King James Version · Under the Greeks
2 Maccabees 9
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1About that time came with dishonour out of the country of 2For he had entered the city called Persepolis, and went about to rob , and to hold the city; whereupon running to defend themselves with their weapons put them to flight; and so it happened, that being put to flight of the inhabitants returned with . 3Now when he came to , news was brought him what had happened unto and . 4Then swelling with . he thought to upon the the done unto him by those that made him flee. Therefore commanded he his chariotman to drive without ceasing, and to dispatch the journey, the of now following him. For he had spoken proudly in this sort, That he would come to and make it a common burying place of the . 5But Almighty, the of Isreal, smote him with an incurable and invisible plague: or as soon as he had spoken these words, a pain of the bowels that was remediless came upon him, and sore torments of the inner parts; 6And that most justly: for he had tormented other men’s bowels with many and strange torments. 7Howbeit he nothing at all ceased from his bragging, but still was filled with pride, breathing out in his rage against the , and commanding to haste the journey: but it came to pass that he fell down from his chariot, carried violently; so that having a sore fall, all the members of his body were much pained. 8And thus he that a little afore thought he might command the waves of the sea, (so proud was he beyond the condition of man) and weigh the high mountains in a balance, was now cast on the ground, and carried in an horselitter, shewing forth unto all the manifest of . 9So that the worms rose up out of the body of this man, and whiles he lived in sorrow and pain, his fell away, and the filthiness of his smell was noisome to all his army. 10And the man, that thought a little afore he could reach to the stars of , no man could to carry for his intolerable stink. 11Here therefore, being plagued, he began to leave off his great pride, and to come to the knowledge of himself by the scourge of , his pain increasing every moment. 12And when he himself could not his own smell, he said these words, It is meet to be subject unto , and that a man that is mortal should not proudly think of himself if he were . 13This person also unto , who now no more would have mercy upon him, saying thus, 14That the city (to the which he was going in haste to lay it even with the ground, and to make it a common buryingplace,) he would : 15And as touching the , whom he had judged not worthy so much as to be buried, but to be cast out with their children to be devoured of the fowls and wild , he would make them all equals to the citizens of : 16And the temple, which before he had spoiled, he would garnish with goodly gifts, and restore all the vessels with many more, and out of his own revenue defray the charges belonging to the : 17Yea, and that also he would become a himself, and go through all the world that was inhabited, and declare the of . 18But for all this his pains would not cease: for the of was come upon him: therefore despairing of his health, he wrote unto the the letter underwritten, containing the form of a , after this manner: 19, king and governor, to the good his citizens wisheth much joy, health, and prosperity: 20If ye and your children fare well, and your affairs be to your contentment, I give very great thanks to , having my in . 21As for me, I was weak, or else I would have remembered kindly your and good will returning out of , and being taken with a grievous disease, I thought it necessary to care for the common safety of all: 22Not distrusting mine health, but having great to escape this sickness. 23But considering that even , at what time he led an army into the high countries. appointed a successor, 24To the end that, if any thing fell out contrary to , or if any tidings were brought that were grievous, they of the land, knowing to whom the state was left, might not be troubled: 25Again, considering how that the princes that are borderers and neighbours unto my kingdom wait for opportunities, and expect what shall be the event. I have appointed my son king, whom I often committed and commended unto many of you, when I went up into the high provinces; to whom I have written as followeth: 26Therefore I and request you to remember the benefits that I have done unto you generally, and in special, and that every man will be still to me and my son. 27For I am persuaded that he understanding my will favourably and graciously yield to your . 28Thus the and blasphemer having suffered most grievously, as he entreated other men, so he a miserable in a strange country in the mountains. 29And Philip, that was brought up with him, his body, who also fearing the son of went into to Philometor.
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.