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 For since we have withdrawn from them, many evils have found us.”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

¹And it happened, after that Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Chettiim, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead, the first over Greece,

²And made many wars, and won many strong holds, and slew the kings of the earth,

³And went through to the ends of the earth, and took spoils of many nations, insomuch that the earth was quiet before him; whereupon he was exalted and his heart was lifted up.

⁴And he gathered a mighty strong host and ruled over countries, and nations, and kings, who became tributaries unto him.

⁵And after these things he fell sick, and perceived that he should die.

⁶Wherefore he called his servants, such as were honourable, and had been brought up with him from his youth, and parted his kingdom among them, while he was yet alive.

⁷So Alexander reigned twelves years, and then died.

⁸And his servants bare rule every one in his place.

⁹And after his death they all put crowns upon themselves; so did their sons after them many years: and evils were multiplied in the earth.

¹⁰And there came out of them a wicked root Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king, who had been an hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the hundred and thirty and seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.

¹¹In those days went there out of Israel wicked men, who persuaded many, saying, Let us go and make a covenant with the heathen that are round about us: for since we departed from them we have had much sorrow.

¹²So this device pleased them well.

¹³Then certain of the people were so forward herein, that they went to the king, who gave them licence to do after the ordinances of the heathen:

¹⁴Whereupon they built a place of exercise at Jerusalem according to the customs of the heathen:

¹⁵And made themselves uncircumcised, and forsook the holy covenant, and joined themselves to the heathen, and were sold to do mischief.

¹⁶Now when the kingdom was established before Antiochus, he thought to reign over Egypt that he might have the dominion of two realms.

¹⁷Wherefore he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots, and elephants, and horsemen, and a great navy,

¹⁸And made war against Ptolemee king of Egypt: but Ptolemee was afraid of him, and fled; and many were wounded to death.

¹⁹Thus they got the strong cities in the land of Egypt and he took the spoils thereof.

²⁰And after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned again in the hundred forty and third year, and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude,

²¹And entered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof,

²²And the table of the shewbread, and the pouring vessels, and the vials. and the censers of gold, and the veil, and the crown, and the golden ornaments that were before the temple, all which he pulled off.

²³He took also the silver and the gold, and the precious vessels: also he took the hidden treasures which he found.

²⁴And when he had taken all away, he went into his own land, having made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly.

²⁵Therefore there was a great mourning in Israel, in every place where they were;

²⁶So that the princes and elders mourned, the virgins and young men were made feeble, and the beauty of women was changed.

²⁷Every bridegroom took up lamentation, and she that sat in the marriage chamber was in heaviness,

²⁸The land also was moved for the inhabitants thereof, and all the house of Jacob was covered with confusion.

²⁹And after two years fully expired the king sent his chief collector of tribute unto the cities of Juda, who came unto Jerusalem with a great multitude,

³⁰And spake peaceable words unto them, but all was deceit: for when they had given him credence, he fell suddenly upon the city, and smote it very sore, and destroyed much people of Israel.

³¹And when he had taken the spoils of the city, he set it on fire, and pulled down the houses and walls thereof on every side.

³²But the women and children took they captive, and possessed the cattle.

³³Then builded they the city of David with a great and strong wall, and with mighty towers, and made it a strong hold for them.

³⁴And they put therein a sinful nation, wicked men, and fortified themselves therein.

³⁵They stored it also with armour and victuals, and when they had gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem, they laid them up there, and so they became a sore snare:

³⁶For it was a place to lie in wait against the sanctuary, and an evil adversary to Israel.

³⁷Thus they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, and defiled it:

³⁸Insomuch that the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled because of them: whereupon the city was made an habitation of strangers, and became strange to those that were born in her; and her own children left her.

³⁹Her sanctuary was laid waste like a wilderness, her feasts were turned into mourning, her sabbaths into reproach her honour into contempt.

⁴⁰As had been her glory, so was her dishonour increased, and her excellency was turned into mourning.

⁴¹Moreover king Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom, that all should be one people,

⁴²And every one should leave his laws: so all the heathen agreed according to the commandment of the king.

⁴³Yea, many also of the Israelites consented to his religion, and sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the sabbath.

⁴⁴For the king had sent letters by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities of Juda that they should follow the strange laws of the land,

⁴⁵And forbid burnt offerings, and sacrifice, and drink offerings, in the temple; and that they should profane the sabbaths and festival days:

⁴⁶And pollute the sanctuary and holy people:

⁴⁷Set up altars, and groves, and chapels of idols, and sacrifice swine’s flesh, and unclean beasts:

⁴⁸That they should also leave their children uncircumcised, and make their souls abominable with all manner of uncleanness and profanation:

⁴⁹To the end they might forget the law, and change all the ordinances.

⁵⁰And whosoever would not do according to the commandment of the king, he said, he should die.

⁵¹In the selfsame manner wrote he to his whole kingdom, and appointed overseers over all the people, commanding the cities of Juda to sacrifice, city by city.

⁵²Then many of the people were gathered unto them, to wit every one that forsook the law; and so they committed evils in the land;

⁵³And drove the Israelites into secret places, even wheresoever they could flee for succour.

⁵⁴Now the fifteenth day of the month Casleu, in the hundred forty and fifth year, they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol altars throughout the cities of Juda on every side;

⁵⁵And burnt incense at the doors of their houses, and in the streets.

⁵⁶And when they had rent in pieces the books of the law which they found, they burnt them with fire.

⁵⁷And whosoever was found with any the book of the testament, or if any committed to the law, the king’s commandment was, that they should put him to death.

⁵⁸Thus did they by their authority unto the Israelites every month, to as many as were found in the cities.

⁵⁹Now the five and twentieth day of the month they did sacrifice upon the idol altar, which was upon the altar of God.

⁶⁰At which time according to the commandment they put to death certain women, that had caused their children to be circumcised.

⁶¹And they hanged the infants about their necks, and rifled their houses, and slew them that had circumcised them.

⁶²Howbeit many in Israel were fully resolved and confirmed in themselves not to eat any unclean thing.

⁶³Wherefore the rather to die, that they might not be defiled with meats, and that they might not profane the holy covenant: so then they died.

⁶⁴And there was very great wrath upon Israel.