4. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 5.11, 9.5-9.18 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 5.11. When news of what had happened reached the king, he took it to mean that Judea was in revolt. So, raging inwardly, he left Egypt and took the city by storm.' 9.5. But the all-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him an incurable and unseen blow. As soon as he ceased speaking he was seized with a pain in his bowels for which there was no relief and with sharp internal tortures --' 9.6. and that very justly, for he had tortured the bowels of others with many and strange inflictions.' 9.7. Yet he did not in any way stop his insolence, but was even more filled with arrogance, breathing fire in his rage against the Jews, and giving orders to hasten the journey. And so it came about that he fell out of his chariot as it was rushing along, and the fall was so hard as to torture every limb of his body.' 9.8. Thus he who had just been thinking that he could command the waves of the sea, in his superhuman arrogance, and imagining that he could weigh the high mountains in a balance, was brought down to earth and carried in a litter, making the power of God manifest to all.' 9.9. And so the ungodly man's body swarmed with worms, and while he was still living in anguish and pain, his flesh rotted away, and because of his stench the whole army felt revulsion at his decay.' 9.10. Because of his intolerable stench no one was able to carry the man who a little while before had thought that he could touch the stars of heaven. 9.11. Then it was that, broken in spirit, he began to lose much of his arrogance and to come to his senses under the scourge of God, for he was tortured with pain every moment.' 9.12. And when he could not endure his own stench, he uttered these words: 'It is right to be subject to God, and no mortal should think that he is equal to God.' 9.13. Then the abominable fellow made a vow to the Lord, who would no longer have mercy on him, stating' 9.14. that the holy city, which he was hastening to level to the ground and to make a cemetery, he was now declaring to be free;' 9.15. and the Jews, whom he had not considered worth burying but had planned to throw out with their children to the beasts, for the birds to pick, he would make, all of them, equal to citizens of Athens;' 9.16. and the holy sanctuary, which he had formerly plundered, he would adorn with the finest offerings; and the holy vessels he would give back, all of them, many times over; and the expenses incurred for the sacrifices he would provide from his own revenues;' 9.17. and in addition to all this he also would become a Jew and would visit every inhabited place to proclaim the power of God. 9.18. But when his sufferings did not in any way abate, for the judgment of God had justly come upon him, he gave up all hope for himself and wrote to the Jews the following letter, in the form of a supplication. This was its content:' |
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5. Septuagint, 3 Maccabees, 1.12, 1.16, 2.14, 2.21, 2.24-2.30, 3.1, 3.8, 3.11, 3.15-3.18, 3.20-3.21, 3.25-3.26, 4.2, 4.5, 4.13, 4.16, 5.1, 5.8, 5.10-5.12, 5.16-5.20, 5.28-5.37, 5.39-5.44, 6.4, 6.20, 6.22-6.23, 6.28, 7.3-7.6, 7.10-7.15 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.12. Even after the law had been read to him, he did not cease to maintain that he ought to enter, saying, "Even if those men are deprived of this honor, I ought not to be. 1.16. Then the priests in all their vestments prostrated themselves and entreated the supreme God to aid in the present situation and to avert the violence of this evil design, and they filled the temple with cries and tears; 2.14. In our downfall this audacious and profane man undertakes to violate the holy place on earth dedicated to your glorious name. 2.21. Thereupon God, who oversees all things, the first Father of all, holy among the holy ones, having heard the lawful supplication, scourged him who had exalted himself in insolence and audacity. 2.24. After a while he recovered, and though he had been punished, he by no means repented, but went away uttering bitter threats. 2.25. When he arrived in Egypt, he increased in his deeds of malice, abetted by the previously mentioned drinking companions and comrades, who were strangers to everything just. 2.26. He was not content with his uncounted licentious deeds, but he also continued with such audacity that he framed evil reports in the various localities; and many of his friends, intently observing the king's purpose, themselves also followed his will. 2.27. He proposed to inflict public disgrace upon the Jewish community, and he set up a stone on the tower in the courtyard with this inscription: 2.28. None of those who do not sacrifice shall enter their sanctuaries, and all Jews shall be subjected to a registration involving poll tax and to the status of slaves. Those who object to this are to be taken by force and put to death; 2.29. those who are registered are also to be branded on their bodies by fire with the ivy-leaf symbol of Dionysus, and they shall also be reduced to their former limited status. 3.1. When the impious king comprehended this situation, he became so infuriated that not only was he enraged against those Jews who lived in Alexandria, but was still more bitterly hostile toward those in the countryside; and he ordered that all should promptly be gathered into one place, and put to death by the most cruel means. 3.1. And already some of their neighbors and friends and business associates had taken some of them aside privately and were pledging to protect them and to exert more earnest efforts for their assistance. 3.8. The Greeks in the city, though wronged in no way, when they saw an unexpected tumult around these people and the crowds that suddenly were forming, were not strong enough to help them, for they lived under tyranny. They did try to console them, being grieved at the situation, and expected that matters would change; 3.11. Then the king, boastful of his present good fortune, and not considering the might of the supreme God, but assuming that he would persevere constantly in his same purpose, wrote this letter against them: 3.15. and we considered that we should not rule the nations inhabiting Coele-Syria and Phoenicia by the power of the spear but should cherish them with clemency and great benevolence, gladly treating them well. 3.16. And when we had granted very great revenues to the temples in the cities, we came on to Jerusalem also, and went up to honor the temple of those wicked people, who never cease from their folly. 3.17. They accepted our presence by word, but insincerely by deed, because when we proposed to enter their inner temple and honor it with magnificent and most beautiful offerings 3.18. they were carried away by their traditional conceit, and excluded us from entering; but they were spared the exercise of our power because of the benevolence which we have toward all. 3.21. Among other things, we made known to all our amnesty toward their compatriots here, both because of their alliance with us and the myriad affairs liberally entrusted to them from the beginning; and we ventured to make a change, by deciding both to deem them worthy of Alexandrian citizenship and to make them participants in our regular religious rites. 3.25. Therefore we have given orders that, as soon as this letter shall arrive, you are to send to us those who live among you, together with their wives and children, with insulting and harsh treatment, and bound securely with iron fetters, to suffer the sure and shameful death that befits enemies. 3.26. For when these all have been punished, we are sure that for the remaining time the government will be established for ourselves in good order and in the best state. 4.2. But among the Jews there was incessant mourning, lamentation, and tearful cries; everywhere their hearts were burning, and they groaned because of the unexpected destruction that had suddenly been decreed for them. 4.2. when they said and proved that both the paper and the pens they used for writing had already given out. 4.5. For a multitude of gray-headed old men, sluggish and bent with age, was being led away, forced to march at a swift pace by the violence with which they were driven in such a shameful manner. 4.13. ordered in his rage that these men be dealt with in precisely the same fashion as the others, not omitting any detail of their punishment. 4.16. The king was greatly and continually filled with joy, organizing feasts in honor of all his idols, with a mind alienated from truth and with a profane mouth, praising speechless things that are not able even to communicate or to come to one's help, and uttering improper words against the supreme God. 5.1. Then the king, completely inflexible, was filled with overpowering anger and wrath; so he summoned Hermon, keeper of the elephants 5.1. Hermon, however, when he had drugged the pitiless elephants until they had been filled with a great abundance of wine and satiated with frankincense, presented himself at the courtyard early in the morning to report to the king about these preparations. 5.8. that he avert with vengeance the evil plot against them and in a glorious manifestation rescue them from the fate now prepared for them. 5.11. But the Lord sent upon the king a portion of sleep, that beneficence which from the beginning, night and day, is bestowed by him who grants it to whomever he wishes. 5.12. And by the action of the Lord he was overcome by so pleasant and deep a sleep that he quite failed in his lawless purpose and was completely frustrated in his inflexible plan. 5.16. The king, after considering this, returned to his drinking, and ordered those present for the banquet to recline opposite him. 5.17. When this was done he urged them to give themselves over to revelry and to make the present portion of the banquet joyful by celebrating all the more. 5.18. After the party had been going on for some time, the king summoned Hermon and with sharp threats demanded to know why the Jews had been allowed to remain alive through the present day. 5.19. But when he, with the corroboration of his friends, pointed out that while it was still night he had carried out completely the order given him 5.28. This was the act of God who rules over all things, for he had implanted in the king's mind a forgetfulness of the things he had previously devised. 5.29. Then Hermon and all the king's friends pointed out that the beasts and the armed forces were ready, "O king, according to your eager purpose. 5.31. Were your parents or children present, I would have prepared them to be a rich feast for the savage beasts instead of the Jews, who give me no ground for complaint and have exhibited to an extraordinary degree a full and firm loyalty to my ancestors. 5.32. In fact you would have been deprived of life instead of these, were it not for an affection arising from our nurture in common and your usefulness. 5.33. So Hermon suffered an unexpected and dangerous threat, and his eyes wavered and his face fell. 5.34. The king's friends one by one sullenly slipped away and dismissed the assembled people, each to his own occupation. 5.35. Then the Jews, upon hearing what the king had said, praised the manifest Lord God, King of kings, since this also was his aid which they had received. 5.36. The king, however, reconvened the party in the same manner and urged the guests to return to their celebrating. 5.37. After summoning Hermon he said in a threatening tone, "How many times, you poor wretch, must I give you orders about these things? 5.39. But the officials who were at table with him, wondering at his instability of mind, remonstrated as follows: 5.41. As a result the city is in a tumult because of its expectation; it is crowded with masses of people, and also in constant danger of being plundered. 5.42. Upon this the king, a Phalaris in everything and filled with madness, took no account of the changes of mind which had come about within him for the protection of the Jews, and he firmly swore an irrevocable oath that he would send them to death without delay, mangled by the knees and feet of the beasts 5.43. and would also march against Judea and rapidly level it to the ground with fire and spear, and by burning to the ground the temple inaccessible to him would quickly render it forever empty of those who offered sacrifices there. 5.44. Then the friends and officers departed with great joy, and they confidently posted the armed forces at the places in the city most favorable for keeping guard. 6.4. Pharaoh with his abundance of chariots, the former ruler of this Egypt, exalted with lawless insolence and boastful tongue, you destroyed together with his arrogant army by drowning them in the sea, manifesting the light of your mercy upon the nation of Israel. 6.4. Then they feasted, provided with everything by the king, until the fourteenth day, on which also they made the petition for their dismissal. 6.22. Then the king's anger was turned to pity and tears because of the things that he had devised beforehand. 6.23. For when he heard the shouting and saw them all fallen headlong to destruction, he wept and angrily threatened his friends, saying 6.28. Release the sons of the almighty and living God of heaven, who from the time of our ancestors until now has granted an unimpeded and notable stability to our government. 7.3. Certain of our friends, frequently urging us with malicious intent, persuaded us to gather together the Jews of the kingdom in a body and to punish them with barbarous penalties as traitors; 7.4. for they declared that our government would never be firmly established until this was accomplished, because of the ill-will which these people had toward all nations. 7.5. They also led them out with harsh treatment as slaves, or rather as traitors, and, girding themselves with a cruelty more savage than that of Scythian custom, they tried without any inquiry or examination to put them to death. 7.6. But we very severely threatened them for these acts, and in accordance with the clemency which we have toward all men we barely spared their lives. Since we have come to realize that the God of heaven surely defends the Jews, always taking their part as a father does for his children 7.11. For they declared that those who for the belly's sake had transgressed the divine commandments would never be favorably disposed toward the king's government. 7.12. The king then, admitting and approving the truth of what they said, granted them a general license so that freely and without royal authority or supervision they might destroy those everywhere in his kingdom who had transgressed the law of God. 7.13. When they had applauded him in fitting manner, their priests and the whole multitude shouted the Hallelujah and joyfully departed. 7.14. And so on their way they punished and put to a public and shameful death any whom they met of their fellow-countrymen who had become defiled. 7.15. In that day they put to death more than three hundred men; and they kept the day as a joyful festival, since they had destroyed the profaners. |
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