King James Version · Under the Greeks
1 Maccabees 4
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1Then took five thousand footmen, and a thousand of the best horsemen, and removed out of the camp by night; 2To the end he might rush in upon the camp of the , and smite them suddenly. And the men of the were his guides. 3Now when heard thereof he himself removed, and the valiant men with him, that he might smite the king’s army which was at , 4While as yet the forces were dispersed from the camp. 5In the mean season came by night into the camp of : and when he found no man there, he sought them in the mountains: for said he, These fellows flee from us 6But as soon as it was day, shewed himself in the plain with three thousand men, who nevertheless had neither armour nor to their . 7And they saw the camp of the heathen, that it was strong and well harnessed, and compassed round about with horsemen; and these were expert of war. 8Then said to the men that were with him, Fear ye not their multitude, neither be ye afraid of their assault. 9Remember how our fathers were in , when pursued them with an army. 10Now therefore let us cry unto , if peradventure will have mercy upon us, and remember of our fathers, and destroy this host before our this day: 11That so all the heathen may know that there is one who delivereth and saveth Israel. 12Then the strangers lifted up their eyes, and saw them coming over against them. 13Wherefore they went out of the camp to battle; but they that were with sounded their . 14So they joined battle, and the heathen being discomfited fled into the plain. 15Howbeit all the hindmost of them were slain with : for they pursued them unto , and unto the plains of , and , and , so that there were slain of them upon a three thousand men. 16This done, returned again with his host from pursuing them, 17And said to the people, Be not greedy of the spoil inasmuch as there is a battle before us, 18And and his host are here by us in the mountain: but stand ye now against our , and overcome them, and after this ye may boldly take the spoils. 19As was yet speaking these words, there appeared a part of them looking out of the mountain: 20Who when they perceived that the had put their host to flight and were burning the tents; for the smoke that was seen declared what was done: 21When therefore they perceived these things, they were sore afraid, and seeing also the host of in the plain ready to fight, 22They fled every one into the land of strangers. 23Then returned to spoil the tents, where they got much gold, and silver, and blue silk, and purple of the sea, and great riches. 24After this they went home, and sung a song of , and praised in : because it is good, because his mercy endureth . 25Thus Israel had a great that day. 26Now all the strangers that had escaped came and told what had happened: 27Who, when he heard thereof, was confounded and discouraged, because neither such things as he would were done unto Israel, nor such things as the king commanded him were come to pass. 28The next year therefore following gathered together threescore thousand choice men of foot, and five thousand horsemen, that he might them. 29So they came into , and pitched their tents at , and met them with ten thousand men. 30And when he saw that mighty army, he and said, art thou, O of Israel, who didst quell the of the mighty man by the hand of thy servant , and gavest the host of strangers into the hands of the son of Saul, and his armourbearer; 31Shut up this army in the hand of thy people Israel, and let them be confounded in their and horsemen: 32Make them to be of no courage, and cause the boldness of their strength to fall away, and let them quake at their : 33Cast them down with of them that love thee, and let all those that know thy name thee with . 34So they joined battle; and there were slain of the host of about five thousand men, even before them were they slain. 35Now when saw his army put to flight, and the manliness of ’ soldiers, and how they were ready either to live or valiantly, he went into , and gathered together a company of strangers, and having made his army greater than it was, he purposed to come again into . 36Then said and his brethren, Behold, our are discomfited: let us go up to cleanse and dedicate . 37Upon this assembled themselves together, and went up into mount . 38And when they saw desolate, and the profaned, and the burned up, and shrubs growing in the courts as in a forest, or in one of the mountains, yea, and the priests’ chambers pulled down; 39They rent their clothes, and made great , and cast upon their heads, 40And fell down flat to the ground upon their faces, and blew an alarm with the , and cried toward . 41Then appointed certain men to fight against those that were in the , until he had cleansed . 42So he chose priests of blameless conversation, such as had pleasure in : 43Who cleansed , and out the defiled stones into an place. 44And when as they consulted what to do with the of burnt offerings, which was profaned; 45They thought it best to pull it down, lest it should be a to them, because the heathen had defiled it: wherefore they pulled it down, 46And laid up the stones in the mountain of in a convenient place, until there should come a to shew what should be done with them. 47Then they took whole stones according to , and built a new according to the former; 48And made up , and the things that were within , and hallowed the courts. 49They made also new vessels, and into they brought the candlestick, and the of burnt offerings, and of , and the table. 50And upon the they , and the lamps that were upon the candlestick they lighted, that they might give in . 51Furthermore they set the loaves upon the table, and spread out the veils, and finished all the works which they had begun to make. 52Now on the five and twentieth day of the ninth month, which is called the month , in the hundred forty and eighth year, they rose up betimes in the morning, 53And offered according to upon the new of burnt offerings, which they had made. 54Look, at what time and what day the heathen had profaned it, even in that was it dedicated with songs, and citherns, and harps, and cymbals. 55Then all the people fell upon their faces, worshipping and praising the of , who had given them good success. 56And so they kept the dedication of the eight days and offered burnt offerings with gladness, and the of and . 57They decked also the forefront of with of gold, and with shields; and the and the chambers they renewed, and hanged doors upon them. 58Thus was there very great gladness among the people, for that the of the heathen was . 59Moreover and his brethren with the whole of Israel ordained, that the days of the dedication of the should be kept in their season from year to year by the space of eight days, from the five and twentieth day of the month , with mirth and gladness. 60At that time also they builded up the mount with high walls and strong towers round about, lest the should come and tread it down as they had done before. 61And they set there a garrison to keep it, and fortified to preserve it; that the people might have a defence against .
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.