2 Machabees (Maccabees) 15
15
1But when Nicanor understood that Judas was in the places of Samaria, he purposed to set upon him with all violence on the sabbath day.
2And when the Jews that were constrained to follow him, said: Do not act so fiercely and barbarously, but give honour to the day that is sanctified: and reverence him that beholdeth all things:
3That unhappy man asked, if there were a mighty One in heaven, that had commanded the sabbath day to be kept.
4And when they answered: There is the living Lord himself in heaven, the mighty One, that commanded the seventh day to be kept,
5Then he said: And I am mighty upon the earth, and I command to take arms, and to do the king's business. Nevertheless he prevailed not to accomplish his design.
6So Nicanor being puffed up with exceeding great pride, thought to set up a public monument of his victory over Judas.
7But Machabeus ever trusted with all hope that God would help them.
8And he exhorted his people not to fear the coming of the nations, but to remember the help they had before received from heaven, and now to hope for victory from the Almighty.
9And speaking to them out of the law, and the prophets, and withal putting them in mind of the battles they had fought before, he made them more cheerful:
10Then after he had encouraged them, he shewed withal the falsehood of the Gentiles, and their breach of oaths.
11So he armed every one of them, not with defence of shield and spear, but with very good speeches and exhortations, and told them a dream worthy to be believed, whereby he rejoiced them all.
12Now the vision was in this manner: Onias who had been high priest, a good and virtuous man, modest in his looks, gentle in his manners, and graceful in his speech, and who from a child was exercised in virtues, holding up his hands, prayed for all the people of the Jews:
13After this there appeared also another man, admirable for age, and glory, and environed with great beauty and majesty:
14Then Onias answering, Raid: This is a lover of his brethren, and of the people of Israel: this is he that prayeth much for the people, and for all the holy city, Jeremias the prophet of God.
15Whereupon Jeremias stretched forth his right hand, and gave to Judas a sword of gold, saying:
16Take this holy sword a gift from God, wherewith thou shalt overthrow the adversaries of my people Israel.
17Thus being exhorted with the words of Judas, which were very good, and proper to stir up the courage, and strengthen the hearts of the young men, they resolved to fight, and to set upon them manfully: that valour might decide the matter, because the holy city and the temple were in danger.
18For their concern was less for their wives, and children, and for their brethren, and kinsfolks: but their greatest and principal fear was for the holiness of the temple.
19And they also that were in the city, had no little concern for them that were to be engaged in battle.
20And now when all expected what judgment would be given, and the enemies were at hand, and the army was set in array, the beasts and the horsemen ranged in convenient places,
21Machabeus considering the coming of the multitude, and the divers preparations of armour, and the fierceness of the beasts, stretching out his hands to heaven, called upon the Lord, that worketh wonders, who giveth victory to them that are worthy, not according to the power of their arms, but according as it seemeth good to him.
22And in his prayer he said after this manner: Thou, O Lord, who didst send thy angel in the time of Ezechias king of Juda, and didst kill a hundred and eighty-five thousand of the army of Sennacherib:
23Send now also, 0 Lord of heaven, thy good angel before us, for the fear and dread of the greatness of thy arm,
24That they may be afraid, who come with blasphemy against thy holy people. And thus he concluded his prayer.
25But Nicanor, and they that were with him came forward, with trumpets and songs.
26But Judas, and they that were with him, encountered them, calling upon God by prayers:
27So fighting with their hands, but praying to the Lord with their hearts, they slew no less than five and thirty thousand, being greatly cheered with the presence of God.
28And when the battle was over, and they were returning with joy, they understood that Nicanor was slain in his armour.
29Then making a shout, and a great noise, they blessed the Almighty Lord in their own language.
30And Judas, who was altogether ready, in body and mind, to die for his countrymen, commanded that Nicanor's head, and his hand with the shoulder should be cut off, and carried to Jerusalem.
31And when he was come thither, having called together his countrymen, and the priests to the altar, he sent also for them that were in the castle,
32And shewing them the head of Nicenor, and the wicked hand, which he had stretched out, with proud boasts, against the holy house of the Almighty God,
33He commanded also, that the tongue of the wicked Nicanor, should be cut out and given by pieces to birds, and the hand of the furious man to be hanged up over against the temple.
34Then all blessed the Lord of heaven, saying: Blessed be he that hath kept his own place undefiled.
35And he hung up Nicanor's head in the top of the castle, that it might be an evident and manifest sign of the help of God.
36And they all ordained by a common decree, by no means to let this day pass without solemnity:
37But to celebrate the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, called, in the Syrian language, the day before Mardochias' day.
38So these things being done with relation to Nicanor, and from that time the city being possessed by the Hebrews, I also will here make an end of my narration.
39Which if I have done well, and as it becometh the history, it is what I desired: but if not so perfectly, it must be pardoned me.
40For as it is hurtful to drink always wine, or always water, but pleasant to use sometimes the one, and sometimes the other: so if the speech be always nicely framed, it will not be grateful to the readers. But here it shall be ended.
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2 Machabees (Maccabees) 15: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
2 Maccabees 15
15
Nicanor's Cruel Plan
1Nicanor learnt that Judas and his men were in the region of Samaria, so he decided to attack them on the Sabbath, when he could do so without any danger to himself. 2The Jews who were forced to accompany his army begged him not to do such a cruel and savage thing, but to respect the day that the all-seeing God had honoured and made the most holy of all days. 3Then Nicanor, the lowest creature on earth, asked if there was some sovereign ruler in heaven who had commanded them to honour the Sabbath. 4And the Jews replied, “Yes; the living Lord, who rules in heaven, commanded us to honour the Sabbath.”
5But Nicanor answered, “I am the ruler on earth, and I order you to take up your weapons and to do what the king commands.” However, he did not succeed in carrying out his cruel plan.
Judas Prepares His Troops for Battle
6In his arrogance Nicanor had boasted that he would set up a monument in honour of his victory over Judas. 7But Judas was fully confident that the Lord would help him, 8so he urged his men not to be afraid of the enemy. He encouraged them to remember how the Almighty had helped them in times past and to rest assured that he would give them victory this time also. 9He renewed their hope by reading to them from the Law and the Prophets and by reminding them of the battles they had already won. 10When his men were ready for battle, he gave them their orders and at the same time pointed out how the Gentiles could not be trusted, because they never kept their treaties. 11He armed all his men, not by encouraging them to trust in shields and spears, but by inspiring them with courageous words. He also raised their morale by telling them about his dream, a kind of vision that they could trust in.
12He told them that he had seen a vision of Onias, the former High Priest, that great and wonderful man of humble and gentle disposition, who was an outstanding orator and who had been taught from childhood how to live a virtuous life. With outstretched arms Onias was praying for the entire Jewish nation. 13Judas then saw an impressive white-haired man of great dignity and authority. 14Onias said: “This is God's prophet Jeremiah, who loves his fellow-Jews and offers many prayers for us and for Jerusalem, the holy city.”
15Then Jeremiah stretched out his right-hand and gave Judas a gold sword, saying as he did so, 16“This holy sword is a gift from God. Take it and destroy your enemies.”
17The eloquent words that Judas spoke encouraged everyone to be brave, and inspired boys to fight like men. Their city, their religion, and their Temple were in danger. So the Jews made up their minds not to waste any time, but to make a daring attack against the enemy and bravely decide their fate in hand-to-hand combat. 18They were not so concerned about their own families and relatives as they were about their sacred Temple. 19And the people who had to stay in Jerusalem were deeply concerned about how a battle on open ground would turn out.
The Defeat and Death of Nicanor
20Everyone was waiting to see who would win the battle. The enemy troops were already moving forward, with their cavalry on each side of them, and their elephants placed in strategic positions. 21Judas Maccabaeus looked at the huge enemy force, the variety of their weapons, and their fierce elephants. Then he raised his hands towards heaven and prayed to the Lord, who works miracles, because he knew that the Lord gives victory to those who deserve it, not to those who have a strong army. 22#2 Kgs 19.35Judas said: “Lord, when Hezekiah was king of Judah, you sent your angel, who killed 185,000 of Sennacherib's men. 23Now once again, Lord of heaven, send your good angel to make our enemies shake and tremble with fear. 24By your great power, destroy these people who have slandered you and have come out to attack your chosen people.” So Judas ended his prayer.
25 #
1 Macc 7.43–50
Nicanor and his army moved forward to the sound of trumpets and battle-songs, 26but Judas and his men went into battle calling on God for help. 27So by fighting with their hands and praying to God in their hearts, the Jews killed more than 35,000 of the enemy. How grateful they were for the help they had received from God! 28When the battle was over and they were going home celebrating their victory, they noticed Nicanor in full armour lying dead on the battlefield. 29Then with loud shouts they praised the Lord in their native language.
30Judas Maccabaeus, who had always fought with all his body and soul for his own people, never losing the patriotism of his youth, ordered his men to cut off Nicanor's head and right arm and to take them to Jerusalem. 31When they arrived in the city, he called together all the people, stationed the priests before the altar, and sent for the men in the fort. 32He showed them the head of the evil Nicanor and the arm which that wicked man had arrogantly stretched out against the sacred Temple of the Almighty God. 33Then he cut out the tongue of that godless man, promising to feed it bit by bit to the birds and to hang up his head opposite the Temple, as evidence of what his foolishness did for him. 34Everyone there looked up to heaven and praised the Lord, who had revealed his power and had kept his Temple from being defiled. 35Judas hung Nicanor's head from the wall of the fort, as a clear proof to everyone of the Lord's help. 36#1 Macc 7.49By unanimous vote it was decided that this day would never be forgotten, but would be celebrated each year on the eve of Mordecai's Day,#15.36 mordecai's day: The Festival of Purim (see Esth 9.17–22). which is the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, called Adar in Aramaic.
Concluding Words
37That is how things turned out for Nicanor. The city of Jerusalem remained in the possession of the Hebrew people from that time on, so I will end my story here. 38If it is well written and to the point, I am pleased; if it is poorly written and uninteresting, I have still done my best. 39We know it is unhealthy to drink wine or water alone, whereas wine mixed with water makes a delightfully tasty drink. So also a good story skilfully written gives pleasure to those who read it. With this I conclude.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.