King James Version · Under the Greeks
2 Maccabees 1
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1The brethren, the that be at and in the land of , wish unto the brethren, the that are throughout health and peace: 2 be unto you, and remember his that he made with , , and , his servants; 3And give you all an to him, and to do his will, with a good courage and a willing ; 4And open your in and , and send you peace, 5And hear your prayers, and be at one with you, and never forsake you in time of trouble. 6And now we be here praying for you. 7What time as reigned, in the hundred threescore and ninth year, we the wrote unto you in the extremity of trouble that came upon us in those years, from the time that and his company revolted from the land and kingdom, 8And burned the porch, and : then we unto , and were heard; we offered also and , and lighted the lamps, and set forth the loaves. 9And now see that ye keep the in the month . 10In the hundred fourscore and eighth year, the people that were at and in , and , and , sent greeting and health unto Aristobulus, king ’ master, who was of the stock of priests, and to the that were in : 11Insomuch as hath us from great perils, we thank him highly, as having been in battle against a king. 12For he cast them out that fought within the city. 13For when the leader was come into , and the army with him that seemed invincible, they were slain in of Nanea by the deceit of Nanea’s priests. 14For , as though he would marry her, came into the place, and his friends that were with him, to receive money in name of a dowry. 15Which when the priests of Nanea had set forth, and he was entered with a small company into the compass of , they shut as soon as was come in: 16And opening a privy door of the roof, they threw stones like thunderbolts, and struck down the captain, hewed them in pieces, smote off their heads and cast them to those that were without. 17 be our in all things, who hath up the ungodly. 18Therefore whereas we are now purposed to keep the purification of upon the five and twentieth day of the month , we thought it necessary to certify you thereof, that ye also might keep it, as the feast of the tabernacles, and of the , which was given us when Neemias offered , after that he had builded and the . 19For when our fathers were led into , the priests that were then devout took the of the privily, and hid it in an hollow place of a pit without water, where they kept it sure, so that the place was unknown to all men. 20Now after many years, when it pleased , Neemias, being sent from the king of , did send of the posterity of those priests that had hid it to the : but when they told us they found no , but thick water; 21Then commanded he them to draw it up, and to bring it; and when the were laid on, Neemias commanded the priests to sprinkle the wood and the things laid thereupon with the water. 22When this was done, and the time came that the sun shone, which afore was hid in the cloud, there was a great kindled, so that every man marvelled. 23And the priests made a whilst the was consuming, I say, both the priests, and all the rest, beginning, and the rest answering thereunto, as Neemias did. 24And the was after this manner; O , , Creator of all things, who art fearful and strong, and , and merciful, and the only and King, 25The only giver of all things, the only , almighty, and , thou that deliverest Israel from all trouble, and didst choose the fathers, and them: 26Receive the for thy whole people Israel, and preserve thine own , and it. 27Gather those together that are scattered from us, them that among the heathen, look upon them that are despised and abhorred, and let the heathen know that thou art our . 28Punish them that oppress us, and with pride do us wrong. 29Plant thy people again in thy place, as hath spoken. 30And the priests sung psalms of . 31Now when the was consumed, Neemias commanded the water that was left to be poured on the great stones. 32When this was done, there was kindled a flame: but it was consumed by that shined from the . 33So when this matter was known, it was told the king of , that in the place, where the priests that were led away had hid the , there appeared water, and that Neemias had purified the therewith. 34Then the king, inclosing the place, made it , after he had tried the matter. 35And the king took many gifts, and bestowed thereof on those whom he would gratify. 36And Neemias called this thing Naphthar, which is as much as to say, a cleansing: but many men call it Nephi.
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.