King James Version · Under the Greeks
1 Maccabees 14
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1Now in the hundred threescore and twelfth year king gathered his forces together, and went into to get him help to fight against Tryphone. 2But when , the king of and , heard that was entered within his borders, he sent one of his princes to take him alive: 3Who went and smote the host of , and took him, and brought him to , by whom he was put in ward. 4As for the land of , that was quiet all the days of ; for he sought the good of his nation in such , as that evermore his and pleased them well. 5And as he was honourable in all his acts, so in this, that he took for an haven, and made an entrance to the isles of the sea, 6And enlarged the bounds of his nation, and recovered the country, 7And gathered together a great number of , and had the of , and , and the tower, out of the which he took all uncleanness, neither was there any that resisted him. 8Then did they till their ground in peace, and the earth gave her increase, and the trees of the field their fruit. 9The ancient men sat all in the streets, communing together of good things, and the young men put on and warlike apparel. 10He provided victuals for the cities, and set in them all manner of munition, so that his honourable name was renowned unto the end of the world. 11He made peace in the land, and Israel rejoiced with great joy: 12For every man sat under his and his fig tree, and there was none to fray them: 13Neither was there any left in the land to fight against them: yea, the kings themselves were overthrown in those days. 14Moreover he strengthened all those of his people that were brought low: he searched out; and every contemner of and person he took away. 15He beautified , and multiplied vessels of . 16Now when it was heard at , and as far as Sparta, that was , they were very sorry. 17But as soon as they heard that his brother was made in his stead, and ruled the country, and the cities therein: 18They wrote unto him in tables of brass, to renew the friendship and league which they had made with and his brethren: 19Which writings were read before at . 20And this is the copy of the letters that the sent; The of the , with the city, unto the , and the , and priests, and residue of the people of the , our brethren, send greeting: 21The ambassadors that were sent unto our people certified us of your and : wherefore we were glad of their coming, 22And did register the things that they spake in of the people in this manner; son of , and Antipater son of , the ’ ambassadors, came unto us to renew the friendship they had with us. 23And it pleased the people to entertain the men honourably, and to put the copy of their ambassage in publick records, to the end the people of the might have a memorial thereof: furthermore we have written a copy thereof unto the . 24After this sent to with a great shield of gold of a thousand pound weight to confirm the league with them. 25Whereof when the people heard, they said, What thanks shall we give to and his sons? 26For he and his brethren and the house of his have established Israel, and chased away in fight their from them, and confirmed their . 27So then they wrote it in tables of brass, which they set upon pillars in mount : and this is the copy of the writing; The eighteenth day of the month , in the hundred threescore and twelfth year, being the third year of the , 28At Saramel in the great of the priests, and people, and of the nation, and of the country, were these things notified unto us. 29Forasmuch as oftentimes there have been wars in the country, wherein for the maintenance of their sanctuary, and , the son of , of the posterity of , together with his brethren, put themselves in jeopardy, and resisting the of their nation did their nation great : 30(For after that , having gathered his nation together, and been their , was added to his people, 31Their prepared to invade their country, that they might destroy it, and lay hands on : 32At which time rose up, and fought for his nation, and spent much of his own substance, and armed the valiant men of his nation and gave them wages, 33And fortified the cities of , together with , that lieth upon the borders of , where the armour of the had been before; but he set a garrison of there: 34Moreover he fortified , which lieth upon the sea, and , that bordereth upon , where the had dwelt before: but he placed there, and furnished them with all things convenient for the reparation thereof.) 35The people therefore sang the acts of , and unto what he thought to bring his nation, made him their governor and , because he had done all these things, and for the justice and which he kept to his nation, and for that he sought by all means to exalt his people. 36For in his time things prospered in his hands, so that the heathen were taken out of their country, and they also that were in in , who had made themselves a tower, out of which they issued, and polluted all about , and did much hurt in the place: 37But he placed therein. and fortified it for the safety of the country and the city, and up the walls of . 38King also confirmed him in the high priesthood according to those things, 39And made him one of his friends, and honoured him with great . 40For he had heard say, that the had called the their friends and confederates and brethren; and that they had entertained the ambassadors of honourably; 41Also that the and priests were well pleased that should be their governor and for ever, until there should arise a ; 42Moreover that he should be their captain, and should take charge of , to set them over their works, and over the country, and over the armour, and over the fortresses, that, I say, he should take charge of ; 43Beside this, that he should be of every man, and that all in the country should be made in his name, and that he should be clothed in purple, and wear gold: 44Also that it should be lawful for none of the people or priests to break any of these things, or to gainsay his words, or to gather an in the country without him, or to be clothed in purple, or wear a buckle of gold; 45And whosoever should do otherwise, or break any of these things, he should be punished. 46Thus it liked all the people to deal with , and to do as hath been said. 47Then accepted hereof, and was well pleased to be , and captain and governor of the and priests, and to defend them all. 48So they commanded that this writing should be put in tables of brass, and that they should be set up within the compass of in a conspicuous place; 49Also that the copies thereof should be laid up in the , to the end that and his sons might have them.
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.