Bible Text & Cross-references:
The reign of Alexander, and his successors: Antiochus
rifles and profanes the temple of God: and persecutes unto death all that will not forsake the law of God, and the religion
of their fathers.
1 Now *it came to pass after that Alexander, the son of Philip,
the Macedonian, who first reigned in Greece, coming out of the land of Cethim, had overthrown Darius, king of the Persians
and Medes:
2 He fought many battles, and took the strong holds of all, and slew
the kings of the earth:
3 And he went through even to the ends of the earth, and took the spoils
of many nations: and the earth was quiet before him.
4 And he gathered a power, and a very strong army: and his heart was
exalted and lifted up:
5 And he subdued countries of nations, and princes; and they became tributaries
to him.
6 And after these things, he fell down upon his bed, and knew that he
should die.
7 And he called his servants, the nobles that were brought up with him
from his youth: and he divided his kingdom among them, while he was yet alive.
8 And Alexander reigned twelve years, and he died.*
9 And his servants made themselves kings, every one in his place:
10 And they all put crowns upon themselves after his death, and their
sons after them, many years; and evils were multiplied in the earth.
11 And there came out of them a wicked root, Antiochus the Illustrious,
the son of king Antiochus, who had been a hostage at Rome: and he reigned in the hundred and thirty-seventh year* of the kingdom
of the Greeks.
12 In those days there went out of Israel wicked men, and they persuaded
many, saying: Let us go, and make a covenant with the heathens that are round about us: for since we departed from them, many
evils have befallen us.
13 And the word seemed good in their eyes.
14 And some of the people determined to do this, and went to the king:
and he gave them licence to do after the ordinances of the heathens.
15 And they built a place of exercise in Jerusalem, according to the
laws of the nations:
16 And they made themselves prepuces, and departed from the holy covenant,
and joined themselves to the heathens, and were sold to do evil:
17 *And the kingdom was established before Antiochus, and he had a mind
to reign over the land of Egypt, that he might reign over two kingdoms.
18 And he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots, and
elephants, and horsemen, and a great number of ships:
19 And he made war against Ptolemee, king of Egypt; but Ptolemee was
afraid at his presence, and fled, and many were wounded unto death.
20 And he took the strong cities in the land of Egypt: and he took the
spoils of the land of Egypt.
21 And after Antiochus had ravaged Egypt, in the hundred and forty-third
year, *he returned and went up against Israel.
22 And he went up to Jerusalem, with a great multitude.
23 And he proudly entered into the sanctuary, and took away the golden
altar, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof, and the table of proposition, and the pouring vessels, and
the vials, and the little mortars of gold, and the veil, and the crowns, and the golden ornament that was before the temple:
and he broke them all in pieces.
24 And he took the silver and gold, and the precious vessels: and he
took the hidden treasures, which he found: and when he had taken all away, he departed into his own country.
25 And he made a great slaughter of men, and spoke very proudly.
26 And there was great mourning in Israel, and in every place where they
were:
27 And the princes, and the ancients mourned, and the virgins and the
young men were made feeble, and the beauty of the women was changed.
28 Every bridegroom took up lamentation: and the bride that sat in the
marriage bed, mourned:
29 And the land was moved for the inhabitants thereof, and all the house
of Jacob was covered with confusion.
30 And after two full years, *the king sent the chief collector of his
tributes to the cities of Juda, and he came to Jerusalem with a great multitude.
31 And he spoke to them peaceable words in deceit; and they believed
him.
32 And he fell upon the city suddenly, and struck it with a great slaughter,
and destroyed much people in Israel.
33 And he took the spoils of the city, and burnt it with fire, and threw
down the houses thereof, and the walls thereof round about:
34 And they took the women captive, and the children, and the cattle
they possessed.
35 And they built the city of David with a great and strong wall, and
with strong towers, and made it a fortress for them:
36 And they placed there a sinful nation, wicked men, and they fortified
themselves therein: and they stored up armour, and victuals, and gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem;
37 And laid them up there: and they became a great snare.
38 And this was a place to lie in wait against the sanctuary, and an
evil devil in Israel.
39 And they shed innocent blood round about the sanctuary, and defiled
the holy place.
40 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled away by reason of them, and
the city was made the habitation of strangers, and she became a stranger to her own seed, and her children forsook her.
41 Her sanctuary was desolate like a wilderness, *her festival days were
turned into mourning, her sabbaths into reproach, her honours were brought to nothing.
42 Her dishonour was increased according to her glory, and her excellency
was turned into mourning.
43 *And king Antiochus wrote to all his kingdom, that all the people
should be one: and every one should leave his own law.
44 And all nations consented, according to the word of king Antiochus.
45 And many of Israel consented to his service, and they sacrificed to
idols, and profaned the sabbath.
46 And the king sent letters by the hands of messengers to Jerusalem,
and to all the cities of Juda; that they should follow the law of the nations of the earth.
47 And should forbid holocausts and sacrifices, and atonements to be
made in the temple of God.
48 And should prohibit the sabbath, and the festival days to be celebrated.
49 And he commanded the holy places to be profaned, and the holy people
of Israel.
50 And he commanded altars to be built, and temples, and idols, and swine's
flesh to be immolated, and unclean beasts,
51 And that they should leave their children uncircumcised, and let their
souls be defiled with all uncleannesses, and abominations, to the end that they should forget the law, and should change all
the justifications of God.
52 And that whosoever would not do according to the word of king Antiochus,
should be put to death.
53 According to all these words he wrote to his whole kingdom: and he
appointed rulers over the people that should force them to do these things.
54 And they commanded the cities of Juda to sacrifice.
55 Then many of the people were gathered to them that had forsaken the
law of the Lord: and they committed evils in the land:
56 And they drove away the people of Israel into lurking holes, and into
the secret places of fugitives.
57 On the fifteenth day of the month, Casleu, in the hundred and forty-fifth
year, *king Antiochus set up the abominable idol of desolation upon the altar of God, and they built altars throughout all
the cities of Juda round about:
58 And they burnt incense, and sacrificed at the doors of the houses
and in the streets.
59 And they cut in pieces, and burnt with fire the books of the law of
God:
60 And every one with whom the books of the testament of the Lord were
found, and whosoever observed the law of the Lord, they put to death, according to the edict of the king.
61 Thus by their power did they deal with the people of Israel, that
were found in the cities month after month.
62 And on the five and twentieth day of the month, they sacrificed upon
the altar of the idol that was over-against the altar of God.
63 *Now the women that circumcised their children, were slain according
to the commandment of king Antiochus,
64 And they hanged the children about their necks in all their houses:
and those that had circumcised them, they put to death.
65 And many of the people of Israel determined with themselves, that
they would not eat unclean things: and they chose rather to die, than to be defiled with unclean meats:
66 And they would not break the holy law of God, and they were put to
death:
67 And there was very great wrath upon the people.
____________________
*
1: Year of the World 3668, Year before Christ 336.
8: Year of the World 3681, Year before Christ 323.
11: Year of the World 3829, Year before Christ 175.
17: Year of the World 3834, Year before Christ 170.
21: Year of the World 3834.
30: Year of the World 3836, Year before Christ 168.
41: Tobias ii. 6.; Amos viii. 10.
43: Year of the World 3837, Year before Christ 167.
57: Year of the World 3837.
63: 2 Machabees vi. 10.