King James Version · Under the Greeks
2 Maccabees 8
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1Then , and they that were with him, went privily into the towns, and called their kinsfolks together, and took unto them all such as continued in the ’ religion, and assembled about six thousand men. 2And they called upon , that he would look upon the people that was trodden down of all; and also profaned of ungodly men; 3And that he would have upon the city, sore defaced, and ready to be made even with the ground; and hear that cried unto him, 4And remember slaughter of harmless infants, and the blasphemies committed against his name; and that he would shew his hatred against . 5Now when Maccabeus had his company about him, he could not be withstood by the heathen: for the of was turned into mercy. 6Therefore he came at unawares, and burnt up towns and cities, and got into his hands the most commodious places, and overcame and put to flight no small number of his . 7But specially took he advantage of the night for such privy attempts, insomuch that the fruit of his was spread every where. 8So when Philip saw that this man increased by little and little, and that things prospered with him still more and more, he wrote unto , the governor of and , to yield more aid to the king’s affairs. 9Then forthwith choosing the son of Patroclus, one of his special friends, he sent him with no fewer than twenty thousand of all nations under him, to root out the whole generation of the ; and with him he joined also a captain, who in matters of war had great experience. 10So undertook to make so much money of the , as should defray the tribute of two thousand , which the king was to pay to the . 11Wherefore immediately he sent to the cities upon the sea coast, proclaiming a sale of the , and promising that they should have fourscore and ten bodies for one , not expecting the that was to follow upon him from . 12Now when word was brought unto of ’s coming, and he had imparted unto those that were with him that the army was at hand, 13They that were fearful, and distrusted the justice of , fled, and conveyed themselves away. 14Others sold all that they had left, and withal besought to them, sold by before they met together: 15And if not for their own sakes, yet for the he had made with their fathers, and for his and name’s sake, by which they were called. 16So Maccabeus called his men together unto the number of six thousand, and exhorted them not to be stricken with terror of , nor to fear the great multitude of the heathen, who came wrongly against them; but to fight manfully, 17And to set before their eyes the injury that they had unjustly done to the place, and the cruel handling of the city, whereof they made a mockery, and also the taking away of the government of their forefathers: 18For they, said he, in their weapons and boldness; but our confidence is in who at a beck can cast down both them that come against us, and also all the world. 19Moreover, he recounted unto them what helps their forefathers had found, and how they were , when under an hundred fourscore and five thousand . 20And he told them of the battle that they had in with the Galatians, how they came but eight thousand in all to the business, with four thousand Macedonians, and that the Macedonians being perplexed, the eight thousand destroyed an hundred and twenty thousand because of the help that they had from , and so received a great booty. 21Thus when he had made them bold with these words, and ready to for and the country, he divided his army into four parts; 22And joined with himself his own brethren, leaders of each band, to wit , and Joseph, and , giving each one fifteen hundred men. 23Also he appointed to read the book: and when he had given them this watchword, The help of ; himself leading the first band, 24And by the help of they slew above nine thousand of their , and wounded and maimed the most part of ’s host, and so put all to flight; 25And took their money that came to buy them, and pursued them far: but lacking time they returned: 26For it was the day before the , and therefore they would no longer pursue them. 27So when they had gathered their armour together, and spoiled their , they occupied themselves about the , yielding exceeding and thanks to , who had preserved them unto that day, which was the beginning of mercy distilling upon them. 28And after the , when they had given part of the spoils to the maimed, and the , and , the residue they divided among themselves and their servants. 29When this was done, and they had made a common , they besought the merciful to be reconciled with his servants for ever. 30Moreover of those that were with and , who fought against them, they slew above twenty thousand, and very easily got high and strong holds, and divided among themselves many spoils more, and made the maimed, , , yea, and the aged also, equal in spoils with themselves. 31And when they had gathered their armour together, they laid them up all carefully in convenient places, and of the spoils they brought to . 32They slew also Philarches, that person, who was with , and had annoyed the many ways. 33Furthermore at such time as they kept the feast for the victory in their country they burnt Callisthenes, that had set upon the , who had fled into a little house; and so he received a reward meet for his wickedness. 34As for that most ungracious , who had brought a thousand merchants to buy the , 35He was through the help of brought down by them, of whom he made least account; and putting off his apparel, and discharging his company, he came like a fugitive servant through the midland unto having very great dishonour, for that his host was destroyed. 36Thus he, that took upon him to make good to the their tribute by means of in , told abroad, that the had to fight for them, and therefore they could not be hurt, because they followed the laws that he gave 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.