The First Book of Maccabees, Chapter 14ΜΑΚΚΑΒΑΙΩΝ Α′ ΙΔ′

καὶ ἐν ἔτει δευτέρῳ καὶ ἑβδομηκοστῷ καὶ ἑκατοστῷ συνήγαγεν Δημήτριος ὁ βασιλεὺς τὰς δυνάμεις αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπορεύθη εἰς Μηδίαν τοῦ ἐπισπάσασθαι βοήθειαν ἑαυτῷ ὅπως πολεμήσῃ τὸν Τρύφωνα

And in the one hundred seventy-second year King Demetrius gathered his forces and went into Media to draw help to himself, so that he might make war against Tryphon.

καὶ ἤκουσεν Ἀρσάκης ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς Περσίδος καὶ Μηδίας ὅτι εἰσῆλθεν Δημήτριος εἰς τὰ ὅρια αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἕνα τῶν ἀρχόντων αὐτοῦ συλλαβεῖν αὐτὸν ζῶντα

And Arsaces, king of Persia and Media, heard that Demetrius had entered his territory, and he sent one of his commanders to capture him alive.

καὶ ἐπορεύθη καὶ ἐπάταξεν τὴν παρεμβολὴν Δημητρίου καὶ συνέλαβεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν πρὸς Ἀρσάκην καὶ ἔθετο αὐτὸν ἐν φυλακῇ

And he went and struck the camp of Demetrius and captured him and brought him to Arsaces, who put him in prison.

καὶ ἡσύχασεν ἡ γῆ Ιουδα πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας Σιμωνος καὶ ἐζήτησεν ἀγαθὰ τῷ ἔθνει αὐτοῦ καὶ ἤρεσεν αὐτοῖς ἡ ἐξουσία αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ δόξα αὐτοῦ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας

And the land of Judah was at rest all the days of Simon, and he sought good for his nation, and his authority and his glory pleased them all the days.

καὶ μετὰ πάσης τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ ἔλαβεν τὴν Ιοππην εἰς λιμένα καὶ ἐποίησεν εἴσοδον ταῖς νήσοις τῆς θαλάσσης

And with all his glory he took Joppa as a harbor and made it an access point for the islands of the sea.

καὶ ἐπλάτυνεν τὰ ὅρια τῷ ἔθνει αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκράτησεν τῆς χώρας

And he enlarged the borders for his nation and gained control of the country.

καὶ συνήγαγεν αἰχμαλωσίαν πολλὴν καὶ ἐκυρίευσεν Γαζαρων καὶ Βαιθσουρων καὶ τῆς ἄκρας καὶ ἐξῆρεν τὰς ἀκαθαρσίας ἐξ αὐτῆς καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ ἀντικείμενος αὐτῷ

And he gathered many captives and gained control of Gezer and Bethsura and the citadel, and he removed the impurities from it, and there was no one opposing him.

καὶ ἦσαν γεωργοῦντες τὴν γῆν αὐτῶν μετ' εἰρήνης καὶ ἡ γῆ ἐδίδου τὰ γενήματα αὐτῆς καὶ τὰ ξύλα τῶν πεδίων τὸν καρπὸν αὐτῶν

And they were cultivating their land in peace, and the land kept yielding its produce, and the trees of the plains their fruit.

πρεσβύτεροι ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις ἐκάθηντο πάντες περὶ ἀγαθῶν ἐκοινολογοῦντο καὶ οἱ νεανίσκοι ἐνεδύσαντο δόξας καὶ στολὰς πολέμου

The elders sat in the streets, all of them speaking together about good things, and the young men put on splendid attire and military garments.

ταῖς πόλεσιν ἐχορήγησεν βρώματα καὶ ἔταξεν αὐτὰς ἐν σκεύεσιν ὀχυρώσεως ἕως ὅτου ὠνομάσθη τὸ ὄνομα τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ ἕως ἄκρου γῆς

To the cities he supplied provisions and furnished them with equipment for fortification, until the fame of his glory was named to the ends of the earth.

ἐποίησεν εἰρήνην ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ εὐφράνθη Ισραηλ εὐφροσύνην μεγάλην

He brought peace upon the land, and Israel rejoiced with great rejoicing.

καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἕκαστος ὑπὸ τὴν ἄμπελον αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν συκῆν αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ ἐκφοβῶν αὐτούς

And each sat under his own vine and his own fig tree, and there was no one to frighten them.

καὶ ἐξέλιπεν πολεμῶν αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς συνετρίβησαν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις

And war against them ceased in the land, and kings were crushed in those days.

καὶ ἐστήρισεν πάντας τοὺς ταπεινοὺς τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ τὸν νόμον ἐξεζήτησεν καὶ ἐξῆρεν πάντα ἄνομον καὶ πονηρόν

And he strengthened all the humble of his people; he sought out the law and removed every lawless and wicked thing.

τὰ ἅγια ἐδόξασεν καὶ ἐπλήθυνεν τὰ σκεύη τῶν ἁγίων

He honored the sanctuary and increased the vessels of the holy place.

καὶ ἠκούσθη ἐν Ῥώμῃ ὅτι ἀπέθανεν Ιωναθαν καὶ ἕως Σπάρτης καὶ ἐλυπήθησαν σφόδρα

And it was heard in Rome, and as far as Sparta, that Jonathan had died, and they were deeply grieved.

ὡς δὲ ἤκουσαν ὅτι Σιμων ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ γέγονεν ἀρχιερεὺς ἀντ' αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπικρατεῖ τῆς χώρας καὶ τῶν πόλεων τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ

But when they heard that Simon his brother had become high priest in his place and that he himself held authority over the country and the cities in it,

ἔγραψαν πρὸς αὐτὸν δέλτοις χαλκαῖς τοῦ ἀνανεώσασθαι πρὸς αὐτὸν φιλίαν καὶ συμμαχίαν ἣν ἔστησαν πρὸς Ιουδαν καὶ Ιωναθαν τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ

they wrote to him on bronze tablets to renew with him the friendship and alliance that they had established with Judas and Jonathan his brothers.

καὶ ἀνεγνώσθησαν ἐνώπιον τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐν Ιερουσαλημ

And they were read before the assembly in Jerusalem.

καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ἀντίγραφον τῶν ἐπιστολῶν ὧν ἀπέστειλαν οἱ Σπαρτιᾶται Σπαρτιατῶν ἄρχοντες καὶ ἡ πόλις Σιμωνι ἱερεῖ μεγάλῳ καὶ τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις καὶ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν καὶ τῷ λοιπῷ δήμῳ τῶν Ιουδαίων ἀδελφοῖς χαίρειν

And this is the copy of the letters that the Spartans, the rulers of the Spartans and the city, sent to Simon the high priest and to the elders and priests and the rest of the people of the Jews, their brothers, greeting:

οἱ πρεσβευταὶ οἱ ἀποσταλέντες πρὸς τὸν δῆμον ἡμῶν ἀπήγγειλαν ἡμῖν περὶ τῆς δόξης ὑμῶν καὶ τιμῆς καὶ ηὐφράνθημεν ἐπὶ τῇ ἐφόδῳ αὐτῶν

The envoys who were sent to our people reported to us concerning your glory and honor, and we rejoiced at their arrival.

καὶ ἀνεγράψαμεν τὰ ὑπ' αὐτῶν εἰρημένα ἐν ταῖς βουλαῖς τοῦ δήμου οὕτως Νουμήνιος Ἀντιόχου καὶ Ἀντίπατρος Ἰάσονος πρεσβευταὶ Ιουδαίων ἦλθον πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀνανεούμενοι τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς φιλίαν

And we recorded what was spoken by them in the public resolutions as follows: Numenius son of Antiochus and Antipater son of Jason, envoys of the Jews, came to us renewing the friendship with us.

καὶ ἤρεσεν τῷ δήμῳ ἐπιδέξασθαι τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐνδόξως καὶ τοῦ θέσθαι τὸ ἀντίγραφον τῶν λόγων αὐτῶν ἐν τοῖς ἀποδεδειγμένοις τῷ δήμῳ βιβλίοις τοῦ μνημόσυνον ἔχειν τὸν δῆμον τῶν Σπαρτιατῶν τὸ δὲ ἀντίγραφον τούτων ἔγραψαν Σιμωνι τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ

And it pleased the people to receive the men honorably and to place a copy of their words in the books designated for the people, so that the people of the Spartans might have a memorial; and they wrote a copy of these things to Simon the high priest.

μετὰ ταῦτα ἀπέστειλεν Σιμων τὸν Νουμήνιον εἰς Ῥώμην ἔχοντα ἀσπίδα χρυσῆν μεγάλην ὁλκὴν μνῶν χιλίων εἰς τὸ στῆσαι πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὴν συμμαχίαν

After these things Simon sent Numenius to Rome, carrying a large gold shield weighing a thousand minas, to confirm the alliance with them.

ὡς δὲ ἤκουσεν ὁ δῆμος τῶν λόγων τούτων εἶπαν τίνα χάριν ἀποδώσομεν Σιμωνι καὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ

And when the people heard these words, they said, 'What gratitude shall we render to Simon and to his sons?'

ἐστήρισεν γὰρ αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ οἶκος τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπολέμησεν τοὺς ἐχθροὺς Ισραηλ ἀπ' αὐτῶν καὶ ἔστησαν αὐτῷ ἐλευθερίαν καὶ κατέγραψαν ἐν δέλτοις χαλκαῖς καὶ ἔθεντο ἐν στήλαις ἐν ὄρει Σιων

For he and his brothers and his father's house strengthened their position and fought the enemies of Israel away from them, and they established freedom for them and recorded it on bronze tablets and set them up on pillars on Mount Zion.

καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ἀντίγραφον τῆς γραφῆς ὀκτωκαιδεκάτῃ Ελουλ ἔτους δευτέρου καὶ ἑβδομηκοστοῦ καὶ ἑκατοστοῦ καὶ τοῦτο τρίτον ἔτος ἐπὶ Σιμωνος ἀρχιερέως μεγάλου ἐν ασαραμελ

And this is the copy of the writing: On the eighteenth day of Elul, in the one hundred seventy-second year, and this was the third year under Simon the great high priest, at Asaramel,

ἐπὶ συναγωγῆς μεγάλης ἱερέων καὶ λαοῦ καὶ ἀρχόντων ἔθνους καὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων τῆς χώρας ἐγνώρισεν ἡμῖν

at a great assembly of priests and people and leaders of the nation and the elders of the land, it was made known to us:

ἐπεὶ πολλάκις ἐγενήθησαν πόλεμοι ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ Σιμων δὲ υἱὸς Ματταθιου ἱερεὺς τῶν υἱῶν Ιωαριβ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ ἔδωκαν αὑτοὺς τῷ κινδύνῳ καὶ ἀντέστησαν τοῖς ὑπεναντίοις τοῦ ἔθνους αὐτῶν ὅπως σταθῇ τὰ ἅγια αὐτῶν καὶ ὁ νόμος καὶ δόξῃ μεγάλῃ ἐδόξασαν τὸ ἔθνος αὐτῶν

Since wars often arose in the land, Simon son of Mattathias, a priest of the sons of Joiarib, and his brothers exposed themselves to danger and opposed the adversaries of their nation so that their sanctuary and the law might stand, and with great glory they brought honor to their nation.

καὶ ἤθροισεν Ιωναθαν τὸ ἔθνος αὐτῶν καὶ ἐγενήθη αὐτοῖς ἀρχιερεὺς καὶ προσετέθη πρὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ

And Jonathan gathered their nation and became their high priest and was gathered to his people.

καὶ ἐβουλήθησαν οἱ ἐχθροὶ αὐτῶν ἐμβατεῦσαι εἰς τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐκτεῖναι χεῖρας ἐπὶ τὰ ἅγια αὐτῶν

And their enemies resolved to invade their land and to stretch out their hands against their sanctuary.

τότε ἀντέστη Σιμων καὶ ἐπολέμησε περὶ τοῦ ἔθνους αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐδαπάνησεν χρήματα πολλὰ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ὁπλοδότησεν τοὺς ἄνδρας τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ ἔθνους αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ὀψώνια

Then Simon rose up and fought for his nation, and he spent much of his own wealth and armed the men of his nation's forces and gave them pay.

καὶ ὠχύρωσεν τὰς πόλεις τῆς Ιουδαίας καὶ τὴν Βαιθσουραν τὴν ἐπὶ τῶν ὁρίων τῆς Ιουδαίας οὗ ἦν τὰ ὅπλα τῶν πολεμίων τὸ πρότερον καὶ ἔθετο ἐκεῖ φρουρὰν ἄνδρας Ιουδαίους

And he fortified the cities of Judea and Beth-zur on the borders of Judea, where formerly the weapons of the enemy had been, and he stationed there a garrison of Jewish men.

καὶ Ιοππην ὠχύρωσεν τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ τὴν Γαζαραν τὴν ἐπὶ τῶν ὁρίων Ἀζώτου ἐν ᾗ ᾤκουν οἱ πολέμιοι τὸ πρότερον καὶ κατῴκισεν ἐκεῖ Ιουδαίους καὶ ὅσα ἐπιτήδεια ἦν πρὸς τῇ τούτων ἐπανορθώσει ἔθετο ἐν αὐτοῖς

And he fortified Joppa on the sea and Gezer on the borders of Azotus, where the enemies had lived formerly, and he settled Jews there and placed in them whatever provisions were needed for their restoration.

καὶ εἶδεν ὁ λαὸς τὴν πίστιν τοῦ Σιμωνος καὶ τὴν δόξαν ἣν ἐβουλεύσατο ποιῆσαι τῷ ἔθνει αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔθεντο αὐτὸν ἡγούμενον αὐτῶν καὶ ἀρχιερέα διὰ τὸ αὐτὸν πεποιηκέναι πάντα ταῦτα καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην καὶ τὴν πίστιν ἣν συνετήρησεν τῷ ἔθνει αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξεζήτησεν παντὶ τρόπῳ ὑψῶσαι τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ

And the people saw the faithfulness of Simon and the glory that he had purposed to bring about for his nation, and they appointed him as their leader and high priest because he had done all these things, and because of the righteousness and the faithfulness that he had maintained toward his nation, and because he had sought in every way to exalt his people.

καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ εὐοδώθη ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἐξαρθῆναι τὰ ἔθνη ἐκ τῆς χώρας αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς ἐν τῇ πόλει Δαυιδ τοὺς ἐν Ιερουσαλημ οἳ ἐποίησαν αὑτοῖς ἄκραν ἐξ ἧς ἐξεπορεύοντο καὶ ἐμίαινον κύκλῳ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ ἐποίουν πληγὴν μεγάλην ἐν τῇ ἁγνείᾳ

And in his days it prospered in his hands that the nations were removed from their land, and also those in the city of David in Jerusalem who had made for themselves a citadel from which they used to go out and defile the area around the sanctuary and inflict great injury upon its purity.

καὶ κατῴκισεν ἐν αὐτῇ ἄνδρας Ιουδαίους καὶ ὠχύρωσεν αὐτὴν πρὸς ἀσφάλειαν τῆς χώρας καὶ τῆς πόλεως καὶ ὕψωσεν τὰ τείχη τῆς Ιερουσαλημ

And he settled Jewish men in it and fortified it for the security of the land and the city, and he raised the walls of Jerusalem.

καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς Δημήτριος ἔστησεν αὐτῷ τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην κατὰ ταῦτα

And King Demetrius confirmed for him the high priesthood in accordance with these things.

καὶ ἐποίησεν αὐτὸν τῶν φίλων αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐδόξασεν αὐτὸν δόξῃ μεγάλῃ

And he made him one of his Friends and honored him with great honor.

ἤκουσεν γὰρ ὅτι προσηγόρευνται οἱ Ιουδαῖοι ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων φίλοι καὶ σύμμαχοι καὶ ἀδελφοί καὶ ὅτι ἀπήντησαν τοῖς πρεσβευταῖς Σιμωνος ἐνδόξως

For he heard that the Jews had been designated by the Romans as friends and allies and brothers, and that they had received Simon's envoys honorably.

καὶ ὅτι οἱ Ιουδαῖοι καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς εὐδόκησαν τοῦ εἶναι αὐτῶν Σιμωνα ἡγούμενον καὶ ἀρχιερέα εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἕως τοῦ ἀναστῆναι προφήτην πιστὸν

And that the Jews and the priests resolved that Simon should be their leader and high priest forever, until a trustworthy prophet should arise,

καὶ τοῦ εἶναι ἐπ' αὐτῶν στρατηγόν καὶ ὅπως μέλῃ αὐτῷ περὶ τῶν ἁγίων καθιστάναι δι' αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς χώρας καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ὅπλων καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ὀχυρωμάτων

and that he should be their general, and that the care of the sanctuary should rest with him, and that through him officials should be appointed over their works and over the country and over the arms and over the strongholds,

καὶ ὅπως μέλῃ αὐτῷ περὶ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ ὅπως ἀκούηται ὑπὸ πάντων καὶ ὅπως γράφωνται ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ πᾶσαι συγγραφαὶ ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ καὶ ὅπως περιβάλληται πορφύραν καὶ χρυσοφορῇ

and that the care of the sanctuary should rest with him, and that he should be obeyed by all, and that all legal documents in the country should be written in his name, and that he should wear purple and bear gold,

καὶ οὐκ ἐξέσται οὐθενὶ τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ τῶν ἱερέων ἀθετῆσαί τι τούτων καὶ ἀντειπεῖν τοῖς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ῥηθησομένοις καὶ ἐπισυστρέψαι συστροφὴν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ ἄνευ αὐτοῦ καὶ περιβάλλεσθαι πορφύραν καὶ ἐμπορποῦσθαι πόρπην χρυσῆν

And it shall not be permitted to anyone of the people or of the priests to set aside any of these provisions, or to object to what is spoken by him, or to convene an assembly in the country without him, or to wear purple or fasten on a golden brooch.

ὃς δ' ἂν παρὰ ταῦτα ποιήσῃ ἢ ἀθετήσῃ τι τούτων ἔνοχος ἔσται

But whoever acts contrary to these things or sets aside any part of them shall be liable.

καὶ εὐδόκησεν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς θέσθαι Σιμωνι ποιῆσαι κατὰ τοὺς λόγους τούτους

And all the people approved that Simon should act according to these provisions.

καὶ ἐπεδέξατο Σιμων καὶ εὐδόκησεν ἀρχιερατεύειν καὶ εἶναι στρατηγὸς καὶ ἐθνάρχης τῶν Ιουδαίων καὶ ἱερέων καὶ τοῦ προστατῆσαι πάντων

And Simon accepted and agreed to serve as high priest and to be general and ethnarch of the Jews and priests and to be protector of all.

καὶ τὴν γραφὴν ταύτην εἶπον θέσθαι ἐν δέλτοις χαλκαῖς καὶ στῆσαι αὐτὰς ἐν περιβόλῳ τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τόπῳ ἐπισήμῳ

And they said that this decree should be inscribed on bronze tablets and that they should set them up in the enclosure of the sanctuary in a conspicuous place.

τὰ δὲ ἀντίγραφα αὐτῶν θέσθαι ἐν τῷ γαζοφυλακίῳ ὅπως ἔχῃ Σιμων καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ

But copies of them were to be placed in the treasury, so that Simon and his sons might have them.