The Second Book of the Maccabees, chapters 8 - 11
8 MEANWHILE JUDAS, also called Maccabaeus, and his companions
were making their way into the villages unobserved. They summoned
their kinsmen and enlisted others who had remained faithful to Judaism,
until they had collected about six thousand men. They invoked the Lord
to look down and help the people, whom all were trampled under foot, to
take pity on the temple profaned by impious men, and to have mercy on
Jerusalem, which was being destroyed and would soon be levelled to the
ground. They prayed him also give ear to the blood that cried to him for
vengeance, to remember the infamous massacre of innocent children and
the deeds of blasphemy against his name, and to show his hatred of
wickedness.
Once his band of partisans was organized, Maccabaeus proved invincible
to the Gentiles, for the Lord's anger had changed to mercy. He came on
towns and villages without warning and burnt them; he occupied the key
positions, and inflicted many severe reverses on the enemy, choosing the
night-time as being especially favourable for these attacks. His heroism
was talked about everywhere. When Philip realized that the small gains
made by Judas were occurring with growing frequency, he wrote to
Ptolemaeus, the governor of Coele-syria and Phoenicia, asking for his help
in protecting the royal interests. Ptolemaeus immediately selected Nicanor,
son of Patroclus, a member of the highest order of King's Friends, and sent
him at the head of at least twenty thousand troops of various nationalities
and exterminate the entire Jewish race. With him Ptolemaeus associated
Gorgias, a general of wide experience. Nicanor determined to pay off the
two thousand talents due from the king as tribute to the Romans, by the
sale of the Jews he would take prisoner; and he at once made an offer of
Jewish slaves to the coastal towns, undertaking to deliver them at the price
of ninety to the talent. But he did not expect the vengeance of te Almighty
which was soon to be at his heels.
Word of Nicanor's advance reached Judas, and he informed his men that
the enemy was at hand. The cowards who doubted God's justice took them-
selves off and fled. But the rest disposed of their remaining possessions,
and they prayed together to the Lord to save them from the impious
Nicanor, who had sold them even before they met in battle; and if they
could not ask this for their own merits, they did so on the ground of the
covenants God had made with their ancestors, and of his holy and majestic
Name which they bore. Maccabaeus assembled his followers, six thousand
in number, and appealed to them not to flee in panic before the enemy nor
to be afraid of the great host which was attacking them without just cause.
Rather they should fight nobly, having before their eyes the wicked crimes
of the Gentiles against the temple, their callous outrage upon Jerusalem,
and, further, their suppression of the traditional Jewish way of life. 'They
rely on their weapons and their audacity,' he said. 'but we rely on God
Almighty, who is able to overthrow with a nod our present assailants and,
if need be, the whole world.' He went on to recount to them the occasions
when God had helped their ancestors: how, in Sennacherib's time, one
hundred and eighty-five thousand of the enemy had perished, and also how,
on the occasion of the battle against the Galatians in Babylonia, all the
Jews engaged in the combat had numbered no more than eight thousand,
with four thousand Macedonians, yet, when the Macedonians were hard
pressed, the eight thousand through heaven's aid had destroyed one
hundred and twenty thousand and taken much booty.
His words put them in good heart and made them ready to die for their
laws and for their country. He then divided the army into four and gave
each of his brothers, Simon, Josephus, and Jonathan, command of a
division of fifteen hundred men. Besides this, he appointed Eleazar to read
the holy book aloud, and giving the signal for battle with the cry 'God is
our help', and taking command of the leading division in person, he
engaged Nicanor. The Almighty fought on their side, and they slaughtered
over nine thousand of the enemy, wounded and disabled the greater part of
Nicanor's forces, and routed them completely. They seized the money of
those who had come to buy them as slaves. After chasing the enemy a con-
siderable distance, they were forced to break off because it was late; for it
was the day before the sabbath, and for that reason they called off the pur-
suit. When they had collected the enemy's weapons and stripped the dead,
they turned to keep the sabbath. They offered thanks and praises loud and
long to the Lord who had kept the first drops of his mercy to shed on them
that day. After the sabbath was over, they distributed some of the spoils
among the victims of persecution and the widows and orphans; the
remainder they divided among themselves. This done, all together made
supplication to the merciful Lord, praying him to be fully reconciled with
his servants.
The Jews now engaged the forces of Timotheus and Bacchides and
killed over twenty thousand of them. They gained complete control of
some high strongholds, and divided the immense booty, giving shares
equal to their own to he victims of persecution, to the widows and
orphans, and to the old men as well. They carefully collected all the
enemy's weapons and stored them at strategic points; the remainder of
the spoils they brought to Jerusalem. They killed the officer commanding
the forces of Timotheus, an utterly godless man who had caused the Jews
great suffering. During the victory celebrations in their capital, they burnt
alive the men who had set fire to the sacred gates, including Callisthenes,
who had taken refuge in a small house; he thus received the due reward of
his impiety.
Thus, by the Lord's help, Nicanor, that double-dyed villain who had
brought the thousand merchants to buy the Jewish captives, was humiliated
by the very people whom he despised above all others. He threw off his
magnificent uniform, and all alone like a runaway slave made his escape
through the interior, and was, indeed, very lucky to reach Antioch after
losing his whole army. So the man who had undertaken to secure tribute
for the Romans by taking prisoner the inhabitants of Jerusalem showed the
world that the Jews had a champion and were therefore invulnerable,
because they kept the laws he had given them.
9 It so happened that, about this time, that Antiochus had returned in dis-
order from Persia. He entered the city of Persepolis and attempted to
plunder its temples and assume control. But the populace rose and rushed
to arms in their defence, with the result that Antiochus was routed by
civilians and forced to beat a humiliating retreat. When he was near
Ecbatana, news reached him of what had happened to Nicanor and the
forces of Timotheus. Transported with fury, he conceived the idea of
making the Jews pay for the injury inflicted by those who had put him to
flight, and so he ordered his charioteer to drive without stopping until the
journey was finished.
But riding with him was divine judgement! For in his arrogance he
said: 'When I reach Jerusalem, I will make it a common graveyard for the
Jews.' But the all-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him with a fatal and
invisible blow. As soon as he had said the words, he was seized with
incurable pain in his bowels and with sharp internal torments——a punish-
ment entirely fitting for one who had inflicted many unheard-of torments
on the bowels of others. Still he did not in the least abate his insolence;
more arrogant than ever, he breathed fiery threats against the Jews. After
he had given orders to speed up the journey, it happened that he fell out
of his chariot as it hurtled along, and so violent was his fall that every joint
in his body was dislocated. He, who in his pretension to be more than man
had just been thinking that he could command the waves and the sea and
weigh high mountains on the scales, was brought to the ground and had
to be carried in a litter, thus making God's power manifest to all. Worms
swarmed even from the eyes of the godless man and, while he was still
alive and in agony, his flesh rotted off, and the whole army was disgusted
by the stench of his decay. It was so unbearably offensive that nobody could
escort the man who only a short time before had seemed to touch the stars
in the sky.
In his broken state, Antiochus began to abate his great arrogance.
Under God's lash, and racked with continual pain, he began to see things
in their true light. He could not endure his own stench and said, 'It is right
to submit oneself to God and, being normal, not to think oneself equal to
him.' Then the villain made a solemn promise to the Lord, who had no
intention of sparing him any longer, and it was to this effect: Jerusalem the
holy city, which he had been hurrying to level to the ground and to trans-
form into a graveyard, he would now declare a free city; to all the Jews,
whom he had not considered worthy of burial but only fit to be thrown out
with their children as prey for birds and beasts, he would give privileges
equal to those enjoyed by the citizens of Athens. The holy temple which he
had earlier plundered he would adorn with the most splendid gifts; he
would replace all the sacred untensils on a much more lavish scale; he would
meet the cost of the sacrifices from his own revenues. In addition to all
this, he would even turn Jew and visit every inhabited place to proclaim
God's might.
When his pains in no way abated, because the just judgement of God
had fallen on him, he was in despair and, as a kind of olive branch, wrote to
the Jews the letter here copied:
To my worthy citizens, the Jews, warm greetings and good wishes
for their health and prosperity from Antiochus, King and Chief Magis-
trate.
May you and your children flourish and your affairs go as you wish.
Having my hope in heaven, I keep an affectionate remembrance of your
regards and goodwill.
As I was returning from Persia, I suffered a tiresome illness, and so I
have judged it necessary to provide for the general safety of you all.
Not that I despair of my condition——on the contrary I have good hopes
of recovery——but I observe that my father, whenever he made an
expedition east of Euphrates, appointed a successor, so that, if any-
thing unexpected should happen or if some tiresome report should
spread, his subjects would not be disturbed, since they would know to
whom the empire had been left. Further, I know well that the neighbour-
ing princes on the frontiers of my kingdom are watching for an oppor-
tunity and waiting on events. So I have designated as king my son
Antiochus, whom I frequently entrusted and recommended to most of
you during my regular visits to the satrapies beyond the Euphrates. I
have written to him what is he copied. Wherefore I pray and entreat
each one of you to maintain your existing goodwill towards myself and
my son, remembering the services I have rendered you both as a com-
munity and as individuals. For I am sure my son will follow my own
policy of moderation and benevolence and will accommodate himself
to your wishes.
Thus this murderer and blasphemer, suffering the worst of agonies,
such as he had made others suffer, met a pitiable end in the mountains of a
foreign land. His body was brought back by Philip, his intimate friend,
but he was afraid of Antiochus's son and went over to Ptolemy Philometor
in Egypt.
10 Maccabaeus with his men, led by the Lord, recovered the temple and
city of Jerusalem. He demolished the altars erected by the heathen in the
public square, and their sacred precincts as well. When they had purified
the sanctuary, they constructed another altar; then, striking fire from
flints, they offered a sacrifice for the first time for two whole years, and
restored the incense, the lights, and the bread of the Presence. This done
they prostrated themselves and prayed the Lord not to let them fall any
more into such disasters, but, should they ever happen to sin, to discipline
them himself with clemency and not hand them over to blasphemous and
barbarous Gentiles. The sanctuary was purified on the twenty-fifth of
Kislev, the same day of the same month as that on which foreigners had
profaned it. The joyful celebration lasted for eight days; it was like the
Feast of Tabernacles, for they recalled how, only a short time before, they
had kept that feast while they were living like wild animals in the mountains
and caves; and so they carried garlanded wands and branches with their
fruits, as well as palm-fronds, and they chanted hymns to the One who had
so triumphantly achieved the purification of his own temple. A measure
was passed by the public assembly to the effect that the entire Jewish race
should keep these days every year.
WE HAVE ALREADY RECOUNTED the end of Antiochus called
Epiphanes. Now we will describe what happened under that god-
less man's son, Antiochus Eupator, in a brief summary of the principal
evils brought about by his wars. At his ascension, Eupator appointed as
viceregent a man called Lysias who had succeeded Ptolemaeus Macron
as governor-general of Coele-syria and Phoenicia. For Ptolemaeus had
taken the lead in reversing the former unjust treatment of the Jews and had
attempted to maintain peaceful relations with them, and as a result he was
denounced by the King's Friends to Eupator. On every side he was called
traitor, because he had already abandoned Cyprus, entrusted to him by
Philometor, and had gone over to Antiochus Ephiphanes. He still enjoyed
power, but no longer respect, and in despair he ended his life by poison.
When Gorgias became governor, he engaged mercenaries and took every
opportunity of attacking the Jews. At the same time the Idumaeans , who
were in control of strategic fortresses, were also harassing them; they
harboured the fugitives from Jerusalem and tried to carry on the war.
Maccabaeus and his men made public supplication and prayed God to
fight on their side. They made an assault on the Idumaean fortresses,
pressed the attack vigorously, and captured them; they drove off all who
were manning the walls, and killed all they met, to the number of at least
twenty thousand.
Nine thousand or more of the enemy took refuge in two towers, very
strongly fortified and fully equipped against a siege. Maccabaeus himself
set out for the places which were being hard pressed, but left Simon and
Josephus behind, with Zacchaeus and his men, enough to prosecute the
siege. But Simon's men were too fond of money, and when they were
bribed with seventy thousand drachmas by some of those in the towers,
they let them slip through the lines. When Maccabaeus was informed of
this, he assembled the leaders of the army and denounced these men for
having sold their brothers for money by letting their enemies escape. Then
he executed the men who had turned traitor, and immediately the two
towers fell to him. His military operations were completely successful; in
the two fortresses he destroyed over twenty thousand of the enemy.
After his previous defeat by the Jews, Timotheus collected a huge force
of mercenaries and Asian cavalry, and advanced to take Judaea by storm.
As he approached, Maccabaeus and his men made their prayer to God.
They sprinkled dust on their heads and put sackcloth round their waists;
they prostrated themselves on the altar-step and begged God to favour
them, 'to be an enemy of their enemies and an opponent of their opponents',
as the law clearly states.
When they had just finished heir prayer, they took up their weapons,
advanced a good distance from Jerusalem, and halted near the enemy. At
first light the two armies joined battle. For the Jews, success and victory
were guaranteed not only because of their bravery but even more because
the Lord was their refuge, whereas the Gentiles had only their own fury
to lead them into battle. As the fighting grew hot, the enemy saw in the sky
five magnificent figures riding horses with golden bridles, who placed
themselves at the head of the Jews, formed a circle round Maccabaeus, and
kept him invulnerable under the protection of their armour. They launched
arrows and thunderbolts at the enemy, who, confused and blinded. broke
up in complete disorder. Twenty thousand five hundred of the infantry,
as well as six hundred cavalry, were slaughtered.
Timotheus himself fled to a fortress galled Gazara, commanded by
Chaereas and strongly garrisoned. Maccabaeus and his men welcomed this,
and for four days they laid siege to the place. The garrison, confident in the
strength of their position, hurled horrible and impious blasphemies at
them, until, at dawn on the fifth day, twenty young men from the force of
Maccabaeus, burning with rage at the blasphemy, courageously stormed
the wall and in savage anger cut down all they met. Under cover of this dis-
traction others got up in the same way, attacked the defenders, set light to the
towers, and started fires on which they burnt the blasphemers alive.
Others broke down the gates and let in the rest of the army, and thus the
city was occupied. Timotheus had hidden himself in a cistern, but he was
killed along with his brother Chaereas and Apollophanes. To celebrate
their achievement, the Jews praised wit hymns and thanksgivings the
Lord who showers blessings on Israel and gives them the victory.
11 Very shortly afterwards, Lysias the viceregent, the king's guardian and
relative, angered by these events, collected about eighty thousand troops,
in addition to his entire cavalry, and advanced on the Jews. He reckoned
on making Jerusalem a settlement for Gentiles, subjecting the temple to
taxation like all gentile shrines, and putting up the high-priesthood for sale
annually. He reckoned not only with the mighty God, but was elated with
his myriads of infantry, the thousands of cavalry, his eighty elephants.
Penetrating into Judaea, he approached Bethsura, a fortified place about
twenty miles from Jerusalem, and closely invested it.
When Maccabaeus and his men learnt that Lysias was besieging their
fortresses, they and all the people, wailing and weeping, prayed the Lord
to send a good angel to deliver Israel. Maccabaeus was the first to arm him-
self, and he urged the rest to share his danger and come to the help of their
brothers. One and all, they set out eagerly. They were still in the neighbour-
hood of Jerusalem when there appeared at their head a horseman arrayed
in white, brandishing his golden weapons. Then with one voice they
praised their merciful God and felt so strong in spirit that they could have
attacked not only men but also the most savage animals, and even walls of
iron. They came on fully armed, with their heavenly ally, under the mercy
of the Lord. They hurled themselves like lions against the enemy, cut
down eleven thousand of them, as well as sixteen hundred cavalry, and
put all the rest to flight. Most of those who escaped lost their weapons and
were wounded, and Lysias saved his life only by running away.
Lysias was no fool, and he took stock of the defeat he had suffered
he realized that the Hebrews were invincible, because the mighty God
fought on their side. So he proposed a settlement on terms entirely accept-
able, promising also to win the king over by putting pressure on him to
show friendship to the Jews. Maccabaeus agreed to all the proposals of
Lysias out of regard for the general welfare, for the king had accepted all
the proposals from the Jewish side which Maccabaeus had forwarded to
Lysias in writing.
The letter of Lysias to the Jews ran as follows:
Lysias to the Jewish community, greeting.
Your representatives John and Absalom have handed to me the docu-
ment here copied and have asked me to ratify what is contained in it.
Whatever needed to be brought to the king's knowledge, I have communi-
cated to him, and what was within my own competence, I have granted. If,
therefore, you maintain your goodwil toward the empire, I for my part
will endeavour to promote your welfare for the future. I have ordered your
representatives and mine to confer with you about the details. Farewell.
The twenty-fourth of Dioscorus in the year 148.
The king's letter ran as follows:
King Antiochus to his brother Lysias, greeting.
Now that our royal father has gone to join the gods, we desire that our
subjects be undisturbed in the conduct of their own affairs. We have
learnt that the Jews do not consent to adopt Greek ways, as our father
wished, but prefer their own mode of life and request that they be
allowed to observe their own laws. We choose, therefore, that this nation
like the rest should be left undisturbed, and decree that their temple be
restored to them and that thy shall regulate their lives in accordance
with their ancestral customs. Have the goodness, therefore, to inform
them of this and ratify it, so that, knowing what our intentions are, they
may settle down confidently and quietly to manage their own affairs.
To the people the king's letter ran thus:
King Antiochus to the Jewish Senate and people, greeting.
We hope that you prosper. We too are in good health. Menelaus has
informed us of your desire to return to your own homes. Therefore we
declare an amnesty for all who return before the thirtieth of Xanthicus.
The Jews may follow their own food-laws as heretofore, and none of them
shall be charged with any previous infringement. I am sending Menelaus
to reassure you. Farewell.
The fifteenth of Xanthicus in the year 148.
The Romans also sent the Jews the following letter:
Quintus Memmius and Titus Manius, Roman legates, to the Jewish
people, greeting.
We give our assent to all that Lysias, the king's relative, has granted
you. But examine carefully the questions which he reserved for reference
to the king; then send someone immediately, so that we may make suit-
able proposals, for we are proceeding to Antioch. Send messengers
therefore without delay, so that we also may know what your opinion is.
Farewell.
The fifteenth of Xanthicus in the year 148.
The New English Bible (with Apocrypha)
Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, 1970
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