The Third Book of Maccabees, Chapter 4ΜΑΚΚΑΒΑΙΩΝ Γ′ Δ′

πάντῃ δέ ὅπου προσέπιπτεν τοῦτο τὸ πρόσταγμα δημοτελὴς συνίστατο τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εὐωχία μετὰ ἀλαλαγμῶν καὶ χαρᾶς ὡς ἂν τῆς προκατεσκιρωμένης αὐτοῖς πάλαι κατὰ διάνοιαν μετὰ παρρησίας νῦν ἐκφαινομένης ἀπεχθείας

Everywhere that this decree arrived, a public festivity arose among the nations with shouting and joy, as though the hatred long harbored in their minds were now openly showing itself with boldness.

τοῖς δὲ Ιουδαίοις ἄληκτον πένθος ἦν καὶ πανόδυρτος μετὰ δακρύων βοὴ στεναγμοῖς πεπυρωμένης πάντοθεν αὐτῶν τῆς καρδίας ὀλοφυρομένων τὴν ἀπροσδόκητον ἐξαίφνης αὐτοῖς ἐπικριθεῖσαν ὀλεθρίαν

But for the Jews there was unceasing grief and an all-lamenting cry with tears, their heart burning with groans on every side as they bewailed the ruin suddenly and unexpectedly decreed against them.

τίς νομὸς ἢ πόλις ἢ τίς τὸ σύνολον οἰκητὸς τόπος ἢ τίνες ἀγυιαὶ κοπετοῦ καὶ γόων ἐπ' αὐτοῖς οὐκ ἐνεπιπλῶντο

What district or city or inhabited place as a whole, or what streets, were not filled with lamentation and wailing over them?

οὕτως γὰρ μετὰ πικρίας ἀνοίκτου ψυχῆς ὑπὸ τῶν κατὰ πόλιν στρατηγῶν ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐξαπεστέλλοντο ὥστε ἐπὶ ταῖς ἐξάλλοις τιμωρίαις καί τινας τῶν ἐχθρῶν λαμβάνοντας πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν τὸν κοινὸν ἔλεον καὶ λογιζομένους τὴν ἄδηλον τοῦ βίου καταστροφὴν δακρύειν αὐτῶν τὴν δυσάθλιον ἐξαποστολήν

For with such bitter and pitiless feeling they were being sent out in concert by the commanders in every city that, because of these outrageous punishments, even some of their enemies, seeing the common pity before their eyes and considering the uncertain overturning of life, wept over their miserable deportation.

ἤγετο γὰρ γεραιῶν πλῆθος πολιᾷ πεπυκασμένων τὴν ἐκ τοῦ γήρως νωθρότητα ποδῶν ἐπίκυφον ἀνατροπῆς ὁρμῇ βιαίας ἁπάσης αἰδοῦς ἄνευ πρὸς ὀξεῖαν καταχρωμένων πορείαν

For a multitude of old men was led away, covered with gray hair, forcing along the slowness of feet that comes from age, bent over toward collapse, and driven without any sense of shame into a harsh march by violent compulsion.

αἱ δὲ ἄρτι πρὸς βίου κοινωνίαν γαμικὸν ὑπεληλυθυῖαι παστὸν νεάνιδες ἀντὶ τέρψεως μεταλαβοῦσαι γόους καὶ κόνει τὴν μυροβρεχῆ πεφυρμέναι κόμην ἀκαλύπτως δὲ ἀγόμεναι θρῆνον ἀνθ' ὑμεναίων ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐξῆρχον ὡς ἐσπαραγμέναι σκυλμοῖς ἀλλοεθνέσιν

And young women who had only just entered the bridal chamber for married life took up lamentations instead of delight, their perfumed hair smeared with dust, and as they were led away unveiled they all together raised a dirge instead of wedding songs, as though torn by foreign abuse.

δέσμιαι δὲ δημοσίᾳ μέχρι τῆς εἰς τὸ πλοῖον ἐμβολῆς εἵλκοντο μετὰ βίας

As prisoners they were dragged by force in public up to the point of embarkation onto the ship.

οἵ τε τούτων συνζυγεῖς βρόχοις ἀντὶ στεφέων τοὺς αὐχένας περιπεπλεγμένοι μετὰ ἀκμαίας νεανικῆς ἡλικίας ἀντὶ εὐωχίας καὶ νεωτερικῆς ῥᾳθυμίας τὰς ἐπιλοίπους τῶν γάμων ἡμέρας ἐν θρήνοις διῆγον παρὰ πόδας ἤδη τὸν ᾅδην ὁρῶντες κείμενον

Their husbands too, with ropes wound around their necks instead of garlands, spent the remaining days of their weddings in lamentation instead of feasting and youthful ease, already seeing Hades lying at their feet though they were still in the prime of youth.

κατήχθησαν δὲ θηρίων τρόπον ἀγόμενοι σιδηροδέσμοις ἀνάγκαις οἱ μὲν τοῖς ζυγοῖς τῶν πλοίων προσηλωμένοι τοὺς τραχήλους οἱ δὲ τοὺς πόδας ἀρρήκτοις κατησφαλισμένοι πέδαις

They were brought down like wild animals, driven by the compulsions of iron bonds, some with their necks fastened to the yokes of the ships and others with their feet secured by unbreakable fetters.

ἔτι καὶ τῷ καθύπερθε πυκνῷ σανιδώματι διακειμένῳ ὅπως πάντοθεν ἐσκοτισμένοι τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀγωγὴν ἐπιβούλων ἐν παντὶ τῷ κατάπλῳ λαμβάνωσιν

Moreover, with the dense decking laid over them above, their eyes were darkened on every side so that throughout the whole voyage they might undergo a transport fit for conspirators.

τούτων δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν λεγομένην Σχεδίαν ἀχθέντων καὶ τοῦ παράπλου περανθέντος καθὼς ἦν δεδογματισμένον τῷ βασιλεῖ προσέταξεν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ πρὸ τῆς πόλεως ἱπποδρόμῳ παρεμβαλεῖν ἀπλάτῳ καθεστῶτι περιμέτρῳ καὶ πρὸς παραδειγματισμὸν ἄγαν εὐκαιροτάτῳ καθεστῶτι πᾶσι τοῖς καταπορευομένοις εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ τοῖς ἐκ τούτων εἰς τὴν χώραν στελλομένοις πρὸς ἐκδημίαν πρὸς τὸ μηδὲ ταῖς δυνάμεσιν αὐτοῦ κοινωνεῖν μηδὲ τὸ σύνολον καταξιῶσαι περιβόλων

When these people had been brought to the place called Schedia and the voyage had been completed, as the king had decreed, he ordered them to be penned in the hippodrome before the city, a place of immense circuit and exceptionally well suited to make an example of them before all entering the city and all going out from it into the countryside, so that they might neither have dealings with his forces nor be counted worthy of any enclosure at all.

ὡς δὲ τοῦτο ἐγενήθη ἀκούσας τοὺς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ὁμοεθνεῖς κρυβῇ ἐκπορευομένους πυκνότερον ἀποδύρεσθαι τὴν ἀκλεῆ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ταλαιπωρίαν

When this had happened, he heard that their fellow countrymen from the city were secretly slipping out and lamenting more frequently the inglorious misery of their brothers.

διοργισθεὶς προσέταξεν καὶ τούτοις ὁμοῦ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ἐπιμελῶς ὡς ἐκείνοις ποιῆσαι μὴ λειπομένοις κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον τῆς ἐκείνων τιμωρίας

In anger he ordered that these people too be treated in exactly the same way as the others, with no reduction whatever of their punishment.

ἀπογραφῆναι δὲ πᾶν τὸ φῦλον ἐξ ὀνόματος οὐκ εἰς τὴν ἔμπροσθεν βραχεῖ προδεδηλωμένην τῶν ἔργων κατάπονον λατρείαν στρεβλωθέντας δὲ ταῖς παρηγγελμέναις αἰκίαις τὸ τέλος ἀφανίσαι μιᾶς ὑπὸ καιρὸν ἡμέρας

He ordered the whole race to be registered by name, not for the toilsome service briefly indicated before, but in order that, after being tortured by the cruelties that had been commanded, they might finally be destroyed in a single appointed day.

ἐγίνετο μὲν οὖν ἡ τούτων ἀπογραφὴ μετὰ πικρᾶς σπουδῆς καὶ φιλοτίμου προσεδρείας ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου μέχρι δυσμῶν ἀνήνυτον λαμβάνουσα τὸ τέλος ἐπὶ ἡμέρας τεσσαράκοντα

So their registration was carried on with bitter zeal and ambitious assiduity, from the sunrise until sunset, and for forty days it still failed to reach completion.

μεγάλως δὲ καὶ διηνεκῶς ὁ βασιλεὺς χαρᾷ πεπληρωμένος συμπόσια ἐπὶ πάντων τῶν εἰδώλων συνιστάμενος πεπλανημένῃ πόρρω τῆς ἀληθείας φρενὶ καὶ βεβήλῳ στόματι τὰ μὲν κωφὰ καὶ μὴ δυνάμενα αὐτοῖς λαλεῖν ἢ ἀρήγειν ἐπαινῶν εἰς δὲ τὸν μέγιστον θεὸν τὰ μὴ καθήκοντα λαλῶν

Meanwhile the king, greatly and continually filled with joy, kept arranging banquets before all his idols, with a mind deluded far from the truth, and with a profane mouth praising dumb things unable to speak or help them, while uttering what was unfitting against the greatest God.

μετὰ δὲ τὸ προειρημένον τοῦ χρόνου διάστημα προσηνέγκαντο οἱ γραμματεῖς τῷ βασιλεῖ μηκέτι ἰσχύειν τὴν τῶν Ιουδαίων ἀπογραφὴν ποιεῖσθαι διὰ τὴν ἀμέτρητον αὐτῶν πληθὺν

But after the stated interval the scribes reported to the king that it was no longer possible to carry out the registration of the Jews because of their immeasurable multitude.

καίπερ ὄντων ἔτι κατὰ τὴν χώραν τῶν πλειόνων τῶν μὲν κατὰ τὰς οἰκίας ἔτι συνεστηκότων τῶν δὲ καὶ κατὰ τόπον ὡς ἀδυνάτου καθεστῶτος πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐπ' Αἴγυπτον στρατηγοῖς

This was so even though most of them were still throughout the country, some still gathered in their houses and others also in various places, so that the task stood as impossible for all the commanders throughout Egypt.

ἀπειλήσαντος δὲ αὐτοῖς σκληρότερον ὡς δεδωροκοπημένοις εἰς μηχανὴν τῆς ἐκφυγῆς συνέβη σαφῶς αὐτὸν περὶ τούτου πιστωθῆναι

When he threatened them more harshly, as though they had been bribed to contrive an escape, it turned out that he was plainly convinced on this point,

λεγόντων μετὰ ἀποδείξεως καὶ τὴν χαρτηρίαν ἤδη καὶ τοὺς γραφικοὺς καλάμους ἐν οἷς ἐχρῶντο ἐκλελοιπέναι

because they showed him with proof that even the paper and the writing reeds they were using had already given out.

τοῦτο δὲ ἦν ἐνέργεια τῆς τοῦ βοηθοῦντος τοῖς Ιουδαίοις ἐξ οὐρανοῦ προνοίας ἀνικήτου

But this was the working of the invincible providence from heaven belonging to the one who helps the Jews.