2 Maccabees 5

1Around this time, Antiochus set out for his second assault into Egypt.

περὶ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον τὴν δευτέραν ἔφοδον ὁ Ἀντίοχος εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἐστείλατο

2So it came about throughout the entire city of Jerusalem that for almost forty days there were apparitions of horsemen dressed in apparel interwoven with gold and moving quickly through the air, in companies fully armed with spears and drawn swords—

συνέβη δὲ καθ᾿ ὅλην τὴν πόλιν σχεδὸν ἐφ᾿ ἡμέρας τεσσαράκοντα φαίνεσθαι διὰ τῶν ἀέρων τρέχοντας ἱππεῖς διαχρύσους στολὰς ἔχοντας καὶ λόγχας σπειρηδὸν ἐξωπλισμένους καὶ μαχαιρῶν σπασμοὺς

3troops of horsemen set in battle array and making attacks and counterattacks on this side and on that, with the movement of shields and a multitude of spears, and the shooting of arrows, and the brightness of gold ornaments, and breastplates of all sorts.

καὶ ἴλας ἵππων διατεταγμένας καὶ προσβολὰς γινομένας καὶ καταδρομὰς ἑκατέρων καὶ ἀσπίδων κινήσεις καὶ καμάκων πλήθη καὶ βελῶν βολὰς καὶ χρυσέων κόσμων ἐκλάμψεις καὶ παντοίους θωρακισμούς

4Therefore all the men prayed that the appearance might be for the good.

διὸ πάντες ἠξίουν ἐπ᾿ ἀγαθῷ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν γεγενῆσθαι

5But when a false report was circulated that Antiochus was dead, Jason took no less than a thousand men and suddenly made an assault upon the city. When the men on the wall were driven off and the city was finally taken, Menelaus was banished into the citadel.

γενομένης δὲ λαλιᾶς ψευδοῦς ὡς μετηλλαχότος Ἀντιόχου τὸν βίον 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

6But Jason kept slaughtering his own fellow citizens without mercy, not comprehending that success against his kinsmen was his very unlucky day, for he imagined that he was winning trophies over his enemies rather than over people of the same race.

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

7Yet he did not get the upper hand of the government, but in the end gained disgrace from his plot, and took refuge again among the Ammonites.

τῆς μὲν ἀρχῆς οὐκ ἐκράτησεν τὸ δὲ τέλος τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς αἰσχύνην λαβὼν φυγὰς πάλιν εἰς τὴν Αμμανῖτιν ἀπῆλθεν

8In the end, his life reached an ugly conclusion. He was accused before Aretas the ruler of the Arabs, but fled from city to city. He was pursued by all, detested as a rebel against the laws, and abhorred as an executioner of his homeland and fellow-citizens. Finally he was cast ashore in Egypt.

πέρας οὖν κακῆς καταστροφῆς ἔτυχεν ἐγκληθεὶς πρὸς Ἀρέταν τὸν τῶν Ἀράβων τύραννον πόλιν ἐκ πόλεως φεύγων διωκόμενος ὑπὸ πάντων στυγούμενος ὡς τῶν νόμων ἀποστάτης καὶ βδελυσσόμενος ὡς πατρίδος καὶ πολιτῶν δήμιος εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἐξεβράσθη

9Thus he who so often banished many from their homelands himself perished in a strange land; for he had set sail to the Lacedaimonians to obtain protection because of their kinship.

καὶ ὁ συχνοὺς τῆς πατρίδος ἀποξενώσας ἐπὶ ξένης ἀπώλετο πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους ἀναχθεὶς ὡς διὰ τὴν συγγένειαν τευξόμενος σκέπης

10So he who cast out many without a burial was unmourned, for he had no funeral of his own, nor did he share a place in the tomb of his fathers.

καὶ ὁ πλῆθος ἀτάφων ἐκρίψας ἀπένθητος ἐγενήθη καὶ κηδείας οὐδ᾿ ἡστινοσοῦν οὔτε πατρῴου τάφου μετέσχεν

11When the news of what happened reached King Antiochus, he took it to mean that Judea was in revolt. So inwardly he became like a wild beast, left Egypt, and took the city in war.

προσπεσόντων δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ περὶ τῶν γεγονότων διέλαβεν ἀποστατεῖν τὴν Ιουδαίαν ὅθεν ἀναζεύξας ἐξ Αἰγύπτου τεθηριωμένος τῇ ψυχῇ ἔλαβεν τὴν μὲν πόλιν δοριάλωτον

12He commanded his soldiers to cut down without mercy whomever they met and to slaughter those who went into their houses.

καὶ ἐκέλευσεν τοῖς στρατιώταις κόπτειν ἀφειδῶς τοὺς ἐμπίπτοντας καὶ τοὺς εἰς τὰς οἰκίας ἀναβαίνοντας κατασφάζειν

13So there was a killing of young and old, a killing of boys, women, and children, and a slaughtering of virgins and infants.

ἐγίνετο δὲ νέων καὶ πρεσβυτέρων ἀναίρεσις ἀνήβων τε καὶ γυναικῶν καὶ τέκνων ἀφανισμός παρθένων τε καὶ νηπίων σφαγαί

14Eighty thousand were destroyed in a total of three days, forty thousand in hand-to-hand combat; and no fewer were sold into slavery than were slain.

ὀκτὼ δὲ μυριάδες ἐν ταῖς πάσαις ἡμέραις τρισὶν κατεφθάρησαν τέσσαρες μὲν ἐν χειρῶν νομαῖς οὐχ ἧττον δὲ τῶν ἐσφαγμένων ἐπράθησαν

15Not satisfied with these things, Antiochus dared to enter the most holy temple in all the earth. He had as his guide Menelaus, who had become a traitor both to the laws and to his country.

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

16With defiled hands he took the holy vessels, and with profane hands he pulled down the things dedicated by other kings to increase the glory and honor of the place.

καὶ ταῖς μιαραῖς χερσὶν τὰ ἱερὰ σκεύη λαμβάνων καὶ τὰ ὑπ᾿ ἄλλων βασιλέων ἀνατεθέντα πρὸς αὔξησιν καὶ δόξαν τοῦ τόπου καὶ τιμὴν ταῖς βεβήλοις χερσὶν συσσύρων

17Antiochus was haughty, but was unaware that, because of the sins of those who lived in the city, the Lord was momentarily angered, and therefore was withholding grace as a temporary punishment of the place.

καὶ ἐμετεωρίζετο τὴν διάνοιαν ὁ Ἀντίοχος οὐ συνορῶν ὅτι διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας τῶν τὴν πόλιν οἰκούντων ἀπώργισται βραχέως ὁ δεσπότης διὸ γέγονεν περὶ τὸν τόπον παρόρασις

18However, if the people of the city had not been involved in so many sins, this man would have been scourged and brought to ruin as soon as he had come, as was Heliodorus, whom Seleucus the king had sent to inspect the treasury.

εἰ δὲ μὴ συνέβη προσενέχεσθαι πολλοῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν καθάπερ ἦν ὁ Ἡλιόδωρος ὁ πεμφθεὶς ὑπὸ Σελεύκου τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπὶ τὴν ἐπίσκεψιν τοῦ γαζοφυλακίου οὗτος προαχθεὶς παραχρῆμα μαστιγωθεὶς ἀνετράπη τοῦ θράσους

19But the Lord did not choose the nation because of the place, but the place because of the nation.

ἀλλ᾿ οὐ διὰ τὸν τόπον τὸ ἔθνος ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ἔθνος τὸν τόπον ὁ κύριος ἐξελέξατο

20Therefore the place also itself shared in the misfortunes that befell the nation, and later had a share in its benefits; and what was forsaken in the wrath of the Almighty was restored again in all its glory by the reconciliation of the great Lord.

διόπερ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ τόπος συμμετασχὼν τῶν τοῦ ἔθνους δυσπετημάτων γενομένων ὕστερον εὐεργετημάτων ἐκοινώνησεν καὶ ὁ καταλειφθεὶς ἐν τῇ τοῦ παντοκράτορος ὀργῇ πάλιν ἐν τῇ τοῦ μεγάλου δεσπότου καταλλαγῇ μετὰ πάσης δόξης ἐπανωρθώθη

21At any rate, Antiochus carried off eighteen hundred talents from the temple and hurried away to Antioch. In his arrogance he thought he could sail on the land and walk on the sea because of the lifting up of his heart.

ὁ γοῦν Ἀντίοχος ὀκτακόσια πρὸς τοῖς χιλίοις ἀπενεγκάμενος ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τάλαντα θᾶττον εἰς τὴν Ἀντιόχειαν ἐχωρίσθη οἰόμενος ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας τὴν μὲν γῆν πλωτὴν καὶ τὸ πέλαγος πορευτὸν θέσθαι διὰ τὸν μετεωρισμὸν τῆς καρδίας

22But he also left governors to afflict the people. In Jerusalem he left Philip, a Phrygian by race, more barbarous in character than the one who appointed him;

κατέλιπεν δὲ καὶ ἐπιστάτας τοῦ κακοῦν τὸ γένος ἐν μὲν Ιεροσολύμοις Φίλιππον τὸ μὲν γένος Φρύγα τὸν δὲ τρόπον βαρβαρώτερον ἔχοντα τοῦ καταστήσαντος

23and in Gerizim, Andronicus. In addition to these he left Menelaus, who lorded it over his fellow citizens worse than did the others, having a hateful disposition toward the Jewish citizens.

ἐν δὲ Γαριζιν Ἀνδρόνικον πρὸς δὲ τούτοις Μενέλαον ὃς χείριστα τῶν ἄλλων ὑπερῄρετο τοῖς πολίταις ἀπεχθῆ δὲ πρὸς τοὺς πολίτας Ιουδαίους ἔχων διάθεσιν

24Antiochus sent Apollonius, commander of the Mysians, with an army of twenty-two thousand men, with orders to slaughter all the grown men and to sell the women and young boys as slaves.

ἔπεμψεν δὲ τὸν Μυσάρχην Ἀπολλώνιον μετὰ στρατεύματος δισμυρίους δὲ πρὸς τοῖς δισχιλίοις προστάξας τοὺς ἐν ἡλικίᾳ πάντας κατασφάξαι τὰς δὲ γυναῖκας καὶ τοὺς νεωτέρους πωλεῖν

25After he arrived in Jerusalem and pretended to be peaceloving, this man waited until the holy day of the Sabbath; then, finding the Jews not at work, he commanded his men to take up arms.

οὗτος δὲ παραγενόμενος εἰς Ιεροσόλυμα καὶ τὸν εἰρηνικὸν ὑποκριθεὶς ἐπέσχεν ἕως τῆς ἁγίας ἡμέρας τοῦ σαββάτου καὶ λαβὼν ἀργοῦντας τοὺς Ιουδαίους τοῖς ὑφ᾿ ἑαυτὸν ἐξοπλησίαν παρήγγειλεν

26He put to the sword all those who came out to see them; then he rushed into the city with his armed men and killed great numbers of people.

καὶ τοὺς ἐξελθόντας πάντας ἐπὶ τὴν θεωρίαν συνεξεκέντησεν καὶ εἰς τὴν πόλιν σὺν τοῖς ὅπλοις εἰσδραμὼν ἱκανὰ κατέστρωσεν πλήθη

27But Judas Maccabeus, with about nine others, withdrew into the desert so as not to share in the defilement. He kept himself and those with him alive in the mountains as do wild animals, by continually eating food that grew wild.

Ιουδας δὲ ὁ καὶ Μακκαβαῖος δέκατός που γενηθεὶς καὶ ἀναχωρήσας εἰς τὴν ἔρημον θηρίων τρόπον ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν διέζη σὺν τοῖς μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν χορτώδη τροφὴν σιτούμενοι διετέλουν πρὸς τὸ μὴ μετασχεῖν τοῦ μολυσμοῦ