The Second Book of Maccabees

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- Chapter 15 -

Judas encouraged by a vision gains a glorious victory over Nicanor. The conclusion.

But when Nicanor understood that Judas was in the places of Samaria, he purposed to set upon him with all violence on the sabbath day.

And when the Jews that were constrained to follow him, said: Do not act so fiercely and barbarously, but give honour to the day that is sanctified: and reverence him that beholdeth all things:

That unhappy man asked, if there were a mighty One in heaven, that had commanded the sabbath day to be kept.

And when they answered: There is the living Lord himself in heaven, the mighty One, that commanded the seventh day to be kept,

Then he said: And I am mighty upon the earth, and I command to take arms, and to do the king’s business. Nevertheless he prevailed not to accomplish his design.

So Nicanor being puffed up with exceeding great pride, thought to set up a public monument of his victory over Judas.

But Machabeus ever trusted with all hope that God would help them.

And he exhorted his people not to fear the coming of the nations, but to remember the help they had before received from heaven, and now to hope for victory from the Almighty.

And speaking to them out of the law, and the prophets, and withal putting them in mind of the battles they had fought before, he made them more cheerful:

Then after he had encouraged them, he shewed withal the falsehood of the Gentiles, and their breach of oaths.

So he armed every one of them, not with defence of shield and spear, but with very good speeches and exhortations, and told them a dream worthy to be believed, whereby he rejoiced them all.

Now the vision was in this manner: Onias who had been high priest, a good and virtuous man, modest in his looks, gentle in his manners, and graceful in his speech, and who from a child was exercised in virtues, holding up his hands, prayed for all the people of the Jews:

After this there appeared also another man, admirable for age, and glory, and environed with great beauty and majesty:

Then Onias answering, Raid: This is a lover of his brethren, and of the people of Israel: this is he that prayeth much for the people, and for all the holy city, Jeremias the prophet of God.

Whereupon Jeremias stretched forth his right hand, and gave to Judas a sword of gold, saying:

Take this holy sword a gift from God, wherewith thou shalt overthrow the adversaries of my people Israel.

Thus being exhorted with the words of Judas, which were very good, and proper to stir up the courage, and strengthen the hearts of the young men, they resolved to fight, and to set upon them manfully: that valour might decide the matter, because the holy city and the temple were in danger.

For their concern was less for their wives, and children, and for their brethren, and kinsfolks: but their greatest and principal fear was for the holiness of the temple.

And they also that were in the city, had no little concern for them that were to be engaged in battle.

And now when all expected what judgment would be given, and the enemies were at hand, and the army was set in array, the beasts and the horsemen ranged in convenient places,

Machabeus considering the coming of the multitude, and the divers preparations of armour, and the fierceness of the beasts, stretching out his hands to heaven, called upon the Lord, that worketh wonders, who giveth victory to them that are worthy, not according to the power of their arms, but according as it seemeth good to him.

And in his prayer he said after this manner: Thou, O Lord, who didst send thy angel in the time of Ezechias king of Juda, and didst kill a hundred and eighty-five thousand of the army of Sennacherib:

Send now also, O Lord of heaven, thy good angel before us, for the fear and dread of the greatness of thy arm,

That they may be afraid, who come with blasphemy against thy holy people. And thus he concluded his prayer.

But Nicanor, and they that were with him came forward, with trumpets and songs.

But Judas, and they that were with him, encountered them, calling upon God by prayers:

So fighting with their hands, but praying to the Lord with their hearts, they slew no less than five and thirty thousand, being greatly cheered with the presence of God.

And when the battle was over, and they were returning with joy, they understood that Nicanor was slain in his armour.

Then making a shout, and a great noise, they blessed the Almighty Lord in their own language.

And Judas, who was altogether ready, in body and mind, to die for his countrymen, commanded that Nicanor’s head, and his hand with the shoulder should be cut off, and carried to Jerusalem.

And when he was come thither, having called together his countrymen, and the priests to the altar, he sent also for them that were in the castle,

And shewing them the head of Nicenor, and the wicked hand, which he had stretched out, with proud boasts, against the holy house of the Almighty God,

He commanded also, that the tongue of the wicked Nicanor, should be cut out and given by pieces to birds, and the hand of the furious man to be hanged up over against the temple.

Then all blessed the Lord of heaven, saying: Blessed be he that hath kept his own place undefiled.

And he hung up Nicanor’s head in the top of the castle, that it might be an evident and manifest sign of the help of God.

And they all ordained by a common decree, by no means to let this day pass without solemnity:

But to celebrate the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, called, in the Syrian language, the day before Mardochias’ day.

So these things being done with relation to Nicanor, and from that time the city being possessed by the Hebrews, I also will here make an end of my narration.

Which if I have done well, and as it becometh the history, it is what I desired: but if not so perfectly, it must be pardoned me.

For as it is hurtful to drink always wine, or always water, but pleasant to use sometimes the one, and sometimes the other: so if the speech be always nicely framed, it will not be grateful to the readers. But here it shall be ended.

Judas encouraged by a vision gains a glorious victory over Nicanor. The conclusion.

But Nicanor, hearing that Judas and his company were in the region of Samaria, resolved to attack them with complete safety on the day of rest.

When the Jews who were compelled to follow him said, “Don’t destroy so savagely and barbarously, but give due glory to the day which he who sees all things has honored and hallowed above other days.”

Then the thrice-accursed wretch asked if there were a Sovereign in heaven who had commanded to keep the Sabbath day.

When they declared, “There is the Lord, living himself as Sovereign in heaven, who told us observe the seventh day.”

He replied, “I also am a sovereign on the earth, who commands you to take up weapons and execute the king’s business.” Nevertheless he didn’t prevail to execute his cruel plan.

And Nicanor, (a) in his utter boastfulness and arrogance, had determined to set up a monument of complete victory over Judas and all those who were with him.

But Maccabaeus still trusted unceasingly, with all hope that he should obtain help from the Lord.

He exhorted his company not to be fearful at the assault of the heathen, but keeping in mind the help which in former times they had often received from heaven, so now also to look for the victory which would come to them from the Almighty,

and encouraging them out of the law and the prophets, and reminding them of the conflicts that they had won, he made them more eager.

And when he had aroused their courage, he gave them orders, at the same time pointing out the faithlessness of the heathen and their breach of their oaths.

Arming each one of them, not so much with the sure defense of shields and spears as with the encouragement of good words, and moreover relating to them a dream worthy to be believed, he made them all exceedingly glad.

The vision of that dream was this: Onias, he who had been high priest, a noble and good man, modest in bearing, yet gentle in manner and well-spoken, and trained from a child in all points of virtue, with outstretched hands invoking blessings on the whole body of the Jews.

Then he saw a man appear, of venerable age and exceeding glory, and the dignity around him was wonderful and most majestic.

Onias answered and said, “This is the lover of the kindred, he who prays much for the people and the holy city: Jeremiah the prophet of God.

Jeremiah stretched out his right hand and delivered to Judas a gold sword, and in giving it addressed him thus:

“Take this holy sword, a gift from God, with which you shall strike down the adversaries.”

Being encouraged by the words of Judas, which were noble and effective, and able to incite to virtue and to stir the souls of the young to manly courage, they determined not to carry on a campaign, but nobly to bear down upon the enemy, and fighting hand to hand with all courage bring the matter to a conclusion, because the city, the sanctuary, and the temple were in danger.

For their fear for wives and children, and furthermore for family and relatives, was less important to them; but greatest and first was their fear for the consecrated sanctuary.

Also those who were shut up in the city were in no light distress, being troubled because of the encounter in the open country.

When all were now waiting for the decision of the issue, and the enemy had already joined battle, and the army had been set in array, and the elephants(b) brought back to a convenient post,(c) and the cavalry deployed on the flanks,

Maccabaeus, perceiving the presence of the (d)troops, and the various weapons with which they were equipped, and the savageness of the (e)elephants, holding up his hands to heaven called upon the Lord who works wonders, knowing that success comes not by weapons, but that, according to how the Lord judges, he gains the victory for those who are worthy.

And calling upon God, he said this: “You, O Sovereign Lord, sent your angel in the time of King Hezekiah of Judea, and he killed of the (f)army of Sennacherib as many as one hundred eighty-five thousand.

So now also, O Sovereign of the heavens, send a good angel before us to bring terror and trembling.

Through the greatness of your arm let them be stricken with dismay who with blasphemy have come here against your holy people.” As he finished these words,

Nicanor and his company advanced with trumpets and victory songs;

but Judas and his company joined battle with the enemy with invocation and prayers.

Fighting with their hands and praying to God with their hearts, they killed no less than thirty-five thousand men, being made exceedingly glad by the manifestation of God.

When the engagement was over and they were returning again with joy, they recognized Nicanor lying dead in full armor.

Then there was shouting and noise, and they blessed the Sovereign Lord in the language of their ancestors.

He who in all things was in body and soul the foremost champion of his fellow-citizens, he who kept through life the good will of his youth toward his countrymen, ordered that Nicanor’s head be cut off with his hand and arm, and that they be brought to Jerusalem.

When he had arrived there and had called his countrymen together and set the priests before the altar, he sent for those who were in the citadel.

Showing the head of the vile Nicanor and the hand of that profane man, which with proud brags he had stretched out against the holy house of the Almighty,

and cutting out the tongue of the impious Nicanor, he said that he would give it in pieces to the birds, and hang up these rewards of his folly near the sanctuary.

They all, looking up to heaven, blessed the Lord who had manifested himself, saying, “Blessed is he who has preserved his own place undefiled!”

He hung Nicanor’s head and shoulder from the citadel, a clear sign evident to all of the help of the Lord.

They all ordained with a common decree to in no way let this day pass undistinguished, but to mark with honor the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (it is called Adar in the Syrian language), the day before the day of Mordecai.

This then having been the account of the attempt of Nicanor, and the city having from those times been held by the Hebrews, I also will here make an end of my book.

If I have written well and to the point in my story, this is what I myself desired; but if its poorly done and mediocre, this is the best I could do.

For as it is (g)distasteful to drink wine alone and likewise to drink water alone, (h)while the mingling of wine with water at once gives full pleasantness to the flavor; so also the fashioning of the language delights the ears of those who read the story. Here is the end.

Footnotes

(a)15:6 Gr. carrying his neck high.

(b)15:20 Gr. animals.

(d)15:21 Gr. multitudes.

(e)15:21 Gr. animals.

(f)15:22 Gr. camp.

(g)15:39 Or, hurtful

(h)15:39 Gr. but even as.