 Wherefore all men implored that thevision might have been given for good.

5 But when a false rumour had arisen that Antiochus was deceased, Jason took not less than a thousand men, and suddenlymade an assault upon the city; and they that were upon the wall being routed, and the city being now at length well near taken, Menelaus took refuge in the citadel.

6 But Jason slaughtered his own citizens without mercy, not considering that good success against kinsmen is the greatest ill success, but supposing himself to be setting up trophies over enemies, and not over fellow-countrymen.

7 The officehoweverhe did not get, but, receiving shame as the end of his conspiracy, he passed again a fugitive into the country of the Ammonites.

8 At the last therefore he met with a miserable end: having beenshut up at the court of Aretas the prince of the Arabians, fleeing from city to city, pursued of all men, hated as an apostate from the laws, and held in abomination as the butcher of his country and his fellow-citizens, he was cast forth into Egypt;

9 and he that had driven many from their own country into strange lands perishedhimselfin a strange land, having crossed the sea to the Lacedaemonians, as thinking to find sheltertherebecause they werenear of kin;

10 and he that had cast out a multitude unburied had none to mourn for him, nor had he any funeral at all, or place in the sepulchre of his fathers.

11 Now when tidings came to the king concerning that which was done, he thought that Judaea was in revolt; whereupon setting out from Egypt in a furious mind, he took the city by force of arms,

12 and commanded his soldiers to cut down without mercy such as came in their way, and to kill such as went up upon the houses;

13 and there was killing of young and old, making away of boys, women, and children, slaying of virgins and infants.

14 And in all the three daysof the slaughterthere were destroyed fourscore thousand,whereofforty thousandwere slainin close combat, and no fewer were sold than slain.

15 But not content with this he presumed to enter into the most holy temple of all the earth, having Menelaus for his guide (him that had proved himself a traitor both to the laws and to his country),

16 even taking the sacred vessels with his polluted hands, and dragging down with his profane hands the offerings that had been dedicated by other kings to the augmentation and glory and honor of the place.

17 And Antiochus was lifted up in mind, not seeing that because of the sins of them that lived in the city the Sovereign Lord had been provoked to anger a little while, and therefore his eye wasthenturned away from the place.

18 But had it not so been that they were already holden by many sins, this man, even as Heliodorus who was sent by Seleucus the king to view the treasury, would, so soon as he pressed forward, have been scourged and turned back from his daring deed.

19 Howbeit the Lord did not choose the nation for the place’s sake, but the place for the nation’s sake.

20 Wherefore also the place itself, having partaken in the calamities that befell the nation, did afterward share initsbenefits; and theplacewhich was forsaken in the wrath of the Almighty was, at the reconciliation of the great Sovereign, restored again with all glory.

21 As for Antiochus, when he had carried away out of the temple a thousand and eight hundred talents, he departed in all haste to Antioch, weening in his arrogancy to make the land navigable and the sea passable by foot, because his heart was lifted up.

22 And moreover he left governors to afflict the race: at Jerusalem, Philip, by race a Phrygian, and in character more barbarous than him that set him there;

23 and at Gerizim, Andronicus; and besides these, Menelaus, who worse than all the rest exalted himself against his fellow-citizens. And having a malicious mindtoward the Jewswhom he had madehis citizens,

24 he sent thatlord of pollutions Apollonius with an army of two and twenty thousand, commanding him to kill all those that were of full age, and to sell the women and the younger men.

25 And he coming to Jerusalem, and playing the man of peace, waited till the holy day of the Sabbath, and finding the Jews at rest from work, he commanded his men to parade in arms.

26 And he put to the sword all them that came forth to the spectacle; and running into the city with the armed men he killed great multitudes.

27 But Judas, who is alsocalledMaccabaeus, with nine others or thereabout, withdrew himself, and with his company kept himself alive in the mountains after the manner of wild beasts; and they continued feeding onsuch poor herbs as grew there, that they might not be partakers of thethreatenedpollution.

1 And not long after this the king sent forthan old man of Athens to compel the Jews to depart from the laws of their fathers, and not to live after the laws of God;

2 and also to pollute the sanctuary in Jerusalem, and to call it by the name ofJupiter Olympius, andto callthesanctuaryin Gerizim by the name ofJupiter the Protector of strangers, even as theywere that lived in the place.

3 But sore and utterly grievous was the visitation of this evil.

4 For the temple was filled with riot and revellings by the heathen, whodallied with harlots, and had to do with women within the sacred precincts, and moreover brought inside things that were not befitting;

5 andthe place of sacrifice was filled with those abominable things which had been prohibited by the laws.

6 And a man could neither keep the Sabbath, nor observe the feasts of the fathers, nor so much as confess himself to be a Jew.

7 And on the day of the king’s birth every month they were led along with bitter constraint to eat of the sacrifices; and when thefeast of Bacchus came, they were compelled to go in procession in honor ofBacchus, wearing wreaths of ivy.

8 And there wemt out a decree to the neighbouring Greek cities, by the suggestion of Ptolemy, that they should observe the same conduct against the Jews, and should make them eat of the sacrifices;

9 and that they should kill such as did not choose to go over to the Greek rites. So the present misery was for all to see:

10 for two women were brought up for having circumcised their children; and these, when they had led them publicly round about the city, with the babes hung from their breasts, they cast down headlong from the wall.

11 And others, that had run together into the caves near by to keep the seventh day secretly, being betrayed to Philip were all burned together, because they scrupled to defend themselves, from regard to the honor of that most solemn day.

12 I beseech therefore those that read this book, that they be not discouraged because of the calamities, but account that these punishments were not for the destruction, but for the chastening of our race.

13 For indeed that those who act impiously be not let alone any long time, but straightway meet with retribution, is a sign of great beneficence.

14 For in the case of the other nations the Sovereign Lord does with longsuffering forbear, until that he punish them when they have attained to the full measure oftheirsins; but not so judged he as touching us,

15 that he may not take vengeance on us afterward,when we be come to theheight of our sins.

16 Wherefore he never withdraws his mercy from us; but though he chasteneth with calamity, yet does he not forsake his own people.

17 Howbeit let this that we have spoken suffice to putyouin remembrance; but afterthesefew words we must come to the narrative.

18 Eleazar, one of the principal scribes, a man already well stricken in years, and of a noble countenance, was compelled to open his mouth to eat swine’s flesh.

19 But he, welcoming death with renown rather than life with pollution, advanced of his own accord to the instrument of torture, but first spat forththe flesh,

20 coming forwardas men ought to come that are resolute to repel such things as notevenfor the natural love of life is it lawful to taste.

21 But they that had the charge of that forbidden sacrificial feast took the man aside, for the acquaintance which of old times they had with him, and privately implored him to bring flesh of his own providing, such as was befitting for him to use, and to make as if he did eat of the flesh from the sacrifice, as had been commanded by the king;

22 that by so doing he might be delivered from death, and for his ancient friendship with them might be treated kindly.

23 But he, having formed a high resolve, and one that became his years, and the dignity of old age, and the gray hairswhich he had reached with honor, and his excellenteducation from a child,or ratherthat becamethe holylaws of God’s ordaining, declared his mind accordingly, bidding them quickly send him to Hades.

24 For it becomes not our years to dissemble,said he,thatthrough thismany of the young should suppose that Eleazar, the man of fourscore years and ten, had gone over to an alien religion;

25 andsothey, by reason of my dissimulation, and for the sake of this brief and momentary life, should be led astray because of me,andthusI get to myself a pollution and a stain of mine old age.

26 For even if for the present time I shall remove from me the punishment of men, yet shall I not escape the hands of the Almighty, either living or dead.

27 Wherefore, by manfully parting with my life now, I will show myself worthy of mine old age,

28 andleave behind a noble ensample to the young to die willingly and nobly a glorious death for the reverend and holy laws. And when he had said these words, he went straightway to the instrument of torture.

29 And when they changed the good will they bare him a little before into ill will, becausethese words of his were, as they thought, sheer madness,

30 and when he was at the point to die with thestripes, he groaned aloud and said, To the Lord, that has the holy knowledge, it is manifest that, whereas I might have been delivered from death, I endure sore pains in my body by being scourged; but in soul I gladly suffer these things for my fear of him.

31 So this man also died after this manner, leaving his death for an ensample of nobleness and a memorial of virtue, not only to the young but also to the great body of his nation.

1 And it came to pass that seven brethren also with their mother were at the king’s command taken and shamefully handled with scourges and cords, to compel them to taste of the abominable swine’s flesh.

2 But one of them made himself the spokesman and said, What would you ask and learn of us? for we are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our fathers.

3 And the king fell into a rage, and commanded to heat pans and caldrons:

4 and when these forthwith were heated, he commanded to cut out the tongue of him that had been their spokesman, and to scalp him, and to cut off his extremities, the rest of his brethren and his mother looking on.

5 And when he was utterlymaimed,the kingcommanded to bring him to the fire, being yet alive, and to fry him in the pan. And as the vapor of the pan spread far, they and their mother also exhorted one another to die nobly, saying thus:

6 The Lord God sees, and in truth isentreated for us, as Moses declared inhis song, which witnesseth againstthe peopleto their faces, saying, And he shall beentreated for his servants.

7 And when the first had died after this manner, they brought the second to the mocking; and they pulled off the skin of his head with the hair and asked him, Wilt you eat, before your body be punished in every limb?

8 But he answered in the language of his fathers and said to them, No. Wherefore he also underwent the next torture in succession, as the first had done.

9 And when he was at the last gasp, he said, You, miscreant, do release us out of this present life, but the King of the world shall raise up us, who have died for his laws, to an eternal renewal of life.

10 And after him was the third made a mocking-stock. And when he was required, he quickly put out his tongue, and stretched forth his hands courageously,

11 and nobly said, From heaven I possess these; and for his laws’ sake I contemn these; and from him I hope to receive these back again:

12 insomuch that the king himself and they that were with him were astonished at the young man’s soul, for that he nothing regarded the pains.

13 And when he too was dead, they shamefully handled and tortured the fourth in like manner.

14 And being come near to death he said thus: It is good to die at the hands of men and look for the hopes which aregivenby God, that we shall be raised up again by him; for as for you, you shall have no resurrection to life.

15 And next after him they brought the fifth, and shamefully handled him.

16 But he looked towardthe king and said, Because you have authority among men, though you areyourselfcorruptible, you do what you will; yet think not that our race has been forsaken of God;

17 but hold you on your way, and behold his sovereign majesty, how it will torture you and your seed.

18 And after him they brought the sixth. And when he was at the point to die he said, Be not vainly deceived, for we suffer these things for our own doings, as sinning against our own God: marvelous things are come to pass;

19 but think not you that you shall be unpunished, having assayed to fight against God.

20 But above all was the mother marvelous and worthy of honorable memory; for when she looked on seven sons perishing within the space of one day, she barethe sightwith a good courage for the hopesthat she had seton the Lord.

21 And she exhorted each one of them in the language of their fathers, filled with a noble temper and stirring up her womanish thought with manly passion, saying to them,

22 I know not how you⌃ came into my womb, neither was it I that bestowed on you yourspirit and your life, and it was not I that brought into order the first elements of each one of you.

23 Therefore the Creator of the world, who fashioned thegeneration of man and devised thegeneration of all things, in mercy gives back to you again both yourspirit and your life, as you⌃ now contemn your own selves for his laws’ sake.

24 But Antiochus, thinking himself to be despised, and suspecting the reproachful voice, while the youngest was yet alive did not only make his appealto himby words, but also at the same time promised with oaths that he would enrich him andraise him to high estate, if he would turn from thecustomsof his fathers, and that he would take him for hisFriend and intrust him with affairs.

25 But when the young man would in no wise give heed, the king called to him his mother, and exhorted her that she would counsel the lad to save himself.

26 And when he had exhorted her with many words, she undertook to persuade her son.

27 But bending toward him, laughing the cruel tyrant to scorn, she spoke thus in the language of her fathers: My son, have pity upon me that carried you nine months in my womb, and gave you suck three years, and nourished and brought you up to this age, and sustained you.

28 I beseech you, my child, to lift your eyes to the heaven and the earth, and to see all things that are therein, and thus to recognize that God made them not of things that were, andthatthe race of men in this wise comes into being.

29 Fear not this butcher, but, proving yourself worthy of your brethren, accept your death, that in the mercyof GodI may receive you again with your brethren.

30 But before she had yet ended speaking, the young man said, Whom wait you⌃ for? I obey not the commandment of the king, but I hearken to the commandment of the law that was given to our fathers through Moses.

31 But you, that have devised all manner of evil against the Hebrews, shall in no wise escape the hands of God.

32 For we are suffering because of our own sins;

33 and if for rebuke and chastening our living Lord has been angered a little while, yet shall he again be reconciled with his own servants.

34 But you, O unholy man and of all most vile, be not vainly lifted up in your wild pride with uncertain hopes, raising your hand against the heavenly children;

35 For not yet have you escaped the judgement of the Almighty God that seesall things.

36 For these our brethren, having endured ashort pain that brings everlasting life, have nowdied under God’s covenant; But you, through the judgement of God, shall receive in just measure the penalties of your arrogancy.

37 But I, as my brethren, give up both body and soul for the laws of our fathers, calling upon God that he may speedily becomegracious to the nation; and that you amidst trials and plagues may confess that he alone is God;

38 and that in me and my brethrenyou may stay the wrath of the Almighty, which has been justly brought upon our whole race.

39 But the king, falling into a rage, handled him worse than all the rest, being exasperated at his mocking.

40 So he also died purefrom pollution,putting his whole trust in the Lord.

41 And last of all after her sons the mother died.

42 Let it then suffice to have said thus much concerning theenforcement ofsacrificial feasts and theking’sexceeding barbarities.

1 But Judas, who is alsocalledMaccabaeus, and they that were with him, making their way privily into the villages, called to them their kinsfolk; and taking to them such as had continued in the Jews’ religion, gathered together as many as six thousand.

2 And they called upon the Lord,beseeching himto look upon the people that was oppressed by all; and to have compassion on the sanctuary also that had been profaned by the ungodly men;

3 and to have pity on the city also that was suffering ruin and ready to be made even even with the ground; and to hearken to the blood that cried to him;

4 and to remember also the lawlessslaughter of the innocent infants, andthe blasphemies that had been committed against his name; and to show his hatred of wickedness.

5 And when Maccabaeus had trained his men for service, the heathen at once found him irresistible, for that the wrath of the Lord was turned into pity.

6 And coming unawares he set fire to cities and villages. And in winning back the most important positions, putting to flight no small number of the enemies,

7 he specially took advantage of the nights for such assaults. And his courage was loudly talked of everywhere.

8 But when Philip saw the man gaining ground by little and little, and increasing more and more in his prosperity, he wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, that he should support the king’s cause.

9 AndPtolemyquickly appointed Nicanor thesonof Patroclus, one of theking’sChief Friends, and sent him, in command of no fewer than twenty thousand of all nations, to destroy the whole race of Judaea; and with him he joined Gorgias also, a captain and one that had experience in matters of war.

10 And Nicanorundertook bythe sale ofthe captive Jews to make up for the king the tribute of two thousand talents which he was to pay to the Romans.

11 And immediately he sent to the cities upon the sea coast, inviting them to buy Jewishslaves, promising to allow fourscore and tenslaves for a talent, not expecting the judgement that was to follow upon him from the Almighty.

12 But tidings came to Judas concerning the inroad of Nicanor; and when he communicated to them that were with him the presence of the army,

13 they that were cowardly and distrustful of the judgement of Godran away and left the country.

14 And others sold all that was left over to them, and withal implored the Lord to deliver them that had been soldas slavesby the impious Nicanor or ever he met them;

15 andthis,if not for their own sakes, yet for the covenants made with their fathers, and because he had called them by his reverend and glorious name.

16 And Maccabaeus gathered his men together, six thousand in number, and exhorted them not to be stricken with dismay at the enemy, nor to fear the great multitude of the heathen who came wrongfully against them; but to contend nobly,

17 setting before their eyes the outrage that had been lawlessly perpetrated upon the holy place, and the shameful handling of the city that had been turned to mockery, and further the overthrow of the mode of life received from their ancestors.

18 For they, said he, trust to arms, and withal to deeds of daring; but we trust on the almighty God, since he is able at a beck to cast down them that are coming against us, and even the whole world.

19 And moreover he recounted to them the help given from time to time in the days of their ancestors, both thehelp givenin the days of Sennacherib, how that a hundred fourscore and five thousand perished,

20 and thehelp givenin the land of Babylon, even the battle that was fought against theGauls, how that they came to the engagement eight thousand in all, with four thousand Macedonians,and how that,the Macedonians being hard pressed, thesix thousand destroyed the hundred and twenty thousand, because of the succour which they had from heaven, and took great booty.

21 And when he had with these words made them of good courage, and ready to die for the laws and their country, he divided his army into four parts;

22 appointing his brethren to be with himself leaders of the several bands,to wit,Simon and Joseph and Jonathan, giving each the command of fifteen hundred men,

23 and moreover Eleazer also:then,having read aloud the sacred book, and having given as watchword, THE HELP OF GOD, leading the first band himself, he joined battle with Nicanor.

24 And, since the Almighty fought on their side, they killed of the enemy above nine thousand, and wounded anddisabled the more part of Nicanor’s army, and compelled all to flee:

25 and they took the money of those that had come there to buy them. And after they had pursued them for somedistance, they returned, being constrained by the time of the day;

26 for it was the day before the Sabbath, and for this cause they made no effort to chase them far.

27 And when they had gatheredthe arms of the enemy together, and had stripped off their spoils, they occupied themselves about the Sabbath, blessing and thanking the Lord exceedingly, who had saved them to this day, for that he had caused a beginning of mercy to distil upon them.

28 And after the Sabbath, when they had given of the spoils to themaimed, and to the widows and orphans, the residue they distributed among themselves and their children.

29 And when they had accomplished these things, and had made a common supplication, they implored the merciful Lord to be wholly reconciled with his servants.

30 And having had an encounter with the forces of Timotheus and Bacchides, they killed above twenty thousand of them, and made themselves masters of strongholds exceeding high, and divided very much plunder, giving themaimed and orphans and widows, and moreover the aged also, an equal share with themselves.

31 And when they had gathered the armsof the enemy together, they stored them all up carefully in the most important positions, and the residue of the spoils they carried to Jerusalem.

32 And they killed thephylarch of Timotheus’s forces, a most unholy man, and one who had done the Jews much hurt.

33 And as they kept the feast of victory in thecity of their fathers, they burned those that had set the sacredgates on fire,and among themCallisthenes, who had fled intoan outhouse; andsothey received the meet reward of their impiety.

34 And the thrice-accursed Nicanor, who had brought the thousand merchants to buy the Jewsfor slaves,

35 being through the help of the Lord humbled by them who in his eyes were held to be of least account, put off his glorious apparel, andpassingthrough the midland,shunning all company like a fugitive slave, arrived at Antioch,having,as he thought,had the greatest possible good fortune, though his host was destroyed.

36 And he that had taken upon him to make tribute sure for the Romans by the captivity of the men of Jerusalem published abroad that the Jews had One who fought for them, and thatbecause this was so the Jews were invulnerable, because they followed the laws ordained by him.

1 Now about that time it befell that Antiochus had returnedin disorder from the region of Persia.

2 For he had entered into the city called Persepolis, and he assayed to roba temple and to hold down the city. Whereupon there was an onset of the multitudes, andAntiochus and his menturned to make defence with arms; and it came to pass that Antiochus was put to flight by the people of the country and broke up his camp with disgrace.

3 And while he was at Ecbatana, news was brought him what had happened to Nicanor and the forces of Timotheus.

4 And being lifted upby his passion he thought to make the Jews suffer even for the evil-doing of those that had put him to rout. Wherefore, the judgement from heaven even now accompanying him, he gave order to his charioteer to drive without ceasing and despatch the journey; for thus he arrogantly spoke: I will make Jerusalem a common graveyard of Jews, when I come there.

5 But the All-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him with afatal and invisible stroke; and as soon as he had ceased speaking this word, an incurable pain of the bowels seized him, and bitter torments of the inner parts;

6 and that most justly, for he had tormented other men’s bowels with many and strange sufferings.

7 But he in no wise ceased from his rude insolence; nay, still more was he filled with arrogancy, breathing fire in his passion against the Jews, and commanding to haste the journey. But it came to pass moreover that he fell from his chariot as it rushed along, and having a grievous fall was racked in all the members of his body.

8 And he that but now supposed himself to have the waves of the sea at his bidding, so vainglorious was he beyond the condition of a man, and that thought to weigh the heights of the mountains in a balance, was now brought to the ground and carried in a litter,showing to all that the power was manifestly God’s;

9 so that out of the body of the impious man worms swarmed, and while he was still living in anguish and pains, his flesh fell off, and by reason of the stench all the army turned with loathing from his corruption.

10 And the man that a little before supposed himself to touch the stars of heaven, no one could endure to carry for his intolerable stench.

11 Hereupon therefore he began in great part to cease from his arrogancy, being brokenin spirit,and to come to knowledge under the scourge of God, his pains increasing every moment.

12 And when he himself could not abide his own smell, he said these words: It is right to be subject to God, and that one who is mortal should notbe minded arrogantly.

13 And the vile man vowed to the sovereign Lord, who now no more would have pity upon him, saying on this wise:

14 that the holy city, to the which he was going in haste, to lay it even with the ground and tomake it a common graveyard, he would declare free;

15 and as touching the Jews, whom he had decided not even to count worthy of burial, but to cast them out to the beasts with their infants, for the birds to devour, he would make them all equal to citizens of Athens;

16 and the holy sanctuary, which before he had spoiled, he would adorn with goodliest offerings, and would restore all the sacred vessels many times multiplied, and out of his own revenues would defray the charges that were required for the sacrifices;

17 and, beside all this, that he would become a Jew, and would visit every inhabited place, publishing abroad the might of God.

18 But when his sufferings did in no wise cease, for the judgement of God had come upon him in righteousness, having given up all hope of himself, he wrote to the Jews the letter written below, having the nature of a supplication, to this effect:

19 To the worthy Jews, his fellow-citizens, Antiochus, king and general, wishes much joy and health and prosperity.

20 May you⌃ and your children fare well; and your affairs shall be to your mind. Having my hope in heaven,

21 I remembered with affection your honor and good willtoward me.Returning out of the region of Persia, and being taken with a noisome sickness, I deemed it necessary to take thought for the common safety of all,

22 not despairing of myself, but having great hope to escape from the sickness.

23 But considering that my father also, at what time he led an army into the upper country, appointed his successor,

24 to the end that, if anything fell out contrary to expectation, or if any unwelcome tidings were brought, theythat remainedin the country, knowing to whom the state had been left, might not be troubled;

25 and, beside all this, observing how that the princes that are borderers and neighbors to my kingdom watch opportunities, and look for the future event, I have appointed my son Antiochusto beking, whom I often committed and commended to most of you, when I was hastening to the upper provinces; and I have written to him what is written below.

26 I exhort you therefore and beseech you, having in your remembrance the benefits done to you in common and severally, to preserve each of you your present good will toward me and my son.

27 For I am persuaded that he in gentleness and kindness will follow my purpose and treat you with indulgence.

28 So the murderer and blasphemer, having endured the sorest sufferings, even as he had dealt with other men, ended his life among the mountains by a most piteous fate in a strange land.

29 And Philip his foster-brother conveyed the bodyhome;and then, fearing the son of Antiochus, he betook himself to Ptolemy Philometor in Egypt.

1 And Maccabaeus and they that were with him, the Lord leading them on, recovered the temple and the city;

2 and they pulled down the altars that had been built in the marketplace by the aliens, and alsothe walls ofsacred inclosures.

3 And having cleansed the sanctuary they made another altar of sacrifice; andstriking stones and taking fire out of them, they offered sacrifices, afterthey had ceased fortwo years, andburnedincense, andlightedlamps, and set forth the show bread.

4 And when they had done these things, they fell prostrate and implored the Lord that they might fall no more into such evils; but that, if ever they should sin, they might be chastened by him with forbearance, and not be delivered to blaspheming and barbarous heathen.

5 Now on the same day that the sanctuary was profaned by aliens, upon that very day did it come to pass that the cleansing of the sanctuary was made, even on the five and twentieth day of the same month, which is Chislev.

6 And they kept eight days with gladness in the mannerof the feastof tabernacles, remembering how thatnot long before, during the feast of tabernacles, they were wandering in the mountains and in the caves after the manner of wild beasts.

7 Wherefore bearing wands wreathed with leaves, and fair boughs, and palms also, they offered up hymns of thanksgiving to him that had prosperously brought to pass the cleansing of his own place.

8 They ordained also with a common statute and decree, for all the nation of the Jews, that they should keep these days every year.

9 Andsuch was the end of Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes.

10 But now will we declare what came to pass under AntiochusnamedEupator, who proved himself atrueson of that ungodly man, and will gather up briefly thesuccessive evils of the wars.

11 For this man, when he succeeded to the kingdom, appointed one Lysiasto bechancellor, and supreme governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia.

12 For Ptolemy that was called Macron, setting an example of observing justice toward the Jews because of the wrong that had been done to them, endeavoured toconduct his dealings with them on peaceful terms.

13 Whereupon being accused by theking’sFriends before Eupator, and hearing himself called traitor at every turn, because he had abandoned Cyprus which Philometor had intrusted to him, and had withdrawn himself to AntiochuscalledEpiphanes, andfailing to uphold the honor of his office, he took poison and made away with himself.

14 But Gorgias, when he was made governor of the district, maintained a force of mercenaries, and at every turn kept up war with the Jews.

15 And together with him the Idumaeans also, being masters of important strongholds, harassed the Jews; and receiving to them those that had taken refugetherefrom Jerusalem, they assayed to keep up war.

16 But Maccabaeus and his men, having made solemn supplication and implored God to fight on their side, rushed upon the strongholds of the Idumaeans;

17 and assaulting them vigorously they made themselves masters of the positions, and kept off all that fought upon the wall, and killed those that fell in their way, and killed no fewer than twenty thousand.

18 And because no less than nine thousand were fled into two towers exceeding strong and having all thingsneededfor a seige,

19 Maccabaeus, having left Simon and Joseph, and Zacchaeus besides and them that were with him, a force sufficient to besiege them, departed himself to places where he was most needed.

20 But Simon and they that were with him, yielding to covetousness, were bribed by certain of those that were in the towers, and receiving seventy thousand drachmas let some of them slip away.

21 But when word was brought to Maccabaeus of what was done, he gathered the leaders of the people together, and accusedthose menof having sold their brethren for money, by setting their enemies freeto fightagainst them.

22 So he killed these men for having turned traitors, and forthwith took possession of the two towers.

23 And prospering with his arms in all things he took in hand, he destroyed in the two strongholds more than twenty thousand.

24 Now Timotheus, who had been before defeated by the Jews, having gathered together foreign forces in great multitudes, and having collected thehorsemen which belonged to Asia, not a few, came as though he would take Judaea by force of arms.

25 But as he drew near, Maccabaeus and his men sprinkled earth upon their heads and girded their loins with sackcloth, in supplication to God,

26 and falling down upon the step in front of the altar, implored him to becomegracious to them, andbe an enemy to their enemies and an adversary to their adversaries, as the law declares.

27 And rising from their prayer they took up their arms, and advanced some distance from the city; and when they had come near to their enemies theyhalted.

28 And when the dawn was now spreading, the twoarmiesjoined battle; the one part having this, besidetheirvirtue, for a pledge of success and victory, that they had fled to the Lord for refuge, the others making their passion their leader in the strife.

29 But when the battle waxed strong, there appeared out of heaven to their adversaries five men on horses with bridles of gold,insplendidarray;and two of them, leading on the Jews,

30 and taking Maccabaeus in the midst of them, and covering him with their own armor, guarded him from wounds, while on the adversaries they shot forth arrows and thunderbolts; by reason whereof they were blinded and thrown into confusion, and were cut to pieces, filled with bewilderment.

31 And there were slain twenty thousand and five hundred, beside six hundred horsemen.

32 But Timotheus himself fled into a stronghold called Gazara, a fortress of exceeding strength,Chaereas being in command there.

33 But Maccabaeus and his men were glad and laid siege to the fortress four and twenty days.

34 And they that were within, trusting to the strength of the place, blasphemed exceedingly, and hurled forth impious words.

35 But at dawn of the five and twentieth day certain young men of the company of Maccabaeus, inflamed with passion because of the blasphemies, assaulted the wall with masculine force and withfurious passion, and cut down whoever came in their way.

36 And others climbing up in like manner, whilethe besiegedwere distracted with themthat had made their waywithin, set fire to the towers, and kindling fires burned the blasphemers alive; while others broke open the gates, and, having given entrance to the rest of the band, occupied the city.

37 And they killed Timotheus, who was hidden in a cistern, and his brother Chaereas, and Apollophanes.

38 And when they had accomplished these things, they blessed the Lord with hymns and thanksgivings, him who does great benefits to Israel, and gives them the victory.

1 Now after a very little time Lysias, the king’s guardian and kinsman and chancellor, being sore displeased for the things that had come to pass,

2 collected about fourscore thousandfootmenand all his horsemen and came against the Jews, thinking to make the city a place for Greeks to dwell in,

3 and to levy tribute on the temple, ason the other sacred places of the nations, and to put up the high priesthood to sale every year;

4 holding in no account the might of God, but puffed up with his ten thousands of footmen, and his thousands of horsemen, and his fourscore elephants.

5 And coming into Judaea and drawing near to Bethsuron, which was a strong place and distant from Jerusalem aboutfive leagues, he pressed it hard.

6 But when Maccabaeus and his men learned that he was besieging the strongholds, they and all the people with lamentations and tears made supplication to the Lord to send a good angel to save Israel.

7 And Maccabaeus himself took up arms first, and exhorted the others to jeopard themselves together with him and succour their brethren; and they sallied forth with him right willingly.

8 And as they were there, close to Jerusalem, there appeared at their head one on horseback in white apparel, brandishingweapons of gold.

9 And they all together praised the merciful God, and were yet more strengthened in heart: being ready toassail not men only but the wildest beasts, and walls of iron,

10 they advanced in array, having him that is in heaven to fight on their side, for the Lord had mercy on them.

11 And hurlingthemselveslike lions upon the enemy, they killed of them eleven thousandfootmenand sixteen hundred horsemen, and forced allthe restto flee.

12 But the more part of them escaped woundedandnaked; and Lysias also himself escaped by shameful flight.

13 But as he was a man not void of understanding, weighing with himself the defeat which had befallen him, and considering that the Hebrews could not be overcome, because the Almighty God fought on their side, he sent againto them,

14 and persuaded them to come to terms on condition that all their rights were acknowledged, andpromisedthat he would also persuade the king to become their friend.

15 And Maccabaeus gave consent upon all the conditions which Lysias proposed to him, being careful of thecommongood; for whateverrequestsMaccabaeus delivered in writing to Lysias concerning the Jews the king allowed.

16 For the letters written to the Jews from Lysias were to this effect:

Lysias to thepeople of the Jews, greeting.

17 John and Absalom, who were sent from you, having delivered thepetition written below, made request concerning the things signified therein.

18 What things soever therefore had need to be brought before the king I declaredto him,and what things were possible he allowed.

19 If then you⌃ will preserve your good will toward the state, henceforward also will I endeavor to contribute toyourgood.

20 And on this behalf I have given order in detail, both to these men and to thosethat are sentfrom me, to confer with you.

21 Fare you⌃ well.Writtenin the hundred forty and eighth year, on the four and twentieth day ofthe monthDioscorinthius.

22 And the king’s letter was in these words:

King Antiochus to his brother Lysias, greeting.

23 Seeing that our father passed to the gods having the wish that the subjects of his kingdomshould be undisturbed and give themselves to the care of their own affairs,

24 we, having heard that the Jews do not consent to our father’s purpose to turn them to thecustomsof the Greeks, but choose rather their own manner of living, and make request that thecustomsof their law be allowed to them,—

25 choosing therefore that this nation also should be free fromdisturbance, we determine that their temple be restored to them, and that they live according to the customs that were in the days of their ancestors.

26 You will therefore do well to sendmessengersto them and give them the right handof friendship,that they, knowing our mind, may be of good heart, and gladly occupy themselves with the conduct of their own affairs.

27 And to the nation the king’s letter was after this manner:

King Antiochus to the senate of the Jews and to the other Jews, greeting.

28 If you⌃ fare well, we have our desire: we ourselves also are in good health.

29 Menelaus informed us that your desire was to return home and follow your own business.

30 They therefore that depart home up to the thirties day of Xanthicus shall haveourfriendship, with full permission

31 that the Jews use their ownpropermeats andobserve their ownlaws, even as heretofore; and none of them shall be in any way molested for the things that have been ignorantly done.

32 Moreover I have sent Menelaus also, that he may encourage you.

33 Fare you⌃ well.Writtenin the hundred forty and eighth year, on the fifteenth day of Xanthicus.

34 And the Romans also sent to them a letter in these words:

Quintus MemmiusandTitus Manius, ambassadors of the Romans, to the people of the Jews, greeting.

35 In regard to the things which Lysias the king’s kinsman granted you, we also give consent.

36 But as for the things which he judged should be referred to the king, send one forthwith, after you⌃ have advised thereof, that we may publish suchdecreesas befit your case; for we are on our way to Antioch.

37 Wherefore send some with speed, that we also may learn what is your mind.

38 Farewell.Writtenin the hundred forty and eighth year, on the fifteenth day of Xanthicus.

1 So when these covenants had been made, Lysias departed to the king, and the Jews went about their husbandry.

2 Butcertainof the governors of districts, Timotheus and Apollonius thesonof Gennaeus, and Hieronymus also and Demophon, and beside them Nicanor the governor of Cyprus, would not suffer them to enjoy tranquillity and live in peace.

3 And men of Joppa perpetrated this great impiety: they invited the Jews that lived among them to go with their wives and children into the boats which they had provided, as though they had no ill will towards them;

4 and whenthe Jews,relying on the common decree of the city, acceptedthe invitation,as men desiring to live in peace and suspecting nothing, they took them out to sea and drowned them,in numbernot less than two hundred.

5 But when Judas heard of the cruelty done to his fellow-countrymen, giving command to the men that were with him

6 and calling upon God the righteous Judge, he came against the murderers of his brethren, and set the haven on fire by night, and burned the boats, and put to the sword those that had fled there.

7 But when the town was closedagainst him,he withdrew, intending to come again to root out the whole community of the men of Joppa.

8 But learning that the men of Jamnia were minded to do in like manner to the Jews that sojourned among them,

9 he fell upon the Jamnites also by night, and set fire to the haven together with the fleet, so that the glare of the light was seen at Jerusalem, two hundred and forty furlongs distant.

10 Now when they had drawn off nine furlongs from thence, as they marched against Timotheus,a host ofArabians attacked him, no fewer than five thousandfootmenand five hundred horsemen.

11 And when a sore battle had been fought, and Judas and his company by the help of God had good success, the nomads being overcome implored Judas to grant them friendship, promising to givehimcattle, and to helphis people in all other ways.

12 So Judas, thinking that they would indeed be profitable in many things, agreed to live in peace with them; and receiving pledges of friendship they departed to their tents.

13 And he also fell upon a certain cityGephyrun, strong and fenced about with walls, and inhabited by a mixed multitude of various nations; and it was named Caspin.

14 But they that were within, trusting to the strength of the walls and to their store of provisions, behaved themselves rudely toward Judas and them that were with him, railing, and furthermore blaspheming and speaking impious words.

15 But Judas and his company, calling upon the great sovereign of the world, who without rams and cunning engines of war hurled down Jericho in the times of Joshua, rushed wildly against the wall;

16 and having taken the city by the will of God, they made unspeakable slaughter, insomuch that the adjoining lake, which was two furlongs broad, appeared to be filled with the deluge of blood.

17 And when they had drawn off seven hundred and fifty furlongs from thence, they made their way to Charax, to the Jews that are calledTubieni.

18 And Timotheus they found not in occupation of that district, for he had then departed from the district without accomplishing anything, but had left behind a garrison, and that a very strong one, in a certain post.

19 But Dositheus and Sosipater, who were of Maccabaeus’s captains, sallied forth and destroyed those that had been left by Timotheus in the stronghold, above ten thousand men.

20 And Maccabaeus, ranging his own army by bands, setthese two over the bands, and marched in haste against Timotheus, who had with him a hundred and twenty thousand footmen and two thousand and five hundred horsemen.

21 But when Timotheus heard of the inroad of Judas, he at once sent away the women and the children and also the baggage into thefortresscalledCarnion; for the place was hard to besiege and difficult of access by reason of the narrowness of the approaches on all sides.

22 But when the band of Judas, who led the van, appeared in sight, and when terror came upon the enemy and fear, because the manifestation of him who sees all things came upon them, they fled amain, carried this way and that, so that they were often hurt of their own men, and pierced with the points of their swords.

23 And Judas continued the pursuit the more hotly, putting the wicked wretches to the sword, and he destroyed as many as thirty thousand men.

24 But Timotheus himself, falling in with the company of Dositheus and Sosipater, implored them with muchcrafty guile to let him go with his life, because he hadin his powerthe parents of manyof themand the brethren of some:otherwise,said he,little regard willbe shewn to these.

25 So when he had with many words confirmed the agreement to restore them without hurt, they let him go that they might save their brethren.

26 AndJudas,marching againstCarnion and the temple of Atergatis, killed five and twenty thousand persons.

27 And after he had put these to flight and destroyed them, he marched against Ephron also, a strong city,wherein were multitudes of people of all nations; and stalwart young men placedon the walls made a vigorous defence; and there were great stores of engines and darts there.

28 But calling upon the Sovereign who with might breaks in pieces thestrength ofthe enemy, they got the city into their hands, and killed as many as twenty and five thousand of them that were within.

29 And setting out from thence they marched in haste against Scythopolis, which is distant from Jerusalem six hundred furlongs.

30 But when the Jews that were settled there testified of the good will that the Scythopolitans had shewn toward them, and of their kindly bearingtoward themin the times of their misfortune,

31 they gave thanks, and further exhorted them to remain well affected toward the race for the future; and they went up to Jerusalem, the feast of weeks being close to hand.

32 But after thefeastcalled Pentecost they marched in haste against Gorgias the governor of Idumaea:

33 and he came out with three thousand footmen and four hundred horsemen.

34 And when they had set themselves in array, it came to pass that a few of the Jews fell.

35 And a certain Dositheus, oneof Bacenor’s company, who was on horseback and a strong man, pressed hard on Gorgias, and taking hold of his cloke drew him along by main force; and while he was minded to take the accursed man alive, one of the Thracian horsemen bore down upon him and disabled his shoulder, and so Gorgias escaped toMarisa.

36 And when they that were with Esdris had been fighting long and were wearied out, Judas called upon the Lord to show himself, fighting on their side and leading the van of the battle;

37 andthenin the language of his fathers he raised the battle-cry joined with hymns, and rushing unawares upon the troops of Gorgias put them to flight.

38 And Judas gathering his army came to the city ofAdullam; and as the seventh day was coming on, they purified themselves according to the custom, and kept the Sabbath there.

39 And on the day following,at which time it had become necessary, Judas and his company came to take up the bodies of them that had fallen,and in company with their kinsmen to bring them back to the sepulchres of their fathers.

40 But under the garments of each one of the dead they foundconsecrated tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to have anything to do with; and it became clear to all that it was for this cause that they had fallen.

41 All therefore, blessing theworksof the Lord, the righteous Judge, who makes manifest the things that are hid,

42 betook themselves to supplication, beseeching that the sin committed might be wholly blotted out. And the noble Judas exhorted the multitude to keep themselves from sin, forsomuch as they had seen before their eyes what things had come to pass because of the sin of them that had fallen.

43 And when he had made a collection man by man to the sum of two thousand drachmas of silver, he sent to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice for sin, doing therein right well and honorably, in that he took thought for a resurrection.

44 For if he were not expecting that they that had fallen would rise again, it were superfluous and idle to pray for the dead.

45 (And ifhe did itlooking to an honorable memorial of gratitude laid up for them thatdiein godliness, holy and godly was the thought.) Wherefore he made the propitiation for them that had died, that they might be released from their sin.