The Third Book of Maccabees, Chapter 1ΜΑΚΚΑΒΑΙΩΝ Γ′ Α′

ὁ δὲ Φιλοπάτωρ παρὰ τῶν ἀνακομισθέντων μαθὼν τὴν γενομένην τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κρατουμένων τόπων ἀφαίρεσιν ὑπὸ Ἀντιόχου παραγγείλας ταῖς πάσαις δυνάμεσιν πεζικαῖς τε καὶ ἱππικαῖς καὶ τὴν ἀδελφὴν Ἀρσινόην συμπαραλαβὼν ἐξώρμησεν μέχρι τῶν κατὰ Ῥαφίαν τόπων ὅπου παρεμβεβλήκεισαν οἱ περὶ Ἀντίοχον

Now Philopator, learning from those who had returned of the seizure by Antiochus of the territories under his control, gave orders to all his infantry and cavalry forces and, taking with him his sister Arsinoe, marched out as far as the region near Raphia, where the forces around Antiochus had encamped.

Θεόδοτος δέ τις ἐκπληρῶσαι τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν διανοηθεὶς παραλαβὼν τῶν προϋποτεταγμένων αὐτῷ ὅπλων Πτολεμαϊκῶν τὰ κράτιστα διεκομίσθη νύκτωρ ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ Πτολεμαίου σκηνὴν ὡς μόνος κτεῖναι αὐτὸν καὶ ἐν τούτῳ διαλῦσαι τὸν πόλεμον

But a certain Theodotus, intending to carry out the plot, took the finest of the Ptolemaic weapons assigned to him and made his way by night to Ptolemy's tent, to kill him personally and in this way bring the war to an end.

τοῦτον δὲ διαγαγὼν Δοσίθεος ὁ Δριμύλου λεγόμενος τὸ γένος Ιουδαῖος ὕστερον δὲ μεταβαλὼν τὰ νόμιμα καὶ τῶν πατρίων δογμάτων ἀπηλλοτριωμένος ἄσημόν τινα κατέκλινεν ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ ὃν συνέβη κομίσασθαι τὴν ἐκείνου κόλασιν

But Dositheus, the one called the son of Drimylus, a Jew by race but later having changed his customs and become alienated from the ancestral convictions, diverted him and laid some obscure man in the tent, and it happened that this man received the punishment meant for the other.

γενομένης δὲ καρτερᾶς μάχης καὶ τῶν πραγμάτων μᾶλλον ἐρρωμένων τῷ Ἀντιόχῳ ἱκανῶς ἡ Ἀρσινόη ἐπιπορευσαμένη τὰς δυνάμεις παρεκάλει μετὰ οἴκτου καὶ δακρύων τοὺς πλοκάμους λελυμένη βοηθεῖν ἑαυτοῖς τε καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις καὶ γυναιξὶν θαρραλέως ἐπαγγελλομένη δώσειν νικήσασιν ἑκάστῳ δύο μνᾶς χρυσίου

And when a fierce battle had arisen and matters were turning rather strongly in Antiochus' favor, Arsinoe moved through the ranks and with pity and tears, her tresses loosened, kept urging the forces to fight bravely for themselves and for their children and wives, promising that she would give each man who won two minas of gold.

καὶ οὕτως συνέβη τοὺς ἀντιπάλους ἐν χειρονομίαις διαφθαρῆναι πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ δοριαλώτους συλλημφθῆναι

And so it happened that the enemy were destroyed in hand-to-hand fighting, and that many were also taken as spear-won captives.

κατακρατήσας δὲ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς ἔκρινεν τὰς πλησίον πόλεις ἐπελθὼν παρακαλέσαι

And after getting control of the situation created by the plot, he decided to visit the neighboring cities and encourage them.

ποιήσας δὲ τοῦτο καὶ τοῖς τεμένεσι δωρεὰς ἀπονείμας εὐθαρσεῖς τοὺς ὑποτεταγμένους κατέστησεν

And after doing this, and after distributing gifts to the sanctuaries, he made those under his rule confident.

τῶν δὲ Ιουδαίων διαπεμψαμένων πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς γερουσίας καὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων τοὺς ἀσπασομένους αὐτὸν καὶ ξένια κομιοῦντας καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν χαρισομένους συνέβη μᾶλλον αὐτὸν προθυμηθῆναι ὡς τάχιστα πρὸς αὐτοὺς παραγενέσθαι

And when the Jews had sent to him from the council of elders and from the elders themselves men to greet him, to bring gifts of hospitality, and to congratulate him on what had happened, it turned out that he became all the more eager to come to them as quickly as possible.

διακομισθεὶς δὲ εἰς Ιεροσόλυμα καὶ θύσας τῷ μεγίστῳ θεῷ καὶ χάριτας ἀποδοὺς καὶ τῶν ἑξῆς τι τῷ τόπῳ ποιήσας καὶ δὴ παραγενόμενος εἰς τὸν τόπον καὶ τῇ σπουδαιότητι καὶ εὐπρεπείᾳ καταπλαγείς

And after he had been brought to Jerusalem, and after he had sacrificed to the greatest God, given thanks, made some further offering to the place, and then come to the site and been struck by its dignity and beauty,

θαυμάσας δὲ καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἱεροῦ εὐταξίαν ἐνεθυμήθη βουλεύσασθαι εἰς τὸν ναὸν εἰσελθεῖν

And marveling also at the good order of the sanctuary, he formed the thought of devising a way to enter the temple.

τῶν δὲ εἰπόντων μὴ καθήκειν γίνεσθαι τοῦτο διὰ τὸ μηδὲ τοῖς ἐκ τοῦ ἔθνους ἐξεῖναι εἰσιέναι μηδὲ πᾶσιν τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἀλλ' ἢ μόνῳ τῷ προηγουμένῳ πάντων ἀρχιερεῖ καὶ τούτῳ κατ' ἐνιαυτὸν ἅπαξ ὁ δὲ οὐδαμῶς ἐπείθετο

But when they said that this was not fitting, because not even those from the nation were permitted to enter, nor indeed all the priests, but only the one high priest who stood before all the others, and even he only once each year, he was in no way persuaded.

τοῦ τε νόμου παραναγνωσθέντος οὐδ' ὧς ἀπέλιπεν προφερόμενος ἑαυτὸν δεῖν εἰσελθεῖν λέγων καὶ εἰ ἐκεῖνοι ἐστέρηνται ταύτης τῆς τιμῆς ἐμὲ δὲ οὐ δεῖ

And even when the law was read aloud, he did not desist, insisting that he ought to enter, and saying, “If they have been deprived of this honor, I, however, ought not be.”

καὶ ἐπυνθάνετο διὰ τίνα αἰτίαν εἰσερχόμενον αὐτὸν εἰς πᾶν τέμενος οὐθεὶς ἐκώλυσεν τῶν παρόντων

And he kept asking for what reason, when he was entering every sanctuary, no one present had prevented him.

καί τις ἀπρονοήτως ἔφη κακῶς αὐτὸ τοῦτο τερατεύεσθαι

And someone said, without thinking, that it was a bad thing to make much of this very matter.

γενομένου δέ φησιν τούτου διά τινα αἰτίαν οὐχὶ πάντως εἰσελεύσεσθαι καὶ θελόντων αὐτῶν καὶ μή

But, he said, since this had happened for some reason, would he not certainly enter, whether they wished it or not?

τῶν δὲ ἱερέων ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐσθήσεσιν προσπεσόντων καὶ δεομένων τοῦ μεγίστου θεοῦ βοηθεῖν τοῖς ἐνεστῶσιν καὶ τὴν ὁρμὴν τοῦ κακῶς ἐπιβαλλομένου μεταθεῖναι κραυγῆς τε μετὰ δακρύων τὸ ἱερὸν ἐμπλησάντων

But when the priests had fallen down in all their vestments and were imploring the greatest God to help in the present crisis and to turn aside the onset of the one pressing wickedly upon them, and when they had filled the sanctuary with cries and tears,

οἱ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν ἀπολειπόμενοι ταραχθέντες ἐξεπήδησαν ἄδηλον τιθέμενοι τὸ γινόμενον

Those who were left behind throughout the city, thrown into confusion, rushed out, unsure what was happening.

αἵ τε κατάκλειστοι παρθένοι ἐν θαλάμοις σὺν ταῖς τεκούσαις ἐξώρμησαν καὶ ἀπέδωκαν κόνει τὰς κόμας πασάμεναι γόου τε καὶ στεναγμῶν ἐνεπίμπλων τὰς πλατείας

And the young women kept shut away in their chambers, together with women who had given birth, rushed out; and after scattering dust upon their hair they filled the streets with lamentation and groaning.

αἱ δὲ καὶ προσαρτίως ἐσταλμέναι τοὺς πρὸς ἀπάντησιν διατεταγμένους παστοὺς καὶ τὴν ἁρμόζουσαν αἰδὼ παραλείπουσαι δρόμον ἄτακτον ἐν τῇ πόλει συνίσταντο

And even those who had only recently been adorned in bridal array, leaving the marriage chambers prepared for the wedding meeting and casting aside the modesty proper to them, created a disorderly rush through the city.

τὰ δὲ νεογνὰ τῶν τέκνων αἱ πρὸς τούτοις μητέρες καὶ τιθηνοὶ παραλείπουσαι ἄλλως καὶ ἄλλως αἱ μὲν κατ' οἴκους αἱ δὲ κατὰ τὰς ἀγυιάς ἀνεπιστρέπτως εἰς τὸ πανυπέρτατον ἱερὸν ἠθροίζοντο

And the mothers of newborn children and the nurses besides them, leaving their infants here and there, some in the houses and others in the streets, kept gathering without turning back to the all-surpassing sanctuary.

ποικίλη δὲ ἦν τῶν εἰς τοῦτο συλλεγέντων ἡ δέησις ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀνοσίως ὑπ' ἐκείνου κατεγχειρουμένοις

And the supplication of those gathered for this purpose was varied, because of the things being impiously forced upon them by him.

σύν τε τούτοις οἱ περὶ τῶν πολιτῶν θρασυνθέντες οὐκ ἠνείχοντο τέλεον αὐτοῦ ἐπικειμένου καὶ τὸ τῆς προθέσεως ἐκπληροῦν διανοουμένου

Along with these things, the bolder men among the citizens could not at all endure his pressing on and his intention to carry his purpose through to completion.

φωνήσαντες δὲ τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐπὶ τὰ ὅπλα ποιήσασθαι καὶ θαρραλέως ὑπὲρ τοῦ πατρῴου νόμου τελευτᾶν ἱκανὴν ἐποίησαν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τραχύτητα μόλις δὲ ὑπό τε τῶν γεραιῶν καὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων ἀποτραπέντες ἐπὶ τὴν αὐτὴν τῆς δεήσεως παρῆσαν στάσιν

And when they cried out to make a rush for the weapons and to die bravely for the ancestral law, they produced no little turmoil in the place; but with difficulty they were turned back by the aged men and the elders and returned to the same posture of supplication.

καὶ τὸ μὲν πλῆθος ὡς ἔμπροσθεν ἐν τούτοις ἀνεστρέφετο δεόμενον

And the multitude, for its part, as before, remained occupied with these things, making supplication.

οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν βασιλέα πρεσβύτεροι πολλαχῶς ἐπειρῶντο τὸν ἀγέρωχον αὐτοῦ νοῦν ἐξιστάνειν τῆς ἐντεθυμημένης ἐπιβουλῆς

And the elders around the king kept trying in many ways to turn his arrogant mind away from the design he had conceived.

θρασυνθεὶς δὲ καὶ πάντα παραπέμψας ἤδη καὶ πρόσβασιν ἐποιεῖτο τέλος ἐπιθήσειν δοκῶν τῷ προειρημένῳ

But growing bolder and brushing everything aside, he was already making his approach, thinking to carry the matter through to its end as had been said.

ταῦτα οὖν καὶ οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν ὄντες θεωροῦντες ἐτράπησαν εἰς τὸ σὺν τοῖς ἡμετέροις ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸν πᾶν κράτος ἔχοντα τοῖς παροῦσιν ἐπαμῦναι μὴ παριδόντα τὴν ἄνομον καὶ ὑπερήφανον πρᾶξιν

Therefore, when those who were with him saw these things, they too turned to call upon our God, the one who has all power, to help in the present crisis and not overlook the lawless and insolent deed.

ἐκ δὲ τῆς πυκνοτάτης τε καὶ ἐμπόνου τῶν ὄχλων συναγομένης κραυγῆς ἀνείκαστός τις ἦν βοή

And from the very dense and strenuous outcry of the crowds there arose some indescribable clamor.

δοκεῖν γὰρ ἦν μὴ μόνον τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τείχη καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἔδαφος ἠχεῖν ἅτε δὴ τῶν πάντων τότε θάνατον ἀλλασσομένων ἀντὶ τῆς τοῦ τόπου βεβηλώσεως

For it seemed that not only the people but also the walls and the whole ground were resounding, since at that moment all were choosing death instead of the profanation of the place.