2 Maccabees · Brenton's Greek Septuagint
2 Maccabees 5 Brenton's Greek Septuagint
Notes on this text (1)
- Ezra and Nehemiah form one book (2 Esdras) in this edition; the reader shows them as Ezra 1–10 and Nehemiah 1–13.
1 Περὶ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον τὴν δευτέραν ἔφοδον ὁ Ἀντίοχος εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἐστείλατο.
1 Now about this time Antiochus made his second invasion into Egypt.
2 Συνέβη δὲ καθʼ ὅλην τὴν πόλιν σχεδὸν ἐφʼ ἡμέρας τεσσαράκοντα φαίνεσθαι διὰ τοῦ ἀέρος τρέχοντας ἱππεῖς διαχρύσους στολὰς ἔχοντας, καὶ λόγχας σπειρηδὸν ἐξωπλισμένους,
2 It happened that throughout all the city, for almost forty days, cavalry appeared in the midst of the sky in swift motion, wearing robes woven with gold and carrying spears, equipped with troops for battle—
3 καὶ ἴλας ἵππων διατεταγμένας, καὶ προσβολὰς γινομένας, καὶ καταδρομὰς ἑκατέρων, καὶ ἀσπίδων κινήσεις, καὶ καμάκων πλήθη, καὶ μαχαιρῶν σπασμούς, καὶ βελῶν βολὰς, καὶ χρυσῶν κόσμων ἐκλάμψεις, καὶ παντοίους θωρακισμούς.
3 drawing swords, squadrons of cavalry in array, encounters and pursuits of both armies, shaking shields, multitudes of lances, throwing of missiles, flashing of golden trappings, and putting on all sorts of armor.
4 Διὸ πάντες ἠξίουν ἐπʼ ἀγαθῷ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν γενέσθαι.
4 Therefore everyone prayed that the manifestation might have been given for good.
5 Γενομένης δὲ λαλιᾶς ψευδοῦς, ὡς μετηλλαχότος τὸν βίον Ἀντιόχου, παραλαβὼν ὁ Ἰάσων οὐκ ἐλάττους τῶν χιλίων, αἰφνιδίως ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν συνετελέσατο ἐπίθεσιν· τῶν δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ τείχει συνελασθέντων, καὶ τέλος ἤδη καταλαμβανομένης τῆς πόλεως, ὁ Μενέλαος εἰς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν ἐφυγάδευσεν.
5 When a false rumor had arisen that Antiochus was dead, Jason took not less than a thousand men, and suddenly made an assault upon the city. When those who were on the wall were being routed, and the city was at length nearly taken, Menelaus took refuge in the citadel.
6 Ὁ δὲ Ἰάσων ἐποιεῖτο σφαγὰς τῶν πολιτῶν τῶν ἰδίων ἀφειδῶς, οὐ συννοῶν τὴν εἰς τοὺς συγγενεῖς εὐημερίαν, δυσημερίαν εἶναι τὴν μεγίστην· δοκῶν δὲ πολεμίων καὶ οὐχ ὁμοεθνῶν τρόπαια καταβάλλεσθαι,
6 But Jason slaughtered his own citizens without mercy, not considering that good success against kinsmen is the greatest misfortune, but supposing himself to be setting up trophies over enemies, and not over fellow countrymen.
7 τῆς μὲν ἀρχῆς οὐκ ἐκράτησε, τὸ δὲ τέλος τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς αἰσχύνην λαβών, φυγὰς πάλιν εἰς τὴν Ἀμμανίτιν ἀπῆλθε.
7 He didn’t win control of the government, but receiving shame as the result of his conspiracy, he fled again as a fugitive into the country of the Ammonites.
8 Πέρας οὖν κακῆς ἀναστροφῆς ἔτυχεν ἐγκλεισθεὶς πρὸς Ἀρέταν τὸν τῶν Ἀράβων τύραννον, πόλιν ἐκ πόλεως φεύγων, διωκόμενος ὑπὸ πάντων, καὶ στυγούμενος ὡς τῶν νόμων ἀποστάτης, καὶ βδελυσσόμενος ὡς πατρίδος καὶ πολιτῶν δήμιος, εἰς Αἴγυπτον συνεβράσθη.
8 At last therefore he met with a miserable end. Having been imprisoned at the court of Aretas the prince of the Arabians, fleeing from city to city, pursued by all men, hated as a rebel against the laws, and abhorred as the executioner of his country and his fellow citizens, he was cast ashore in Egypt.
9 Καὶ ὁ συχνοὺς τῆς πατρίδος ἀποξενώσας, ἐπὶ ξένης ἀπώλετο πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους ἀναχθείς, ὡς διὰ τὴν συγγένειαν τευξόμενος σκέπης.
9 He who had driven many from their own country into exile perished in exile, having crossed the sea to the Lacedaemonians, hoping to find shelter there because they were near of kin.
10 Καὶ ὁ πλῆθος ἀτάφων ἐκρίψας ἀπένθητος ἐγενήθη, καὶ κηδείας οὐδʼ ἡστινοσοῦν οὔτε πατρῴου τάφου μετέσχε.
10 He who had thrown out a multitude unburied had none to mourn for him. He didn’t have any funeral at all and no place in the tomb of his ancestors.
11 Προσπεσόντων δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ περὶ τῶν γεγονότων, διέλαβεν ἀποστατεῖν τὴν Ἰουδαίαν· ὅθεν ἀναζεύξας ἐξ Αἰγύπτου τεθηριωμένος τῇ ψυχῇ, ἔλαβε τὴν μὲν πόλιν δορυάλωτον.
11 Now when news came to the king concerning that which was done, he thought that Judea was in revolt. So, setting out from Egypt in a rage, he took the city by force of weapons,
12 Καὶ ἐκέλευσε τοῖς στρατιώταις κόπτειν ἀφειδῶς τοὺς ἐμπίπτοντας, καὶ τοὺς εἰς τὰς οἰκίας ἀναβαίνοντας κατασφάζειν.
12 and commanded his soldiers to cut down without mercy those who came in their way, and to kill those who went into their houses.
13 Ἐγίνοντο δὲ νέων καὶ πρεσβυτέρων ἀναιρέσιες, ἀνδρῶν τε καὶ γυναικῶν καὶ τέκνων ἀφανισμὸς, παρθένων τε καὶ νηπίων σφαγαί.
13 Then there was killing of young and old, destruction of boys, women, and children, and slaying of virgins and infants.
14 Ὀκτὼ δὲ μυριάδες ἐν ταῖς πάσαις ἡμέραις τρισὶ κατεφθάρησαν, τέσσαρες μὲν ἐν χειρῶν νομαῖς, οὐκ ἧττον δὲ τῶν ἐσφαγμένων ἐπράθησαν.
14 In a total of three days, eighty thousand were destroyed, of which forty thousand were slain in close combat, and no fewer were sold into slavery than slain.
15 Καὶ οὐκ ἀρκεσθεὶς δὲ τούτοις, κατετόλμησεν εἰς τὸ πάσης τῆς γῆς ἁγιώτατον ἱερὸν εἰσελθεῖν, ὁδηγὸν ἔχων τὸν Μενέλαον, τὸν καὶ τῶν νόμων καὶ τῆς πατρίδος προδότην γεγονότα.
15 Not content with this, he presumed to enter into the most holy temple of all the earth, having Menelaus for his guide (who had proved himself a traitor both to the laws and to his country),
16 Καὶ ταῖς μιαραῖς χερσὶ τὰ ἱερὰ σκεύη λαμβάνων, καὶ τὰ ὑπʼ ἄλλων βασιλέων ἀνατεθέντα πρὸς αὔξησιν καὶ δόξαν τοῦ τόπου καὶ τιμήν, ταῖς βεβήλοις χερσὶ συσσύρων ἐπεδίδου.
16 even taking the sacred vessels with his polluted hands, and dragging down with his profane hands the offerings that had been dedicated by other kings to enhance the glory and honor of the place.
17 Καὶ ἐμετεωρίζετο τὴν διάνοιαν ὁ Ἀντίοχος, οὐ συνορῶν ὅτι διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας τῶν τὴν πόλιν οἰκούντων ἀπώργισται βραχέως ὁ Δεσπότης, διὸ γέγονε περὶ τὸν τόπον παρόρασις.
17 Antiochus was lifted up in mind, not seeing that because of the sins of those who lived in the city the Sovereign Lord had been provoked to anger a little while, and therefore his eye was turned away from the place.
18 Εἰ δὲ μὴ συνέβαινε προενέχεσθαι πολλοῖς ἁμαρτήμασι, καθάπερ ὁ Ἡλιόδωρος ὁ πεμφθεὶς ὑπὸ Σελεύκου τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπὶ τὴν ἐπίσκεψιν τοῦ γαζοφυλακίου, οὗτος προαχθεὶς παραχρῆμα μαστιγωθεὶς ἀνετράπη τοῦ θράσους.
18 But had it not been so that they were already bound by many sins, this man, even as Heliodorus who was sent by King Seleucus to view the treasury, would, as soon as he came forward, have been scourged and turned back from his daring deed.
19 Ἀλλʼ οὐ διὰ τὸν τόπον τὸ ἔθνος, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ἔθνος τὸν τόπον ὁ Κύριος ἐξελέξατο.
19 However the Lord didn’t choose the nation for the place’s sake, but the place for the nation’s sake.
20 Διόπερ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ τόπος συμμετασχὼν τῶν τοῦ ἔθνους δυσπετημάτων γενομένων, ὕστερον εὐεργετημάτων ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου ἐκοινώνησε· καὶ ὁ καταλειφθεὶς ἐν τῇ τοῦ παντοκράτορος ὀργῇ, πάλιν ἐν τῇ τοῦ μεγάλου Δεσπότου καταλλαγῇ μετὰ πάσης δόξης ἐπανωρθώθη.
20 Therefore also the place itself, having shared in the calamities that happened to the nation, did afterward share in its benefits; and the place which was forsaken in the wrath of the Almighty was, at the reconciliation of the great Sovereign, restored again with all glory.
21 Ὁ γοῦν Ἀντίοχος ὀκτακόσια πρὸς τοῖς χιλίοις ἀπενεγκάμενος ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τάλαντα, θᾶττον εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν ἐχωρίσθη, οἰόμενος ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας τὴν μὲν γῆν πλωτὴν, καὶ τὸ πέλαγος πορευτὸν θέσθαι διὰ τὸν μετεωρισμὸν τῆς καρδίας.
21 As for Antiochus, when he had carried away out of the temple one thousand eight hundred talents, he hurried away to Antioch, thinking in his arrogance that he could sail on land and walk on the sea, because his heart was lifted up.
22 Κατέλιπε δὲ καὶ ἐπιστάτας τοῦ κακοῦν τὸ γένος, ἐν μὲν Ἱεροσολύμοις Φίλιππον, τὸ μὲν γένος Φρύγα, τὸν δὲ τρόπον βαρβαρώτερον ἔχοντα τοῦ καταστήσαντος·
22 Moreover he left governors to afflict the race: at Jerusalem, Philip, by race a Phrygian, and in character more barbarous than him who set him there;
23 ἐν δὲ Γαριζὶν Ἀνδρόνικον, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις Μενέλαον, ὃς χείριστα τῶν ἄλλων ὑπερῄρετο τοῖς πολίταις, ἀπεχθῆ δὲ πρὸς τοὺς πολίτας Ἰουδαίους ἔχων διάθεσιν.
23 and at Gerizim, Andronicus; and besides these, Menelaus, who worse than all the rest, exalted himself against his fellow citizens. Having a malicious mind toward the Jews whom he had made his citizens,
24 Ἔπεμψε δὲ τὸν μυσάρχην Ἀπολλώνιον μετὰ στρατεύματος δισμυρίων πρὸς τοῖς δισχιλίοις, προστάξας τοὺς ἐν ἡλικίᾳ πάντας κατασφάξαι, τὰς δὲ γυναῖκας καὶ νεωτέρους πωλεῖν.
24 he sent that lord of pollutions Apollonius with an army of twenty-two thousand, commanding him to kill all those who were of full age, and to sell the women and the boys as slaves.
25 Οὗτος δὲ παραγενόμενος εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα, καὶ τὸν εἰρηνικὸν ὑποκριθείς, ἐπέσχεν ἕως τῆς ἁγίας ἡμέρας τοῦ σαββάτου· καὶ λαβὼν ἀργοῦντας τοὺς Ἰουδαίους, τοῖς ὑφʼ ἑαυτὸν ἐξοπλησίαν παρήγγειλε.
25 He came to Jerusalem, and pretending to be a man of peace, waited till the holy day of the Sabbath, and finding the Jews at rest from work, he commanded his men to parade fully armed.
26 Καὶ τοὺς ἐξελθόντας πάντας ἐπὶ τὴν θεωρίαν συνεξεκέντησε, καὶ εἰς τὴν πόλιν σὺν τοῖς ὅπλοις εἰσδραμὼν ἱκανὰ κατέστρωσε πλήθη.
26 He put to the sword all those who came out to the spectacle. Running into the city with the armed men, he killed great multitudes.
27 Ἰούδας δὲ ὁ Μακκαβαῖος δέκατός που γενηθεὶς, καὶ ἀναχωρήσας εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, θηρίων τρόπον ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσι διέζη σὺν τοῖς μετʼ αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὴν χορτώδη τροφὴν σιτούμενοι διατέλουν, πρὸς τὸ μὴ μετασχεῖν τοῦ μολυσμοῦ
27 But Judas, who is also called Maccabaeus, with about nine others, withdrew himself, and with his company kept himself alive in the mountains like wild animals do. They continued feeding on what grew wild, that they might not be partakers of the defilement.