May 14 - 2 Maccabees 13-15
2 Maccabees
1In the one hundred and forty-ninth year, Judas realized that Antiochus Eupator was coming with a multitude against Judea2And with him was Lysias, the procurator, who was in charge of the government, having with him one hundred and ten thousand foot solders, five thousand horsemen, and twenty-two elephants, and three hundred swift chariots with curved blades3Menelaus also joined himself to them, and with many lies he pleaded with Antiochus, not for the welfare of his country, but hoping that he would be appointed as first ruler4But the King of kings awakened the mind of Antiochus against the sinner. And when Lysias was suggesting this to be the cause of all the evils, he ordered (as is the custom with them) that he should be apprehended and killed in the same place5Now there was, in the same place, a tower of fifty cubits, having a pile of ashes on every side. This had a lookout over a precipice6From there, he ordered this sacrilegious one to be thrown down into the ashes, with all propelling him into the afterlife7And by such a law, it turned out that the betrayer of the law, Menelaus, died, not having so much as a burial in the earth8And indeed, this satisfied justice, for just as he had committed many offenses toward the altar of God, the fire and ashes of which are holy, so was he condemned to die in ashes9But the king, with his mind being unbridled, came to reveal himself as more wicked to the Jews than his father was10When Judas understood this, he instructed the people to call upon the Lord day and night, so that, just as always, now also he would help them11Of course, they were afraid to be deprived of their law and their country, and of the holy temple, and also that he might allow the people, who had recently taken a breath for a little while, to be again subdued by blasphemous nations12And so, having together done all these things, and having sought mercy from the Lord with weeping and fasting, lying prostrate on the ground continually for three days, Judas exhorted them to prepare themselves13In truth, with the elders he decided that, before the king could move his army into Judea and obtain the city, they would go out and commit the outcome of the event to the judgment of the Lord14And so, giving everything to God, the Creator of the world, and having exhorted his own to contend with fortitude and to stand up, even unto death, for the laws, the temple, the city, their country and the citizens: he positioned his army around Modin15And having given his own a sign of the victory of God, he attacked the quarters of the king by night, with the strongest chosen young men, and he slew four thousand men in the camp, and the greatest of the elephants, along with those who would have been positioned on them16And so, having filled the camp of their enemies with the greatest fear and disturbance, they went away with good success17Now this was done at the first light of day, with the Lord assisting and protecting them18But the king, having received a taste of the audacity of the Jews, attempted to take the difficult places by craftiness19And so, he moved his camp to Bethzur, which was a fortified garrison of the Jews. But as he struck, he was put to flight and reduced in number20Then Judas sent necessities to those who were inside21But Rhodocus, a certain one from the Jewish army, reported the secrets to the enemies, so he was sought out, apprehended, and imprisoned22Again, the king held talks with those who were in Bethzur. He gave his right hand as a pledge, and accepted theirs, and he went away23He joined battle with Judas; he was overcome. But when he realized that Philip, who had been left out of these events, had rebelled at Antioch, he was in a consternation of mind, and, begging the Jews, and being submissive to them, he swore to all things that seemed just. And, being reconciled, he offered sacrifice, honored the temple, and left gifts24He embraced Maccabeus, and he made him commander and leader from Ptolemais all the way to the Gerrenians25But when he arrived at Ptolemais, the Ptolemaians considered the conditions of the alliance burdensome, being indignant lest perhaps they might break the pact26Then Lysias went up to the tribunal, and explained the reasons, and calmed the people, and so he returned to Antioch. And this is the way things went concerning the journey and return of the king
1But after a time of three years, Judas and those who were with him realized that Demetrius of Seleucus had gone up to strategic places with a very strong multitude and a navy at the port of Tripoli2and had taken hold of the regions opposite Antiochus, and his commander, Lysias3Now a certain Alcimus, who had been high priest, but who had willfully defiled himself in the time of the co-mingling, considering there to be no means for his safety, nor access to the altar4went to king Demetrius in the one hundred and fiftieth year, offering to him a crown of gold, and a palm, and beyond these, some branches that seemed to belong to the temple. And, indeed, on that day, he was silent5But, having met with an opportune time for his madness, he was called to a counsel by Demetrius and asked what things the Jews relied upon and what were their counsels6He responded: "Those among the Jews who are called Hasideans, of whom Judas Maccabeus is foremost, nourish wars, and raise seditions, and will not permit the kingdom to be at peace7For I also, being cheated out of the glory of my ancestors (but I speak of the high priesthood), have come here8first, indeed, in faithful service to the king’s interests, but also as an advisor of the citizens. For our entire nation is no less afflicted by their depravity9But I beg you, O king, knowing each of these things, look after both the region and our people, according to your humanity, which is publicly known to all10For, as long as Judas survives, it is impossible for the matter to be at peace.11Then, having spoken such things before them, the rest of the allies, who held themselves to be enemies against Judas, further inflamed Demetrius12And immediately he sent Nicanor, the commander over the elephants, into the first position against Judea13giving him orders to be certain to capture Judas himself, and, truly, to scatter all those who were with him, and to appoint Alcimus as the high priest of the great temple14Then the Gentiles, who had fled from Judas away from Judea, mingled themselves in flocks with Nicanor, thinking that the miseries and calamities of the Jews would become the cause of their prosperity15And so, when the Jews heard of Nicanor’s arrival and that the nations were assembled, they, sprinkling dirt on their heads, petitioned him who established his people to preserve them in eternity, and who likewise protected his portion by clear signs16Then, at the command of their leader, they moved promptly from there, and together assembled at the town of Dessau17In truth, Simon, the brother of Judas, had joined battle with Nicanor, but he became frightened at the unexpected arrival of the adversaries18Even so, Nicanor, hearing of the virtue of the companions of Judas, and the great courage with which they struggled on behalf of their country, was afraid to accomplish judgment by the sword19For this reason, he sent ahead Posidonius, and Theodotus, and Matthias, so as to give and receive the pledge of right hands20And when a council was held all day about this, and the commander had brought it before the multitude, they were all of one opinion to consent to an alliance21And so, they appointed a day, on which they would act among themselves secretly, and seats were brought out and placed for each of them22But Judas instructed armed men to be in strategic places, lest some kind of malice might unexpectedly spring up from the enemies. And they had an agreeable conference23Then Nicanor stayed in Jerusalem, and he did no iniquity; he sent away the flocks of the crowds, which had been gathered together24And Judas always held him dear to the heart, and was favorably inclined toward the man25And he asked him to consider a wife, and to procreate sons. He got married; he lived quietly, and they all lived in common26But Alcimus seeing the love that they had for one another, and the agreements, went to Demetrius, and he told him that Nicanor had assented to foreign interests, and that he had chosen Judas, a traitor to the kingdom, as his successor27And so the king, being exasperated and provoked by this very wicked accusation, wrote to Nicanor, saying that he was certainly overburdened by the agreement of alliance, and he ordered him nevertheless to send Maccabeus quickly to Antioch in chains28When this was known, Nicanor was in consternation, and he took it grievously that he would make void the things that were agreed, having received no injury from the man29But, because he was not able to oppose the king, he watched for an opportunity to follow through with the orders30But Maccabeus, seeing that Nicanor acted more formally with him, and that, when they met together as usual, he exhibited insolence, understood this austerity not to be from goodness. So, gathering together a few men, he hid himself from Nicanor31But when he realized that he was effectively prevented by the man, he went to the greatest and holiest temple, and he ordered the priests, offering the usual sacrifices, to deliver the man to him32When these spoke oaths to him that they did not know where he who was being sought was, he extended his hand toward the temple33and he swore, saying: "Unless you deliver Judas to me in chains, I will reduce this shrine of God to the ground, and I will dig up the altar, and I will consecrate this temple to Liber the father.34And having said this, he departed. But the priests, extending their hands toward heaven, called upon him who had always fought for his people, saying this35"O Lord of the universe, who needs nothing, you willed that the temple of your dwelling should be with us36And now, O Lord, Holy of all holies, preserve unpolluted, until eternity, this house, which was recently made clean.37Then Razias, a certain one of the elders from Jerusalem, was brought before Nicanor; the man was of good reputation, and was one who loved the city. For his affection, he was called the father of the Jews38This one, for a long time, held on to his purpose of continuing in Judaism, and he was content to hand over body and life, so that he might persevere in it39Then Nicanor, being willing to manifest the hatred that he held for the Jews, sent five hundred soldiers to apprehend him40For he thought, if he mistreated him, it would bring great disaster upon the Jews41Now, as the group sought to rush into his house, and to break open the door, and wanting even to bring in fire, as he was about to be apprehended, he struck himself with the sword42choosing to prefer to die nobly rather than to become subject to sinners, or to suffer unworthy injustices against his birth43But, since he had, in haste, not obtained the certitude of a decisive wound, and the crowd was breaking in the doors, he, running boldly to the wall, manfully threw himself down upon the crowd44But they quickly provided a place for his fall, so he landed at the middle of the neck45And, since he was still breathing, and being inflamed in soul, he rose up, and as his blood flowed down in a great stream, being very gravely wounded, he ran through the crowd46And standing upon a certain steep rock, and being now almost without blood, grasping his intestines with both hands, he threw himself over the crowd, calling upon the Ruler of life as well as spirit, to restore these to him again. And so he passed away from this life
1But when Nicanor discovered Judas to be in the places of Samaria, he decided to meet him in warfare with all violence, on the Sabbath day2In truth, the Jews who followed him out of necessity were saying: "Do not act so fiercely and barbarously, but give honor to the day of sanctification and reverence to him who beholds all things.3That unhappy man asked, "Is there a powerful One in heaven, who commanded the day of the Sabbath to be kept.4And they responded to him, "There is the living Lord himself in heaven, the powerful One, who ordered the seventh day to be kept.5And so he said: "I also am powerful upon the earth, so I command arms to be taken up and the king’s plans to be fulfilled." Nevertheless, he did not succeed in accomplishing his plan6And Nicanor, being certainly lifted up with the greatest arrogance, had decided to establish a public monument of his victory over Judas7But Maccabeus, as always, trusted with all hope that God would be present to help them8And he exhorted his own not to fear the arrival of the nations, but to keep in mind the assistance they had received before from heaven, and now to hope for a future victory from the Almighty9And speaking to them from the law and the prophets, reminding them even of the conflicts they had fought before, he made them more willing10And so, having raised up their courage, at the same time he revealed the deceitful plan of the Gentiles and their betrayal of the oaths11Then he armed every one of them, not with the weapons of shield and spear, but with the best speeches and exhortations; and he explained to them a dream, worthy to be believed, in which he rejoiced with them all12Now the vision was in this manner: Onias, who had been high priest, a good and kind man, modest in appearance, gentle in manners, and noble in speech, and who from boyhood was trained in the virtues, extending his hands, prayed on behalf of all the people of the Jews13After this, there appeared also another man, admirable in age and glory, and with a bearing of great dignity about him14In truth, Onias responded by saying: "This one loves his brothers and the people of Israel. This is he who prays greatly for the people and for all the holy city: Jeremiah, the prophet of God.15Then Jeremiah extended his right hand, and he gave to Judas a sword of gold, saying16"Receive this holy sword as a gift from God, with it you shall cast down the adversaries of my people Israel.17And so, having been exhorted by the very good words of Judas, by which the readiness and courage of the young men were able to be raised and strengthened, they resolved to strive and to contend with fortitude, so that virtue would judge the matter, because the holy city and the temple were in peril18For their concern was less for their wives and sons, and likewise less for their brothers and relatives; in truth, their greatest and first fear was for the sanctity of the temple19But those also who were in the city had no small concern for those who had gathered together20And, when all now hoped that judgment would soon occur, and when the enemies were near, and the army was set in order, with the beasts and the horsemen positioned in strategic places21Maccabeus, considering the arrival of the multitude, and the various preparations of weapons, and the fierceness of the beasts, extending his hands to heaven, called upon the Lord, who works miracles, who gives victory to those who are worthy, not according to the power of the weapons, but just as it pleases him22Then, calling out in this way, he said: "You, O Lord, who sent your Angel under Hezekiah, king of Judah, and who killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand from the camp of Sennacherib23now also, O Ruler of the heavens, send your good Angel before us, who are in fear and trembling at the greatness of your arm24so that those who approach against your holy people with blasphemy may be afraid." And in this way, indeed, he concluded his prayer25But Nicanor, and those who were with him, advanced with trumpets and songs26In truth, Judas, and those who were with him, calling upon God through prayers, came together against them27Indeed, fighting with their hands, but praying to the Lord with their hearts, they struck down no less than thirty-five thousand, being delighted by the presence of God28And when they had ceased and were returning with gladness, they realized, by his armor, that Nicanor had been slain29And so, making a loud noise and inciting a disturbance, they blessed the Almighty Lord in the language of the fathers30But Judas, who was prepared throughout all his body and soul to die for his citizens, instructed that Nicanor’s head, and his hand with the arm, should be cut off and carried through to Jerusalem31When it arrived, having called together his fellow tribesmen, and the priests to the altar, he summoned those also who were in the stronghold32And he displayed the head of Nicanor, and his nefarious hand, which he had extended against the holy house of Almighty God with magnificent boasting33He even ordered now that the tongue of the impious Nicanor should be cut up and given in pieces to the birds, but that the hand of this demented man should be suspended opposite the temple34Therefore, they all blessed the Lord of heaven, saying, "Blessed is he who has kept his own place uncontaminated.35Then he suspended Nicanor’s head at the top of the stronghold, so that it would be an evident and manifest sign of the assistance of God36And so, they all decreed by common counsel in no way to let this day pass without celebration37but to hold a celebration on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, which was called in the Syrian language: the day before Mardochias’ day38Therefore, these things were accomplished concerning Nicanor, and from that time the city was possessed by the Hebrews. And so, I will bring an end to my narration here39And, indeed, if I have done well, so as to have made an adequate history, this also is what I wanted. But if it is less than worthy, may it be permitted me40For, just as it is adverse to drink always wine, or always water, so also it is pleasant to use sometimes the one, and sometimes the other. So, if the words were always exact, it would not be pleasing to the readers. Therefore, here it shall be completed