King James Version · Under the Greeks
1 Maccabees 1
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1And it happened, after that son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Chettiim, had smitten Darius king of the and , that he reigned in his stead, the first over , 2And made many wars, and won many strong holds, and slew the kings of the earth, 3And went through to the ends of the earth, and took spoils of many nations, insomuch that the earth was quiet before him; whereupon he was exalted and was lifted up. 4And he gathered a mighty strong host and ruled over countries, and nations, and kings, who became tributaries unto him. 5And after these things he fell sick, and perceived that he should . 6Wherefore he called his servants, such as were honourable, and had been brought up with him from his youth, and parted among them, while he was yet alive. 7So reigned twelves years, and then . 8And his servants rule every one in his place. 9And after his they all put upon themselves; so did their sons after them many years: and evils were multiplied in the earth. 10And there came out of them a root surnamed Epiphanes, son of the king, who had been an hostage at , and he reigned in the hundred and thirty and seventh year of of . 11In those days went there out of Israel men, who persuaded many, saying, Let us go and make a with the heathen that are round about us: for since we departed from them we have had much sorrow. 12So this device pleased them well. 13Then certain of the people were so forward herein, that they went to the king, who gave them licence to do after the ordinances of the heathen: 14Whereupon they built a place of exercise at according to the customs of the heathen: 15And made themselves , and forsook the , and joined themselves to the heathen, and were sold to do mischief. 16Now when was established before , he thought to reign over that he might have the of two realms. 17Wherefore he entered into with a great multitude, with chariots, and elephants, and horsemen, and a great navy, 18And made war against king of : but was afraid of him, and fled; and many were wounded to . 19Thus they got the strong cities in the land of and he took the spoils thereof. 20And after that had smitten , he returned again in the hundred forty and third year, and went up against Israel and with a great multitude, 21And entered proudly into , and took away the golden , and the candlestick of , and all the vessels thereof, 22And the table of the , and the pouring vessels, and the vials. and the censers of gold, and , and the , and the golden ornaments that were before , all which he pulled off. 23He took also the silver and the gold, and the precious vessels: also he took the hidden which he found. 24And when he had taken all away, he went into his own land, having made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly. 25Therefore there was a great in Israel, in every place where they were; 26So that the princes and mourned, the virgins and young men were made feeble, and the beauty of women was changed. 27Every took up , and she that sat in the marriage chamber was in heaviness, 28The land also was moved for the inhabitants thereof, and all the house of was covered with confusion. 29And after two years fully expired the king sent his chief collector of tribute unto the cities of , who came unto with a great multitude, 30And spake peaceable words unto them, but all was deceit: for when they had given him credence, he fell suddenly upon the city, and smote it very sore, and destroyed much people of Israel. 31And when he had taken the spoils of the city, he set it on , and pulled down the houses and walls thereof on every side. 32But the women and children took they , and the cattle. 33Then builded they with a great and strong wall, and with mighty towers, and made it a strong hold for them. 34And they put therein a nation, men, and fortified themselves therein. 35They stored it also with armour and victuals, and when they had gathered together the spoils of , they laid them up there, and so they became a sore snare: 36For it was a place to lie in wait against , and an evil adversary to Israel. 37Thus they on every side of , and defiled it: 38Insomuch that the inhabitants of fled because of them: whereupon the city was made an habitation of strangers, and became strange to those that were born in her; and her own children left her. 39Her sanctuary was laid waste like a , her feasts were turned into , her into her into contempt. 40As had been her , so was her dishonour increased, and her excellency was turned into . 41Moreover king wrote to his whole kingdom, that all should be one people, 42And every one should leave his laws: so all the heathen agreed according to the of the king. 43Yea, many also of the consented to his religion, and unto idols, and profaned the . 44For the king had sent letters by unto and the cities of that they should follow the strange laws of the land, 45And forbid burnt offerings, and , and drink , in ; and that they should profane the and festival days: 46And pollute and people: 47Set up , and groves, and chapels of idols, and swine’s , and : 48That they should also leave their children , and make their with all manner of uncleanness and profanation: 49To the end they might forget , and change all the ordinances. 50And whosoever would not do according to the of the king, he said, he should . 51In the selfsame manner wrote he to his whole kingdom, and appointed overseers over all the people, commanding the cities of to , city by city. 52Then many of the people were gathered unto them, to wit every one that forsook ; and so they committed evils in the land; 53And drove the into secret places, even wheresoever they could flee for succour. 54Now the fifteenth day of the month , in the hundred forty and fifth year, they set up the of desolation upon the , and builded idol throughout the cities of on every side; 55And burnt at the doors of their houses, and in the streets. 56And when they had rent in pieces the books of which they found, they burnt them with . 57And whosoever was found with any the book of the testament, or if any committed to , the king’s was, that they should put him to . 58Thus did they by their unto the every month, to as many as were found in the cities. 59Now the five and twentieth day of the month they did upon the idol , which was upon the of . 60At which time according to the they put to certain women, that had caused their children to be . 61And they hanged the infants about their necks, and rifled their houses, and slew them that had them. 62Howbeit many in Israel were fully resolved and confirmed in themselves not to eat any thing. 63Wherefore the rather to , that they might not be defiled with meats, and that they might not profane the : so then they . 64And there was very great upon Israel.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under the Greeks, 332 BC to 63 BC ›
Alexander's conquest and the kingdoms of his successors. Greek language and custom press in everywhere, and the crisis under Antiochus IV provokes the Maccabean revolt.
- The successors
- Alexander dies at thirty-two and his generals carve up the empire. Judea sits on the border between the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria, and is fought over by both for a century and a half, which is the ordinary condition of the corridor.
- Hellenism
- Not just conquest but a culture: the gymnasium, the theatre, Greek names, Greek dress, Greek as the language of anyone with ambitions. Some Jews embraced it, some resisted it, and the argument between them is the real subject of the Maccabean books. In Alexandria the Hebrew scriptures are translated into Greek, producing the Septuagint, which is the Bible most New Testament writers quote.
- The crisis
- Antiochus IV bans the practice of Judaism, plunders the temple, and sets up a pagan altar in it in 167 BC. The revolt under the Maccabees wins, the temple is rededicated in 164 BC, which is the origin of Hanukkah, and Judea has about eighty years of independence under the Hasmoneans before Rome arrives.
- Further afield
- Rome fights Carthage three times and ends up master of the Mediterranean. Euclid writes the Elements and Archimedes does his work at Syracuse. In China the Qin unify the country in 221 BC and the Han follow, opening what becomes the Silk Road.