I Maccabees 1

¹And it happened afterwards that Alexander, the son of Philip the Macedonian, who first reigned in Greece having come from the land of Kittim, struck Darius the king of the Persians and the Medes.

²He appointed many battles, and he took hold of all the fortifications, and he executed the kings of the earth.

³And he passed through even to the ends of the earth. And he received the spoils of many nations. And the earth was silenced in his sight.

⁴And he gathered together power, and an exceedingly strong army. And he was exalted, and his heart was lifted up.

⁵And he captured the regions of nations and of sovereign leaders, and they became tributaries to him.

⁶And after these things, he fell down on his bed, and he knew that he would die.

⁷And he called his servants, nobles who were raised with him from his youth. And he divided his kingdom to them, while he was still alive.

⁸And Alexander reigned twelve years, and then he died.

⁹And his servants obtained his kingdom, each one in his place.

¹⁰And they all put diadems on themselves after his death, and their sons after them, for many years; and evils were multiplied on the earth.

¹¹And there went forth from among them a sinful root, Antiochus the illustrious, the son of king Antiochus, who had been a hostage at Rome. And he reigned in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.

¹²In those days, there went forth from Israel sons of iniquity, and they persuaded many, saying: “Let us go and negotiate a covenant with the Gentiles that are all around us. For since we have withdrawn from them, many evils have found us.”

¹³And the word seemed good in their eyes.

¹⁴And some of the people determined to do this, and they went to the king. And he gave them the power to act according to the justice of the Gentiles.

¹⁵And they built a sports arena in Jerusalem, according to the laws of the Nations.

¹⁶And they made themselves uncircumcised, and they withdrew from the holy covenant, and they were joined to the nations, and they were sold into evil-doing.

¹⁷And the kingdom was ready in the sight of Antiochus, and he began to reign over the land of Egypt, so that he might reign over two kingdoms.

¹⁸And he entered into Egypt with an oppressive multitude, with swift chariots, and elephants, and horsemen, and a great abundance of ships.

¹⁹And he appointed a war against Ptolemy, the king of Egypt, and Ptolemy was filled with dread before his face, and he fled, and many fell down wounded.

²⁰And he took hold of the fortified cities in the land of Egypt, and he received the spoils of the land of Egypt.

²¹And Antiochus turned back, after he struck Egypt, in the one hundred and forty-third year, and he ascended against Israel.

²²And he ascended to Jerusalem, with an oppressive multitude.

²³And he entered into the sanctuary with arrogance, and he took the golden altar, and the lampstand of light, and all the vessels, and the table for the bread of the Presence, and the vessels of libation, and the vials, and the little mortars of gold, and the veil, and the crowns, and the golden ornament, which was at the face of the temple. And he crushed them all.

²⁴And he took the silver and gold, and the precious vessels, and he took the hidden treasures, which he found. And having taken all these things away, he departed into his own land.

²⁵And he caused a massacre of men, and he was speaking with great arrogance.

²⁶And there was great wailing in Israel and in all of their places.

²⁷And the leaders and elders mourned, and the virgins and young men became weak, and the splendor of the women was changed.

²⁸Every bridegroom took up lamentation, and those who sat in the marriage bed mourned.

²⁹And the land shook on behalf of the inhabitants in it, and the entire house of Jacob was clothed with confusion.

³⁰And after two years of days, the king sent the prince of his tributes to the cities of Judah, and he came to Jerusalem with a great crowd.

³¹And he spoke peaceful words to them, in deceitfulness; and they believed him.

³²And he rushed upon the city suddenly, and he struck it with a great scourging, and he destroyed many of the people of Israel.

³³And he took the spoils of the city, and he burned it with fire, and he destroyed its houses and the walls around it.

³⁴And they led away the women as captives, and they possessed the children and the cattle.

³⁵And they built up the city of David with a great and strong wall, and with strong towers, and it became a stronghold for them.

³⁶And they set up in that place a sinful people, wicked men, and together they grew strong in it. And they stored up weapons and provisions. And they gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem,

³⁷and deposited them in that place. And they became a great snare.

³⁸And this became a place of ambush against the sanctuary and a diabolical evil in Israel.

³⁹And they poured out innocent blood around the sanctuary, and they contaminated the sanctuary.

⁴⁰And the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled because of them, and the city became the dwelling place of outsiders, and she became a stranger to her own offspring, and her own children abandoned her.

⁴¹Her sanctuary was desolate, like a place of solitude, her feast days were turned into mourning, her Sabbaths into disgrace, her honors into nothing.

⁴²Her shame was multiplied according to her glory, and her loftiness was turned into lamentation.

⁴³And king Antiochus wrote to all his kingdom, that all the people must be one, and that each one should relinquish his own law.

⁴⁴And all Gentiles consented, according to the word of king Antiochus.

⁴⁵And many out of Israel consented to his servitude, and they sacrificed to idols, and they polluted the Sabbath.

⁴⁶And the king sent letters, by the hand of messengers, to Jerusalem and to all the cities of Judah: that they should follow the law of the Nations of the earth,

⁴⁷and that they should prohibit holocausts and sacrifices and atonements to be made in the temple of God,

⁴⁸and that they should prohibit the celebration of the Sabbath and the solemn days.

⁴⁹And he ordered the holy places to be defiled, along with the holy people of Israel.

⁵⁰And he ordered altars to be built, and temples, and idols, and he ordered the immolation of the flesh of swine and of unclean cattle,

⁵¹and that they should leave their sons uncircumcised, and defile their souls with all that is unclean, and with abominations, so that they would forget the law and would alter all the justifications of God,

⁵²and that whoever would not act according to the word of king Antiochus should be put to death.

⁵³According to all these words, he wrote to all his kingdom. And he appointed leaders over the people, who would compel them to do these things.

⁵⁴And these ordered the cities of Judah to sacrifice.

⁵⁵And many from the people, who had abandoned the law of the Lord, were gathered together by them. And they committed evils upon the land.

⁵⁶And they drove the people of Israel into hiding and into the secret places of fugitives.

⁵⁷On the fifteenth day of the month of Kislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifth year, king Antiochus set up the abominable idol of desolation on the altar of God, and they built altars throughout all the surrounding cities of Judah.

⁵⁸And they burned frankincense, and they sacrificed before the doors of houses and in the streets.

⁵⁹And they cut up the books of the law of God and destroyed them with fire.

⁶⁰And all those who were found with the books of the testament of the Lord, and whoever observed the law of the Lord, they butchered, according to the edict of the king.

⁶¹By their power, they did these things to the people of Israel, as they were discovered in the cities, month after month.

⁶²And on the twenty-fifth day of the month, they sacrificed on that altar which was opposite the high altar.

⁶³And the women who circumcised their sons were butchered, according to the order of king Antiochus.

⁶⁴And they suspended the children by their necks in all their houses, and those who had circumcised them, they butchered.

⁶⁵And many of the people of Israel decided within themselves that they would not eat unclean things. And they chose to die, rather than to be defiled with unclean foods.

⁶⁶And they were not willing to infringe upon the holy law of God, and they were butchered.

⁶⁷And there was a very great wrath upon the people.

I Maccabees 1

¹Now it came to pass, after that Alexander the son of Philip the Macedonian, who first reigned in Greece, coming out of the land of Cethim, had overthrown Darius, king of the Persians and Medes:

²He fought many battles, and took the strong holds of all, and slew the kings of the earth:

³And he went through even to the ends of the earth: and took the spoils of many nations: and the earth was quiet before him.

⁴And he gathered a power, and a very strong army: and his heart was exalted and lifted up:

⁵And he subdued countries of nations, and princes; and they became tributaries to him.

⁶And after these things, he fell down upon his bed, and knew that he should die.

⁷And he called his servants, the nobles that were brought up with him from his youth: and he divided his kingdom among them, while he was yet alive.

⁸And Alexander reigned twelve years, and he died.

⁹And his servants made themselves kings, every one in his place:

¹⁰And they all put crowns upon themselves after his death, and their sons after them, many years; and evils were multiplied in the earth.

¹¹And there came out of them a wicked root, Antiochus the Illustrious, the son of king Antiochus, who had been a hostage at Rome: and he reigned in the hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.

¹²In those days there went out of Israel wicked men, and they persuaded many, saying: Let us go and make a covenant with the heathens that are round about us: for since we departed from them, many evils have befallen us.

¹³And the word seemed good in their eyes.

¹⁴And some of the people determined to do this, and went to the king: and he gave them license to do after the ordinances of the heathens.

¹⁵And they built a place of exercise in Jerusalem, according to the laws of the nations:

¹⁶And they made themselves prepuces, and departed from the holy covenant, and joined themselves to the heathens, and were sold to do evil:

¹⁷And the kingdom was established before Antiochus, and he had a mind to reign over the land of Egypt, that he might reign over two kingdoms.

¹⁸And he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots, and elephants, and horsemen, and a great number of ships:

¹⁹And he made war against Ptolemee king of Egypt; but Ptolemee was afraid at his presence and fled, and many were wounded unto death.

²⁰And he took the strong cities in the land of Egypt: and he took the spoils of the land of Egypt.

²¹And after Antiochus had ravaged Egypt, in the hundred and forty-third year, he returned and went up against Israel.

²²And he went up to Jerusalem, with a great multitude.

²³And he proudly entered into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof, and the table of proposition, and the pouring vessels, and the vials, and the little mortars of gold, and the veil, and the crowns, and the golden ornament that was before the temple: and he broke them all in pieces.

²⁴And he took the silver and gold, and the precious vessels: and he took the hidden treasures, which he found: and when he had taken all away, he departed into his own country.

²⁵And he made a great slaughter of men, and spoke very proudly.

²⁶And there was great mourning in Israel, and in every place where they were:

²⁷And the princes, and the ancients mourned, and the virgins and the young men were made feeble, and the beauty of the women was changed.

²⁸Every bridegroom took up lamentation: and the bride that sat in the marriage bed, mourned:

²⁹And the land was moved for the inhabitants thereof, and all the house of Jacob was covered with confusion.

³⁰And after two full years, the king sent the chief collector of his tributes to the cities of Juda, and he came to Jerusalem with a great multitude.

³¹And he spoke to them peaceable words in deceit; and they believed him.

³²And he fell upon the city suddenly, and struck it with a great slaughter, and destroyed much people in Israel.

³³And he took the spoils of the city, and burnt it with fire, and threw down the houses thereof, and the walls thereof round about:

³⁴And they took the women captive, and the children, and the cattle they possessed.

³⁵And they built the city of David with a great and strong wall, and with strong towers, and made it a fortress for them:

³⁶And they placed there a sinful nation, wicked men, and they fortified themselves therein: and they stored up armour; and victuals, and gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem;

³⁷And laid them up there: and they became a great snare.

³⁸And this was a place to lie in wait against the sanctuary, and an evil devil in Israel.

³⁹And they shed innocent blood round about the sanctuary, and defiled the holy place.

⁴⁰And the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled away by reason of them and the city was made the habitation of strangers, and she became a stranger to her own seed, and her children forsook her.

⁴¹Her sanctuary was desolate like a wilderness, her festival days were turned into mourning, her sabbaths into reproach, her honours were brought to nothing.

⁴²Her dishonour was increased according to her glory, and her excellency was turned into mourning.

⁴³And king Antiochus wrote to all his kingdom, that all the people should be one: and every one should leave his own law.

⁴⁴And all nations consented, according to the word of king Antiochus.

⁴⁵And many of Israel consented to his service, and they sacrificed to idols, and profaned the sabbath.

⁴⁶And the king sent letters by the hands of messengers to Jerusalem, and to all the cities of Juda; that they should follow the law of the nations of the earth.

⁴⁷And should forbid holocausts and sacrifices, and atonements to be made in the temple of God.

⁴⁸And should prohibit the sabbath, and the festival days to be celebrated.

⁴⁹And he commanded the holy places to be profaned, and the holy people of Israel.

⁵⁰And he commanded altars to be built, and temples, and idols, and swine's flesh to be immolated, and unclean beasts,

⁵¹And that they should leave their children uncircumcised, and let their souls be defiled with all uncleannesses, and abominations, to the end that they should forget the law, and should change all the justifications of God.

⁵²And that whosoever would not do according to the word of king Antiochus, should be put to death.

⁵³According to all these words he wrote to his whole kingdom: and he appointed rulers over the people that should force them to do these things.

⁵⁴And they commanded the cities of Juda to sacrifice.

⁵⁵Then many of the people were gathered to them that had forsaken the law of the Lord: and they committed evils in the land:

⁵⁶And they drove away the people of Israel into lurking holes, and into the secret places of fugitives.

⁵⁷On the fifteenth day of the month, Casleu, in the hundred and forty-fifth year, king Antiochus set up the abominable idol of desolation upon the altar of God, and they built altars throughout all the cities of Juda round about:

⁵⁸And they burnt incense, and sacrificed at the doors of the houses and in the streets.

⁵⁹And they cut in pieces, and burnt with fire the books of the law of God:

⁶⁰And every one with whom the books of the testament of the Lord were found, and whosoever observed the law of the Lord, they put to death, according to the edict of the king.

⁶¹Thus by their power did they deal with the people of Israel, that were found in the cities month after month.

⁶²And on the five and twentieth day of the month they sacrificed upon the altar of the idol that was over against the altar of God.

⁶³Now the women that circumcised their children were slain according to the commandment of king Antiochus,

⁶⁴And they hanged the children about their neck in all their houses: and those that had circumcised them, they put to death.

⁶⁵And many of the people of Israel determined with themselves, that they would not eat unclean things: and they chose rather to die, than to be defiled with unclean meats:

⁶⁶And they would not break the holy law of God and they were put to death:

⁶⁷And there was very great wrath upon the people.