King James Version · Under the Greeks
2 Maccabees 10
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1Now Maccabeus and his company, guiding them, recovered and the city: 2But the which the heathen had built in the open street, and also the chapels, they pulled down. 3And having cleansed they made another , and striking stones they took out of them, and offered a after two years, and set forth , and lights, and . 4When that was done, they fell flat down, and besought that they might come no more into such troubles; but if they any more against him, that he himself would them with mercy, and that they might not be unto the blasphemous and barbarous nations. 5Now upon the same day that the strangers profaned , on the very same day it was cleansed again, even the five and twentieth day of the same month, which is . 6And they kept the eight days with gladness, as in the feast of the tabernacles, remembering that not long afore they had held the feast of the tabernacles, when as they wandered in the mountains and dens like . 7Therefore they , and fair boughs, and palms also, and sang psalms unto him that had given them good success in cleansing his place. 8They ordained also by a common and , That every year those days should be kept of the whole nation of the . 9And this was the end of , called Epiphanes. 10Now will we declare the acts of , who was the son of this man, gathering briefly the calamities of the wars. 11So when he was come to the , he set one over the affairs of his realm, and appointed him his chief governor of and . 12For , that was called Macron, choosing rather to do justice unto the for the wrong that had been done unto them, endeavoured to continue peace with them. 13Whereupon being accused of the king’s friends before , and called traitor at every word because he had left , that Philometor had committed unto him, and departed to , and seeing that he was in no honourable place, he was so discouraged, that he poisoned himself and . 14But when was governor of the holds, he hired soldiers, and nourished war continually with the : 15And therewithal the , having gotten into their hands the most commodious holds, kept the occupied, and receiving those that were banished from , they went about to nourish war. 16Then they that were with Maccabeus made , and besought that he would be their helper; and so they ran with upon the strong holds of the , 17And assaulting them strongly, they won the holds, and kept off all that fought upon the wall, and slew all that fell into their hands, and killed no fewer than twenty thousand. 18And because certain, who were no less than nine thousand, were fled together into two very strong castles, having all manner of things convenient to sustain the siege, 19Maccabeus left and Joseph, and Zaccheus also, and them that were with him, who were enough to besiege them, and departed himself unto those places which more needed his help. 20Now they that were with , being led with covetousness, were persuaded for money through certain of those that were in the castle, and took seventy thousand drachms, and let some of them escape. 21But when it was told Maccabeus what was done, he called the governors of the people together, and accused those men, that they had sold their brethren for money, and set their free to fight against them. 22So he slew those that were found traitors, and immediately took the two castles. 23And having good success with his weapons in all things he took in hand, he slew in the two holds more than twenty thousand. 24Now , whom the had overcome before, when he had gathered a great multitude of foreign forces, and horses out of not , came as though he would take by force of arms. 25But when he drew near, they that were with Maccabeus turned themselves to unto , and sprinkled earth upon their heads, and girded their loins with , 26And fell down at the foot of the , and besought him to be merciful to them, and to be an enemy to their , and an adversary to their , as declareth. 27So after the they took their weapons, and went on further from the city: and when they drew near to their , they kept by themselves. 28Now the sun being newly , they joined both together; the one part having together with their virtue their refuge also unto for a pledge of their success and victory: the other side making their rage leader of their battle 29But when the battle waxed strong, there appeared unto the from five comely men upon horses, with bridles of gold, and two of them led the , 30And took Maccabeus betwixt them, and covered him on every side weapons, and kept him safe, but shot arrows and lightnings against the : so that being confounded with blindness, and full of trouble, they were killed. 31And there were slain of footmen twenty thousand and five hundred, and six hundred horsemen. 32As for himself, he fled into a very strong hold, called Gawra, where Chereas was governor. 33But they that were with Maccabeus laid siege against the courageously four days. 34And they that were within, trusting to the strength of the place, blasphemed exceedingly, and uttered words. 35Nevertheless upon the fifth day early twenty young men of Maccabeus’ company, inflamed with because of the blasphemies, assaulted the wall manly, and with a fierce courage killed all that they met withal. 36Others likewise ascending after them, whiles they were busied with them that were within, burnt the towers, and kindling fires burnt the blasphemers alive; and others broke open the , and, having received in the rest of the army, took the city, 37And killed , that was hid in a certain pit, and Chereas his brother, with Apollophanes. 38When this was done, they praised with psalms and , who had done so great things for Israel, and given them the victory.
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.