1. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 6.43-6.46, 7.26-7.50, 14.1-14.36 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 6.43. And Eleazar, called Avaran, saw that one of the beasts was equipped with royal armor. It was taller than all the others, and he supposed that the king was upon it. 6.44. So he gave his life to save his people and to win for himself an everlasting name. 6.45. He courageously ran into the midst of the phalanx to reach it; he killed men right and left, and they parted before him on both sides. 6.46. He got under the elephant, stabbed it from beneath, and killed it; but it fell to the ground upon him and he died. 7.26. Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his honored princes, who hated and detested Israel, and he commanded him to destroy the people. 7.27. So Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a large force, and treacherously sent to Judas and his brothers this peaceable message 7.28. Let there be no fighting between me and you; I shall come with a few men to see you face to face in peace. 7.29. So he came to Judas, and they greeted one another peaceably. But the enemy were ready to seize Judas. 7.30. It became known to Judas that Nicanor had come to him with treacherous intent, and he was afraid of him and would not meet him again. 7.31. When Nicanor learned that his plan had been disclosed, he went out to meet Judas in battle near Caphar-salama. 7.32. About five hundred men of the army of Nicanor fell, and the rest fled into the city of David. 7.33. After these events Nicanor went up to Mount Zion. Some of the priests came out of the sanctuary, and some of the elders of the people, to greet him peaceably and to show him the burnt offering that was being offered for the king. 7.34. But he mocked them and derided them and defiled them and spoke arrogantly 7.35. and in anger he swore this oath, "Unless Judas and his army are delivered into my hands this time, then if I return safely I will burn up this house." And he went out in great anger. 7.36. Then the priests went in and stood before the altar and the temple, and they wept and said 7.37. Thou didst choose this house to be called by thy name,and to be for thy people a house of prayer and supplication. 7.38. Take vengeance on this man and on his army,and let them fall by the sword;remember their blasphemies,and let them live no longer. 7.39. Now Nicanor went out from Jerusalem and encamped in Beth-horon, and the Syrian army joined him. 7.40. And Judas encamped in Adasa with three thousand men. Then Judas prayed and said 7.41. When the messengers from the king spoke blasphemy, thy angel went forth and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians. 7.42. So also crush this army before us today; let the rest learn that Nicanor has spoken wickedly against the sanctuary, and judge him according to this wickedness. 7.43. So the armies met in battle on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. The army of Nicanor was crushed, and he himself was the first to fall in the battle. 7.44. When his army saw that Nicanor had fallen, they threw down their arms and fled. 7.45. The Jews pursued them a days journey, from Adasa as far as Gazara, and as they followed kept sounding the battle call on the trumpets. 7.46. And men came out of all the villages of Judea round about, and they out-flanked the enemy and drove them back to their pursuers, so that they all fell by the sword; not even one of them was left. 7.47. Then the Jews seized the spoils and the plunder, and they cut off Nicanors head and the right hand which he so arrogantly stretched out, and brought them and displayed them just outside Jerusalem. 7.48. The people rejoiced greatly and celebrated that day as a day of great gladness. 7.49. And they decreed that this day should be celebrated each year on the thirteenth day of Adar. 7.50. So the land of Judah had rest for a few days. 14.1. In the one hundred and seventy-second year Demetrius the king assembled his forces and marched into Media to secure help, so that he could make war against Trypho. 14.2. When Arsaces the king of Persia and Media heard that Demetrius had invaded his territory, he sent one of his commanders to take him alive. 14.3. And he went and defeated the army of Demetrius, and seized him and took him to Arsaces, who put him under guard. 14.4. The land had rest all the days of Simon. He sought the good of his nation;his rule was pleasing to them,as was the honor shown him, all his days. 14.5. To crown all his honors he took Joppa for a harbor,and opened a way to the isles of the sea. 14.6. He extended the borders of his nation,and gained full control of the country. 14.7. He gathered a host of captives;he ruled over Gazara and Beth-zur and the citadel,and he removed its uncleanness from it;and there was none to oppose him. 14.12. Each man sat under his vine and his fig tree,and there was none to make them afraid. 14.13. No one was left in the land to fight them,and the kings were crushed in those days. 14.14. He strengthened all the humble of his people;he sought out the law,and did away with every lawless and wicked man. 14.16. It was heard in Rome, and as far away as Sparta, that Jonathan had died, and they were deeply grieved. 14.17. When they heard that Simon his brother had become high priest in his place, and that he was ruling over the country and the cities in it 14.18. they wrote to him on bronze tablets to renew with him the friendship and alliance which they had established with Judas and Jonathan his brothers. 14.19. And these were read before the assembly in Jerusalem. 14.20. This is a copy of the letter which the Spartans sent: "The rulers and the city of the Spartans to Simon the high priest and to the elders and the priests and the rest of the Jewish people, our brethren, greeting. 14.21. The envoys who were sent to our people have told us about your glory and honor, and we rejoiced at their coming. 14.22. And what they said we have recorded in our public decrees, as follows, `Numenius the son of Antiochus and Antipater the son of Jason, envoys of the Jews, have come to us to renew their friendship with us. 14.23. It has pleased our people to receive these men with honor and to put a copy of their words in the public archives, so that the people of the Spartans may have a record of them. And they have sent a copy of this to Simon the high priest. 14.24. After this Simon sent Numenius to Rome with a large gold shield weighing a thousand minas, to confirm the alliance with the Romans. 14.25. When the people heard these things they said, "How shall we thank Simon and his sons? 14.26. For he and his brothers and the house of his father have stood firm; they have fought and repulsed Israels enemies and established its freedom. 14.27. So they made a record on bronze tablets and put it upon pillars on Mount Zion. This is a copy of what they wrote: "On the eighteenth day of Elul, in the one hundred and seventy-second year, which is the third year of Simon the great high priest 14.28. in Asaramel, in the great assembly of the priests and the people and the rulers of the nation and the elders of the country, the following was proclaimed to us: 14.29. Since wars often occurred in the country, Simon the son of Mattathias, a priest of the sons of Joarib, and his brothers, exposed themselves to danger and resisted the enemies of their nation, in order that their sanctuary and the law might be perserved; and they brought great glory to their nation. 14.30. Jonathan rallied the nation, and became their high priest, and was gathered to his people. 14.31. And when their enemies decided to invade their country and lay hands on their sanctuary 14.33. He fortified the cities of Judea, and Beth-zur on the borders of Judea, where formerly the arms of the enemy had been stored, and he placed there a garrison of Jews. 14.34. He also fortified Joppa, which is by the sea, and Gazara, which is on the borders of Azotus, where the enemy formerly dwelt. He settled Jews there, and provided in those cities whatever was necessary for their restoration. 14.35. The people saw Simons faithfulness and the glory which he had resolved to win for his nation, and they made him their leader and high priest, because he had done all these things and because of the justice and loyalty which he had maintained toward his nation. He sought in every way to exalt his people. 14.36. And in his days things prospered in his hands, so that the Gentiles were put out of the country, as were also the men in the city of David in Jerusalem, who had built themselves a citadel from which they used to sally forth and defile the environs of the sanctuary and do great damage to its purity. |
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2. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 2.21, 2.22, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13, 3.14, 3.15, 3.16, 3.17, 3.18, 3.19, 3.20, 3.21, 3.22, 3.23, 3.24, 3.25, 3.26, 3.27, 3.28, 3.29, 3.30, 3.31, 3.32, 3.33, 3.34, 3.35, 3.36, 3.37, 3.38, 3.39, 3.40, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 4.12, 4.13, 4.14, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17, 4.18, 4.19, 4.20, 4.21, 4.22, 4.23, 4.24, 4.25, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.11-6.11, 5.15, 5.16, 5.17, 5.27, 6.2, 6.12, 6.14, 6.15, 6.16, 6.18, 6.18-7.42, 6.21, 6.28, 7.2, 7.18, 7.32, 7.33, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9, 8.10, 8.11, 8.12, 8.13, 8.14, 8.15, 8.16, 8.17, 8.18, 8.19, 8.20, 8.21, 8.22, 8.23, 8.24, 8.25, 8.26, 8.27, 8.28, 8.29, 8.30, 8.31, 8.32, 8.33, 8.34, 8.35, 8.36, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6, 9.7, 9.8, 9.9, 9.10, 9.11, 9.12, 9.13, 9.14, 9.15, 9.16, 9.17, 9.18, 9.28, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, 10.29, 10.30, 11.8, 11.9, 11.10, 11.11, 11.13, 13.3, 13.4, 13.5, 13.6, 13.7, 13.8, 14.1, 14.2, 14.3, 14.4, 14.5, 14.6, 14.7, 14.8, 14.9, 14.10, 14.11, 14.12, 14.13, 14.14, 14.15, 14.16, 14.17, 14.18, 14.19, 14.20, 14.21, 14.22, 14.23, 14.24, 14.25, 14.26, 14.27, 14.28, 14.29, 14.30, 14.31, 14.33, 14.34, 14.35, 14.36, 14.37, 14.38, 14.39, 14.40, 14.41, 14.42, 14.43, 14.44, 14.45, 14.46, 15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6, 15.7, 15.8, 15.9, 15.10, 15.11, 15.12, 15.13, 15.14, 15.15, 15.16, 15.17, 15.18, 15.19, 15.20, 15.21, 15.22, 15.23, 15.24, 15.25, 15.26, 15.27, 15.28, 15.29, 15.30, 15.31, 15.32, 15.33, 15.34, 15.35, 15.36 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 10.1. Now Maccabeus and his followers, the Lord leading them on, recovered the temple and the city;' |
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