Category: 2 Maccabees

1 THE brethren, the Jews that are in Jerusalem and they that are in the country of Judaea, send greeting to the brethren, the Jews that are throughout Egypt,and wish themgood peace:

2 and may God do good to you, and remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants;

3 and give you all a heart to worship him and do hispleasure with a great heart and a willing soul;

4 and open your heart in his law and in his statutes, and make peace,

5 and hearken to your supplications, and be reconciled with you, and not forsake you in an evil time.

6 And now we here are praying for you.

7 In the reign of Demetrius, in the hundred threescore and ninth year, we the Jews havealreadywritten to you in the tribulation and in the extremity that has come upon us in these years, from the time that Jason and his company revolted from the holy land and the kingdom,

8 and set thegate on fire, and shed innocent blood: and we implored the Lord, and were heard; and we offered sacrifice and mealoffering,and we lighted the lamps, and we set forth theshow bread.

9 And nowseethat you⌃ keep the days of the feast of tabernacles of the month Chislev.

10 Writtenin the hundred fourscore and eighth year.

THEY that are in Jerusalem and they that are in Judaea and the senate and Judas, to Aristobulus, king Ptolemy’s teacher, who is also of the stock of the anointed priests, and to the Jews that are in Egypt, send greeting and health.

11 Having been saved by God out of great perils, as men arrayed against a king, we thank him greatly.

12 For himself cast forth into Persia them that arrayed themselvesagainst usin the holy city.

13 For when the prince was comethere,and the army with him that seemed irresistible, they were cut to pieces in the temple of Nanaea by the treachery of Nanaea’s priests.

14 For Antiochus, on the pretense that he would marry her, came into the place, he and hisFriends that were with him, that they might take a great part of the treasures in name of a dowry.

15 And when the priests of Nanaea’s temple had setthe treasures forth, and he was come there with a small company within the wall of the precincts, they shut to the temple when Antiochus was come in:

16 and opening the secret door of the panelled cieling, they threw stones andstruck down the prince, and they hewedhim and his companyin pieces, and struck off their heads, and cast them to those that were without.

17 Blessedbeour God in all things, who gavefor a preythem that had committed impiety.

18 Whereas we are now about to keep the purification of the temple in themonthChislev, on the five and twentieth day, we thought it necessary to certify you thereof, thatyou⌃ also may keep a feast of tabernacles, anda memorialof the firewhich was givenwhen Nehemiah offered sacrifices, after that he had builded both the temple and the altar.

19 For indeed when our fathers were about to be led into the land of Persia, the godly priests of that time took of the fire of the altar, and hid it privily in the hollow of a well that was without water, wherein they madeitsure, so that the place was unknown to all men.

20 Now after many years, when it pleased God, Nehemiah, having received a charge from the king of Persia, sent in quest of the fire the descendants of the priests that hid it. When they declared to us that they had found no fire, but thick water,

21 he commanded them to draw out thereof and bringto him:and whenthe sacrifices had been offeredon the altar,Nehemiah commanded the priests to sprinkle with the water both the wood and the things laid thereupon.

22 And when it was done, and some time had passed, and the sun shone out, which before was hid with clouds, there was kindled a great blaze, so that all men marveled.

23 And the priests made a prayer while the sacrifice was consuming, both the priests and allothers,Jonathan leading and the rest answering, as Nehemiah did.

24 And the prayer was after this manner:

O Lord, Lord God, the Creator of all things, who are terrible and strong and righteous and merciful, who alone are King and gracious,

25 who alone suppliestevery need,who alone are righteous and almighty and eternal, you that save Israel out of all evil, who made the fathersyourchosen, and did sanctify them:

26 accept the sacrifice for all your people Israel, and guard your own portion, and consecrate it.

27 Gather together our Dispersion, set at liberty them that are in bondage among the heathen, look upon them that are despised and abhorred, and let the heathen know that you are our God.

28 Torment them that oppress us and in arrogancy shamefully entreat us.

29 Plant your people in your holy place, even as Moses said.

30 And thereupon the priests sang the hymns.

31 And as soon as the sacrifice was consumed, then Nehemiah commandedto pourongreat stones the water that was left.

32 And when this was done, a flame was kindled;but when the light from the altarshone over against it,allwas consumed.

33 And when the matter became known, and it was told the king of the Persians, that, in the place where the priests that were led away had hid the fire, there appeared the water, wherewith also Nehemiah and they that were with him purified the sacrifice,

34 then the king, inclosingthe place,made it sacred, after he had proved the matter.

35 And when the king would show favor to any, he would takefrom themmany presents and give them some ofthis water.

36 And Nehemiah and they that were with him called this thing Nephthar, which is by interpretation, Cleansing; but most men call it Nephthai.

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 WHEN the holy city was inhabited with all peace, and the laws were kept very well, because of the godliness of Onias the high priest, and his hatred of wickedness,

2 it came to pass that even the kings themselves did honor the place, and glorify the temple with the noblest presents;

3 insomuch that even Seleucus the king of Asia of his own revenues bare all the costs belonging to the services of the sacrifices.

4 But one Simon of the tribe of Benjamin, having been made guardian of the temple, fell out with the high priest about theruling of the market in the city.

5 And when he could not overcome Onias, he got him to Apolloniusthe sonofThrasaeus, who at that time was governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia:

6 and he brought him word how that the treasury in Jerusalem was full of untold sums of money, so that the multitude of the funds was innumerable, and that they did not pertain to the account of the sacrifices, but that it was possible that these should fall under the king’s power.

7 And when Apollonius met the king, he informed him of the money whereof he had been told; and thekingappointed Heliodorus, who was his chancellor, and sent him with a commandment to accomplish the removal of the aforesaid money.

8 So forthwith Heliodorus took his journey, under a color of visiting the cities of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, but in fact to execute the king’s purpose.

9 And when he was come to Jerusalem, and had been courteously received by the high priestof the city, he laid beforetheman account of the information which had been givenhim,and declared wherefore he was come; and he inquired if in truth these things were so.

10 And the high priest explained to him that there werein the treasurydeposits of widows and orphans,

11 and moreover somemoneybelonging to Hyrcanus thesonof Tobias, a man in very high place,and that the case wasnot as that impious Simon falsely alleged; and that in all there were four hundred talents of silver and two hundred of gold;

12 and that it was altogether impossible that wrong should be done to them that had put trust in the holiness of the place, and in the majesty and inviolable sanctity of the temple, honored over all the world.

13 ButHeliodorus, because of the king’s commandments given him, said that in any case thismoneymust be confiscated for the king’s treasury.

14 So having appointed a day, he entered in to direct the inquiry concerning these matters; and there was no small distress throughout the whole city.

15 And the priests, prostrating themselves before the altar in their priestly garments, andlookingtoward heaven, called upon him that gave the law concerning deposits, that he should preserve thesetreasuressafe for those that had deposited them.

16 And whoever saw the mien of the high priest was wounded in mind; for his countenance and the change of his color betrayed the distress of his soul.

17 For a terror and a shuddering of the body had come over the man, whereby the pain that was in his heart was plainly shewn to them that looked upon him.

18 And they that were in the houses rushed flocking out to make a universal supplication, because the place was like to come into contempt.

19 And the women, girded with sackcloth under their breasts, thronged the streets, and the virgins that were kept in ward ran together, some to thegates, others to the walls, and some looked out through the windows.

20 And all, stretching forth their hands toward heaven, made their solemn supplication.

21 Then it would have pitied a man to see the multitude prostrating themselves all mingled together, and the expectation of the high priest in his sore distress.

22 While therefore they called upon the Almighty Lord to keep the things intrustedto themsafe and sure for those that had intrusted them,

23 Heliodorus went on to execute that which had been decreed.

24 But when he was already present there with his guards over against the treasury, the Soverign of spirits and of all authority caused a greatapparition, so that all that had presumed to comeinwith him, stricken with dismay at the power of God, fainted and were sore afraid.

25 For there was seen by them a horse with a terrible rider upon him, and adorned with beautiful trappings, and he rushed fiercely and struck at Heliodorus with his forefeet, and it seemed that he that sat upon the horse had complete armor of gold.

26 Two other also appeared to him, young men notable in their strength, and beautiful in their glory, and splendid in their apparel, who stood by him on either side, and scourged him unceasingly, inflicting on him many sore stripes.

27 And when he had fallen suddenly to the ground, and great darkness had come over him,his guardscaught him up and put him into a litter,

28 and carried him, him that had just now entered with a great train and all his guard into the aforesaid treasury, himself now brought to utter helplessness, manifestly made to recognize the sovereignty of God.

29 And so, while he, through the working of God, speechless and bereft of all hope and deliverance, lay prostrate,

30 they blessed the Lord, that made marvelous his own place; and the temple, which a little before was full of terror and alarm, was filled with joy and gladness after the Almighty Lord appeared.

31 But quickly certain of Heliodorus’s familiar friends implored Onias to call upon the Most High, and grant life to him who lay quite at the last gasp.

32 And the high priest, secretly fearing lest the king might come to think that some treachery toward Heliodorus had been perpetrated by the Jews, brought a sacrifice for the deliverance of the man.

33 But as the high priest was making the propitiation, the same young men appeared again to Heliodorus, arrayed in the same garments; and they stood and said, Give Onias the high priest great thanks, for for his sake the Lord has granted you life;

34 and do you, since you have been scourged from heaven, publish to all men the sovereign majesty of God. And when they had spoken these words, they vanished out of sight.

35 So Heliodorus, having offered a sacrifice to the Lord and vowedgreat vows to him that had saved his life, and having graciously received Onias, returned with his host to the king.

36 And he testified to all men the works of thegreat God which he had seen with his eyes.

37 And when the king asked Heliodorus, what manner of man was fit to be sent yet once again to Jerusalem, he said,

38 If you have any enemy or conspirator against the state, send him there, and you shall receive him back well scourged, if he even escape with his life; because of a truth there is about the place a power of God.

39 For he that has his dwelling in heaven himself has his eyes upon that place, and helps it; and them that come to hurt it he smiteth and destroys.

40 And such was the history of Heliodorus and the keeping of the treasury.

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.