2 Maccabees 13

1In the one hundred forty-ninth year, Judas and his men got word that Antiochus Eupator was marching against Judea with a huge army,

τῷ δὲ ἐνάτῳ καὶ τεσσαρακοστῷ καὶ ἑκατοστῷ ἔτει προσέπεσεν τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ιουδαν Ἀντίοχον τὸν Εὐπάτορα παραγενέσθαι σὺν πλήθεσιν ἐπὶ τὴν Ιουδαίαν

2and with him his guardian, Lysias, who was in charge of the government. Each of them had a Greek army of one hundred ten thousand infantry, five thousand three hundred horsemen, twenty-two elephants, and three hundred chariots armed with scythes.

καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ Λυσίαν τὸν ἐπίτροπον καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων ἕκαστον ἔχοντα δύναμιν Ἑλληνικὴν πεζῶν μυριάδας ἕνδεκα καὶ ἱππέων πεντακισχιλίους τριακοσίους καὶ ἐλέφαντας εἴκοσι δύο ἅρματα δὲ δρεπανηφόρα τριακόσια

3Menelaus also joined forces with them. It was a great irony that he encouraged Antiochus, not for the preservation of his homeland, but for his expectation to be established in authority.

συνέμειξεν δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ Μενέλαος καὶ παρεκάλει μετὰ πολλῆς εἰρωνείας τὸν Ἀντίοχον οὐκ ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τῆς πατρίδος οἰόμενος δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς κατασταθήσεσθαι

4But the King of kings aroused anger in Antiochus against this sinful man. So when Lysias pointed out that this man was the cause of all the trouble, he commanded them to take him to Beroea, to put him to death as was the custom there.

ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλέων ἐξήγειρεν τὸν θυμὸν τοῦ Ἀντιόχου ἐπὶ τὸν ἀλιτήριον καὶ Λυσίου ὑποδείξαντος τοῦτον αἴτιον εἶναι πάντων τῶν κακῶν προσέταξεν ὡς ἔθος ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ προσαπολέσαι ἀγαγόντας εἰς Βέροιαν

5For there is a tower in that place, fifty cubits high and filled with ashes. It also has a contrivance continuing around it on all sides that inclines steeply into the ashes.

ἔστιν δὲ ἐν τῷ τόπῳ πύργος πεντήκοντα πήχεων πλήρης σποδοῦ οὗτος δὲ ὄργανον εἶχεν περιφερὲς πάντοθεν ἀπόκρημνον εἰς τὴν σποδόν

6There they all shove anyone guilty of sacrilege or who has done excessive evils to their destruction.

ἐνταῦθα τὸν ἱεροσυλίας ἔνοχον ἢ καί τινων ἄλλων κακῶν ὑπεροχὴν πεποιημένον ἅπαντες προσωθοῦσιν εἰς ὄλεθρον

7Thus it happened that Menelaus the lawbreaker died by such a destiny. He was even deprived of a burial in the ground.

τοιούτῳ μόρῳ τὸν παράνομον συνέβη θανεῖν μηδὲ τῆς γῆς τυχόντα Μενέλαον

8Now this was altogether just, for since he committed many sins against the sacred altar, whose fire and ashes were holy, he should get death for himself in ashes.

πάνυ δικαίως ἐπεὶ γὰρ συνετελέσατο πολλὰ περὶ τὸν βωμὸν ἁμαρτήματα οὗ τὸ πῦρ ἁγνὸν ἦν καὶ ἡ σποδός ἐν σποδῷ τὸν θάνατον ἐκομίσατο

9The king was coming with barbarous arrogance to face the Jews with things far worse than anything done by his father.

τοῖς δὲ φρονήμασιν ὁ βασιλεὺς βεβαρβαρωμένος ἤρχετο τὰ χείριστα τῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ γεγονότων ἐνδειξόμενος τοῖς Ιουδαίοις

10But when Judas learned of this, he charged the people to call upon the Lord day and night, asking Him to help them now as He had formerly; for they were about to be deprived of their law, their homeland, and their temple.

μεταλαβὼν δὲ Ιουδας ταῦτα παρήγγειλεν τῷ πλήθει δι᾿ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸν κύριον εἴ ποτε καὶ ἄλλοτε καὶ νῦν ἐπιβοηθεῖν τοῖς τοῦ νόμου καὶ πατρίδος καὶ ἱεροῦ ἁγίου στερεῖσθαι μέλλουσιν

11They prayed He would not allow the people who had just begun a new life to fall into the hands of the blaspheming Gentiles.

καὶ τὸν ἄρτι βραχέως ἀνεψυχότα λαὸν μὴ ἐᾶσαι τοῖς δυσφήμοις ἔθνεσιν ὑποχειρίους γενέσθαι

12After they all made the same petition together and constantly implored the merciful Lord with weeping, fasting, and prostrations for three days, Judas encouraged them and commanded them to stand firm.

πάντων δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιησάντων ὁμοῦ καὶ καταξιωσάντων τὸν ἐλεήμονα κύριον μετὰ κλαυθμοῦ καὶ νηστειῶν καὶ προπτώσεως ἐπὶ ἡμέρας τρεῖς ἀδιαλείπτως παρακαλέσας αὐτοὺς ὁ Ιουδας ἐκέλευσεν παραγίνεσθαι

13Then he consulted privately with the elders and determined to march out, to let the matter be decided by the help of God before the king's army could enter Judea and take possession of the city.

καθ᾿ ἑαυτὸν δὲ σὺν τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις γενόμενος ἐβουλεύσατο πρὶν εἰσβαλεῖν τοῦ βασιλέως τὸ στράτευμα εἰς τὴν Ιουδαίαν καὶ γενέσθαι τῆς πόλεως ἐγκρατεῖς ἐξελθόντας κρῖναι τὰ πράγματα τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ βοηθείᾳ

14So, committing the results to the Creator of all and urging those with him to fight nobly to the death for the laws, the temple, the city, the country, and the commonwealth, he positioned his army near Modein.

δοὺς δὲ τὴν ἐπιτροπὴν τῷ κτίστῃ τοῦ κόσμου παρακαλέσας τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ γενναίως ἀγωνίσασθαι μέχρι θανάτου περὶ νόμων ἱεροῦ πόλεως πατρίδος πολιτείας περὶ δὲ Μωδεϊν ἐποιήσατο τὴν στρατοπεδείαν

15After he gave his men the watchword, 'God's Victory,' and chose his best young men, he besieged the royal palace by night, killing as many as two thousand men in the camp. He also slew the leading elephant and its rider.

ἀναδοὺς δὲ τοῖς περὶ αὐτὸν σύνθημα θεοῦ νίκην μετὰ νεανίσκων ἀρίστων κεκριμένων ἐπιβαλὼν νύκτωρ ἐπὶ τὴν βασιλικὴν αὐλὴν τὴν παρεμβολὴν ἀνεῖλεν εἰς ἄνδρας δισχιλίους καὶ τὸν πρωτεύοντα τῶν ἐλεφάντων σὺν τῷ κατ᾿ οἰκίαν ὄντι συνεκέντησεν

16As a result, they filled the camp with terror and disorder and departed victoriously.

καὶ τὸ τέλος τὴν παρεμβολὴν δέους καὶ ταραχῆς ἐπλήρωσαν καὶ ἐξέλυσαν εὐημεροῦντες

17This all happened by daybreak, because the protection of the Lord was with him.

ὑποφαινούσης δὲ ἤδη τῆς ἡμέρας τοῦτο ἐγεγόνει διὰ τὴν ἐπαρήγουσαν αὐτῷ τοῦ κυρίου σκέπην

18Thus the king tasted the courage of the Jews and plotted a strategy against their positions.

ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς εἰληφὼς γεῦμα τῆς τῶν Ιουδαίων εὐτολμίας κατεπείρασεν διὰ μεθόδων τοὺς τόπους

19He marched against Beth-zur, a stronghold of the Jews, but was turned back. He attacked again, but was beaten.

καὶ ἐπὶ Βαιθσουρα φρούριον ὀχυρὸν τῶν Ιουδαίων προσῆγεν ἐτροποῦτο προσέκρουεν ἠλαττονοῦτο

20Judas then sent supplies to the men inside the fortress.

τοῖς δὲ ἔνδον Ιουδας τὰ δέοντα εἰσέπεμψεν

21But Rhodocus, a man from the Jewish army, tipped off the enemy with secret information. Thus he was sought after, caught, and imprisoned.

προσήγγειλεν δὲ τὰ μυστήρια τοῖς πολεμίοις Ροδοκος ἐκ τῆς Ιουδαϊκῆς τάξεως ἀνεζητήθη καὶ κατελήμφθη καὶ κατεκλείσθη

22The king spoke a second time with the people in Beth-zur, gave assurances, received their pledges, and departed. He then attacked Judas and his forces, but was vanquished.

ἐδευτερολόγησεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῖς ἐν Βαιθσουροις δεξιὰν ἔδωκεν ἔλαβεν ἀπῄει προσέβαλεν τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ιουδαν ἥττων ἐγένετο

23He then learned that Philip, whom he had left in charge of the government in Antioch, had lost his sanity. He was disheartened and summoned the Jews, and yielded and gave an oath to honor all their rights. Thus he settled with them and offered sacrifice, respected the temple, and treated the place humanely.

μετέλαβεν ἀπονενοῆσθαι τὸν Φίλιππον ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ τὸν ἀπολελειμμένον ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων συνεχύθη τοὺς Ιουδαίους παρεκάλεσεν ὑπετάγη καὶ ὤμοσεν ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς δικαίοις συνελύθη καὶ θυσίαν προσήγαγεν ἐτίμησεν τὸν νεὼ καὶ τὸν τόπον ἐφιλανθρώπησεν

24He welcomed Maccabeus, and Hegemonides was left as governor from Ptolemais to Gerar.

καὶ τὸν Μακκαβαῖον ἀπεδέξατο κατέλιπεν στρατηγὸν ἀπὸ Πτολεμαίδος ἕως τῶν Γερρηνῶν ἡγεμονίδην

25Then he went to Ptolemais, but the people of Ptolemais were indignant over the treaty with the Jews. In fact, they were so enraged they sought to annul its provisions.

ἦλθεν εἰς Πτολεμαίδα ἐδυσφόρουν περὶ τῶν συνθηκῶν οἱ Πτολεμαεῖς ἐδείναζον γὰρ ὑπὲρ ὧν ἠθέλησαν ἀθετεῖν τὰς διαστάλσεις

26But Lysias took the public stage and defended the treaty as best he could. He did persuade them, and gaining their goodwill, he returned to Antioch. This is the outcome of the king's strategy and settlement.

προσῆλθεν ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα Λυσίας ἀπελογήσατο ἐνδεχομένως συνέπεισεν κατεπράυνεν εὐμενεῖς ἐποίησεν ἀνέζευξεν εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν οὕτω τὰ τοῦ βασιλέως τῆς ἐφόδου καὶ τῆς ἀναζυγῆς ἐχώρησεν