These are the first 19 Chapters to 5 Maccabees, and the Epistle in the 22nd chapter. We will not print the complete text because 5 Maccabees 19 clearly states: "Here ends the history as given in the two books usually attached to our Bibles." The rest of the book covers about much of the same material found in Josephus on up to the death of Herod's sons and appears to be a later addition. The original title of this text is: THE FIFTH BOOK OF MACCABEES: CONTAINING A RECORD OF EVENTS FROM THE TRANSLATION OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES INTO GREEK UNDER PTOLEMY PHILADELPHUS, TO THE DEATH OF HEROD’S TWO SONS, IN THE FIFTH OR SIXTH YEAR BEFORE CHRIST. Since we will not present the later additions, we will title it simply as: THE FIFTH BOOK OF MACCABEES.
THE FIFTH BOOK OF MACCABEES
(from the Paris Polyglott Bible.)
CHAPTER I
The attempt of Heliodorus on the treasury.
1 It was ordained by the kings of the Grecian Gentiles that large sums of money should be sent into the holy city every year, and should be delivered to the priests, that they might add it to the treasury of the house of God, as money for the receivers of alms and for widows.
2 Now Seleucus was king in Macedonia: and he had a friend, one of his captains, who was called Heliodorus. This man was sent to spoil the treasury, and to take whatever
3 money was therein. When this was noised abroad, it created great grief among the citizens; and they were afraid lest Heliodorus should proceed
4 to greater lengths ; as they had not sufficient power to prevent him from executing his orders.
5 Wherefore they all fly to God for aid, and ordained a general fast, and supplicated with
6 humility, bowing of the knees, and great wailing ; putting on sackcloth, and rolling themselves in ashes, with Onias the high priest and the other princes and elders, even to the common people, and women
7 and children. And on the next day Heliodorus came into the house of God, with a train of followers; and entered into the house with his foot soldiers, he himself being on horseback, and was in search of the money. But the great and good
8 God sent a loud, terrible voice upon him; and he saw a person armed with weapons of war, riding on a large horse, and advancing against him: wherefore he was seized with fear and trembling:
9 and that person came up to him, and pulled him off from his saddle and struck him with violence to the earth. So that being exceedingly terror- struck
10 and frightened out of his senses, he became dumb. But when his attendants saw what had
11 befallen him, and could perceive no one who had done these things unto him, they carried him with all haste down to his own house : and he remained
12 during several days, neither speaking nor taking any food. Wherefore the chief men of his friends
13 went to Onias the priest, beseeching him to be appeased towards him, and to implore the great and good God that He would not punish him. Which thing Onias did; and Heliodorus was
14 healed of his disease. And he saw in a vision the
15 person, whom he had seen in the sanctuary, commanding him to go to Onias the priest, and to salute him, and pay him becoming honor; telling him, that the great and good God had heard his prayers, and had healed him at Onias' request. Heliodorus therefore hastened to Onias the priest,
16 whom falling down he saluted; and gave him money of various kinds requesting him to add it to that which was in the treasury.
17 Then he went from Jerusalem into the country of Macedonia, and related to king Seleiicus what had happened to him; entreating that he would not compel him to become his representative at
18 Jerusalem. Wherefore the king wondered at the things which Heliodorus mentioned to him; and commanded him to publish them to the world.
19 And he took care that his men should be removed and sent away from Jerusalem, increasing the gifts which he used to send thither annually, on
20 account of what had befallen Heliodorus. And the kings added more to the money which they ordered to be given to the priests, that it might be spent on the orphans and widows; also to that which was to be spent on the sacrifices.
CHAPTER II
The history of the translation of the twenty-four books out of the Hebrew tongue into the Greek tongue, for Ptolemy king of Egypt.
1 There was a man of Macedon named Ptolemy, endued with knowledge and understanding; whom, as he dwelt in Egypt, the Egyptians made king over the country of Egypt. Wherefore he, being possessed with a desire of
2 seeking out various knowledge, collected all the books of wise men from every quarter. And being
3 anxious to obtain the Twenty-four Books, he wrote to the high priest in Jerusalem, to send him seventy elders from among those who were most skilled in those books ; and he sent to the priest a letter, with a present. So
4 when the king's letter came to the priest, he chose out seventy learned men, and sent them, together with a man named Eleazar, one excelling in religion, science, and learning: who departed into Egypt. And when their approach was made
5 known to the king, he commanded seventy lodgings to be prepared, and the men to be there entertained. He also ordered a secretary to be appointed
6 for each one, who should take down the interpretation of these books in the Greek character and language. He likewise forbade that any
7 one of these should hold communication with any of his fellows; lest they should agree together
8 to make any change in those books. So the secretaries took down from every one of them the
9 translation of the Twenty-four Books. And when the translations were finished, Eleazar brought them to the king; and compared them together in his presence : on which comparison,
10 they were found to agree. Upon which the king was exceeding glad, and ordered a large sum of money to be divided amongst the party. But Eleazar himself he rewarded with a munificent recompense.
11 He also on that day set free every captive which was found in Egypt, of the tribe of Judah and of Benjamin, that they might return to their
12 own country Sjoia. The number of them was
13 about one hundred and thirty thousand. Moreover, he ordered money to be distributed among them, so that several denarii came to the share of each person; who, receiving these, departed into
14 their own land. Then he commanded a great table to be made of the purest gold, which should be large enough to contain a representation of the whole land of Egypt, and a picture of the Nile, from the commencement of its stream to the end of it in Egypt, with its various divisions through
15 the country, and how it bathes the whole land. He also ordered the table to be set with many precious
16 stones. And this table was made; and its carving was finished, and it was set with precious stones: and it was carried into the city of Jerusalem, a
17 present to the magnificent house. And, arriving in safety, it was placed in the house, according to
18 the king's command. And truly men never beheld its like, for the beauty of the pictures, and the excellence of the workmanship.
CHAPTER III
The history of the Jews. A relation of what befell the Jews under king Antiochus; and what battles took place between them and his captains; and to what lengths he at lust proceeded.
1 There was a certain man of the kings of Macedon, who was called Antiochus; among whose deeds was this : that when Ptolemy, the above mentioned king of Egypt, was dead, he went with his armies to attack the second Ptolemy.
2 And, having conquered and slain Ptolemy, he won his country Egypt, and took possession of it. From hence, as his affairs gained
3 an accession of strength, he subdued a great part of the earth; the king of Persia and others paying him obedience. Wherefore his heart was
4 lifted up : and being puffed up with pride, he commanded images to be made after his own likeness; that men should worship them, to his glorifying and honor. And when these were made,
5 he sent messengers into all the regions of his empire, commanding them to be worshiped and adored. To these commands the nations assented, fearing and dreading his tyranny. Now there were at that time in Judaea three
6 men, the very worst of all mortals ; and each of them had, as it were, a connection in the same sort of vice. The name of one of these three was Menelaus; of the second, Simeon; of the third,
7 Alcimuss. And about that time there appeared certain images, which the citizens of Jerusalem beheld in the air for the space of forty days: they were the appearances of men riding on fiery horses
8 fighting with each other. So those impious men went to Antiochus, to obtain from him some authority, that they might perpetrate with ease whatever they wished, of whoredom, and plundering of men's goods; and in short, might rule over the rest, and might keep them in subjection.
9 And they said to him, O king, there have appeared lately in the air over Jerusalem fiery horsemen, contending with each other: and on that account the Hebrews have rejoiced, saying, that this portended the death of king Antiochus.
10 Which words the king believing, being filled with rage, he marched to Jerusalem in the shortest possible time; and came upon the nation
11 not at all forewarned of his approach. And his men attacked the inhabitants, and slew them with the sword, making a very great slaughter; many also they wounded, and a great multitude they led
12 into captivity. But some escaping fled into the mountains and woods, where they continued a long time, feeding upon herbs. After this, Antiochus determined to depart from
13 the country. But the evil which he had
14 done to the nation did not suffice him: but he left as his substitute a man named Felix, enjoining him to compel the Jews to worship his image, and to eat swine's flesh. Which Felix did,
15 sending for the people to obey the king in the things which he had commanded him. But they
16 refused to do the things whereunto they were called; wherefore he slew a great multitude of them; preserving those wicked wretches and their family, and raising their dignity.
CHAPTER IV
The history of the death Eleazar the priest.
1 Afterwards was seized Eleazar, who had gone with the doctors unto Ptolemy, and was then a very old man ninety years of age; and he was placed before Felix; who said
2 to him, Eleazar, truly you are a wise and prudent man; and indeed I have loved you for many years, and therefore I should not wish your death: therefore obey the king, and worship
3 his image, and eat of his sacrifices, and depart in safety. To whom Eleazar replied;
4 I am not about to forsake my obedience to God,
5 in order to obey the king. And Felix, coming up, whispered to him, Take care to send for some one to bring you flesh from your own offerings,
6 which place upon my table: and eat some part of that in the presence of the people, that they may know that you have obeyed the king: and you will save your life, without any
7 harm done to your religion. Eleazar answered him, I do not obey God under any kind of fraud, but rather I will endure this your violence. For inasmuch as I am an old man of ninety years, my bones are now weakened, and my body has
8 wasted away. If I therefore shall with a brave spirit endure those torments, from which even the bravest young men shrink back in fear; my people and the youths of my nation will bravely
9 imitate me, and will say; How is it that we may not endure the pains, which one, who is inferior to us in strength, and less substantial in
10 flesh and bones, has undergone? which indeed will be better for me, than to deceive them by a
11 feigned obedience to the king: for they will then say, If that decrepid old man, wise and prudent as he is, is clinging to life and overcome by the pain of temporary matters, abdicating his religion; truly that will be lawful for us which was lawful for him, since he is an old man and a wise one, and one whom we ought
12 to follow. Wherefore I would rather die, leaving to them a constancy in religion and patience
against tyranny; than live, after having weakened their constancy in obeying their Lord and following his commands; so that through me they may be rendered happy, not unhappy. Now when Felix had heard the determination
13 of Eleazar, he was violently enraged with him, and commanded him to be tortured in a variety of ways: so that he came into the most desperate mortal struggle, and said; Thou, O God,
14 knowest that I might have delivered myself from the troubles into which I have fallen, by obeying another rather than Thee. This however
15 I have not done; but I have preferred obeying Thee, and have esteemed all the violence offered me as light, for the sake of constancy in obedience to Thee. And now I think
16 little of the things which have happened to me according to thy good pleasure, and support them as well as I can. I therefore pray Thee,
17 that Thou wilt accept this from me, and cause me to die before I become weaker in endurance.And God heard his prayers; and immediately he
18 died. But he left his people devoted to the worship
19 of their God, and endued with a sound fortitude, and perseverance in religion, and patience to hear up against the trials which awaited them.
CHAPTER V
The history of the death of the seven brethren.
1 After this, seven brothers were seized, and their mother ; and they were sent to the king; for he had not yet gone far away from Jerusalem. And
2 when they had been carried to the king, one of them was brought into his presence; whom he
3 ordered to renounce his religion : but he refusing said to him, If you think to teach us the truth
4 for the first time, the matter is not so: for truth is that which we have learned from our fathers, and by which we have bound ourselves to embrace the worship of God only, and constantly to observe the law; and from this we in no
5 wise will depart. And king Antiochus was angry at these words, and commanded an iron frying pan to be brought, and to be placed on the
6 fire. Then he ordered the young man's tongue to be cut out, and his hands and feet to be cut off, and the skin of his head to be flayed off, and to be placed in the pan: and they did so to him.
7 Then he commanded a large brazen caldron to be brought and set over the fire, into which the
8 rest of his body was thrown. And when the man was near dying, he ordered the fire to be removed from him, that he might be tortured the longer : intending by these acts to terrify his
9 mother and his brethren. But in fact by this he gave them additional courage and strength, to maintain their religion with constancy, and to bear all those torments which tyranny could inflict upon them,
10 So when the first was dead, the second was brought before him: to whom some of the attendants said, Obey those orders which the king will give you, lest you perish even as your brother
11 perished. But he answered, I am not weaker in spirit than my brother, nor behind him in my faith. Bring forward your fire and sword; and do not diminish ought of that which you did to my brother. And they did to him as had been done to his brother. And he called
12 out to the king, and said to him; Hear, O thou monster of cruelty towards men, and know that thou gainest nothing of ours except our bodies; but our souls thou dost by no means obtain; and these shortly will go to their Creator, whom
13 He will restore to their bodies, when He shall raise to life the dead men of his nation and the slain ones of his people. And the third was brought out; who beckoning
14 with his hand said to the king; Why dost thou frighten us, O enemy? know that this is
15 sent upon us from heaven, which also we undergo as such, giving thanks to God, and from Him we hope for our reward. And the king, and
16 those who stood near him, admired the courage of the youth, and the firmness of his mind, and his fair discourse. Then he gave orders, and he was slain. And the fourth was brought out, who said:
17 For God's religion we set our lives to sale, and hire them out, that we may require payment from Him, on that day when you shall have no excuse in the judgment, and shall not be able to endure your tortures. The king commanded,
18 and he was put to death. And the fifth was brought out, who said to him;
19 Think not within thyself that God has forsaken us, because of the things which He has sent
20 upon us. But truly his will is, to shew us honor and love by these things; and He will
21 avenge us of thee and of thy posterity. And the king commanded, and he was slain.
22 And the sixth was brought out, who said; I confess indeed my offenses to God, but I believe that they shall be forgiven me through this my
23 death. But you have now opposed God, by slaying those who embrace His religion: and surely He will repay you according to your works, and will root you out from his earth. And he gave orders for him, and he was slain.
24 And the seventh was brought out, who was a
25 boy. Then his mother arose, fearless and unmoved, and looked upon the corpses of her children
26 and she said, My sons, I know not how I conceived each one of you, when I did conceive him. Nor had I the power of giving him breath; or of bringing him forth to the light of this world or of bestowing on him courage
27 and understanding: but indeed the great and good God himself formed him according to his own will: and gave to him a form according to
28 his good pleasure: and brought him into the world by his power; appointing to him a term of life, and good rules, and a dispensation religion
29 as it pleaseth Him. But you now have sold to God your bodies which he himself formed, and your souls which he created: and you have acquiesced in his judgments which he
30 hath decreed. Wherefore, happy are ye, in the things which happily you have obtained; and blessed are ye, for the things in which you have been victorious. Now Antiochus had supposed, when he beheld
31 her rise up, that she had done this through being overcome by fear for her child; and he wholly thought that she was about to enjoin him obedience to the king, that he might not perish as his
brethren had perished. But when he had heard
32 her words, he was ashamed, and blushed, and commanded the boy to be brought to him; that he might exhort him, and persuade him to love life, and deter him from death: lest all those
33 should be seen to oppose his authority, and very many others should follow their example.
34 Therefore, when he was brought to him, he exhorted him by discourse, and promised him riches, and swore to him that he would make him viceroy to himself. But when the boy was not at all moved
35 by his words, and took no heed of them; the king turned to his mother, and said to her; Happy woman, pity this thy son, whom alone
36 thou hast surviving; and exhort him to comply with my orders, and to escape those sufferings which have happened to his brethren. And
37 she said, Bring him hither, that I may exhort him in the words of God. And when they had brought him to her, she
38 went aside from the crowd: then she kissed him, and laughed to scorn the things which had been said to her by Antiochus: and then said to him;
39 My son, come now, be obedient to me, because I have brought you forth, and suckled you, and educated you, and taught you divine religion. Look up now to the heaven, and the earth, and
40 the water, and the fire; and understand that the one true God himself created these; and formed man of flesh and blood, who lives a
41 short time, and then will die. Wherefore fear the true God, who dieth not: and obey the true
42 Being, who changeth not his promises: and fear not this mere giant: and die for God's religion,
43 as your brothers have died. For if you could see, my son, their honorable dwelling-place, and the light of their habitation and to what glory they have attained, you would not endure
44 not to follow them: and in truth I also hope that the great and good God will prepare me, and that I shall closely follow you.
45 Then said the boy; Know ye that I will obey God, and will not obey the commands of Antiochus: wherefore, delay not to let me follow my brothers; hinder me not from departing to
46 the place whither they have gone. Then to the king he said; Woe to thee from God! whither wilt thou fly from Him? where wilt thou seek for refuge? or whose help wilt thou implore, that He may not take vengeance on thee? Truly thou hast done us a kindness, when thou
47 hadst designed to do us evil: thou hast done evil to thine own soul, and hast destroyed it, while thou thoughtest to do it good. Now we
48 are on our way to a life which death shall never follow; and shall dwell in light which darkness shall never put away. But your dwelling
49 shall be in the infernal regions, with exquisite punishments from God. And I trust, that the
50 wrath of God will depart from his people, on account of what we have suffered for them: but
51 that you He will torment in this world, and bring you to a wretched death; and that afterwards you will depart into eternal torments. And Antiochus was angry, seeing that the boy
52 opposed his authority; wherefore he commanded him to be tortured even more than his brothers. And this was done, and he died. But their mother
53 intreated God, and besought Him that she might follow her sons; and immediately she died. Then Antiochus departed into his country Macedonia
54 and he wrote to Felix, and to the other governors in Syria, that they should slay all the Jews, except those who should embrace his religion. And his servants obeyed his command,
55 putting a multitude of men to death.
CHAPTER VI
The history of Mattathias the high priest, the son of Jochanan, who is the son of Hesmai the priest.
1 A CERTAIN man named Mattathias, the son of Jochanan, fled to one of the mountains which were fortified. And the men who were scattered abroad fled thither to him : and some concealed
2 themselves in secluded places. But after that Antiochus had departed to a greater distance from the country, Mattathias sent his son Judas secretly
3 into the cities of Judah; to certify them of his own and his people's health, and to desire that as many as were inspired with courage, magnanimity, and zeal for religion, for their wives, and their children, should come unto him.
4 And certain of the higher orders of the people, who had stayed behind, went out to him: who,
5 when they were come to him, said to them; Nothing is left to us, but prayer to God, and confidence in Him, and a fight with our enemies, if perhaps God will give us assistance and the victory
6 over them. And the people assented to the opinion of Mattathias, and they acted according to it.
7 And it was told to Felix; and he marched
8 against them with a great army. And word was brought to him, while on his march, that about a thousand of the people of the Jews, men and women mixed, were assembled together, and dwelling in a certain cave, that they might be enabled
9 to preserve their own way of worship. And he turned aside to them with some part of his troops, sending the commanders of his men with the rest
10 of the army against Mattathias. Now Felix demanded from those who were in the cave, that they should come out to him, and consent to enter
11 into his religion; but they refused. Whereupon he threatened that he would put smoke under them; and they endured that, and did not come out to him; and he put smoke under them, and they all died. And when the generals of his army were marching
12 against Mattathias, and came even to him, he being ready for battle; one of the generals, of
13 noble blood, went to him, proposing to him to obey the king, and that he should not oppose his authority; so that he himself might live, and those who were with him, and might not perish. To whom he said; I indeed obey God the true
14 king: but do you obey your king, and do whatsoever seems good to you. And he ceased from speaking. And they began to lay snares for him.
15 And there came a certain man, of the worst of
16 the Jews who were with them, and excited them to march against him and to prepare war. And
17 Mattathias rushed on him with his drawn sword, and cut off the Jew's head then he struck the general, to whom the Jew was speaking, and slew him also. But Mattathias' companions, seeing what he
18 had done, hastened to him; and they burst into the camp of the enemy, slaying great numbers of them, and put them to flight: afterwards they pursued the fugitives, until they slew the whole of them. After this, Mattathias blew the trumpet, and
19 proclaimed an expedition against Felix. And he and his companions entered into the land of Judah, and took possession of very many of their
20 cities. And the most high God gave them rest by his hands from the generals of Antiochus: and they returned to the observance of their own religion: and the bands of their enemies retreated from before them.
CHAPTER VII
The account of the death of Mattathias, and the acts of Judas’ son after him.
1 Now Mattathias became infirm. And when he was near to death, he called his sons,
2 who were five, and said unto them: I know of a certainty that very many and great wars will be kindled in the land of Judah, by reason of those matters for which the great and good God has stirred
3 us up to wage war against our enemies. But I charge you that you fear God, and trust in him, and be zealous of the law, and the
4 sanctuary, and the people also; and prepare yourselves to wage war against its enemies: and fear not death, because, without doubt, this
5 is decreed unto all men. So that, if God shall make you victorious, you have at once obtained that which you were longing for: but if you fall, that is no loss to you in his sight.
6 And Mattathias died and was buried ; and his sons did according to that which he had commanded them. And they agreed to make their brother Judas their leader. Now Judas their
7 brother was the best in counsel, and bravest in strength of them all. And an army was sent
8 against them by Felix, under a man who was called Seron, whom Judas with his company put to flight, and he slew great numbers. And the
9 fame of Judas was spread abroad, and increased greatly in the ears of men: and all the nations which were round about him feared him exceedingly.
10 And it was told to king Antiochus what Mattathias and his son Judas had done. News of this
11 came also to the king of the Persians; so that he played false with Antiochus, departing from his friendship, following the example of Judas. Which
12 giving Antiochus a great deal of uneasiness, he called to him one of his household officers named Lysias, a stout and brave man, and said to him; I have now determined to go into the land of
13 Persia to make war; and I wish to leave behind me my son in my stead; and to take with me the half of my army, and to leave the remainder with my son: and behold I have given to you
14 the governance of my son, and the governance of the men whom I leave with him. And
15 verily you know what Mattathias and Judas have done to my friends and my subjects. Wherefore, send one to lead a powerful army
16 into the land of Judah; and command him to attack the land of Judah with the sword, and to root them out, and to demolish their dwellings, and to destroy all traces of them.
17 Then Antiochus departed into the country of
18 Persia. But Lysias made ready three hardy and brave generals, skilled in war; of whom one was named Ptolemy a second Nicanor, and the third
19 Gorgias. And with them he sent forty thousand chosen troops and seven thousand horsemen. He also charged them to bring with them an army of Syrians, and Philistines; and ordered them to
20 root out the Jews entirely. And they marched forth, carrying with them a multitude of merchants, that they might sell to them the captives which they were about to obtain from among the Jews.
21 But tidings of this came to Judas the son of Mattathias; and he went to the house of the
22 great and good God ; and assembled his men, and enjoined them a fast, and supplications, and
prayers to the great and good God; and charged that they should beseech Him for victory against their enemies; which thing they did.
23 After this, Judas collecting his men, appointed over each thousand a chiefs, and likewise over each hundred, and over each fifty, and over each
24 ten. Then he commanded proclamation to be made by trumpet throughout his army, that whosoever was fearful, and whomsoever God commanded to be dismissed from the army, he should return home. And great numbers returned; and
25 there remained with them seven thousand stout and brave men, skilled in wars and accustomed thereto; nor had any one of them ever fled: and they marched against their enemies. But when
26 they had drawn nigh to them, Judas prayed to his Lord, entreating Him that He would turn away from him the malice of his enemy; and that He would assist him, and render him victorious. Then he commanded the priests to sound the
27 trumpets, which they did: and all his men called upon God, and rushed upon the army of Nicanor. And God gave them victory over them, and they
28 turned him and his men to flight, killing of them
nine thousand men, and the rest were dispersed. And Judas and his company returned to Nicanor's
29 camp, and made spoil of it; and plundered very much property of the merchants, and sent it to be divided among the sick. This battle took place on the sixth day of the
30 week; wherefore Judas and his men remained on the same spot until the sabbath-day had passed. Then they marched against Ptolemy and Gorgias,
31 whom they found and defeated, and gained a victory over them, slaying twenty thousand of their troops. And Ptolemy and Gorgias fled;
32 whom Judas and his company pursued; yet he could not overtake them, because they betook themselves into a city of two idols, and fortified themselves therein with the remnant of their army. And Judas attacked Felix; and he was
33 put to flight before him. And Judas pursued him, who, coming to a certain house which was nigh at hand, entered into it and closed the doors, for
34 it was a fortified house. And Judas commanded, and he set fire to it; and the house was burned, and Felix was burned in it. So Judas took vengeance on him for Eleazar and the others
35 whom Felix had put to death. Afterwards the people returned to the slain, and took their spoils and their armor; but the best of the prey they
36 sent into the Holy Land. But Nicanor departed in disguise unknown, and returned to Lysias, and told him all which had happened to him and his company.
CHAPTER VIII
The relation of Antiochus' return, and of his going into the land of Judah, and of the disease which Jell on him, of which he died in his Journey.
1 But Antiochus returned out of the country of Persia, flying, with his army disbanded,
2 And when he had learned what had happened to his army which Lysias had sent forth, and to all his men, he went out with a large
3 army, marching to the land of Judah. Now when in his progress he had reached the middle of his journey, God smote his troops with most mighty
4 weapons: but this could not stop him from his journey; but he persisted in it, uttering all sorts of insolence against God, and saying that no one could turn him aside, nor hinder him from his determined purposes. Wherefore the great and good
5 God smote him also with ulcers which attacked the whole of his body: but even yet he did not desist, nor refrain from his journey; but was
6 more filled with wrath, and inflamed with an eager desire to obtain what he had determined on, and to carry his resolution into effect. Now there were in his army very many
7 elephants. It so happened that one of these ran away, and made a bellowing: upon which the horses which were drawing the couch on which Antiochus lay, ran off, and threw him out. And,
8 as he was fat and corpulent, his limbs were bruised, and some of his joints were dislocated. And the bad
9 smell of his ulcers, which already sent forth a foul odor, was so much increased, that neither he himself could longer endure it, nor could those who came near him. So when he fell, his
10 servants took him up, and carried him upon their shoulders: but as the foul smell grew worse, they threw him down and departed to a distance. Therefore, perceiving the evils which
11 surrounded him, he believed for certain that all that punishment had come upon him from the great and good God; by reason of the injury and the tyranny which he had used towards the Hebrews, and the unjust shedding of their blood. In fear
12 therefore he turned himself to God, and, confessing his sins, said; O God, in truth I deserve the things which Thou hast sent upon me: and indeed just art Thou in thy judgments;
13 Thou humblest him who is exalted, and bringest down him who is puffed up: but thine is greatness, and magnificence, and majesty, and
14 prowess. Truly, I own, I have oppressed the people, and have both acted and decreed
15 tyrannically against them. Forgive, I pray Thee, O God, this my error; and wipe out my sin, and bestow on me my health: and my care shall be to fill the treasury of thy house with gold and
16 silver: and to strew the floor of the house of thy sanctuary with purple vestments; and to be circumcised; and to proclaim throughout all my kingdom, that Thou only art the true God, without any partner, and that there is no God besides thee.
17 But God did not hear his prayers, nor accept his supplication: but his troubles so increased on him that he voided his bowels: and his ulcers increased to that degree, that his flesh dropped off
18 from his body. Then he died, and was buried in his place. And his son reigned in his stead, whose name was Eupator.
CHAPTER IX
The history of the eight days of dedication.
1 When Judas had put to flight Ptolemy, and Nicanor, and Gorgias, and had slain their men; he himself and his troops returned into the country of the holy house. And he
2 commanded all the altars to be destroyed which Antiochus had ordered to be built: and he removed
3 all the idols which were in the sanctuary: and they built up a new altar, and he commanded sacrifices to be offered upon that. They prayed also
4 to the great and good God, that He would bring forth the holy fire which might remain upon the
altar: and fire came out from some stones of the
5 altar, and burned up the wood and the sacrifices; and from it fire continued on the altar until the third carrying into captivity. And then they
6 kept the festival of the new altar for eight days, beginning on the twenty-fifth day of the month Casleu. And then they placed bread on the table
7 of the house of God, and lighted the lamps of the
8 candlestick. And on each of these eight days they assembled together for prayer and praise: and moreover they appointed it an ordinance for every
year to come.
CHAPTER X
The history of Judas' battles with Gorgias and Ptolemy.
1 Now after the days of dedication, Judas marched into the country of the Idumseans, to the mountain Sarah: for Gorgias was staying
2 there. And Gorgias went out against him with a great army, and there were sore battles betwixt them; and there fell of Gorgias' men twenty
3 thousand. And Gorgias fled to Ptolemy into the land of the west, for Antiochus had made him governor of that country, and there he was
4 staying, and told him what had befallen him. Whereupon Ptolemy went forth with an army, in which were a hundred and twenty thousand men of
5 Macedonia and the east. And he went on until he came to the country of Gilead, and the parts adjacent; and he slew great
6 numbers of the Jews. So they wrote to Judas, telling him what had happened to them, begging him to come and defeat Ptolemy and drive him
7 away from them. And their letter reached him at the same time that a letter came to him from the inhabitants of the mountain of Galilee likewise, informing him how the Macedonians who were at Tyre and Sidon had now united against them, and had attacked them, killing several. Now when Judas had read both the letters, he
8 called together his men, and showed them the contents of the letters, and appointed a fast and supplication. After this, he ordered his brother
9 Simeon to take with him three thousand men of the Jews, and to march with all speed to the mountain of Galilee, and to quell the Macedonians who were there. And Simeon went. But Judas
10 hastened to encounter Ptolemy. And Simeon attacked the Macedonians unexpectedly, and slew of them eight thousand men, and gave rest to the Galilseans.
11 But Judas marched on until he came up with
12 Gorgias and Ptolemy; pressing them and besieging them: and the two armies encountered, and very fierce battles took place betwixt them. For Ptolemy headed a numerous, stout, and brave
13 body of men. But Judas was accompanied by a very small band: yet, as the people who were
14 with him consisted of the bravest and strongest troops, he steadily resisted, and the battle between them lasted long, and grew very sore. Wherefore
15 Judas called out to the great and good God, and invoked his aid. And he related that he had
16 seen five youthful horsemen, three of whom fought against Ptolemy's army, and two stood near
17 himself. Whom when he viewed attentively, they
18 seemed to him to be angels of God. Wherefore his heart was comforted, and the hearts of his companions; and making frequent assaults upon the enemy, they put them to flight, and slew
19 great multitudes of them. And the number of those who were slain of Ptolemy's army, from the beginning of this battle until the end, was twenty thousand and five hundred.
20 After these things, Ptolemy and his men fled to the sea-coast; while Judas pursued them, and
21 slew as many of them as he caught. But Ptolemy fled to Gaza, and remained there; and the men
22 of Chalisam came to him. And Judas marched against them; and when he found them, he defeated them: and Ptolemy's men were dispersed, but he himself fled to Gaza, and there fortified
23 himself. And Judas' men pursued the flying body, and slew great numbers of them. And Judas and the men who were with him marched straight to Gaza, and he pitched his camp and besieged it.
24 And Judas' men returned to him; and they who were left of Ptolemy's forces went up upon the fortification, and abused Judas with much
25 reviling. And the fighting between them and Judas' troops lasted for five days. But when the fifth day was come, the people continued to cast reproaches upon Judas, and to revile his religion: whereupon twenty of Judas' men grew angry;
26 who taking shields on their left hands, and swords in their right, and having with them a man bearing a ladder which they had made, marched until they came to the wall: and eighteen of them
27 stood and threw darts at those who were on the wall; and two, hastening to the wall, raised up the ladder, and by it mounted. But certain of those
28 who were there, perceiving that they had ascended, and that their companions had followed, and also had gone .down from the wall into the city, descended from the wall after them: whom Judas’ men defeated, slaying great numbers of their enemies. But the army of Judas pressed forward
29 to the gate of the city; and the twenty began to run toward the gate that they might open it: but
they were driven thence most fiercely; wherefore they called out with loud cries. Judas therefore
30 and his men knew that they had come near to the gate: and the battle grew sore both without the gate and within. And Judas and his men
31 attacked the gate with fire, and it fell down; and the people perished, and the men who had reviled Judas, were taken, and he commanded them to be brought out and burned. Moreover he 32 commanded the city to be utterly smitten with the sword; and the slaughter continued in it for two days, and then it was wasted with fire. But Ptolemy fled; nor were tidings of him
33 heard at that time; because that he had changed his clothes, and concealed himself in one of the
34 pits and no account of him was had. But his two brothers were taken, and brought to Judas;
35 and he ordered them to be beheaded. After this he went into the land of the sanctuary, with abundance of spoil; and both he and his company offered prayers therein, giving thanks to God for the benefits which they had received.
CHAPTER I
The attempt of Heliodorus on the treasury.
1 It was ordained by the kings of the Grecian Gentiles that large sums of money should be sent into the holy city every year, and should be delivered to the priests, that they might add it to the treasury of the house of God, as money for the receivers of alms and for widows.
2 Now Seleucus was king in Macedonia: and he had a friend, one of his captains, who was called Heliodorus. This man was sent to spoil the treasury, and to take whatever
3 money was therein. When this was noised abroad, it created great grief among the citizens; and they were afraid lest Heliodorus should proceed
4 to greater lengths ; as they had not sufficient power to prevent him from executing his orders.
5 Wherefore they all fly to God for aid, and ordained a general fast, and supplicated with
6 humility, bowing of the knees, and great wailing ; putting on sackcloth, and rolling themselves in ashes, with Onias the high priest and the other princes and elders, even to the common people, and women
7 and children. And on the next day Heliodorus came into the house of God, with a train of followers; and entered into the house with his foot soldiers, he himself being on horseback, and was in search of the money. But the great and good
8 God sent a loud, terrible voice upon him; and he saw a person armed with weapons of war, riding on a large horse, and advancing against him: wherefore he was seized with fear and trembling:
9 and that person came up to him, and pulled him off from his saddle and struck him with violence to the earth. So that being exceedingly terror- struck
10 and frightened out of his senses, he became dumb. But when his attendants saw what had
11 befallen him, and could perceive no one who had done these things unto him, they carried him with all haste down to his own house : and he remained
12 during several days, neither speaking nor taking any food. Wherefore the chief men of his friends
13 went to Onias the priest, beseeching him to be appeased towards him, and to implore the great and good God that He would not punish him. Which thing Onias did; and Heliodorus was
14 healed of his disease. And he saw in a vision the
15 person, whom he had seen in the sanctuary, commanding him to go to Onias the priest, and to salute him, and pay him becoming honor; telling him, that the great and good God had heard his prayers, and had healed him at Onias' request. Heliodorus therefore hastened to Onias the priest,
16 whom falling down he saluted; and gave him money of various kinds requesting him to add it to that which was in the treasury.
17 Then he went from Jerusalem into the country of Macedonia, and related to king Seleiicus what had happened to him; entreating that he would not compel him to become his representative at
18 Jerusalem. Wherefore the king wondered at the things which Heliodorus mentioned to him; and commanded him to publish them to the world.
19 And he took care that his men should be removed and sent away from Jerusalem, increasing the gifts which he used to send thither annually, on
20 account of what had befallen Heliodorus. And the kings added more to the money which they ordered to be given to the priests, that it might be spent on the orphans and widows; also to that which was to be spent on the sacrifices.
CHAPTER II
The history of the translation of the twenty-four books out of the Hebrew tongue into the Greek tongue, for Ptolemy king of Egypt.
1 There was a man of Macedon named Ptolemy, endued with knowledge and understanding; whom, as he dwelt in Egypt, the Egyptians made king over the country of Egypt. Wherefore he, being possessed with a desire of
2 seeking out various knowledge, collected all the books of wise men from every quarter. And being
3 anxious to obtain the Twenty-four Books, he wrote to the high priest in Jerusalem, to send him seventy elders from among those who were most skilled in those books ; and he sent to the priest a letter, with a present. So
4 when the king's letter came to the priest, he chose out seventy learned men, and sent them, together with a man named Eleazar, one excelling in religion, science, and learning: who departed into Egypt. And when their approach was made
5 known to the king, he commanded seventy lodgings to be prepared, and the men to be there entertained. He also ordered a secretary to be appointed
6 for each one, who should take down the interpretation of these books in the Greek character and language. He likewise forbade that any
7 one of these should hold communication with any of his fellows; lest they should agree together
8 to make any change in those books. So the secretaries took down from every one of them the
9 translation of the Twenty-four Books. And when the translations were finished, Eleazar brought them to the king; and compared them together in his presence : on which comparison,
10 they were found to agree. Upon which the king was exceeding glad, and ordered a large sum of money to be divided amongst the party. But Eleazar himself he rewarded with a munificent recompense.
11 He also on that day set free every captive which was found in Egypt, of the tribe of Judah and of Benjamin, that they might return to their
12 own country Sjoia. The number of them was
13 about one hundred and thirty thousand. Moreover, he ordered money to be distributed among them, so that several denarii came to the share of each person; who, receiving these, departed into
14 their own land. Then he commanded a great table to be made of the purest gold, which should be large enough to contain a representation of the whole land of Egypt, and a picture of the Nile, from the commencement of its stream to the end of it in Egypt, with its various divisions through
15 the country, and how it bathes the whole land. He also ordered the table to be set with many precious
16 stones. And this table was made; and its carving was finished, and it was set with precious stones: and it was carried into the city of Jerusalem, a
17 present to the magnificent house. And, arriving in safety, it was placed in the house, according to
18 the king's command. And truly men never beheld its like, for the beauty of the pictures, and the excellence of the workmanship.
CHAPTER III
The history of the Jews. A relation of what befell the Jews under king Antiochus; and what battles took place between them and his captains; and to what lengths he at lust proceeded.
1 There was a certain man of the kings of Macedon, who was called Antiochus; among whose deeds was this : that when Ptolemy, the above mentioned king of Egypt, was dead, he went with his armies to attack the second Ptolemy.
2 And, having conquered and slain Ptolemy, he won his country Egypt, and took possession of it. From hence, as his affairs gained
3 an accession of strength, he subdued a great part of the earth; the king of Persia and others paying him obedience. Wherefore his heart was
4 lifted up : and being puffed up with pride, he commanded images to be made after his own likeness; that men should worship them, to his glorifying and honor. And when these were made,
5 he sent messengers into all the regions of his empire, commanding them to be worshiped and adored. To these commands the nations assented, fearing and dreading his tyranny. Now there were at that time in Judaea three
6 men, the very worst of all mortals ; and each of them had, as it were, a connection in the same sort of vice. The name of one of these three was Menelaus; of the second, Simeon; of the third,
7 Alcimuss. And about that time there appeared certain images, which the citizens of Jerusalem beheld in the air for the space of forty days: they were the appearances of men riding on fiery horses
8 fighting with each other. So those impious men went to Antiochus, to obtain from him some authority, that they might perpetrate with ease whatever they wished, of whoredom, and plundering of men's goods; and in short, might rule over the rest, and might keep them in subjection.
9 And they said to him, O king, there have appeared lately in the air over Jerusalem fiery horsemen, contending with each other: and on that account the Hebrews have rejoiced, saying, that this portended the death of king Antiochus.
10 Which words the king believing, being filled with rage, he marched to Jerusalem in the shortest possible time; and came upon the nation
11 not at all forewarned of his approach. And his men attacked the inhabitants, and slew them with the sword, making a very great slaughter; many also they wounded, and a great multitude they led
12 into captivity. But some escaping fled into the mountains and woods, where they continued a long time, feeding upon herbs. After this, Antiochus determined to depart from
13 the country. But the evil which he had
14 done to the nation did not suffice him: but he left as his substitute a man named Felix, enjoining him to compel the Jews to worship his image, and to eat swine's flesh. Which Felix did,
15 sending for the people to obey the king in the things which he had commanded him. But they
16 refused to do the things whereunto they were called; wherefore he slew a great multitude of them; preserving those wicked wretches and their family, and raising their dignity.
CHAPTER IV
The history of the death Eleazar the priest.
1 Afterwards was seized Eleazar, who had gone with the doctors unto Ptolemy, and was then a very old man ninety years of age; and he was placed before Felix; who said
2 to him, Eleazar, truly you are a wise and prudent man; and indeed I have loved you for many years, and therefore I should not wish your death: therefore obey the king, and worship
3 his image, and eat of his sacrifices, and depart in safety. To whom Eleazar replied;
4 I am not about to forsake my obedience to God,
5 in order to obey the king. And Felix, coming up, whispered to him, Take care to send for some one to bring you flesh from your own offerings,
6 which place upon my table: and eat some part of that in the presence of the people, that they may know that you have obeyed the king: and you will save your life, without any
7 harm done to your religion. Eleazar answered him, I do not obey God under any kind of fraud, but rather I will endure this your violence. For inasmuch as I am an old man of ninety years, my bones are now weakened, and my body has
8 wasted away. If I therefore shall with a brave spirit endure those torments, from which even the bravest young men shrink back in fear; my people and the youths of my nation will bravely
9 imitate me, and will say; How is it that we may not endure the pains, which one, who is inferior to us in strength, and less substantial in
10 flesh and bones, has undergone? which indeed will be better for me, than to deceive them by a
11 feigned obedience to the king: for they will then say, If that decrepid old man, wise and prudent as he is, is clinging to life and overcome by the pain of temporary matters, abdicating his religion; truly that will be lawful for us which was lawful for him, since he is an old man and a wise one, and one whom we ought
12 to follow. Wherefore I would rather die, leaving to them a constancy in religion and patience
against tyranny; than live, after having weakened their constancy in obeying their Lord and following his commands; so that through me they may be rendered happy, not unhappy. Now when Felix had heard the determination
13 of Eleazar, he was violently enraged with him, and commanded him to be tortured in a variety of ways: so that he came into the most desperate mortal struggle, and said; Thou, O God,
14 knowest that I might have delivered myself from the troubles into which I have fallen, by obeying another rather than Thee. This however
15 I have not done; but I have preferred obeying Thee, and have esteemed all the violence offered me as light, for the sake of constancy in obedience to Thee. And now I think
16 little of the things which have happened to me according to thy good pleasure, and support them as well as I can. I therefore pray Thee,
17 that Thou wilt accept this from me, and cause me to die before I become weaker in endurance.And God heard his prayers; and immediately he
18 died. But he left his people devoted to the worship
19 of their God, and endued with a sound fortitude, and perseverance in religion, and patience to hear up against the trials which awaited them.
CHAPTER V
The history of the death of the seven brethren.
1 After this, seven brothers were seized, and their mother ; and they were sent to the king; for he had not yet gone far away from Jerusalem. And
2 when they had been carried to the king, one of them was brought into his presence; whom he
3 ordered to renounce his religion : but he refusing said to him, If you think to teach us the truth
4 for the first time, the matter is not so: for truth is that which we have learned from our fathers, and by which we have bound ourselves to embrace the worship of God only, and constantly to observe the law; and from this we in no
5 wise will depart. And king Antiochus was angry at these words, and commanded an iron frying pan to be brought, and to be placed on the
6 fire. Then he ordered the young man's tongue to be cut out, and his hands and feet to be cut off, and the skin of his head to be flayed off, and to be placed in the pan: and they did so to him.
7 Then he commanded a large brazen caldron to be brought and set over the fire, into which the
8 rest of his body was thrown. And when the man was near dying, he ordered the fire to be removed from him, that he might be tortured the longer : intending by these acts to terrify his
9 mother and his brethren. But in fact by this he gave them additional courage and strength, to maintain their religion with constancy, and to bear all those torments which tyranny could inflict upon them,
10 So when the first was dead, the second was brought before him: to whom some of the attendants said, Obey those orders which the king will give you, lest you perish even as your brother
11 perished. But he answered, I am not weaker in spirit than my brother, nor behind him in my faith. Bring forward your fire and sword; and do not diminish ought of that which you did to my brother. And they did to him as had been done to his brother. And he called
12 out to the king, and said to him; Hear, O thou monster of cruelty towards men, and know that thou gainest nothing of ours except our bodies; but our souls thou dost by no means obtain; and these shortly will go to their Creator, whom
13 He will restore to their bodies, when He shall raise to life the dead men of his nation and the slain ones of his people. And the third was brought out; who beckoning
14 with his hand said to the king; Why dost thou frighten us, O enemy? know that this is
15 sent upon us from heaven, which also we undergo as such, giving thanks to God, and from Him we hope for our reward. And the king, and
16 those who stood near him, admired the courage of the youth, and the firmness of his mind, and his fair discourse. Then he gave orders, and he was slain. And the fourth was brought out, who said:
17 For God's religion we set our lives to sale, and hire them out, that we may require payment from Him, on that day when you shall have no excuse in the judgment, and shall not be able to endure your tortures. The king commanded,
18 and he was put to death. And the fifth was brought out, who said to him;
19 Think not within thyself that God has forsaken us, because of the things which He has sent
20 upon us. But truly his will is, to shew us honor and love by these things; and He will
21 avenge us of thee and of thy posterity. And the king commanded, and he was slain.
22 And the sixth was brought out, who said; I confess indeed my offenses to God, but I believe that they shall be forgiven me through this my
23 death. But you have now opposed God, by slaying those who embrace His religion: and surely He will repay you according to your works, and will root you out from his earth. And he gave orders for him, and he was slain.
24 And the seventh was brought out, who was a
25 boy. Then his mother arose, fearless and unmoved, and looked upon the corpses of her children
26 and she said, My sons, I know not how I conceived each one of you, when I did conceive him. Nor had I the power of giving him breath; or of bringing him forth to the light of this world or of bestowing on him courage
27 and understanding: but indeed the great and good God himself formed him according to his own will: and gave to him a form according to
28 his good pleasure: and brought him into the world by his power; appointing to him a term of life, and good rules, and a dispensation religion
29 as it pleaseth Him. But you now have sold to God your bodies which he himself formed, and your souls which he created: and you have acquiesced in his judgments which he
30 hath decreed. Wherefore, happy are ye, in the things which happily you have obtained; and blessed are ye, for the things in which you have been victorious. Now Antiochus had supposed, when he beheld
31 her rise up, that she had done this through being overcome by fear for her child; and he wholly thought that she was about to enjoin him obedience to the king, that he might not perish as his
brethren had perished. But when he had heard
32 her words, he was ashamed, and blushed, and commanded the boy to be brought to him; that he might exhort him, and persuade him to love life, and deter him from death: lest all those
33 should be seen to oppose his authority, and very many others should follow their example.
34 Therefore, when he was brought to him, he exhorted him by discourse, and promised him riches, and swore to him that he would make him viceroy to himself. But when the boy was not at all moved
35 by his words, and took no heed of them; the king turned to his mother, and said to her; Happy woman, pity this thy son, whom alone
36 thou hast surviving; and exhort him to comply with my orders, and to escape those sufferings which have happened to his brethren. And
37 she said, Bring him hither, that I may exhort him in the words of God. And when they had brought him to her, she
38 went aside from the crowd: then she kissed him, and laughed to scorn the things which had been said to her by Antiochus: and then said to him;
39 My son, come now, be obedient to me, because I have brought you forth, and suckled you, and educated you, and taught you divine religion. Look up now to the heaven, and the earth, and
40 the water, and the fire; and understand that the one true God himself created these; and formed man of flesh and blood, who lives a
41 short time, and then will die. Wherefore fear the true God, who dieth not: and obey the true
42 Being, who changeth not his promises: and fear not this mere giant: and die for God's religion,
43 as your brothers have died. For if you could see, my son, their honorable dwelling-place, and the light of their habitation and to what glory they have attained, you would not endure
44 not to follow them: and in truth I also hope that the great and good God will prepare me, and that I shall closely follow you.
45 Then said the boy; Know ye that I will obey God, and will not obey the commands of Antiochus: wherefore, delay not to let me follow my brothers; hinder me not from departing to
46 the place whither they have gone. Then to the king he said; Woe to thee from God! whither wilt thou fly from Him? where wilt thou seek for refuge? or whose help wilt thou implore, that He may not take vengeance on thee? Truly thou hast done us a kindness, when thou
47 hadst designed to do us evil: thou hast done evil to thine own soul, and hast destroyed it, while thou thoughtest to do it good. Now we
48 are on our way to a life which death shall never follow; and shall dwell in light which darkness shall never put away. But your dwelling
49 shall be in the infernal regions, with exquisite punishments from God. And I trust, that the
50 wrath of God will depart from his people, on account of what we have suffered for them: but
51 that you He will torment in this world, and bring you to a wretched death; and that afterwards you will depart into eternal torments. And Antiochus was angry, seeing that the boy
52 opposed his authority; wherefore he commanded him to be tortured even more than his brothers. And this was done, and he died. But their mother
53 intreated God, and besought Him that she might follow her sons; and immediately she died. Then Antiochus departed into his country Macedonia
54 and he wrote to Felix, and to the other governors in Syria, that they should slay all the Jews, except those who should embrace his religion. And his servants obeyed his command,
55 putting a multitude of men to death.
CHAPTER VI
The history of Mattathias the high priest, the son of Jochanan, who is the son of Hesmai the priest.
1 A CERTAIN man named Mattathias, the son of Jochanan, fled to one of the mountains which were fortified. And the men who were scattered abroad fled thither to him : and some concealed
2 themselves in secluded places. But after that Antiochus had departed to a greater distance from the country, Mattathias sent his son Judas secretly
3 into the cities of Judah; to certify them of his own and his people's health, and to desire that as many as were inspired with courage, magnanimity, and zeal for religion, for their wives, and their children, should come unto him.
4 And certain of the higher orders of the people, who had stayed behind, went out to him: who,
5 when they were come to him, said to them; Nothing is left to us, but prayer to God, and confidence in Him, and a fight with our enemies, if perhaps God will give us assistance and the victory
6 over them. And the people assented to the opinion of Mattathias, and they acted according to it.
7 And it was told to Felix; and he marched
8 against them with a great army. And word was brought to him, while on his march, that about a thousand of the people of the Jews, men and women mixed, were assembled together, and dwelling in a certain cave, that they might be enabled
9 to preserve their own way of worship. And he turned aside to them with some part of his troops, sending the commanders of his men with the rest
10 of the army against Mattathias. Now Felix demanded from those who were in the cave, that they should come out to him, and consent to enter
11 into his religion; but they refused. Whereupon he threatened that he would put smoke under them; and they endured that, and did not come out to him; and he put smoke under them, and they all died. And when the generals of his army were marching
12 against Mattathias, and came even to him, he being ready for battle; one of the generals, of
13 noble blood, went to him, proposing to him to obey the king, and that he should not oppose his authority; so that he himself might live, and those who were with him, and might not perish. To whom he said; I indeed obey God the true
14 king: but do you obey your king, and do whatsoever seems good to you. And he ceased from speaking. And they began to lay snares for him.
15 And there came a certain man, of the worst of
16 the Jews who were with them, and excited them to march against him and to prepare war. And
17 Mattathias rushed on him with his drawn sword, and cut off the Jew's head then he struck the general, to whom the Jew was speaking, and slew him also. But Mattathias' companions, seeing what he
18 had done, hastened to him; and they burst into the camp of the enemy, slaying great numbers of them, and put them to flight: afterwards they pursued the fugitives, until they slew the whole of them. After this, Mattathias blew the trumpet, and
19 proclaimed an expedition against Felix. And he and his companions entered into the land of Judah, and took possession of very many of their
20 cities. And the most high God gave them rest by his hands from the generals of Antiochus: and they returned to the observance of their own religion: and the bands of their enemies retreated from before them.
CHAPTER VII
The account of the death of Mattathias, and the acts of Judas’ son after him.
1 Now Mattathias became infirm. And when he was near to death, he called his sons,
2 who were five, and said unto them: I know of a certainty that very many and great wars will be kindled in the land of Judah, by reason of those matters for which the great and good God has stirred
3 us up to wage war against our enemies. But I charge you that you fear God, and trust in him, and be zealous of the law, and the
4 sanctuary, and the people also; and prepare yourselves to wage war against its enemies: and fear not death, because, without doubt, this
5 is decreed unto all men. So that, if God shall make you victorious, you have at once obtained that which you were longing for: but if you fall, that is no loss to you in his sight.
6 And Mattathias died and was buried ; and his sons did according to that which he had commanded them. And they agreed to make their brother Judas their leader. Now Judas their
7 brother was the best in counsel, and bravest in strength of them all. And an army was sent
8 against them by Felix, under a man who was called Seron, whom Judas with his company put to flight, and he slew great numbers. And the
9 fame of Judas was spread abroad, and increased greatly in the ears of men: and all the nations which were round about him feared him exceedingly.
10 And it was told to king Antiochus what Mattathias and his son Judas had done. News of this
11 came also to the king of the Persians; so that he played false with Antiochus, departing from his friendship, following the example of Judas. Which
12 giving Antiochus a great deal of uneasiness, he called to him one of his household officers named Lysias, a stout and brave man, and said to him; I have now determined to go into the land of
13 Persia to make war; and I wish to leave behind me my son in my stead; and to take with me the half of my army, and to leave the remainder with my son: and behold I have given to you
14 the governance of my son, and the governance of the men whom I leave with him. And
15 verily you know what Mattathias and Judas have done to my friends and my subjects. Wherefore, send one to lead a powerful army
16 into the land of Judah; and command him to attack the land of Judah with the sword, and to root them out, and to demolish their dwellings, and to destroy all traces of them.
17 Then Antiochus departed into the country of
18 Persia. But Lysias made ready three hardy and brave generals, skilled in war; of whom one was named Ptolemy a second Nicanor, and the third
19 Gorgias. And with them he sent forty thousand chosen troops and seven thousand horsemen. He also charged them to bring with them an army of Syrians, and Philistines; and ordered them to
20 root out the Jews entirely. And they marched forth, carrying with them a multitude of merchants, that they might sell to them the captives which they were about to obtain from among the Jews.
21 But tidings of this came to Judas the son of Mattathias; and he went to the house of the
22 great and good God ; and assembled his men, and enjoined them a fast, and supplications, and
prayers to the great and good God; and charged that they should beseech Him for victory against their enemies; which thing they did.
23 After this, Judas collecting his men, appointed over each thousand a chiefs, and likewise over each hundred, and over each fifty, and over each
24 ten. Then he commanded proclamation to be made by trumpet throughout his army, that whosoever was fearful, and whomsoever God commanded to be dismissed from the army, he should return home. And great numbers returned; and
25 there remained with them seven thousand stout and brave men, skilled in wars and accustomed thereto; nor had any one of them ever fled: and they marched against their enemies. But when
26 they had drawn nigh to them, Judas prayed to his Lord, entreating Him that He would turn away from him the malice of his enemy; and that He would assist him, and render him victorious. Then he commanded the priests to sound the
27 trumpets, which they did: and all his men called upon God, and rushed upon the army of Nicanor. And God gave them victory over them, and they
28 turned him and his men to flight, killing of them
nine thousand men, and the rest were dispersed. And Judas and his company returned to Nicanor's
29 camp, and made spoil of it; and plundered very much property of the merchants, and sent it to be divided among the sick. This battle took place on the sixth day of the
30 week; wherefore Judas and his men remained on the same spot until the sabbath-day had passed. Then they marched against Ptolemy and Gorgias,
31 whom they found and defeated, and gained a victory over them, slaying twenty thousand of their troops. And Ptolemy and Gorgias fled;
32 whom Judas and his company pursued; yet he could not overtake them, because they betook themselves into a city of two idols, and fortified themselves therein with the remnant of their army. And Judas attacked Felix; and he was
33 put to flight before him. And Judas pursued him, who, coming to a certain house which was nigh at hand, entered into it and closed the doors, for
34 it was a fortified house. And Judas commanded, and he set fire to it; and the house was burned, and Felix was burned in it. So Judas took vengeance on him for Eleazar and the others
35 whom Felix had put to death. Afterwards the people returned to the slain, and took their spoils and their armor; but the best of the prey they
36 sent into the Holy Land. But Nicanor departed in disguise unknown, and returned to Lysias, and told him all which had happened to him and his company.
CHAPTER VIII
The relation of Antiochus' return, and of his going into the land of Judah, and of the disease which Jell on him, of which he died in his Journey.
1 But Antiochus returned out of the country of Persia, flying, with his army disbanded,
2 And when he had learned what had happened to his army which Lysias had sent forth, and to all his men, he went out with a large
3 army, marching to the land of Judah. Now when in his progress he had reached the middle of his journey, God smote his troops with most mighty
4 weapons: but this could not stop him from his journey; but he persisted in it, uttering all sorts of insolence against God, and saying that no one could turn him aside, nor hinder him from his determined purposes. Wherefore the great and good
5 God smote him also with ulcers which attacked the whole of his body: but even yet he did not desist, nor refrain from his journey; but was
6 more filled with wrath, and inflamed with an eager desire to obtain what he had determined on, and to carry his resolution into effect. Now there were in his army very many
7 elephants. It so happened that one of these ran away, and made a bellowing: upon which the horses which were drawing the couch on which Antiochus lay, ran off, and threw him out. And,
8 as he was fat and corpulent, his limbs were bruised, and some of his joints were dislocated. And the bad
9 smell of his ulcers, which already sent forth a foul odor, was so much increased, that neither he himself could longer endure it, nor could those who came near him. So when he fell, his
10 servants took him up, and carried him upon their shoulders: but as the foul smell grew worse, they threw him down and departed to a distance. Therefore, perceiving the evils which
11 surrounded him, he believed for certain that all that punishment had come upon him from the great and good God; by reason of the injury and the tyranny which he had used towards the Hebrews, and the unjust shedding of their blood. In fear
12 therefore he turned himself to God, and, confessing his sins, said; O God, in truth I deserve the things which Thou hast sent upon me: and indeed just art Thou in thy judgments;
13 Thou humblest him who is exalted, and bringest down him who is puffed up: but thine is greatness, and magnificence, and majesty, and
14 prowess. Truly, I own, I have oppressed the people, and have both acted and decreed
15 tyrannically against them. Forgive, I pray Thee, O God, this my error; and wipe out my sin, and bestow on me my health: and my care shall be to fill the treasury of thy house with gold and
16 silver: and to strew the floor of the house of thy sanctuary with purple vestments; and to be circumcised; and to proclaim throughout all my kingdom, that Thou only art the true God, without any partner, and that there is no God besides thee.
17 But God did not hear his prayers, nor accept his supplication: but his troubles so increased on him that he voided his bowels: and his ulcers increased to that degree, that his flesh dropped off
18 from his body. Then he died, and was buried in his place. And his son reigned in his stead, whose name was Eupator.
CHAPTER IX
The history of the eight days of dedication.
1 When Judas had put to flight Ptolemy, and Nicanor, and Gorgias, and had slain their men; he himself and his troops returned into the country of the holy house. And he
2 commanded all the altars to be destroyed which Antiochus had ordered to be built: and he removed
3 all the idols which were in the sanctuary: and they built up a new altar, and he commanded sacrifices to be offered upon that. They prayed also
4 to the great and good God, that He would bring forth the holy fire which might remain upon the
altar: and fire came out from some stones of the
5 altar, and burned up the wood and the sacrifices; and from it fire continued on the altar until the third carrying into captivity. And then they
6 kept the festival of the new altar for eight days, beginning on the twenty-fifth day of the month Casleu. And then they placed bread on the table
7 of the house of God, and lighted the lamps of the
8 candlestick. And on each of these eight days they assembled together for prayer and praise: and moreover they appointed it an ordinance for every
year to come.
CHAPTER X
The history of Judas' battles with Gorgias and Ptolemy.
1 Now after the days of dedication, Judas marched into the country of the Idumseans, to the mountain Sarah: for Gorgias was staying
2 there. And Gorgias went out against him with a great army, and there were sore battles betwixt them; and there fell of Gorgias' men twenty
3 thousand. And Gorgias fled to Ptolemy into the land of the west, for Antiochus had made him governor of that country, and there he was
4 staying, and told him what had befallen him. Whereupon Ptolemy went forth with an army, in which were a hundred and twenty thousand men of
5 Macedonia and the east. And he went on until he came to the country of Gilead, and the parts adjacent; and he slew great
6 numbers of the Jews. So they wrote to Judas, telling him what had happened to them, begging him to come and defeat Ptolemy and drive him
7 away from them. And their letter reached him at the same time that a letter came to him from the inhabitants of the mountain of Galilee likewise, informing him how the Macedonians who were at Tyre and Sidon had now united against them, and had attacked them, killing several. Now when Judas had read both the letters, he
8 called together his men, and showed them the contents of the letters, and appointed a fast and supplication. After this, he ordered his brother
9 Simeon to take with him three thousand men of the Jews, and to march with all speed to the mountain of Galilee, and to quell the Macedonians who were there. And Simeon went. But Judas
10 hastened to encounter Ptolemy. And Simeon attacked the Macedonians unexpectedly, and slew of them eight thousand men, and gave rest to the Galilseans.
11 But Judas marched on until he came up with
12 Gorgias and Ptolemy; pressing them and besieging them: and the two armies encountered, and very fierce battles took place betwixt them. For Ptolemy headed a numerous, stout, and brave
13 body of men. But Judas was accompanied by a very small band: yet, as the people who were
14 with him consisted of the bravest and strongest troops, he steadily resisted, and the battle between them lasted long, and grew very sore. Wherefore
15 Judas called out to the great and good God, and invoked his aid. And he related that he had
16 seen five youthful horsemen, three of whom fought against Ptolemy's army, and two stood near
17 himself. Whom when he viewed attentively, they
18 seemed to him to be angels of God. Wherefore his heart was comforted, and the hearts of his companions; and making frequent assaults upon the enemy, they put them to flight, and slew
19 great multitudes of them. And the number of those who were slain of Ptolemy's army, from the beginning of this battle until the end, was twenty thousand and five hundred.
20 After these things, Ptolemy and his men fled to the sea-coast; while Judas pursued them, and
21 slew as many of them as he caught. But Ptolemy fled to Gaza, and remained there; and the men
22 of Chalisam came to him. And Judas marched against them; and when he found them, he defeated them: and Ptolemy's men were dispersed, but he himself fled to Gaza, and there fortified
23 himself. And Judas' men pursued the flying body, and slew great numbers of them. And Judas and the men who were with him marched straight to Gaza, and he pitched his camp and besieged it.
24 And Judas' men returned to him; and they who were left of Ptolemy's forces went up upon the fortification, and abused Judas with much
25 reviling. And the fighting between them and Judas' troops lasted for five days. But when the fifth day was come, the people continued to cast reproaches upon Judas, and to revile his religion: whereupon twenty of Judas' men grew angry;
26 who taking shields on their left hands, and swords in their right, and having with them a man bearing a ladder which they had made, marched until they came to the wall: and eighteen of them
27 stood and threw darts at those who were on the wall; and two, hastening to the wall, raised up the ladder, and by it mounted. But certain of those
28 who were there, perceiving that they had ascended, and that their companions had followed, and also had gone .down from the wall into the city, descended from the wall after them: whom Judas’ men defeated, slaying great numbers of their enemies. But the army of Judas pressed forward
29 to the gate of the city; and the twenty began to run toward the gate that they might open it: but
they were driven thence most fiercely; wherefore they called out with loud cries. Judas therefore
30 and his men knew that they had come near to the gate: and the battle grew sore both without the gate and within. And Judas and his men
31 attacked the gate with fire, and it fell down; and the people perished, and the men who had reviled Judas, were taken, and he commanded them to be brought out and burned. Moreover he 32 commanded the city to be utterly smitten with the sword; and the slaughter continued in it for two days, and then it was wasted with fire. But Ptolemy fled; nor were tidings of him
33 heard at that time; because that he had changed his clothes, and concealed himself in one of the
34 pits and no account of him was had. But his two brothers were taken, and brought to Judas;
35 and he ordered them to be beheaded. After this he went into the land of the sanctuary, with abundance of spoil; and both he and his company offered prayers therein, giving thanks to God for the benefits which they had received.
CHAPTER Xl
The relation of the battle between Judas and Lysias the general of Eupator, after the death of king Antiochus.
1 The name of Antiochus, of whom mention has been made above was Epiphanius: but the name of his son who reigned after him was Eupator, who also was named Antiochus.
2 And when the battles of Judas with these generals had taken place, they wrote on the subject to Eupator; who sent with Lysias, his cousin's son, a large army, in which were eighty thousand
3 horsemen and eighty elephants. Who coming to a city which is called Bethner, pitched their camp around it, and besieged it, because it was
4 a large city, and much people was therein. And Lysias raised engines of war around it, and began
5 to besiege the inhabitants: which being told to Judas, he himself and his company went out to some fortified mountains; and there they abode;
6 lest if they remained in any city, Lysias should come and besiege it, and should overpower them. Judas therefore collected his company, and
7 resolved to march with them to Lysias' camp, after they should have gone to the house of God and offered sacrifices in it; beseeching the great and
8 good God to turn away from them the malice of their enemies, and to grant them victory over them: which thing they did. After this, they
9 marched from the region of the holy house to Bethner. For they had designed to come upon the army suddenly, and to defeat it without a struggle. Now men say, that there appeared to Judas
10 a certain personage between heaven and earth, riding on a fiery horse, and holding in his hand a large spear, with which he smote the army of the Gentiles. So that what they had seen gave
11 them additional courage and spirits. And they made haste and charged the army, and slew great numbers of its men. Wherefore the enemy's array
12 was troubled and thrown into the greatest confusion, and the whole of it betook itself to a confused flight. And the sword of Judas and his
13 company pressed sore upon them; and he slew of them eleven thousand footmen, and sixteen hundred horsemen, Lysias also was chased, with
14 his company, to a distant place, in which he remained in safety. And he sent to Judas, desiring him to be
15 subject to the king, retaining his own and his
16 people's religion: to whom Judas consented in this matter, until word could be written to the king, and an answer of his agreeing thereto could be
17 received. And Judas wrote concerning this business: Lysias also wrote to the king, informing him of what had happened, and what proof he had had of the strength and bravery of the
18 Jewish nation; and that a continuation of wars with them would exterminate his men, as these before mentioned had been exterminated: he told him also their agreement, and his own waiting until he should receive a letter to say what he must do.
19 To whom the king replied, that it seemed right to him to make peace with the nation of the Jews, taking away that stumbling-block concerning the exercise of their religion: for that this very thing had incited them to the revolts, and to the attacks
20 made on his predecessors. He also commanded him to make with them a treaty of peace and obedience; so that no obstacles should be thrown in
21 their way in the matter of religion. He wrote also to Judas, and to all the Jews who were in the land of Judah, according to this effect: and this peace continued between them for some space of time.
CHAPTER XII
An account of the beginning of the power of the Romans, and of the enlargement of their empire.
1 At this same time, of which we have been speaking, the affairs of the Romans began to be exalted: that the great and good God might fulfill that which Daniel the prophet had foretold concerning the fourth empire. There was also at this time a certain most
2 munificent king in Africa, whose name was Annibal. And the royal seat of his empire was Carthage. He determined to take possession of the kingdom of the Romans: wherefore they united
3 to oppose him, and wars were multiplied between them, so that they fought eighteen battles in the space of ten years; and they were not able to drive him out of their country, by reason of his innumerable army and people. They determined
4 therefore to raise a large force selected from their bravest troops and armies, and to attack Annibal in war, and to persevere until they should turn away his forces from them. Which thing truly
5 they did: and they placed at the head of their armies two most renowned men; the name of one was Erailius, and of the other Varro. Who
6 meeting Annibal engaged with him; and there were slain of their army ninety thousand men; and of Annibal's army forty thousand men were slain, Milius also was killed in that battle.
7 But Varro fled into a certain very large and strong city called Venusia: him Annibal did not pursue; but he marched to Rome, to take it, and
8 there to remain. So he lay before it for eight days, and began to build houses opposite to it;
9 which when the citizens saw, they deliberated on entering into a peace and treaty with him, and on surrendering the country.
10 But there was among them a certain young man named Scipio, for the Romans at that time were without a king, and the entire administration of their affairs was committed to three hundred and twenty men, over whom presided a
11 person who was called seniors or elder. Scipio therefore comes to these, and persuaded them not to trust to Annibal nor to submission to him. To whom they answered, that they did not trust him,
12 but that they were unable to resist him. To whom he said; the country of Africa is wholly destitute of soldiers, because that they are all here with Annibal: give me therefore a troop of chosen
13 men, that I may go into Africa: and I will perform such feats in it, that when tidings of them shall reach him, perhaps he will quit you, and you will be freed from him, and will be in peace: and having retrieved and strengthened your resources, if he should prepare to return, you will be able to oppose him.
14 And the advice of Scipio appeared to them to be right; and they committed to him thirty thousand of their bravest men. And he proceeded
15 into Africa. And Asdrubal the brother of Annibal met him, and fought with him; whom Scipio
defeated, and cut off his head, and took it, with the rest of the prey, and returned to Rome. And mounting upon the rampart, he called to
16 Annibal, and said: How will you be able to prevail against this our country, when you are not able to expel me from your own land, to which I have gone: I have destroyed it, and have killed your brother, and have brought away his head. Then he threw the head to him. Which being
17 brought to Annibal and recognized by him, he was increased in fury and anger against the people, and swore that he would not depart till he had taken Rome. But the citizens, to withdraw him from them,
18 and keep him in check, took counsel to send back Scipio to besiege and attack Carthage. And
19 Scipio returned with his army into Africa: and they pitched their camp around Carthage, and besieged it with a most active siege. Wherefore the
20 inhabitants wrote to Annibal, saying, You are coveting a foreign country, which you know not whether you will be able to win or not: but there has come to your own country one who is endeavoring to gain possession of it. Wherefore, if you
21 delay coming, we will surrender to him the country, and will give up your family and all your substance and your treasures; that we and our property may go unhurt.
22 Now when this letter was brought to him, he departed from Rome; and hastened till he came
23 into Africa: and Scipio went forward and met him, and fought a most fierce battle with him three times, and there were slain fifty thousand of
24 his men. But Annibal, being put to flight, retired into the land of Egypt; whom Scipio pursued, and took him prisoner, and returned to
25 Africa. And when he was there, Annibal disdained to be seen by the Africans; wherefore he took poison and died.
26 And Scipio won the country of Africa, and possessed himself of all the goods, and servants, and
27 treasures of Annibal. By which means the fame of the Romans was magnified, and their power from that time began to receive increase.
CHAPTER Xlll
An account of the letter of the Romans to Judas, and of the treaty which took place between them.
1 From the elder and three hundred and twenty governors, unto Judas, general of the army,
2 and to the Jews. Health be to you. We have already heard of your victories, and courage, and endurance in war; whereof we rejoice. We have also understood that you have entered into an agreement with Antiochus. We write
3 to you to this effect, that you should be friends to us, and not to the Greeks who have done you harm: moreover we intend to go to Antioch, and to make war upon its inhabitants: wherefore make haste to acquaint us with whom
4 you are at enmity, and with whom you have a league of friendship; that we may act accordingly.
THE COPY OF THE TREATY
This is the treaty made by the elder and
5 three hundred and twenty governors with Judas, general of the army, and the Jews; that they should be joined to the Romans, and that the Romans and Jews may be of one mind in wars and victories for ever. Now if war should
6 come upon the Romans, Judas and his people shall help them, giving no aid to the enemies of the Romans, by provisions or by any kind of weapons. And when war shall come upon the
7 Jews, the Romans shall help them to the utmost of their power, giving no aid to their enemies by assistance of any kind. And as the Jews are
8 bound to the Romans, so likewise are the Romans to the Jews, without any increase or decrease. And Judas and his people accepted this; and
9 the treaty stood, and continued between them and the Romans for a long time.
CHAPTER XlV
An account of the battle which took place between Judas, Ptolemy, and Gorgias.
1 After this, Ptolemy collected an hundred and twenty thousand men, and a thousand horsemen, and they went after Judas. And Judas met him with ten thousand men, and routed him,
2 and many of Ptolemy's men were slain. And he besought Judas, and humbly entreated him to let him escape with his life; and swore that he would never more make war against him, and that he would show kindness to the Jews who were in all
3 his countries. And Judas had compassion on him, and let him go; and Ptolemy adhered to his oath.
4 But Gorgias having collected three thousand men from mount Sarah, and four hundred horsemen, met Judas, and slew the captain of his army and certain of his men.
5 Then Judas and his men advanced towards them; and Gorgias was put to flight, and the greater part of his army was killed or fled: and he was sought for, and no tidings were heard of him; but it is reported that he fell in the battle.
CHAPTER XV
An account of the dissolution of the treaty which Antiochus had made with Judas, and of his march together with Lysias with a great army, and of his wars.
1 But when word was brought to Antiochus Eupator that Judas' affairs had gained strength, and what victories he had gained, he was very angry; and broke the treaty which he had made
2 with Judas, and collected a large army, in which were twenty-two elephants: and he marched with
3 Lysias his cousin's son into the country of Judah, directing his course to the city Bethner, before which he pitched his camp, and besieged it. Now
4 when this was reported to Judas, he and all the elders of the children of Israel met together, and prayed to the great and good God, offering many sacrifices; which being finished, Judas proceeded
5 with the leaders of his forces, and came into the camp by night, and made a sudden attack upon it, and slew of the enemy four thousand men and one of the elephants: and he returned to his own
6 camp until the dawn of day should begin to break. Then each army was drawn out, and the battle 6 grew fierce between them. And Judas perceived
7 one of the elephants with golden trappings, and he supposed that the king was sitting upon him: so he called his men, and said to them. Which of
8 you will go out and kill this elephant? And a young man, one of his servants, who was called Eleazar, went out and rushed upon the enemy's line, slaying on the right and left, so that the men
9 turned aside out of his view; and he went forward until he came even to the elephant; and creeping under him, he cut open his belly; and the elephant fell down upon him, and he died. So the king perceiving this, commanded to sound
10 a retreat; and it was done. And the amount of men of the higher rank slain that day in the battle was eight hundred men, besides those of the common men who were slain, and those who had been killed during the night.
11 Then it was told the king, that a certain man of his friends named Philip had revolted from him: and that Demetrius the son of Seleucus had gone forth from Rome with a great army of Romans, intending to take the kingdom out of his
12 hand. At which being much affrighted, he sent to Judas concerning making peace between them: to which Judas assented; and Antiochus and Lysias his cousin's son swore to him, that they
13 would never more make war upon him. And the king displayed a large sum of money, and gave it
14 to Judas for a present to the house of God. The king also commanded Menelaus to be seized, one of the three f wicked men who had brought evil on the Jews in the days of Antiochus his father; and he ordered him to be carried up to a lofty tower, and to be thrown headlong thence; which was done. For by this the king designed to
15 gratify the Jews, since this man was one of their chief enemies, and had slain great numbers of them.
CHAPTER XVI
The history of the arrival at Antioch of Demetrius the son of Seleucus, and of his defeating Eupator.
1 After these things, king Eupator marched into the country of Macedonia, and then returned to Antioch. Whom Demetrius
2 attacked with an army of Romans, and defeated, and slew, together with Lysias his cousin's son; and he reigned at Antioch. But to him went
3 Alcimus, the leader of those three wicked men; who, coming into his presence, prostrated himself before him, and wept most vehemently, and said; O king, Judas and his company have been
4 slaying great numbers of us; because, having deserted their religion, we have embraced the religion of the king. Wherefore, O king, assist us against them, and avenge us on them. Then
5 he made the Jews go to him, and incensed him; suggesting to them such things as might provoke Demetrius, and irritate him to fit out an army to vanquish Judas. To whom the king giving heed,
6 sent a general named Nicanor, with a great army
7 and an abundant supply of weapons of war. And when Nicanor had come into the Holy Land, he sent messengers to Judas to come to him; and did not disclose that he had come to conquer the
8 nation, but stated that he came only on account of the peace which was made between him and the nation, and that they also were under
9 obedience to the Romans. And Judas went out to him with a certain number of his men, who were endued with strength and courage: and he commanded them not to go far from him, lest Demetrius might lay a snare for him.
10 When therefore he had met Demetrius, he saluted him; and, a seat being placed for each of them, they sat down, and Demetrius conversed with him as he pleased: afterwards each of them went into a tent which the troops had erected for him.
11 And Nicanor and Judas departed into the Holy City, and there dwelt together: and a firm
12 friendship grew up between them: which being made known to Alcimus, he went to Demetrius and incensed him against Judas, and persuaded him to write and command Nicanor to send Judas to him
13 bound in chains. But tidings of this came to Judas, and he went out from the city by night, and departed to Sebaste, and sent to his companions to come to him. And when
14 they were come, he sounded the trumpet, and commanded them to prepare themselves to attack Nicanor. But Nicanor sought Judas with great
15 diligence, and could learn no tidings of him. Wherefore he went to the house of God, requiring
16 of the priests to give him up to him, that he might send him bound in chains to the king: but they swore that he had not come into the house of God. Whereupon he abused both them and the 17 house of God, and spake insolently of the temple, and threatened that he would demolish it from the very foundations; and departed in a rage. He also took care to search all the houses of the Holy City. Likewise he sent his men to the
18 house of a certain excellent man, who had been seized in the time of Antiochus, and put to extreme torture; but after the death of Antiochus the Jews increased his authority and greatly honored him. And when the messengers of
19 Nicanor came to him, he feared lest he should meet with the same treatment which he had received from Antiochus; wherefore he laid hands on himself. When this was told to Judas, he was
20 very sorry and much afflicted: and he sent to Nicanor, saying; Do not seek me in the city, for I am not there: therefore come forth to me, that we may meet each other, either in the plains or in the mountains, as you choose. And Nicanor
21 went forth to him, and Judas met him with these words: O God, it was Thou who didst exterminate the army of king Sennacherib; and he indeed was greater than this man, in fame,
22 in empire, and in the multitude of his host: and Thou didst deliver Ezechiah king of Judah from him, when he had trusted in Thee and prayed to Thee: deliver us, I pray thee, O God, from his malice, and make us victorious over him.
23 Then he made ready himself for battle, and advanced to Nicanor, saying, Take care of
24 yourself, it is to you I come. And Nicanor turned his back and fled: and Judas pursuing smote him on the shoulders, which he divided; and his men
25 were put to flight. And there fell of them on that day thirty thousand: and the inhabitants of the cities went out and slew them, so that they
26 left not one of them. And they decreed that that day should be every year a day of thanksgiving to the great and good God, and a day of gladness, and of feasting, and of drinking.
Thus far is finished the Second Book from the translation of the Hebrews.
CHAPTER XVII
An account of the death of Judas.
I But when nearly the same season of the year
came round, Bacchides went forth with thirty thousand of the bravest of the Macedonians; and
2 came upon Judas without any tidings thereof coming to him, when he was in a certain city called Lalis, with three thousand men:
3 wherefore most of those who were with him fled; and there remained with him eight hundred men, and his brothers Simeon and Jonathan. But those
4 who remained with Judas were the strongest and bravest, and who had already endured much in the several battles which he had fought. And
5 Judas and his company went out to meet Bacchides and his army. And Bacchides divided his army, placing fifteen
6 thousand on the right hand of Judas and his company, and fifteen thousand on their left. Then
7 each part shouted against Judas and his company. Who attentively regarding each, perceived that the enemy's strongest and bravest, troops were on the right, and found out that Bacchides himself was there among them. Judas likewise divided
8 his company, and took the bravest of them with him, and gave the rest to his brothers. Then he made a charge upon those on the right, and he with his company slew about two thousand men. Then perceiving Bacchides, he directed his eyes
9 and steps towards him, and slew all the bravest men who were about him. And he in person
10 with his company sustained the multitudes which pressed upon him, felling to the ground the greater part of them, and he came near to Bacchides.
11 Whom when Bacchides saw coming towards him like a lion, brandishing in his hand a large sword stained with blood, he was excessively afraid of
12 him, and trembled, and fled out of his sight. And Judas with his company pursued him, and they slew his people with the sword, so that they put to death the greater part of those fifteen thousand: and Bacchides fled even to Ashdod.
13 And the fifteen thousand which were on Judas' left, followed him, and attacked Judas, to whom by this time were come his brothers and those
14 who were with them, greatly fatigued. And those fifteen thousand rushed upon them, and a very great battle took place between them and Judas; and there fell on both sides a certain number of slain, in which number was Judas.
15 Whom his brothers carried and buried beside the sepulcher of Mattathias his father, God be merciful to them; and the children of Israel bewailed
16 him many days. Now the time of his governing was seven years, and Jonathan his brother succeeded him in the government.
CHAPTER XVIII
The history of Jonathan the son of Mattathias.
1 And Jonathan succeeded his brother, and he went to Jordan with a small number of men; which when Bacchides heard of, he marched to him with a large army. And when Jonathan
2 saw him, his men swam over Jordan; and Bacchides and his army followed them, and surrounded them. But Jonathan rushed on
3 Bacchides; and as the men gave way to Jonathan, he and his company went out from the midst of them, and departed to Beersheba: and his
4 brother Simeon joined him, and they abode there; and they repaired whatever of the fortifications had fallen down, and they fortified themselves there. But Bacchides marched to them, and besieged
5 them: and Jonathan and his brother, and they which were with them, went out to him by night, and slew great numbers of his army, and burned the battering rams and engines of war; and
6 his army was dispersed, and Bacchides fled into the desert. And Jonathan and Simeon, and the men who were with him, pursued and took him. Who,
7 when he saw Jonathan, knew that his death was near: wherefore he proclaimed peace with Jonathan, and swore that he would never more make war upon him, and moreover, that he would restore the whole of the captives which he had taken of the army of Judas. And Jonathan gave
8 him his hand, and departed from him: nor after this was there any more war between them. And not long after this, Jonathan died, and his brother Simeon succeeded him.
CHAPTER XIX
The history of Simeon the son of Mattathias.
1 Then Simeon the son of Mattathias succeeded to the government; and he gathered together all those who remained of the army
2 of Judas: and his affairs prospered, and he subdued all those who had exercised hostility against the Jews after the death of his brother Judas; and he behaved well towards his people, and the matters of his country were rightly ordered.
3 Wherefore Antiochus attacked him, and also Demetrius the son of Seleucus; and sent a great
4 army against him: to meet which, Simeon and his two sons went out; and he divided his army into two parts, one of which he kept with himself,
5 and gave the other to his sons. Then he and they which were with him went to the army; and he
sent his two sons and their followers by another way, and appointed with them to attack the army
6 at a given time. After this, he met the army of Antiochus, and attacked it, and began to prevail against it: and his two sons came when the battle had now begun, and the fight grew fierce, and they
7 came round the rear of the army. And Antiochus' army, being placed between two armies, was cut to pieces, nor did a single man of them escape: nor did Antiochus return any more to fight with Simeon. And peace and quietness continued
8 among the Jews all the days of Simeon. And the time of his government was two years. Then
9 Ptolemy his son-in-law rushed on him, and slew him, at a certain feast where he was present. And he seized his wife and his two sons. And Simeon's son, whose name was Hyrcanus, was set in his father's place.
Here ends the history as given in the two books usually attached to our Bibles.
A note at the end of 5 Maccabees 16 says 1:1 through 16:26 is called The Second Book of Maccabees according to the Translation of the Hebrews. 5 Maccabees 19 closes with the events narrated at the end of 1 Maccabees. The rest of the book (5 Maccabees 20 through 59) follows Josephus closely and deals with events from the history of Hyrcanus, the son of Simeon, up to the deaths of Herod's sons. The original work appears to have ended with 5 Maccabees 19. There is also the Romans' letter to Hyrcanus in chapter 22 which we will present as a separate work entitled: THE COPY OF THE LETTER TO HYRCANUS FROM THE ROMANS.
The relation of the battle between Judas and Lysias the general of Eupator, after the death of king Antiochus.
1 The name of Antiochus, of whom mention has been made above was Epiphanius: but the name of his son who reigned after him was Eupator, who also was named Antiochus.
2 And when the battles of Judas with these generals had taken place, they wrote on the subject to Eupator; who sent with Lysias, his cousin's son, a large army, in which were eighty thousand
3 horsemen and eighty elephants. Who coming to a city which is called Bethner, pitched their camp around it, and besieged it, because it was
4 a large city, and much people was therein. And Lysias raised engines of war around it, and began
5 to besiege the inhabitants: which being told to Judas, he himself and his company went out to some fortified mountains; and there they abode;
6 lest if they remained in any city, Lysias should come and besiege it, and should overpower them. Judas therefore collected his company, and
7 resolved to march with them to Lysias' camp, after they should have gone to the house of God and offered sacrifices in it; beseeching the great and
8 good God to turn away from them the malice of their enemies, and to grant them victory over them: which thing they did. After this, they
9 marched from the region of the holy house to Bethner. For they had designed to come upon the army suddenly, and to defeat it without a struggle. Now men say, that there appeared to Judas
10 a certain personage between heaven and earth, riding on a fiery horse, and holding in his hand a large spear, with which he smote the army of the Gentiles. So that what they had seen gave
11 them additional courage and spirits. And they made haste and charged the army, and slew great numbers of its men. Wherefore the enemy's array
12 was troubled and thrown into the greatest confusion, and the whole of it betook itself to a confused flight. And the sword of Judas and his
13 company pressed sore upon them; and he slew of them eleven thousand footmen, and sixteen hundred horsemen, Lysias also was chased, with
14 his company, to a distant place, in which he remained in safety. And he sent to Judas, desiring him to be
15 subject to the king, retaining his own and his
16 people's religion: to whom Judas consented in this matter, until word could be written to the king, and an answer of his agreeing thereto could be
17 received. And Judas wrote concerning this business: Lysias also wrote to the king, informing him of what had happened, and what proof he had had of the strength and bravery of the
18 Jewish nation; and that a continuation of wars with them would exterminate his men, as these before mentioned had been exterminated: he told him also their agreement, and his own waiting until he should receive a letter to say what he must do.
19 To whom the king replied, that it seemed right to him to make peace with the nation of the Jews, taking away that stumbling-block concerning the exercise of their religion: for that this very thing had incited them to the revolts, and to the attacks
20 made on his predecessors. He also commanded him to make with them a treaty of peace and obedience; so that no obstacles should be thrown in
21 their way in the matter of religion. He wrote also to Judas, and to all the Jews who were in the land of Judah, according to this effect: and this peace continued between them for some space of time.
CHAPTER XII
An account of the beginning of the power of the Romans, and of the enlargement of their empire.
1 At this same time, of which we have been speaking, the affairs of the Romans began to be exalted: that the great and good God might fulfill that which Daniel the prophet had foretold concerning the fourth empire. There was also at this time a certain most
2 munificent king in Africa, whose name was Annibal. And the royal seat of his empire was Carthage. He determined to take possession of the kingdom of the Romans: wherefore they united
3 to oppose him, and wars were multiplied between them, so that they fought eighteen battles in the space of ten years; and they were not able to drive him out of their country, by reason of his innumerable army and people. They determined
4 therefore to raise a large force selected from their bravest troops and armies, and to attack Annibal in war, and to persevere until they should turn away his forces from them. Which thing truly
5 they did: and they placed at the head of their armies two most renowned men; the name of one was Erailius, and of the other Varro. Who
6 meeting Annibal engaged with him; and there were slain of their army ninety thousand men; and of Annibal's army forty thousand men were slain, Milius also was killed in that battle.
7 But Varro fled into a certain very large and strong city called Venusia: him Annibal did not pursue; but he marched to Rome, to take it, and
8 there to remain. So he lay before it for eight days, and began to build houses opposite to it;
9 which when the citizens saw, they deliberated on entering into a peace and treaty with him, and on surrendering the country.
10 But there was among them a certain young man named Scipio, for the Romans at that time were without a king, and the entire administration of their affairs was committed to three hundred and twenty men, over whom presided a
11 person who was called seniors or elder. Scipio therefore comes to these, and persuaded them not to trust to Annibal nor to submission to him. To whom they answered, that they did not trust him,
12 but that they were unable to resist him. To whom he said; the country of Africa is wholly destitute of soldiers, because that they are all here with Annibal: give me therefore a troop of chosen
13 men, that I may go into Africa: and I will perform such feats in it, that when tidings of them shall reach him, perhaps he will quit you, and you will be freed from him, and will be in peace: and having retrieved and strengthened your resources, if he should prepare to return, you will be able to oppose him.
14 And the advice of Scipio appeared to them to be right; and they committed to him thirty thousand of their bravest men. And he proceeded
15 into Africa. And Asdrubal the brother of Annibal met him, and fought with him; whom Scipio
defeated, and cut off his head, and took it, with the rest of the prey, and returned to Rome. And mounting upon the rampart, he called to
16 Annibal, and said: How will you be able to prevail against this our country, when you are not able to expel me from your own land, to which I have gone: I have destroyed it, and have killed your brother, and have brought away his head. Then he threw the head to him. Which being
17 brought to Annibal and recognized by him, he was increased in fury and anger against the people, and swore that he would not depart till he had taken Rome. But the citizens, to withdraw him from them,
18 and keep him in check, took counsel to send back Scipio to besiege and attack Carthage. And
19 Scipio returned with his army into Africa: and they pitched their camp around Carthage, and besieged it with a most active siege. Wherefore the
20 inhabitants wrote to Annibal, saying, You are coveting a foreign country, which you know not whether you will be able to win or not: but there has come to your own country one who is endeavoring to gain possession of it. Wherefore, if you
21 delay coming, we will surrender to him the country, and will give up your family and all your substance and your treasures; that we and our property may go unhurt.
22 Now when this letter was brought to him, he departed from Rome; and hastened till he came
23 into Africa: and Scipio went forward and met him, and fought a most fierce battle with him three times, and there were slain fifty thousand of
24 his men. But Annibal, being put to flight, retired into the land of Egypt; whom Scipio pursued, and took him prisoner, and returned to
25 Africa. And when he was there, Annibal disdained to be seen by the Africans; wherefore he took poison and died.
26 And Scipio won the country of Africa, and possessed himself of all the goods, and servants, and
27 treasures of Annibal. By which means the fame of the Romans was magnified, and their power from that time began to receive increase.
CHAPTER Xlll
An account of the letter of the Romans to Judas, and of the treaty which took place between them.
1 From the elder and three hundred and twenty governors, unto Judas, general of the army,
2 and to the Jews. Health be to you. We have already heard of your victories, and courage, and endurance in war; whereof we rejoice. We have also understood that you have entered into an agreement with Antiochus. We write
3 to you to this effect, that you should be friends to us, and not to the Greeks who have done you harm: moreover we intend to go to Antioch, and to make war upon its inhabitants: wherefore make haste to acquaint us with whom
4 you are at enmity, and with whom you have a league of friendship; that we may act accordingly.
THE COPY OF THE TREATY
This is the treaty made by the elder and
5 three hundred and twenty governors with Judas, general of the army, and the Jews; that they should be joined to the Romans, and that the Romans and Jews may be of one mind in wars and victories for ever. Now if war should
6 come upon the Romans, Judas and his people shall help them, giving no aid to the enemies of the Romans, by provisions or by any kind of weapons. And when war shall come upon the
7 Jews, the Romans shall help them to the utmost of their power, giving no aid to their enemies by assistance of any kind. And as the Jews are
8 bound to the Romans, so likewise are the Romans to the Jews, without any increase or decrease. And Judas and his people accepted this; and
9 the treaty stood, and continued between them and the Romans for a long time.
CHAPTER XlV
An account of the battle which took place between Judas, Ptolemy, and Gorgias.
1 After this, Ptolemy collected an hundred and twenty thousand men, and a thousand horsemen, and they went after Judas. And Judas met him with ten thousand men, and routed him,
2 and many of Ptolemy's men were slain. And he besought Judas, and humbly entreated him to let him escape with his life; and swore that he would never more make war against him, and that he would show kindness to the Jews who were in all
3 his countries. And Judas had compassion on him, and let him go; and Ptolemy adhered to his oath.
4 But Gorgias having collected three thousand men from mount Sarah, and four hundred horsemen, met Judas, and slew the captain of his army and certain of his men.
5 Then Judas and his men advanced towards them; and Gorgias was put to flight, and the greater part of his army was killed or fled: and he was sought for, and no tidings were heard of him; but it is reported that he fell in the battle.
CHAPTER XV
An account of the dissolution of the treaty which Antiochus had made with Judas, and of his march together with Lysias with a great army, and of his wars.
1 But when word was brought to Antiochus Eupator that Judas' affairs had gained strength, and what victories he had gained, he was very angry; and broke the treaty which he had made
2 with Judas, and collected a large army, in which were twenty-two elephants: and he marched with
3 Lysias his cousin's son into the country of Judah, directing his course to the city Bethner, before which he pitched his camp, and besieged it. Now
4 when this was reported to Judas, he and all the elders of the children of Israel met together, and prayed to the great and good God, offering many sacrifices; which being finished, Judas proceeded
5 with the leaders of his forces, and came into the camp by night, and made a sudden attack upon it, and slew of the enemy four thousand men and one of the elephants: and he returned to his own
6 camp until the dawn of day should begin to break. Then each army was drawn out, and the battle 6 grew fierce between them. And Judas perceived
7 one of the elephants with golden trappings, and he supposed that the king was sitting upon him: so he called his men, and said to them. Which of
8 you will go out and kill this elephant? And a young man, one of his servants, who was called Eleazar, went out and rushed upon the enemy's line, slaying on the right and left, so that the men
9 turned aside out of his view; and he went forward until he came even to the elephant; and creeping under him, he cut open his belly; and the elephant fell down upon him, and he died. So the king perceiving this, commanded to sound
10 a retreat; and it was done. And the amount of men of the higher rank slain that day in the battle was eight hundred men, besides those of the common men who were slain, and those who had been killed during the night.
11 Then it was told the king, that a certain man of his friends named Philip had revolted from him: and that Demetrius the son of Seleucus had gone forth from Rome with a great army of Romans, intending to take the kingdom out of his
12 hand. At which being much affrighted, he sent to Judas concerning making peace between them: to which Judas assented; and Antiochus and Lysias his cousin's son swore to him, that they
13 would never more make war upon him. And the king displayed a large sum of money, and gave it
14 to Judas for a present to the house of God. The king also commanded Menelaus to be seized, one of the three f wicked men who had brought evil on the Jews in the days of Antiochus his father; and he ordered him to be carried up to a lofty tower, and to be thrown headlong thence; which was done. For by this the king designed to
15 gratify the Jews, since this man was one of their chief enemies, and had slain great numbers of them.
CHAPTER XVI
The history of the arrival at Antioch of Demetrius the son of Seleucus, and of his defeating Eupator.
1 After these things, king Eupator marched into the country of Macedonia, and then returned to Antioch. Whom Demetrius
2 attacked with an army of Romans, and defeated, and slew, together with Lysias his cousin's son; and he reigned at Antioch. But to him went
3 Alcimus, the leader of those three wicked men; who, coming into his presence, prostrated himself before him, and wept most vehemently, and said; O king, Judas and his company have been
4 slaying great numbers of us; because, having deserted their religion, we have embraced the religion of the king. Wherefore, O king, assist us against them, and avenge us on them. Then
5 he made the Jews go to him, and incensed him; suggesting to them such things as might provoke Demetrius, and irritate him to fit out an army to vanquish Judas. To whom the king giving heed,
6 sent a general named Nicanor, with a great army
7 and an abundant supply of weapons of war. And when Nicanor had come into the Holy Land, he sent messengers to Judas to come to him; and did not disclose that he had come to conquer the
8 nation, but stated that he came only on account of the peace which was made between him and the nation, and that they also were under
9 obedience to the Romans. And Judas went out to him with a certain number of his men, who were endued with strength and courage: and he commanded them not to go far from him, lest Demetrius might lay a snare for him.
10 When therefore he had met Demetrius, he saluted him; and, a seat being placed for each of them, they sat down, and Demetrius conversed with him as he pleased: afterwards each of them went into a tent which the troops had erected for him.
11 And Nicanor and Judas departed into the Holy City, and there dwelt together: and a firm
12 friendship grew up between them: which being made known to Alcimus, he went to Demetrius and incensed him against Judas, and persuaded him to write and command Nicanor to send Judas to him
13 bound in chains. But tidings of this came to Judas, and he went out from the city by night, and departed to Sebaste, and sent to his companions to come to him. And when
14 they were come, he sounded the trumpet, and commanded them to prepare themselves to attack Nicanor. But Nicanor sought Judas with great
15 diligence, and could learn no tidings of him. Wherefore he went to the house of God, requiring
16 of the priests to give him up to him, that he might send him bound in chains to the king: but they swore that he had not come into the house of God. Whereupon he abused both them and the 17 house of God, and spake insolently of the temple, and threatened that he would demolish it from the very foundations; and departed in a rage. He also took care to search all the houses of the Holy City. Likewise he sent his men to the
18 house of a certain excellent man, who had been seized in the time of Antiochus, and put to extreme torture; but after the death of Antiochus the Jews increased his authority and greatly honored him. And when the messengers of
19 Nicanor came to him, he feared lest he should meet with the same treatment which he had received from Antiochus; wherefore he laid hands on himself. When this was told to Judas, he was
20 very sorry and much afflicted: and he sent to Nicanor, saying; Do not seek me in the city, for I am not there: therefore come forth to me, that we may meet each other, either in the plains or in the mountains, as you choose. And Nicanor
21 went forth to him, and Judas met him with these words: O God, it was Thou who didst exterminate the army of king Sennacherib; and he indeed was greater than this man, in fame,
22 in empire, and in the multitude of his host: and Thou didst deliver Ezechiah king of Judah from him, when he had trusted in Thee and prayed to Thee: deliver us, I pray thee, O God, from his malice, and make us victorious over him.
23 Then he made ready himself for battle, and advanced to Nicanor, saying, Take care of
24 yourself, it is to you I come. And Nicanor turned his back and fled: and Judas pursuing smote him on the shoulders, which he divided; and his men
25 were put to flight. And there fell of them on that day thirty thousand: and the inhabitants of the cities went out and slew them, so that they
26 left not one of them. And they decreed that that day should be every year a day of thanksgiving to the great and good God, and a day of gladness, and of feasting, and of drinking.
Thus far is finished the Second Book from the translation of the Hebrews.
CHAPTER XVII
An account of the death of Judas.
I But when nearly the same season of the year
came round, Bacchides went forth with thirty thousand of the bravest of the Macedonians; and
2 came upon Judas without any tidings thereof coming to him, when he was in a certain city called Lalis, with three thousand men:
3 wherefore most of those who were with him fled; and there remained with him eight hundred men, and his brothers Simeon and Jonathan. But those
4 who remained with Judas were the strongest and bravest, and who had already endured much in the several battles which he had fought. And
5 Judas and his company went out to meet Bacchides and his army. And Bacchides divided his army, placing fifteen
6 thousand on the right hand of Judas and his company, and fifteen thousand on their left. Then
7 each part shouted against Judas and his company. Who attentively regarding each, perceived that the enemy's strongest and bravest, troops were on the right, and found out that Bacchides himself was there among them. Judas likewise divided
8 his company, and took the bravest of them with him, and gave the rest to his brothers. Then he made a charge upon those on the right, and he with his company slew about two thousand men. Then perceiving Bacchides, he directed his eyes
9 and steps towards him, and slew all the bravest men who were about him. And he in person
10 with his company sustained the multitudes which pressed upon him, felling to the ground the greater part of them, and he came near to Bacchides.
11 Whom when Bacchides saw coming towards him like a lion, brandishing in his hand a large sword stained with blood, he was excessively afraid of
12 him, and trembled, and fled out of his sight. And Judas with his company pursued him, and they slew his people with the sword, so that they put to death the greater part of those fifteen thousand: and Bacchides fled even to Ashdod.
13 And the fifteen thousand which were on Judas' left, followed him, and attacked Judas, to whom by this time were come his brothers and those
14 who were with them, greatly fatigued. And those fifteen thousand rushed upon them, and a very great battle took place between them and Judas; and there fell on both sides a certain number of slain, in which number was Judas.
15 Whom his brothers carried and buried beside the sepulcher of Mattathias his father, God be merciful to them; and the children of Israel bewailed
16 him many days. Now the time of his governing was seven years, and Jonathan his brother succeeded him in the government.
CHAPTER XVIII
The history of Jonathan the son of Mattathias.
1 And Jonathan succeeded his brother, and he went to Jordan with a small number of men; which when Bacchides heard of, he marched to him with a large army. And when Jonathan
2 saw him, his men swam over Jordan; and Bacchides and his army followed them, and surrounded them. But Jonathan rushed on
3 Bacchides; and as the men gave way to Jonathan, he and his company went out from the midst of them, and departed to Beersheba: and his
4 brother Simeon joined him, and they abode there; and they repaired whatever of the fortifications had fallen down, and they fortified themselves there. But Bacchides marched to them, and besieged
5 them: and Jonathan and his brother, and they which were with them, went out to him by night, and slew great numbers of his army, and burned the battering rams and engines of war; and
6 his army was dispersed, and Bacchides fled into the desert. And Jonathan and Simeon, and the men who were with him, pursued and took him. Who,
7 when he saw Jonathan, knew that his death was near: wherefore he proclaimed peace with Jonathan, and swore that he would never more make war upon him, and moreover, that he would restore the whole of the captives which he had taken of the army of Judas. And Jonathan gave
8 him his hand, and departed from him: nor after this was there any more war between them. And not long after this, Jonathan died, and his brother Simeon succeeded him.
CHAPTER XIX
The history of Simeon the son of Mattathias.
1 Then Simeon the son of Mattathias succeeded to the government; and he gathered together all those who remained of the army
2 of Judas: and his affairs prospered, and he subdued all those who had exercised hostility against the Jews after the death of his brother Judas; and he behaved well towards his people, and the matters of his country were rightly ordered.
3 Wherefore Antiochus attacked him, and also Demetrius the son of Seleucus; and sent a great
4 army against him: to meet which, Simeon and his two sons went out; and he divided his army into two parts, one of which he kept with himself,
5 and gave the other to his sons. Then he and they which were with him went to the army; and he
sent his two sons and their followers by another way, and appointed with them to attack the army
6 at a given time. After this, he met the army of Antiochus, and attacked it, and began to prevail against it: and his two sons came when the battle had now begun, and the fight grew fierce, and they
7 came round the rear of the army. And Antiochus' army, being placed between two armies, was cut to pieces, nor did a single man of them escape: nor did Antiochus return any more to fight with Simeon. And peace and quietness continued
8 among the Jews all the days of Simeon. And the time of his government was two years. Then
9 Ptolemy his son-in-law rushed on him, and slew him, at a certain feast where he was present. And he seized his wife and his two sons. And Simeon's son, whose name was Hyrcanus, was set in his father's place.
Here ends the history as given in the two books usually attached to our Bibles.
A note at the end of 5 Maccabees 16 says 1:1 through 16:26 is called The Second Book of Maccabees according to the Translation of the Hebrews. 5 Maccabees 19 closes with the events narrated at the end of 1 Maccabees. The rest of the book (5 Maccabees 20 through 59) follows Josephus closely and deals with events from the history of Hyrcanus, the son of Simeon, up to the deaths of Herod's sons. The original work appears to have ended with 5 Maccabees 19. There is also the Romans' letter to Hyrcanus in chapter 22 which we will present as a separate work entitled: THE COPY OF THE LETTER TO HYRCANUS FROM THE ROMANS.
THE COPY OF THE LETTER TO HYRCANUS FROM THE ROMANS
Originally Chapter 22 of the Fifth Book of Maccabees
From the elder, and his three hundred and twenty governors, to Hyrcanus the king of Judah, health. Your letter has even now reached us, on reading which we rejoiced; and we have questioned your ambassadors concerning the state of your affairs. Also we have acknowledged their place of dignity in science, moral discipline, and the virtues; and we have honored them, and made them sit in the presence of our elder: who has been careful to transact all their business, giving command that all the cities which Antiochus had taken away by force should be restored to you; and that every obstacle to the exercise of your religion should be removed; and that all should be made void which Antiochus had decreed against you. He has also commanded that all the cities which he had taken should continue faithful to you; he has likewise given orders by letter to all his provinces, that your ambassadors should be treated with respect and honor. Moreover he has sent with them an ambassador to you named Cynaeus, bearing a letter; to whom also he has entrusted an embassy, that he might treat with you in person. Therefore when this epistle of the Romans had reached Hyrcanus, he began to be styled king, being formerly called high priest: and thus the royal and sacerdotal dignities were united in him. And he was the first who was called king among the chiefs of the Jews in the time of the second house.
From the elder, and his three hundred and twenty governors, to Hyrcanus the king of Judah, health. Your letter has even now reached us, on reading which we rejoiced; and we have questioned your ambassadors concerning the state of your affairs. Also we have acknowledged their place of dignity in science, moral discipline, and the virtues; and we have honored them, and made them sit in the presence of our elder: who has been careful to transact all their business, giving command that all the cities which Antiochus had taken away by force should be restored to you; and that every obstacle to the exercise of your religion should be removed; and that all should be made void which Antiochus had decreed against you. He has also commanded that all the cities which he had taken should continue faithful to you; he has likewise given orders by letter to all his provinces, that your ambassadors should be treated with respect and honor. Moreover he has sent with them an ambassador to you named Cynaeus, bearing a letter; to whom also he has entrusted an embassy, that he might treat with you in person. Therefore when this epistle of the Romans had reached Hyrcanus, he began to be styled king, being formerly called high priest: and thus the royal and sacerdotal dignities were united in him. And he was the first who was called king among the chiefs of the Jews in the time of the second house.
THE SCROLL OF ANTIOCHUS
Megillat Antiochus, or The Scroll of Antiochus, recounts the story of Hanukkah and the history of the victory of the Maccabees (Hasmoneans) over the Seleucid Empire.
The Books of the Maccabees are entirely different from this work. These books are relatively lengthy, and of the four books only the first two deal with the activities of Matitiyahu the Maccabee (Mattathias) and his sons in general, and of Judah the Maccabee in particular. The rest of the books bear this name because other heroic deeds are recounted there, but have nothing to do with Judah the Maccabee and his brothers. Moreover, 1-4 Maccabees survives only in Greek. 1 Maccabees was probably originally composed in Hebrew; the other three books of the Maccabees were originally written in Greek.
It happened in the days of Antiochus, King of Greece. He was a great and mighty king, a powerful ruler whom all the kings obeyed. He conquered many countries and strong kings, destroying their castles, setting fire to their palaces, and capturing their soldiers. Since the time of Alexander the king, there had never been a king as powerful as him on the other side of the Euphrates River. He built a great city at the edge of the sea as his royal palace, and named it the city of Antioch, after himself. His general was Bagris and he also built himself a city, opposite it. He named it Bagris, after himself and these are their names until today.
In the twenty third year of his reign, which is the two hundred and thirteenth year since the rebuilding of our House of God he determined to attack Jerusalem.
Therefore he said to his officers, “You know that the Jews of Jerusalem are in our midst. They do not offer sacrifices to our gods and they do not follow our religion, and they abandon the rites of the king to follow their own rituals. They also look forward to a day when the kings and rulers are destroyed, saying, ‘When will our own king rule over us, and we will rule the land and the sea and the whole world will be given into our hands.’ It does not give honor to the king to leave them on the face of the earth. Now let us come and ascend against them and annul the covenant that their God made with them; Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh and circumcision”. This was good in the eyes of his ministers and in the eyes of all his soldiers.
At that time Antiochus arose and sent Nicanor his commander, with a huge army and many people. He came to the city of Judah – to Jerusalem. He slaughtered a huge number of people and built an altar in the Temple in the place where the God of Israel had said to His servants the prophets “There I will rest My Presence forever”. In that place they slaughtered a pig and brought its blood into the holy sanctuary.
It happened when John son of Mattathias the High Priest heard that such a deed had been done, he was filled with fury and anger and his face changed color. He took advice within himself as to what could be done about this. Then John son of Mattathias made himself a sword with a double blade. It was two spans long and one span wide and he concealed it under his clothing. He came to Jerusalem and stood in the gate of the king. He called to the gatekeepers and said to them, “I am John son of Mattathias. I came to appear before Nicanor”. The gatekeepers and the guards came and said to Nicanor, ‘The High Priest of the Jews is standing at the entrance’. Nicanor answered and said to them “Let him come in”. Then John was brought before Nicanor. Nicanor said to John, “You are one of the rebels who rebelled against the king and who does not want peace in the kingdom”. John replied to Nicanor and said, “My master, I am he, now I have come before you. Whatever you wish I shall do.” Nicanor answered and said to John, “If you will do what I wish, take a pig and slaughter it on the altar. Then you may wear royal robes and ride on the king’s horse and be as one of the king’s close friends.” When John heard this he answered skillfully. “My master, I am afraid that the Israelites will hear what I have done. They will stone me with rocks! Please remove all the people from before you, lest they make it known.” So Nicanor sent out every man from the place.
Then John son of Mattathias cast his eyes to the Lord of Heaven and prayed before His God. He said, “Lord, and Lord of my fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Please do not allow me to fall into the hand of this non-Jew, for if he kills me he will go and offer praise in the Temple of Dagon his god, and will say ‘My god gave him into my hand’.” At that moment he took three strides forward and stabbed the sword into Nicanor’s heart, and threw his corpse in the holy sanctuary before the Lord of Heaven.
John cried out and said, ‘My Lord, do not consider this as a sin even though I killed him in the sanctuary. Now also give us all his men that came with him to cause pain to Judah and Jerusalem.’ Then John son of Mattathias went out on that day and fought with the people and slaughtered very many of them. The number of people who were killed on that day was 772,000 who were killed by their own allies. When he returned he built a pillar in his name and he was called ‘Maccabee who kills the strong’.
When King Antiochus heard the news that Nicanor his commander had been killed he was very distressed, and sent for the wicked Bagris, deceiver of his people. Antiochus said to Bagris, ‘you know if you have not already heard what the Children of Israel have done to me; they have killed my soldiers and plundered my camps and my officers. ‘Now can you still rely on your money or your homes to protect you? Come let us ascend against them and annul their covenant which their Lord of the Heaven made with them; Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh and circumcision’.
Then the wicked Bagris and all his camp came to Jerusalem and massacred many people, and made an absolute decree against Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh and circumcision. When this decree was put into effect, the command of the king was speedily carried out. When they found a man had circumcised his son they took him and his wife and hanged them in front of the child. One woman gave birth after the death of her husband and circumcised her son on the eighth day. She climbed on the walls of Jerusalem with her newly circumcised son in her arms. She cried out, ‘To you we say, wicked Bagris, you think you can annul our covenant that He made with us.
The covenant of our ancestors will never be nullified! Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh and circumcision will never leave our descendants!’ She threw her son to the ground and threw herself after him, and they both died together. Many were the Children of Israel who would do likewise in those days, and they did not renounce the covenant of their ancestors.
At that time the Children of Israel said to each other, ‘Let us spend the Shabbat in a cave, lest we violate Shabbat’. People betrayed them to Bagris. Then the wicked Bagris sent armed men who came to the mouth of the cave. They said, ‘Jews, come out to us, eat our bread and drink our wine and act like us.’ The Children of Israel cried out and said to each other, ‘We remember what God commanded us on Mount Sinai, “Six days you shall toil and do all your work and on the seventh day you should rest.” Now it is better that we die in this cave than profane the day of Shabbat.’ When the Jews did not come out to them, they brought wood and set fire to the entrance of the cave and killed approximately one thousand men and women.
After this, the five sons of Mattathias set out; John and his four brothers, and fought against the foreigners and killed very many of them, and exiled them to the islands of the sea, for they trusted in the Lord of Heaven. Then wicked Bagris and all the refugees from the battle boarded a ship and fled to Antioch to the king. Bagris said to King Antiochus, “You are the king who gave commands to remove Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh and circumcision from the Jews. Now there is great rebellion and uprising in their midst. Even if all the peoples and nations of the world would go to war, they would not be able to conquer the five sons of Mattathias. They are stronger than lions, lighter than eagles and quicker than bears. Now, King, my advice, if it is good to you, is that you cannot fight with only a few men. For if you do you will become degraded in the eyes of all the kings. Therefore you should send messengers to all the countries of your kingdom without exception, and they should send armed officers along with elephants covered in armor.” This was good in the eyes of King Antiochus and he sent messengers to all the countries in his realm, and all the nations and kingdoms came, and brought with them armored elephants. Wicked Bagris launched a second attack and came to Jerusalem. He broke through the wall, shattered the entrance and made thirteen breaches in the wall of the Temple. He also ground up the rocks until they were like dust. He thought to himself and said, “This time they will not overpower me, for I have at my disposal a large and strong army.” But the Lord of Heaven did not agree.
When the five sons of Mattathias heard, they arose and came to Mitzpeh in Gilead where there had been salvation for the House of Israel in the time of Shmuel the prophet. They decreed a fast and sat on the ground to ask for mercy before the Lord of Heaven. Then a good idea occurred to them; Judah, the first born; Simeon, the second son; John the third; Jonathan, the fourth son and the fifth son, Eleazar.
Their father blessed them and this is what he said; ‘Judah my son, I will compare you to Judah the son of Jacob who was likened to a lion. Simeon my son, I will compare you to Simeon the son of Jacob who killed the inhabitants of Shechem. John my son, I will compare you to Abner son of Ner, General of the Army of Israel. Jonathan my son, I will compare you to Jonathan the son of Saul who killed the Philistines single-handedly. Eleazar my son, I will compare you to Pinchas son of Eleazar who wrought the vengeance of his God and saved the Children of Israel.’ With this, the five sons of Mattathias set out on that day and waged war against the nations, and killed very many of them. But Judah was killed. At that time when the sons of Mattathias saw that Judah had been killed, they returned to their father.
He said to them, ‘Why have you returned?’ They replied, ‘Because Judah, our brother, who was the most important amongst us, has been killed.’ Mattathias their father said to them, ‘I will go out with you and wage war against the nations, lest the House of Israel is destroyed while you remain agitated about your brother.’
Mattathias went out with his sons on that day and fought against the nations. The Lord of Heaven gave into their hands all the mighty soldiers of the nations, and they slaughtered them. Of all the sword bearers and archers, all the officers in the armies and the commanders there did not remain a single one, and all the nations fled to foreign shores. Eleazar was trying to kill the elephants, but he drowned in elephant dung. When they returned from battle they sought him and could not find him, until eventually they found that he had drowned in elephant dung.
The Children of Israel rejoiced, for their enemies had been given into their hands. Some were burned in fire, some were killed with the sword and some were hanged on the gallows. The wicked Bagris who misled his country was burned in fire by the House of Israel. Then King Antiochus, when he heard that wicked Bagris had been killed along with all the officers of the army that were with him, boarded a ship and fled abroad. Everywhere he went they rebelled against him and called him ‘the coward’.
After this the Hasmoneans came to the Temple and rebuilt the gates that had been smashed and repaired the breaches in the walls; they purified the courtyard from the corpses and the impurity. They tried to find clear olive oil with which to light the Menorah, but they could only find a single jar which was sealed with the signet ring of the High Priest. They knew that it was pure, but there was only enough oil to burn for a single day. The Lord of Heaven, Who causes His name to dwell there, gave a blessing to the oil and they lit from it for eight days.
Thus the Hasmoneans along with the Children of Israel established as a lasting memory, and strengthened it with the force of a prohibition, to keep these eight days as days of feasting and rejoicing, like the festivals written in the Torah. And to light candles and publicize the victory that Lord of Heaven did for them. It is forbidden to eulogize on these days; or to decree a fast, unless it was already accepted as a fast beforehand; and to pray before their Lord. But the Hasmoneans and his sons and their bretheren did not forbid working or the types of activities forbidden on Shabbat. From that time forth there was no remnant of the Greek kingdom. The Hasmoneans and their children made themselves into kings from then until the destruction of the House of God, two hundred and six years later. Therefore, the Children of Israel from that day in all their exiles observe these days. They call them days of feasting and rejoicing from the twenty fifth of Kislev for eight days. From that time and forever more it did not depart from them that which was established in the Temple, the Priests, the Levites and the Sages, which they accepted upon themselves and upon their children’s children for all eternity.