King James Version · Under the Greeks
1 Maccabees 6
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1About that time king travelling through the high countries heard say, that Elymais in the country of was a city greatly renowned for riches, silver, and gold; 2And that there was in it a very rich temple, wherein were coverings of gold, and breastplates, and shields, which , son of Philip, the Macedonian king, who reigned first among the , had left there. 3Wherefore he came and sought to take the city, and to spoil it; but he was not able, because they of the city, having had warning thereof, 4Rose up against him in battle: so he fled, and departed thence with great heaviness, and returned to . 5Moreover there came one who brought him tidings into , that the armies, which went against the land of , were put to flight: 6And that , who went forth first with a great was driven away of the ; and that they were made strong by the armour, and , and store of spoils, which they had gotten of the armies, whom they had destroyed: 7Also that they had pulled down the , which he had set up upon the in , and that they had compassed about with high walls, as before, and his city . 8Now when the king heard these words, he was astonished and sore moved: whereupon he laid him down upon his bed, and fell sick for grief, because it had not befallen him as he looked for. 9And there he continued many days: for his grief was ever more and more, and he made account that he should . 10Wherefore he called for all his friends, and said unto them, The sleep is gone from mine eyes, and faileth for very care. 11And I thought with myself, Into what tribulation am I come, and how great a flood of misery is it, wherein now I am! for I was bountiful and beloved in my . 12But now I remember the evils that I did at , and that I took all the vessels of gold and silver that were therein, and sent to destroy the inhabitants of without a cause. 13I perceive therefore that for this cause these troubles are come upon me, and, behold, I through great grief in a strange land. 14Then called he for Philip, one of his friends, who he made ruler over all his realm, 15And gave him the , and his robe, and his signet, to the end he should bring up his son , and nourish him up for . 16So king there in the hundred forty and ninth year. 17Now when knew that the king was , he set up his son, whom he had brought up being young, to reign in his stead, and his name he called . 18About this time they that were in the tower shut up the round about , and sought always their hurt, and the strengthening of the heathen. 19Wherefore , purposing to destroy them, called all the people together to besiege them. 20So they came together, and besieged them in the hundred and fiftieth year, and he made mounts for shot against them, and other engines. 21Howbeit certain of them that were besieged got forth, unto whom some ungodly men of Israel joined themselves: 22And they went unto the king, and said, How long will it be ere thou execute , and our brethren? 23We have been willing to thy , and to do as he would have us, and to his ; 24For which cause they of our nation besiege the tower, and are alienated from us: moreover as many of us as they could on they slew, and spoiled our . 25Neither have they stretched out their hand against us only, but also against their borders. 26And, behold, this day are they besieging the tower at , to take it: also and have they fortified. 27Wherefore if thou dost not prevent them quickly, they will do the greater things than these, neither shalt thou be able to rule them. 28Now when the king heard this, he was angry, and gathered together all his friends, and the captains of his army, and those that had charge of the horse. 29There came also unto him from other kingdoms, and from isles of the sea, bands of hired soldiers. 30So that the number of his army was an hundred thousand footmen, and twenty thousand horsemen, and two and thirty elephants exercised in battle. 31These went through , and pitched against , which they assaulted many days, making engines of war; but they of came out, and burned them with , and fought valiantly. 32Upon this removed from the tower, and pitched in Bathzacharias, over against the king’s camp. 33Then the king rising very early marched fiercely with his host toward Bathzacharias, where his armies made them ready to battle, and sounded the . 34And to the end they might provoke the elephants to fight, they shewed them of grapes and mulberries. 35Moreover they divided the among the armies, and for every elephant they appointed a thousand men, armed with coats of mail, and with helmets of brass on their heads; and beside this, for every beast were ordained five hundred horsemen of the best. 36These were ready at every occasion: wheresoever was, and whithersoever went, they went also, neither departed they from him. 37And upon the were there strong towers of wood, which covered every one of them, and were girt unto them with devices: there were also upon every one two and thirty strong men, that fought upon them, beside the Indian that ruled him. 38As for of the horsemen, they set them on this side and that side at the two parts of the host giving them signs what to do, and being harnessed all over amidst the ranks. 39Now when the sun shone upon the shields of gold and brass, the mountains glistered therewith, and shined like lamps of . 40So part of the king’s army being spread upon the high mountains, and part on the valleys below, they marched on safely and in order. 41Wherefore all that heard the noise of their multitude, and the marching of the company, and the rattling of the harness, were moved: for the army was very great and mighty. 42Then and his host drew near, and entered into battle, and there were slain of the king’s army six hundred men. 43 also, surnamed Savaran, perceiving that one of the , armed with royal harness, was higher than all the rest, and supposing that the king was upon him, 44Put himself in jeopardy, to the end he might his people, and get him a perpetual name: 45Wherefore he ran upon him courageously through the midst of the battle, slaying on and on the left, so that they were divided from him on both sides. 46Which done, he crept under the elephant, and thrust him under, and slew him: whereupon the elephant fell down upon him, and there he . 47Howbeit the rest of the seeing the strength of the king, and the of his forces, turned away from them. 48Then the king’s army went up to to meet them, and the king pitched his tents against , and against mount . 49But with them that were in he made peace: for they came out of the city, because they had no victuals there to the siege, it being a year of rest to the land. 50So the king took , and set a garrison there to keep it. 51As for , he besieged it many days: and set there artillery with engines and instruments to cast and stones, and pieces to cast darts and slings. 52Whereupon they also made engines against their engines, and held them battle a long season. 53Yet at the last, their vessels being without victuals, (for that it was the seventh year, and they in that were from the , had eaten up the residue of the store;) 54There were but left in , because the did so prevail against them, that they were fain to disperse themselves, every man to his own place. 55At that time heard say, that Philip, whom the king, whiles he lived, had appointed to bring up his son , that he might be king, 56Was returned out of and , and the king’s host also that went with him, and that he sought to take unto him the ruling of the affairs. 57Wherefore he went in all haste, and said to the king and the captains of the host and the company, We decay daily, and our victuals are but small, and the place we lay siege unto is strong, and the affairs of lie upon us: 58Now therefore let us be friends with these men, and make peace with them, and with all their nation; 59And with them, that they shall live after their laws, as they did before: for they are therefore displeased, and have done all these things, because we abolished their laws. 60So the king and the princes were content: wherefore he sent unto them to make peace; and they accepted thereof. 61Also the king and the princes made an unto them: whereupon they went out of the strong hold. 62Then the king entered into mount ; but when he saw the strength of the place, he broke his that he had made, and gave to pull down the wall round about. 63Afterward departed he in all haste, and returned unto , where he found Philip to be master of the city: so he fought against him, and took the city by force.
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.