King James Version · Under the Greeks
1 Maccabees 13
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1Now when heard that had gathered together a great host to invade the land of , and destroy it, 2And saw that the people was in great trembling and fear, he went up to , and gathered the people together, 3And gave them exhortation, saying, Ye yourselves know what great things I, and my brethren, and ’s house, have done for the laws and , the battles also and troubles which we have seen. 4By reason whereof all my brethren are slain for Israel’s sake, and I am left alone. 5Now therefore be it far from me, that I should spare mine own life in any time of trouble: for I am no better than my brethren. 6Doubtless I will my nation, and , and our wives, and our children: for all the heathen are gathered to destroy us of very malice. 7Now as soon as the people heard these words, their revived. 8And they answered with a loud voice, saying, Thou shalt be our leader instead of and thy brother. 9Fight thou our battles, and whatsoever, thou commandest us, that will we do. 10So then he gathered together all the men of war, and made haste to finish the walls of , and he fortified it round about. 11Also he sent the son of Absolom, and with him a great , to : who casting out them that were therein remained there in it. 12So removed from Ptolemaus with a great to invade the land of , and was with him in ward. 13But pitched his tents at , over against the plain. 14Now when knew that was up instead of his brother , and meant to join battle with him, he sent unto him, saying, 15Whereas we have thy brother in hold, it is for money that he is owing unto the king’s , concerning the business that was committed unto him. 16Wherefore now send an hundred of silver, and two of his sons for hostages, that when he is at he may not revolt from us, and we will let him go. 17Hereupon , albeit he perceived that they spake deceitfully unto him yet sent he the money and the children, lest peradventure he should procure to himself great hatred of the people: 18Who might have said, Because I sent him not the money and the children, therefore is . 19So he sent them the children and the hundred : howbeit dissembled neither would he let go. 20And after this came to invade the land, and destroy it, going round about by that leadeth unto Adora: but and his host marched against him in every place, wheresoever he went. 21Now they that were in the tower sent unto , to the end that he should hasten his coming unto them by , and send them victuals. 22Wherefore made ready all his horsemen to come that night: but there fell a very great snow, by reason whereof he came not. So he departed, and came into the country of . 23And when he came near to he slew , who was buried there. 24Afterward returned and went into his own land. 25Then sent , and took the bones of his brother, and buried them in , the city of his fathers. 26And all Israel made great for him, and bewailed him many days. 27 also built a monument upon the of his and his brethren, and it aloft to the sight, with hewn stone behind and before. 28Moreover he set up seven pyramids, one against another, for his , and his mother, and his four brethren. 29And in these he made cunning devices, about the which he set great pillars, and upon the pillars he made all their armour for a perpetual memory, and by the armour ships carved, that they might be seen of all that sail on the sea. 30This is the which he made at , and it standeth yet unto this day. 31Now dealt deceitfully with the young king , and slew him. 32And he reigned in his stead, and himself king of , and brought a great calamity upon the land. 33Then built up the strong holds in , and fenced them about with high towers, and great walls, and , and bars, and laid up victuals therein. 34Moreover chose men, and sent to king , to the end he should give the land an immunity, because all that did was to spoil. 35Unto whom king answered and wrote after this manner: 36King unto the , and friend of kings, as also unto the and nation of the , sendeth greeting: 37The golden , and the scarlet robe, which ye sent unto us, we have received: and we are ready to make a stedfast peace with you, yea, and to write unto our officers, to confirm the immunities which we have granted. 38And whatsoever we have made with you shall stand; and the strong holds, which ye have builded, shall be your own. 39As for any oversight or fault committed unto this day, we forgive it, and the tax also, which ye owe us: and if there were any other tribute paid in , it shall no more be paid. 40And look who are meet among you to be in our court, let then be enrolled, and let there be peace betwixt us. 41Thus the of the heathen was taken away from Israel in the hundred and seventieth year. 42Then the people of Israel began to write in their instruments and contracts, In the first year of the , the governor and leader of the . 43In those days camped against and besieged it round about; he made also an engine of war, and set it by the city, and battered a certain tower, and took it. 44And they that were in the engine leaped into the city; whereupon there was a great uproar in the city: 45Insomuch as the people of the city rent their clothes, and climbed upon the walls with their wives and children, and cried with a loud voice, beseeching to grant them peace. 46And they said, Deal not with us according to our wickedness, but according to thy mercy. 47So was appeased toward them, and fought no more against them, but put them out of the city, and cleansed the houses wherein the idols were, and so entered into it with songs and . 48Yea, he put all uncleanness out of it, and placed such men there as would keep , and made it stronger than it was before, and built therein a dwellingplace for himself. 49They also of the tower in were kept so strait, that they could neither come forth, nor go into the country, nor buy, nor sell: wherefore they were in great distress for want of victuals, and a great number of them through . 50Then cried they to , beseeching him to be at one with them: which thing he granted them; and when he had put them out from thence, he cleansed the tower from pollutions: 51And entered into it the three and twentieth day of the second month in the hundred seventy and first year, with , and of palm trees, and with harps, and cymbals, and with viols, and hymns, and songs: because there was destroyed a great enemy out of Israel. 52He ordained also that that day should be kept every year with gladness. Moreover the hill of that was by the tower he made stronger than it was, and there he dwelt himself with his company. 53And when saw that his son was a valiant man, he made him captain of all the hosts; and he dwelt in .
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.