The First Book of Maccabees, Chapter 4ΜΑΚΚΑΒΑΙΩΝ Α′ Δ′

καὶ παρέλαβεν Γοργίας πεντακισχιλίους ἄνδρας καὶ χιλίαν ἵππον ἐκλεκτήν καὶ ἀπῆρεν ἡ παρεμβολὴ νυκτὸς

And Gorgias took five thousand men and one thousand picked cavalry, and the camp set out by night.

ὥστε ἐπιβαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν παρεμβολὴν τῶν Ιουδαίων καὶ πατάξαι αὐτοὺς ἄφνω καὶ υἱοὶ τῆς ἄκρας ἦσαν αὐτῷ ὁδηγοί

so as to fall upon the camp of the Judeans and strike them suddenly; and the men of the citadel were his guides.

καὶ ἤκουσεν Ιουδας καὶ ἀπῆρεν αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ δυνατοὶ πατάξαι τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ βασιλέως τὴν ἐν Αμμαους

And Judas heard, and he and the mighty men set out to strike the king's force that was at Emmaus,

ἕως ἔτι ἐσκορπισμέναι ἦσαν αἱ δυνάμεις ἀπὸ τῆς παρεμβολῆς

while the forces were still scattered away from the camp.

καὶ ἦλθεν Γοργίας εἰς τὴν παρεμβολὴν Ιουδου νυκτὸς καὶ οὐδένα εὗρεν καὶ ἐζήτει αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν ὅτι εἶπεν φεύγουσιν οὗτοι ἀφ' ἡμῶν

And Gorgias came to the camp of Judas by night and found no one, and he was looking for them in the mountains, because he said, 'These men are fleeing from us.'

καὶ ἅμα ἡμέρᾳ ὤφθη Ιουδας ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ ἐν τρισχιλίοις ἀνδράσιν πλὴν καλύμματα καὶ μαχαίρας οὐκ εἶχον ὡς ἠβούλοντο

And at daybreak Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men; but they did not have shields and swords as they wished.

καὶ εἶδον παρεμβολὴν ἐθνῶν ἰσχυρὰν καὶ τεθωρακισμένην καὶ ἵππον κυκλοῦσαν αὐτήν καὶ οὗτοι διδακτοὶ πολέμου

And they saw a strong camp of the nations, armored, with cavalry surrounding it; and these men were trained for war.

καὶ εἶπεν Ιουδας τοῖς ἀνδράσιν τοῖς μετ' αὐτοῦ μὴ φοβεῖσθε τὸ πλῆθος αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ ὅρμημα αὐτῶν μὴ δειλωθῆτε

And Judas said to the men with him, 'Do not fear their multitude, and do not be terrified at their assault.'

μνήσθητε ὡς ἐσώθησαν οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἐν θαλάσσῃ ἐρυθρᾷ ὅτε ἐδίωκεν αὐτοὺς Φαραω ἐν δυνάμει

Remember how our fathers were saved at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with power.

καὶ νῦν βοήσωμεν εἰς οὐρανόν εἰ θελήσει ἡμᾶς καὶ μνησθήσεται διαθήκης πατέρων καὶ συντρίψει τὴν παρεμβολὴν ταύτην κατὰ πρόσωπον ἡμῶν σήμερον

And now let us cry out to heaven, if he will favor us and remember the covenant of the fathers and crush this camp before us today.

καὶ γνώσονται πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ὅτι ἔστιν ὁ λυτρούμενος καὶ σῴζων τὸν Ισραηλ

And all the nations will know that there is one who redeems and saves Israel.

καὶ ἦραν οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ εἶδον αὐτοὺς ἐρχομένους ἐξ ἐναντίας

And the foreigners lifted up their eyes and saw them coming against them from the opposite side.

καὶ ἐξῆλθον ἐκ τῆς παρεμβολῆς εἰς πόλεμον καὶ ἐσάλπισαν οἱ παρὰ Ιουδου

And they came out from the camp into battle, and the men with Judas sounded the trumpet.

καὶ συνῆψαν καὶ συνετρίβησαν τὰ ἔθνη καὶ ἔφυγον εἰς τὸ πεδίον

And they joined battle, and the nations were shattered and fled into the plain.

οἱ δὲ ἔσχατοι πάντες ἔπεσον ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ καὶ ἐδίωξαν αὐτοὺς ἕως Γαζηρων καὶ ἕως τῶν πεδίων τῆς Ιδουμαίας καὶ Ἀζώτου καὶ Ιαμνείας καὶ ἔπεσαν ἐξ αὐτῶν εἰς ἄνδρας τρισχιλίους

But all the rear guard fell by the sword, and they pursued them as far as Gazara and as far as the plains of Idumea and Azotus and Jamnia, and about three thousand of them fell.

καὶ ἀπέστρεψεν Ιουδας καὶ ἡ δύναμις ἀπὸ τοῦ διώκειν ὄπισθεν αὐτῶν

And Judas and the force turned back from pursuing after them.

καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν λαόν μὴ ἐπιθυμήσητε τῶν σκύλων ὅτι πόλεμος ἐξ ἐναντίας ἡμῶν

And he said to the people, 'Do not desire the spoils, for battle is still before us.'

καὶ Γοργίας καὶ ἡ δύναμις ἐν τῷ ὄρει ἐγγὺς ἡμῶν ἀλλὰ στῆτε νῦν ἐναντίον τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἡμῶν καὶ πολεμήσατε αὐτούς καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα λάβετε τὰ σκῦλα μετὰ παρρησίας

And Gorgias and the force are in the mountain near us; but now stand against our enemies and fight them, and after this take the spoils boldly.'

ἔτι πληροῦντος Ιουδου ταῦτα μέρος τι ὤφθη ἐκκύπτον ἐκ τοῦ ὄρους

While Judas was still saying these things, a certain part was seen peering out from the mountain.

καὶ εἶδεν ὅτι τετρόπωνται καὶ ἐμπυρίζουσιν τὴν παρεμβολήν ὁ γὰρ καπνὸς ὁ θεωρούμενος ἐνεφάνιζεν τὸ γεγονός

And he saw that they had been routed and were setting the camp on fire; for the smoke that was visible was making what had happened plain.

οἱ δὲ ταῦτα συνιδόντες ἐδειλώθησαν σφόδρα συνιδόντες δὲ καὶ τὴν Ιουδου παρεμβολὴν ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ ἑτοίμην εἰς παράταξιν

But when they saw these things, they were greatly terrified, and when they also saw Judas' camp in the plain ready for battle array, they were overwhelmed.

ἔφυγον πάντες εἰς γῆν ἀλλοφύλων

They all fled into the land of the foreigners.

καὶ Ιουδας ἀνέστρεψεν ἐπὶ τὴν σκυλείαν τῆς παρεμβολῆς καὶ ἔλαβον χρυσίον πολὺ καὶ ἀργύριον καὶ ὑάκινθον καὶ πορφύραν θαλασσίαν καὶ πλοῦτον μέγαν

And Judas returned to the plundering of the camp, and they took much gold and silver and blue cloth and sea-purple and great wealth.

καὶ ἐπιστραφέντες ὕμνουν καὶ εὐλόγουν εἰς οὐρανὸν ὅτι καλόν ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ

And when they turned back, they sang hymns and blessed Heaven, saying, 'For he is good, for his mercy is forever.'

καὶ ἐγενήθη σωτηρία μεγάλη τῷ Ισραηλ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ

And there came to be a great deliverance for Israel on that day.

ὅσοι δὲ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων διεσώθησαν παραγενηθέντες ἀπήγγειλαν τῷ Λυσίᾳ πάντα τὰ συμβεβηκότα

But as many of the foreigners as escaped went and reported to Lysias all that had happened.

ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας συνεχύθη καὶ ἠθύμει ὅτι οὐχ οἷα ἤθελεν τοιαῦτα ἐγεγόνει τῷ Ισραηλ καὶ οὐχ οἷα αὐτῷ ἐνετείλατο ὁ βασιλεύς ἐξέβη

And when he heard, he was confounded and discouraged, because things had not turned out for Israel as he wished, nor had what the king commanded him come about.

καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐρχομένῳ ἐνιαυτῷ συνελόχησεν ἀνδρῶν ἐπιλέκτων ἑξήκοντα χιλιάδας καὶ πεντακισχιλίαν ἵππον ὥστε ἐκπολεμῆσαι αὐτούς

And in the following year he mustered sixty thousand picked men and five thousand horsemen, so as to make war against them.

καὶ ἦλθον εἰς τὴν Ιδουμαίαν καὶ παρενέβαλον ἐν Βαιθσουροις καὶ συνήντησεν αὐτοῖς Ιουδας ἐν δέκα χιλιάσιν ἀνδρῶν

And they came into Idumea and encamped at Bethsura, and Judas met them with ten thousand men.

καὶ εἶδεν τὴν παρεμβολὴν ἰσχυρὰν καὶ προσηύξατο καὶ εἶπεν εὐλογητὸς εἶ ὁ σωτὴρ Ισραηλ ὁ συντρίψας τὸ ὅρμημα τοῦ δυνατοῦ ἐν χειρὶ τοῦ δούλου σου Δαυιδ καὶ παρέδωκας τὴν παρεμβολὴν τῶν ἀλλοφύλων εἰς χεῖρας Ιωναθου υἱοῦ Σαουλ καὶ τοῦ αἴροντος τὰ σκεύη αὐτοῦ

And when he saw the camp strong, he prayed and said, 'Blessed are you, O Savior of Israel, who crushed the assault of the mighty one by the hand of your servant David and delivered the camp of the foreigners into the hands of Jonathan son of Saul and of the one who carried his armor.'

οὕτως σύγκλεισον τὴν παρεμβολὴν ταύτην ἐν χειρὶ λαοῦ σου Ισραηλ καὶ αἰσχυνθήτωσαν ἐπὶ τῇ δυνάμει καὶ τῇ ἵππῳ αὐτῶν

So now shut up this camp into the hand of your people Israel, and let them be put to shame in their force and in their cavalry.

δὸς αὐτοῖς δειλίαν καὶ τῆξον θράσος ἰσχύος αὐτῶν καὶ σαλευθήτωσαν τῇ συντριβῇ αὐτῶν

Give them fear, and melt the boldness of their strength, and let them be shaken by their own crushing.

κατάβαλε αὐτοὺς ῥομφαίᾳ ἀγαπώντων σε καὶ αἰνεσάτωσάν σε πάντες οἱ εἰδότες τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐν ὕμνοις

Cast them down by the sword of those who love you, and let all who know your name praise you with hymns.

καὶ συνέβαλλον ἀλλήλοις καὶ ἔπεσον ἐκ τῆς παρεμβολῆς Λυσίου εἰς πεντακισχιλίους ἄνδρας καὶ ἔπεσον ἐξ ἐναντίας αὐτῶν

And they joined battle with one another, and five thousand men from the camp of Lysias fell, and they fell before them.

ἰδὼν δὲ Λυσίας τὴν γενομένην τροπὴν τῆς αὑτοῦ συντάξεως τῆς δὲ Ιουδου τὸ γεγενημένον θάρσος καὶ ὡς ἕτοιμοί εἰσιν ἢ ζῆν ἢ τεθνηκέναι γενναίως ἀπῆρεν εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν καὶ ἐξενολόγει πλεοναστὸν πάλιν παραγίνεσθαι εἰς τὴν Ιουδαίαν

But when Lysias saw the rout of his own formation and the boldness that had come upon Judas' men, and how they were ready either to live or to die nobly, he withdrew to Antioch and recruited mercenaries to come again into Judea in greater number.

εἶπεν δὲ Ιουδας καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ ἰδοὺ συνετρίβησαν οἱ ἐχθροὶ ἡμῶν ἀναβῶμεν καθαρίσαι τὰ ἅγια καὶ ἐγκαινίσαι

Then Judas and his brothers said, Behold, our enemies have been shattered; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it anew.

καὶ συνήχθη ἡ παρεμβολὴ πᾶσα καὶ ἀνέβησαν εἰς ὄρος Σιων

And the whole army was gathered, and they went up to Mount Zion.

καὶ εἶδον τὸ ἁγίασμα ἠρημωμένον καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον βεβηλωμένον καὶ τὰς θύρας κατακεκαυμένας καὶ ἐν ταῖς αὐλαῖς φυτὰ πεφυκότα ὡς ἐν δρυμῷ ἢ ὡς ἐν ἑνὶ τῶν ὀρέων καὶ τὰ παστοφόρια καθῃρημένα

And they saw the sanctuary desolate, and the altar profaned, and the gates burned, and plants growing in the courts as in a thicket or as on one of the mountains, and the side chambers torn down.

καὶ διέρρηξαν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτῶν καὶ ἐκόψαντο κοπετὸν μέγαν καὶ ἐπέθεντο σποδὸν

And they tore their garments and made great lamentation and put ashes upon themselves.

καὶ ἔπεσαν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐσάλπισαν ταῖς σάλπιγξιν τῶν σημασιῶν καὶ ἐβόησαν εἰς οὐρανόν

And they fell face down upon the ground and sounded the signal trumpets and cried out to heaven.

τότε ἐπέταξεν Ιουδας ἀνδράσιν πολεμεῖν τοὺς ἐν τῇ ἄκρᾳ ἕως καθαρίσῃ τὰ ἅγια

Then Judas ordered men to fight those in the citadel until he should cleanse the sanctuary.

καὶ ἐπελέξατο ἱερεῖς ἀμώμους θελητὰς νόμου

And he selected blameless priests, devoted to the law.

καὶ ἐκαθάρισαν τὰ ἅγια καὶ ἦραν τοὺς λίθους τοῦ μιασμοῦ εἰς τόπον ἀκάθαρτον

And they cleansed the sanctuary and carried the stones of defilement into an unclean place.

καὶ ἐβουλεύσαντο περὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τῆς ὁλοκαυτώσεως τοῦ βεβηλωμένου τί αὐτῷ ποιήσωσιν

And they deliberated concerning the profaned altar of burnt offering, what they should do with it.

καὶ ἔπεσεν αὐτοῖς βουλὴ ἀγαθὴ καθελεῖν αὐτό μήποτε γένηται αὐτοῖς εἰς ὄνειδος ὅτι ἐμίαναν τὰ ἔθνη αὐτό καὶ καθεῖλον τὸ θυσιαστήριον

And a good counsel came to them, to pull it down, lest it become a reproach to them because the nations had defiled it; so they tore down the altar.

καὶ ἀπέθεντο τοὺς λίθους ἐν τῷ ὄρει τοῦ οἴκου ἐν τόπῳ ἐπιτηδείῳ μέχρι τοῦ παραγενηθῆναι προφήτην τοῦ ἀποκριθῆναι περὶ αὐτῶν

And they set aside the stones on the temple mount in a suitable place until a prophet should come to give an answer about them.

καὶ ἔλαβον λίθους ὁλοκλήρους κατὰ τὸν νόμον καὶ ᾠκοδόμησαν θυσιαστήριον καινὸν κατὰ τὸ πρότερον

And they took whole stones according to the law and built a new altar according to the former pattern.

καὶ ᾠκοδόμησαν τὰ ἅγια καὶ τὰ ἐντὸς τοῦ οἴκου καὶ τὰς αὐλὰς ἡγίασαν

And they rebuilt the holy places and the interior of the house, and they consecrated the courts.

καὶ ἐποίησαν σκεύη ἅγια καινὰ καὶ εἰσήνεγκαν τὴν λυχνίαν καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τῶν θυμιαμάτων καὶ τὴν τράπεζαν εἰς τὸν ναόν

And they made new holy vessels and brought the lampstand and the altar of incense and the table into the temple.

καὶ ἐθυμίασαν ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον καὶ ἐξῆψαν τοὺς λύχνους τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς λυχνίας καὶ ἔφαινον ἐν τῷ ναῷ

And they burned incense upon the altar and lit the lamps on the lampstand, and they were shining in the temple.

καὶ ἐπέθηκαν ἐπὶ τὴν τράπεζαν ἄρτους καὶ ἐξεπέτασαν τὰ καταπετάσματα καὶ ἐτέλεσαν πάντα τὰ ἔργα ἃ ἐποίησαν

And they placed bread upon the table and spread out the curtains and completed all the works that they had undertaken.

καὶ ὤρθρισαν τὸ πρωὶ τῇ πέμπτῃ καὶ εἰκάδι τοῦ μηνὸς τοῦ ἐνάτου οὗτος ὁ μὴν Χασελευ τοῦ ὀγδόου καὶ τεσσαρακοστοῦ καὶ ἑκατοστοῦ ἔτους

And they rose early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month Chislev, in the one hundred forty-eighth year,

καὶ ἀνήνεγκαν θυσίαν κατὰ τὸν νόμον ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τῶν ὁλοκαυτωμάτων τὸ καινόν ὃ ἐποίησαν

and they offered sacrifice according to the law upon the new altar of burnt offerings that they had made.

κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ἐν ᾗ ἐβεβήλωσαν αὐτὸ τὰ ἔθνη ἐν ἐκείνῃ ἐνεκαινίσθη ἐν ᾠδαῖς καὶ κιθάραις καὶ κινύραις καὶ κυμβάλοις

At the season and on the day on which the nations had profaned it, on that very day it was rededicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals.

καὶ ἔπεσεν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἐπὶ πρόσωπον καὶ προσεκύνησαν καὶ εὐλόγησαν εἰς οὐρανὸν τὸν εὐοδώσαντα αὐτοῖς

And all the people fell on their faces and worshiped and blessed toward heaven the one who had prospered them.

καὶ ἐποίησαν τὸν ἐγκαινισμὸν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἡμέρας ὀκτὼ καὶ προσήνεγκαν ὁλοκαυτώματα μετ' εὐφροσύνης καὶ ἔθυσαν θυσίαν σωτηρίου καὶ αἰνέσεως

And they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days and offered burnt offerings with gladness and sacrificed an offering of deliverance and praise.

καὶ κατεκόσμησαν τὸ κατὰ πρόσωπον τοῦ ναοῦ στεφάνοις χρυσοῖς καὶ ἀσπιδίσκαις καὶ ἐνεκαίνισαν τὰς πύλας καὶ τὰ παστοφόρια καὶ ἐθύρωσαν αὐτά

And they adorned the front of the temple with golden crowns and small shields, and they renewed the gates and the chambers and fitted them with doors.

καὶ ἐγενήθη εὐφροσύνη μεγάλη ἐν τῷ λαῷ σφόδρα καὶ ἀπεστράφη ὀνειδισμὸς ἐθνῶν

And there was very great gladness among the people, and the reproach of the nations was turned away.

καὶ ἔστησεν Ιουδας καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ πᾶσα ἡ ἐκκλησία Ισραηλ ἵνα ἄγωνται αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ ἐγκαινισμοῦ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς αὐτῶν ἐνιαυτὸν κατ' ἐνιαυτὸν ἡμέρας ὀκτὼ ἀπὸ τῆς πέμπτης καὶ εἰκάδος τοῦ μηνὸς Χασελευ μετ' εὐφροσύνης καὶ χαρᾶς

And Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel established that the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed at their appointed times year by year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev, with gladness and joy.

καὶ ᾠκοδόμησαν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ τὸ ὄρος Σιων κυκλόθεν τείχη ὑψηλὰ καὶ πύργους ὀχυρούς μήποτε παραγενηθέντα τὰ ἔθνη καταπατήσωσιν αὐτά ὡς ἐποίησαν τὸ πρότερον

And at that time they built up Mount Zion all around with high walls and strong towers, lest the nations come and trample them down as they had done formerly.

καὶ ἀπέταξεν ἐκεῖ δύναμιν τηρεῖν αὐτὸ καὶ ὠχύρωσεν αὐτὸ τηρεῖν τὴν Βαιθσουραν τοῦ ἔχειν τὸν λαὸν ὀχύρωμα κατὰ πρόσωπον τῆς Ιδουμαίας

And he stationed a force there to guard it, and he fortified Bethsura to guard it, so that the people might have a stronghold facing Idumea.