The Second Book of Maccabees

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- Chapter 8 -

Judas Machabeus gathering an army gains divers victories.

In truth, Judas Maccabeus, and those who were with him, went secretly into the villages, and, calling together their relatives and friends, and accepting among them those who persevered in Judaism, they brought six thousand men together.

And they called upon the Lord: to look upon his people, who were downtrodden by all; and to take pity on the temple, which was defiled by the impious;

and even to take pity on the city by utter destruction, for it was willing to be immediately leveled to the ground; and to hear the voice of the blood that was crying out to him,(a)

so that he would remember also the most iniquitous deaths of the innocent little ones, and the blasphemies brought upon his name; and to show his indignation over these things.

And so Maccabeus, having gathered together a multitude, could not be withstood by the Gentiles. For the wrath of the Lord had turned into mercy.

And so, overwhelming the towns and cities unexpectedly, he set them on fire. And, occupying strategic positions, he made no small slaughter of the enemies.

Moreover, especially in the nights, he carried out expeditions in this way. And the fame of his virtuous strength was spread abroad everywhere.(b)

Then Philip, seeing that the man gained ground little by little, and that things frequently fell out in his favor, wrote to Ptolemy, governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, to send auxiliaries to carry out the work of the king.(c)

And so, he quickly sent Nicanor, son of Patroclus, from his foremost friends, providing him with no less than twenty thousand armed men from throughout the Gentiles, to wipe out the entire race of the Jews, joining with him Gorgias, a military man with very great experience in the things of warfare.(d)

Moreover, Nicanor decided to raise a tribute for the king of two thousand talents, which was to be given to the Romans, and which would be supplied by means of the captivity of the Jews.

And immediately he sent to the maritime cities, calling them to the auction of the Jewish slaves, promising them a parcel of ninety slaves for one talent, not reflecting on the vengeance which would befall him subsequently from the Almighty.(e)

Then, when Judas learned that Nicanor was approaching, he revealed it to those Jews who were with him.

And certain ones among them, being afraid and not trusting in the justice of God, turned and fled away.

In truth, others sold all that was in excess, and together beseeched the Lord, that he would rescue them from the impious Nicanor, who had sold them before he even came near them,

and if not for their sakes, then for the sake of the covenant which was made with their fathers, and for the sake of the invocation of his holy and magnificent name over them.

But Maccabeus, calling together seven thousand who were with him, asked them not to be reconciled to the enemies, and not to fear the multitude of the enemies who came against them unjustly, but to struggle with fortitude,(f)

holding before their eyes the contempt that had been brought upon the holy place by them, and likewise also the mockery which they held to the injury of the city, even to the extent of overthrowing the institutions of old.

For he said that these, indeed, trust in their weapons, as well as in their boldness; but we trust in the Almighty Lord, who is able to wipe out both those coming against us, and even the whole world, with one nod.

Moreover, he reminded them also of the assistance of God which their parents had received; and how, under Sennacherib, one hundred and eighty-five thousand had perished;

and of the battle by them, which was against the Galatians in Babylonia, how, when the event had arrived and the allies of the Macedonians hesitated, though they were only six thousand in all, yet they slew one hundred and twenty thousand, because of the help provided to them from heaven; and how, for the sake of these things, very many benefits followed.(g)

By these words, they were brought to constancy and were prepared to die for the laws and their nation.

And so, he appointed his brothers as leaders over each division: Simon, and Joseph, and Jonathan, subjecting one thousand and five hundred men to each of them.

And at that point, the holy book having been read to them by Esdras, and having given them a sign of the assistance of God, with himself leading the first point, he joined battle with Nicanor.

And, with the Almighty as their helper, they slew over nine thousand men. Furthermore, having wounded and disabled the greater part of the army of Nicanor, they forced them to take flight.(h)

In fact, they took away the money from those who came to buy them, and they pursued them everywhere.

But they turned back at the close of the hour, for it was before the Sabbath. For this reason, they did not continue the pursuit.

But, having gathered together their weapons and spoils, they kept the Sabbath, blessing the Lord who had delivered them in that day, showering the beginning of mercy on them.

In truth, after the Sabbath, they divided the spoils to the disabled, and the orphans, and the widows, and the remainder they kept for themselves and their own.

And so, when these things were done, and supplication was made by all in common, they asked the merciful Lord to be reconciled to his servants unto the end.

And, among those who were fighting against them with Timothy and Bacchides, they slew more than twenty thousand, and they obtained the high fortresses, and they divided many spoils, making equal portions for the disabled, the fatherless, and the widows, and even the aged.

And when they had carefully collected their weapons, they stored them all in strategic places, and, in truth, the remainder of the spoils they carried to Jerusalem.

And they put to death Philarches, a wicked man, who was with Timothy, who had brought many afflictions upon the Jews.

And when they celebrated the song of victory at Jerusalem, they burned him who had set fire to the sacred doors, that is, Callisthenes, when he had taken refuge in a certain house, repaying him a worthy reward for his impieties.

But as for that most vicious Nicanor, who had led in a thousand merchants for the sale of the Jews,

he was brought low with the help of the Lord, and by those whom he considered to be worthless. Putting aside the glorious vestments, fleeing by an inland route, he arrived alone at Antioch, having been brought to the greatest unhappiness by the destruction of his army.(i)

And he who had promised to pay a tribute to the Romans from the captives of Jerusalem, now professed that the Jews had God as their protector, and, for this reason, they were invulnerable, because they followed the laws established by him.

Footnotes

(a)8:3 In other words, they even asked God to utterly destroy the city, and everyone in it, rather than to let these sacrileges and blasphemies continue. It was not the case that the city was going to be destroyed by the Gentiles; they were using the city, profanely, but had no intention of destroying it.(Conte)

(b)8:7 The meaning of ‘virtutis’ here is really something like ‘virtuous strength.’ One would not describe even a successful enemy of Israel as ‘virtutis.’(Conte)

(c)8:8 Philip seeing, etc:The governor of Jerusalem found himself unable to contend with Judas, especially after the victories he had obtained over Apollonius and Seron. 1 Mac. 3.(Challoner)

(d)8:9 Twenty thousand:The whole number of the forces sent at that time into Judea, was 40,000 footmen, and 7000 horsemen, 1 Mac. 3:30. But only 20,000 are here taken notice of, because there were no more with Nicanor at the time of the battle.(Challoner)

(e)8:11 The maritime cities, being ports, would all be centers of commerce and trading. So the Jews were to be sold in lots to these men, wholesale, to be resold later individually or in smaller groups.(Conte)

(f)8:16 Seven thousand:In the Greek it is six thousand. But then three thousand of them had no arms. 1 Mac. 4:6.(Challoner)

(g)8:20 Galatians:That is, the Gauls, who having ravaged Italy and Greece, poured themselves in upon Asia, in immense multitudes, where also they founded the kingdom of Galatia or Gallo Graecia.(Challoner)

(h)8:24 Above nine thousand:Viz., including the three thousand slain in the pursuit.(Challoner)

(i)8:35 Laying aside his garment of glory:That is, his splendid apparel, which he wore through ostentation; he now throws it off, lest he should be known on his flight.(Challoner)

Judas Machabeus gathering an army gains divers victories.

But Judas, who is also called Maccabaeus, and those who were with him, making their way secretly into the villages, called to them their kindred. Taking to them those who had continued in the Jews’ religion, gathered together about six thousand.

They called upon the Lord to look at the people who were oppressed by all, and to have compassion on the sanctuary that had been profaned by the ungodly men,

and to have pity on the city that was suffering ruin and ready to be leveled to the ground, and to listen to the blood that cried out to him,

and to remember the lawless destruction of the innocent infants, and concerning the blasphemies that had been committed against his name, and to show his hatred of wickedness.

When Maccabaeus had trained his men for service, the heathen at once found him irresistible, for the wrath of the Lord was turned into mercy.

(a)Coming without warning, he set fire to cities and villages. And in winning back the most important positions, putting to flight no small number of the enemies,

he especially took advantage of the nights for such assaults. His courage was loudly talked of everywhere.

But when Philip saw the man gaining ground little by little, and increasing more and more in his success, he wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, that he should support the king’s cause.

Ptolemy quickly appointed Nicanor the son of Patroclus, one of the king’s (b) chief friends, and sent him, in command of no fewer than twenty thousand of all nations, to destroy the whole race of Judea. With him he joined Gorgias also, a captain and one who had experience in matters of war.

Nicanor resolved by the sale of the captive Jews to make up for the king the tribute of two thousand talents which he was to pay to the Romans.

Immediately he sent to the cities upon the sea coast, inviting them to buy Jewish (c)slaves, promising to deliver seventy (d)slaves for a talent, not expecting the judgment that was to overtake him from the Almighty.

News came to Judas concerning Nicanor’s invasion. When he communicated to those who were with him the presence of the army,

those who were cowardly and distrustful of God’s judgment (e)ran away and left the country.

Others sold all that they had left, and at the same time implored the Lord to deliver those who had been sold as slaves by the impious Nicanor before he ever met them,

if not for their own sakes, then for the covenants made with their ancestors, and because he had called them by his holy and glorious name.

So Maccabaeus gathered his men together, six thousand in number, and exhorted them not to be frightened by the enemy, nor to fear the great multitude of the heathen who came wrongfully against them, but to fight nobly,

setting before their eyes the outrage that had been lawlessly perpetrated upon the holy place, and the torture of the city that had been turned to mockery, and further the overthrow of the way of life received from their ancestors.

“For they,” he said, “trust their weapons and daring deeds, but we trust in the almighty God, since he is able at a nod to cast down those who are coming against us, and even the whole world.”

Moreover, he recounted to them the help given from time to time in the days of their ancestors, both in the days of Sennacherib, when one hundred eighty-five thousand perished,

and in the land of Babylon, in the battle that was fought against the(f) Gauls, how they came to the battle with eight thousand in all, with four thousand Macedonians, and how, the Macedonians being hard pressed, the (g)six thousand destroyed the hundred and twenty thousand because of the help which they had from heaven, and took a great deal of plunder.

And when he had with these words filled them with courage and made them ready to die for the laws and their country, he divided his army into four parts.

He appointed his brothers, Simon, Joseph, and Jonathan, to be leaders of the divisions with him, giving each the command of one thousand five hundred men.

Moreover Eleazer also, having read aloud the sacred book, and having given as watchword, “THE HELP OF GOD”, leading the first band himself, joined battle with Nicanor.

Since the Almighty fought on their side, they killed more than nine thousand of the enemy, and wounded and(h) disabled most of Nicanor’s army, and compelled them all to flee.

They took the money of those who had come there to buy them as slaves. After they had pursued them for some (i)distance, they returned, being constrained by the time of the day;

for it was the day before the Sabbath, and for this reason they made no effort to chase them far.

(j) When they had gathered (k)the weapons of the enemy together, and had stripped off their spoils, they kept the Sabbath, greatly blessing and thanking the Lord who had saved them to this day, because he had begun to show mercy to them.

After the Sabbath, when they had given some of the spoils to the (l) maimed, and to the widows and orphans, they distributed the rest among themselves and their children.

When they had accomplished these things and had made a common supplication, they implored the merciful Lord to be wholly reconciled with his servants.

Having had an encounter with the forces of Timotheus and Bacchides, they killed more than twenty thousand of them, and made themselves masters of exceedingly high strongholds, and divided very much plunder, giving the (m)maimed, orphans, widows, and the aged an equal share with themselves.

(n) When they had gathered the weapons (o) of the enemy together, they stored them all up carefully in the most strategic positions, and they carried the rest of the spoils to Jerusalem.

They killed the (p)phylarch of Timotheus’s forces, a most unholy man, and one who had done the Jews much harm.

(q) As they celebrated the feast of victory in the (r) city of their fathers, they burned those who had set the sacred (s)gates on fire, including Callisthenes, who had fled into (t)a little house. So they received the proper reward for their impiety.

The thrice-accursed Nicanor, who had brought the thousand merchants to buy the Jews as slaves,

being through the help of the Lord humbled by them who in his eyes were held to be of least account, took off his glorious apparel, and passing through the country, (u)shunning all company like a fugitive slave, arrived at Antioch, (v) having, as he thought, had the greatest possible good fortune, though his army was destroyed.

He who had taken upon himself to make tribute sure for the Romans by the captivity of the men of Jerusalem published abroad that the Jews had One who fought for them, and that (w)because this was so, the Jews were invulnerable, because they followed the laws ordained by him.

Footnotes

(a)8:6 The Greek text of verses 6 and 7 is uncertain.

(b)8:9 See 1 Maccabees 10:65 . Compare 2 Maccabees 1:14 ; 2 Maccabees 7:24 ; 2 Maccabees 10:13 ; 2 Maccabees 14:11 ; 1 Maccabees 2:18 .

(d)8:11 Gr. bodies.

(e)8:13 The Greek text here is uncertain.

(f)8:20 Gr. Galatians.

(g)8:20 Some authorities read eight.

(h)8:24 Gr. disabled in their limbs.

(i)8:25 Or, while

(j)8:27 The exact meaning of this clause is uncertain.

(k)8:27 Gr. their weapons...the spoils of the enemy.

(l)8:28 Or, woundedGr. shamefully handled.

(m)8:30 Or, woundedGr. shamefully handled.

(n)8:31 The exact meaning of this clause is uncertain.

(o)8:31 Gr. of them.

(p)8:32 That is, probably, the captain of an irregular auxiliary force. Some write Phylarches,as a proper name.

(q)8:33 The Greek text here is perhaps corrupt.

(r)8:33 Or, country

(s)8:33 Or, porches

(t)8:33 Or, a solitary hut

(u)8:35 Gr. having made himself solitary.

(v)8:35 Or, having won the greatest possible favor by reason of the destruction of his army

(w)8:36 Or, because of thistheir way of lifeGr. because of this manner.