The Second Book of Maccabees, Chapter 8ΜΑΚΚΑΒΑΙΩΝ Β′ Η′

Ιουδας δὲ ὁ καὶ Μακκαβαῖος καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ παρεισπορευόμενοι λεληθότως εἰς τὰς κώμας προσεκαλοῦντο τοὺς συγγενεῖς καὶ τοὺς μεμενηκότας ἐν τῷ Ιουδαϊσμῷ προσλαμβανόμενοι συνήγαγον εἰς ἑξακισχιλίους

But Judas, also called Maccabaeus, and those with him, moving secretly through the villages, kept calling in their kinsmen, and by gathering those who had remained loyal to Judaism they assembled about six thousand.

καὶ ἐπεκαλοῦντο τὸν κύριον ἐπιδεῖν τὸν ὑπὸ πάντων καταπατούμενον λαόν οἰκτῖραι δὲ καὶ τὸν ναὸν τὸν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνθρώπων βεβηλωθέντα

And they kept calling on the Lord to look upon the people trampled down by all, and also to pity the temple that had been profaned by impious men.

ἐλεῆσαι δὲ καὶ τὴν καταφθειρομένην πόλιν καὶ μέλλουσαν ἰσόπεδον γίνεσθαι καὶ τῶν καταβοώντων πρὸς αὐτὸν αἱμάτων εἰσακοῦσαι

And to show mercy also to the city that was being destroyed and was about to be made level with the ground, and to hear the blood that was crying out to him.

μνησθῆναι δὲ καὶ τῆς τῶν ἀναμαρτήτων νηπίων παρανόμου ἀπωλείας καὶ περὶ τῶν γενομένων εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ βλασφημιῶν καὶ μισοπονηρῆσαι

And to remember also the lawless destruction of the innocent infants and the blasphemies committed against his name, and so to show hatred for wickedness.

γενόμενος δὲ ὁ Μακκαβαῖος ἐν συστέματι ἀνυπόστατος ἤδη τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐγίνετο τῆς ὀργῆς τοῦ κυρίου εἰς ἔλεον τραπείσης

Once Maccabaeus had become organized in force, he was now impossible for the nations to withstand, because the Lord's wrath had turned to mercy.

πόλεις δὲ καὶ κώμας ἀπροσδοκήτως ἐρχόμενος ἐνεπίμπρα καὶ τοὺς ἐπικαίρους τόπους ἀπολαμβάνων οὐκ ὀλίγους τῶν πολεμίων τροπούμενος

And by falling unexpectedly upon cities and villages he would set them on fire, seize the strategic places, and put not a few of the enemies to flight.

μάλιστα τὰς νύκτας πρὸς τὰς τοιαύτας ἐπιβολὰς συνεργοὺς ἐλάμβανεν καὶ λαλιὰ τῆς εὐανδρίας αὐτοῦ διηχεῖτο πανταχῆ

He especially took the nights as allies for such attacks, and the report of his courage kept spreading everywhere.

συνορῶν δὲ ὁ Φίλιππος κατὰ μικρὸν εἰς προκοπὴν ἐρχόμενον τὸν ἄνδρα πυκνότερον δὲ ἐν ταῖς εὐημερίαις προβαίνοντα πρὸς Πτολεμαῖον τὸν Κοίλης Συρίας καὶ Φοινίκης στρατηγὸν ἔγραψεν ἐπιβοηθεῖν τοῖς τοῦ βασιλέως πράγμασιν

But when Philip saw the man advancing little by little toward success and progressing more and more in his prosperous course, he wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, to come to the aid of the king's interests.

ὁ δὲ ταχέως προχειρισάμενος Νικάνορα τὸν τοῦ Πατρόκλου τῶν πρώτων φίλων ἀπέστειλεν ὑποτάξας παμφύλων ἔθνη οὐκ ἐλάττους τῶν δισμυρίων τὸ σύμπαν τῆς Ιουδαίας ἐξᾶραι γένος συνέστησεν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ Γοργίαν ἄνδρα στρατηγὸν καὶ ἐν πολεμικαῖς χρείαις πεῖραν ἔχοντα

And he quickly selected Nicanor, the son of Patroclus, one of the chief Friends, and sent him out, placing under him peoples of every sort numbering no fewer than twenty thousand, to wipe out entirely the whole race of Judea; and he attached to him also Gorgias, a general and a man experienced in matters of war.

διεστήσατο δὲ ὁ Νικάνωρ τὸν φόρον τῷ βασιλεῖ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ὄντα ταλάντων δισχιλίων ἐκ τῆς τῶν Ιουδαίων αἰχμαλωσίας ἐκπληρώσειν

And Nicanor undertook to pay the tribute owed by the king to the Romans, amounting to two thousand talents, from the sale of the Jewish captives.

εὐθέως δὲ εἰς τὰς παραθαλασσίους πόλεις ἀπέστειλεν προκαλούμενος ἐπ' ἀγορασμὸν Ιουδαίων σωμάτων ὑπισχνούμενος ἐνενήκοντα σώματα ταλάντου παραχωρήσειν οὐ προσδεχόμενος τὴν παρὰ τοῦ παντοκράτορος μέλλουσαν παρακολουθήσειν ἐπ' αὐτῷ δίκην

And he immediately sent to the coastal cities, inviting them to the purchase of Jewish bodies, promising to deliver ninety bodies for a talent, not expecting the judgment from the Almighty that was about to overtake him.

τῷ δὲ Ιουδα προσέπεσεν περὶ τῆς τοῦ Νικάνορος ἐφόδου καὶ μεταδόντος τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ τὴν παρουσίαν τοῦ στρατοπέδου

But word of Nicanor's advance came upon Judas, and when he had shared with those who were with him the arrival of the army,

οἱ δειλανδροῦντες καὶ ἀπιστοῦντες τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ δίκην διεδίδρασκον ἑαυτοὺς καὶ ἐξετόπιζον

those who were cowardly and those who mistrusted the justice of God kept running away and slipping off to other places.

οἱ δὲ τὰ περιλελειμμένα πάντα ἐπώλουν ὁμοῦ δὲ τὸν κύριον ἠξίουν ῥύσασθαι τοὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ δυσσεβοῦς Νικάνορος πρὶν συντυχεῖν πεπραμένους

But the rest sold all that they still had, and at the same time they kept asking the Lord to rescue those who had been sold by the utterly impious Nicanor before they even met him,

καὶ εἰ μὴ δι' αὐτούς ἀλλὰ διὰ τὰς πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας αὐτῶν διαθήκας καὶ ἕνεκα τῆς ἐπ' αὐτοὺς ἐπικλήσεως τοῦ σεμνοῦ καὶ μεγαλοπρεποῦς ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ

if not for their own sake, then because of the covenants made with their fathers and because of the invocation of his venerable and majestic name upon them.

συναγαγὼν δὲ ὁ Μακκαβαῖος τοὺς περὶ αὐτὸν ὄντας ἀριθμὸν ἑξακισχιλίους παρεκάλει μὴ καταπλαγῆναι τοῖς πολεμίοις μηδὲ εὐλαβεῖσθαι τὴν τῶν ἀδίκως παραγινομένων ἐπ' αὐτοὺς ἐθνῶν πολυπλήθειαν ἀγωνίσασθαι δὲ γενναίως

Then Maccabaeus gathered those around him, six thousand in number, and urged them not to be terrified by the enemies nor to fear the multitude of nations coming against them unjustly, but to fight nobly,

πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν λαβόντας τὴν ἀνόμως εἰς τὸν ἅγιον τόπον συντετελεσμένην ὑπ' αὐτῶν ὕβριν καὶ τὸν τῆς ἐμπεπαιγμένης πόλεως αἰκισμόν ἔτι δὲ τὴν τῆς προγονικῆς πολιτείας κατάλυσιν

setting before their eyes the outrage that those men had lawlessly committed against the holy place, and the abuse of the city that had been mocked, and also the overthrow of the ancestral constitution.

οἱ μὲν γὰρ ὅπλοις πεποίθασιν ἅμα καὶ τόλμαις ἔφησεν ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ παντοκράτορι θεῷ δυναμένῳ καὶ τοὺς ἐρχομένους ἐφ' ἡμᾶς καὶ τὸν ὅλον κόσμον ἑνὶ νεύματι καταβαλεῖν πεποίθαμεν

For, he said, they have confidence in weapons and bold acts, but we have confidence in the Almighty God, who is able with a single nod to cast down both those who are coming against us and even the whole world.

προσαναλεξάμενος δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ τὰς ἐπὶ τῶν προγόνων γενομένας ἀντιλήμψεις καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ Σενναχηριμ ἑκατὸν ὀγδοήκοντα πέντε χιλιάδες ὡς ἀπώλοντο

And he recounted to them also the acts of help that had occurred in the days of their ancestors, and how, in the case of Sennacherib, one hundred eighty-five thousand perished.

καὶ τὴν ἐν τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ τὴν πρὸς τοὺς Γαλάτας παράταξιν γενομένην ὡς οἱ πάντες ἐπὶ τὴν χρείαν ἦλθον ὀκτακισχίλιοι σὺν Μακεδόσιν τετρακισχιλίοις τῶν Μακεδόνων ἀπορουμένων οἱ ὀκτακισχίλιοι τὰς δώδεκα μυριάδας ἀπώλεσαν διὰ τὴν γινομένην αὐτοῖς ἀπ' οὐρανοῦ βοήθειαν καὶ ὠφέλειαν πολλὴν ἔλαβον

And also the battle in Babylonia against the Galatians, how when all came to the engagement, eight thousand together with four thousand Macedonians, and when the Macedonians were in distress, the eight thousand destroyed the one hundred twenty thousand because of the help that came to them from heaven and gained great advantage.

ἐφ' οἷς εὐθαρσεῖς αὐτοὺς παραστήσας καὶ ἑτοίμους ὑπὲρ τῶν νόμων καὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἀποθνῄσκειν τετραμερές τι τὸ στράτευμα ἐποίησεν

By these words he made them confident and ready to die for the laws and the fatherland, and he arranged the army in four divisions.

τάξας καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ προηγουμένους ἑκατέρας τάξεως Σιμωνα καὶ Ιωσηπον καὶ Ιωναθην ὑποτάξας ἑκάστῳ χιλίους πρὸς τοῖς πεντακοσίοις

And appointing his brothers, Simon and Joseph and Jonathan, as leaders of each division, he assigned to each fifteen hundred men in addition.

ἔτι δὲ καὶ Ελεαζαρον παραναγνοὺς τὴν ἱερὰν βίβλον καὶ δοὺς σύνθημα θεοῦ βοηθείας τῆς πρώτης σπείρας αὐτὸς προηγούμενος συνέβαλε τῷ Νικάνορι

And in addition, after directing Eleazar to read aloud the holy book and after giving the watchword, 'God's help,' he himself led the first company and joined battle with Nicanor.

γενομένου δὲ αὐτοῖς τοῦ παντοκράτορος συμμάχου κατέσφαξαν τῶν πολεμίων ὑπὲρ τοὺς ἐνακισχιλίους τραυματίας δὲ καὶ τοῖς μέλεσιν ἀναπείρους τὸ πλεῖον μέρος τῆς τοῦ Νικάνορος στρατιᾶς ἐποίησαν πάντας δὲ φυγεῖν ἠνάγκασαν

And when the Almighty became their ally, they cut down more than nine thousand of the enemy, and they wounded and maimed the greater part of Nicanor's army and compelled them all to flee.

τὰ δὲ χρήματα τῶν παραγεγονότων ἐπὶ τὸν ἀγορασμὸν αὐτῶν ἔλαβον συνδιώξαντες δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐφ' ἱκανὸν ἀνέλυσαν ὑπὸ τῆς ὥρας συγκλειόμενοι

And they seized the money of those who had come to buy them, and after pursuing them for a considerable distance they broke off, being constrained by the time of day.

ἦν γὰρ ἡ πρὸ τοῦ σαββάτου δι' ἣν αἰτίαν οὐκ ἐμακροτόνησαν κατατρέχοντες αὐτούς

For it was the day before the Sabbath, and for that reason they did not continue pressing hard after them.

ὁπλολογήσαντες δὲ αὐτοὺς καὶ τὰ σκῦλα ἐκδύσαντες τῶν πολεμίων περὶ τὸ σάββατον ἐγίνοντο περισσῶς εὐλογοῦντες καὶ ἐξομολογούμενοι τῷ κυρίῳ τῷ διασώσαντι εἰς τὴν ἡμέραν ταύτην ἀρχὴν ἐλέους τάξαντος αὐτοῖς

And after stripping them of their weapons and taking the spoils of the enemies, they occupied themselves with the Sabbath, exceedingly blessing and giving thanks to the Lord who had preserved them until this day, having allotted to them the beginning of mercy.

μετὰ δὲ τὸ σάββατον τοῖς ᾐκισμένοις καὶ ταῖς χήραις καὶ ὀρφανοῖς μερίσαντες ἀπὸ τῶν σκύλων τὰ λοιπὰ αὐτοὶ καὶ τὰ παιδία διεμερίσαντο

And after the Sabbath they apportioned some of the spoils to those who had been afflicted, and to widows and orphans, and they divided the rest among themselves and their children.

ταῦτα δὲ διαπραξάμενοι καὶ κοινὴν ἱκετείαν ποιησάμενοι τὸν ἐλεήμονα κύριον ἠξίουν εἰς τέλος καταλλαγῆναι τοῖς αὑτοῦ δούλοις

And after accomplishing these things and making common supplication, they kept asking the merciful Lord to be reconciled completely with his servants.

καὶ τοῖς περὶ Τιμόθεον καὶ Βακχίδην συνερίσαντες ὑπὲρ τοὺς δισμυρίους αὐτῶν ἀνεῖλον καὶ ὀχυρωμάτων ὑψηλῶν εὖ μάλα ἐγκρατεῖς ἐγένοντο καὶ λάφυρα πλείονα ἐμερίσαντο ἰσομοίρους αὑτοῖς καὶ τοῖς ᾐκισμένοις καὶ ὀρφανοῖς καὶ χήραις ἔτι δὲ καὶ πρεσβυτέροις ποιήσαντες

And by joining battle with the forces around Timothy and Bacchides, they killed more than twenty thousand of them, became thoroughly master of very high strongholds, and divided abundant plunder, making equal shares for themselves and for those who had been afflicted, and for orphans and widows, and even for the elderly.

ὁπλολογήσαντες δὲ αὑτοὺς ἐπιμελῶς πάντα συνέθηκαν εἰς τοὺς ἐπικαίρους τόπους τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ τῶν σκύλων ἤνεγκαν εἰς Ιεροσόλυμα

And after carefully collecting their weapons, they stored them all in the strategic places, and they brought the rest of the spoils to Jerusalem.

τὸν δὲ φυλάρχην τῶν περὶ Τιμόθεον ἀνεῖλον ἀνοσιώτατον ἄνδρα καὶ πολλὰ τοὺς Ιουδαίους ἐπιλελυπηκότα

And they killed the commander of the forces with Timothy, a most unholy man who had greatly distressed the Jews.

ἐπινίκια δὲ ἄγοντες ἐν τῇ πατρίδι τοὺς ἐμπρήσαντας τοὺς ἱεροὺς πυλῶνας καὶ Καλλισθένην ὑφῆψαν εἰς ἓν οἰκίδιον πεφευγότα καὶ τὸν ἄξιον τῆς δυσσεβείας ἐκομίσατο μισθόν

And while they were celebrating the victory in their homeland, they burned up those who had set fire to the sacred gates and also Callisthenes, who had fled into a small house; and he received the reward worthy of his impiety.

ὁ δὲ τρισαλιτήριος Νικάνωρ ὁ τοὺς χιλίους ἐμπόρους ἐπὶ τὴν πρᾶσιν τῶν Ιουδαίων ἀγαγὼν

But Nicanor, that thrice-accursed man who had brought the thousand merchants for the sale of the Jews,

ταπεινωθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν κατ' αὐτὸν νομιζομένων ἐλαχίστων εἶναι τῇ τοῦ κυρίου βοηθείᾳ τὴν δοξικὴν ἀποθέμενος ἐσθῆτα διὰ τῆς μεσογείου δραπέτου τρόπον ἔρημον ἑαυτὸν ποιήσας ἧκεν εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν ὑπὲρ ἅπαν εὐημερηκὼς ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ στρατοῦ διαφθορᾷ

after being humbled, with the Lord's help, by men whom he had regarded as the very least, and after laying aside his splendid robe, making himself like a runaway and passing through the inland country in solitude, arrived at Antioch, having prospered beyond all expectation only in the destruction of his army.

καὶ ὁ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ἀναδεξάμενος φόρον ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν ἐν Ιεροσολύμοις αἰχμαλωσίας κατορθώσασθαι κατήγγελλεν ὑπέρμαχον ἔχειν τοὺς Ιουδαίους καὶ διὰ τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον ἀτρώτους εἶναι τοὺς Ιουδαίους διὰ τὸ ἀκολουθεῖν τοῖς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ προτεταγμένοις νόμοις

And the man who had undertaken to secure the tribute for the Romans from the captivity of those in Jerusalem now reported that the Jews had a defender, and that for this reason the Jews were invulnerable, because they followed the laws appointed by him.