Anonymous (Septuagint) · a new plain-English translation from the original language
1| After a period of three years, word reached Judas and his men that Demetrius son of Seleucus had sailed into the harbor at Tripolis with a strong force and a fleet,
2| and had taken control of the country, having done away with Antiochus and his guardian Lysias.
3| Now a certain Alcimus, who had formerly been high priest but had willingly defiled himself in the time of the mingling with the gentiles, realized that there was no safety for him by any means, nor any longer access to the holy altar,
4| and came to King Demetrius in about the year one hundred and fifty-one, bringing him a golden crown and a palm branch, and besides these the customary olive-branches from the temple; and that day he kept quiet.
5| But finding an opportunity that served his own folly, when he was summoned before the council by Demetrius and asked in what disposition and policy the Jews stood, he answered as follows.
6| Those of the Jews called the Hasideans, whom Judas Maccabeus leads, keep war alive and stir up rebellion, not allowing the kingdom to attain stability.
7| For this reason, having been stripped of my ancestral honor — I mean the high priesthood — I have now come here a second time,
8| first, being genuinely mindful of the interests of the king, and second, having regard also for my own fellow citizens; for through the folly of the aforementioned men our whole nation suffers no small misfortune.
9| Now that you, O king, have learned each of these matters, take thought both for the country and for our beleaguered nation, in keeping with the ready kindness you show to all.
10| For as long as Judas survives, it is impossible for affairs to attain peace.
11| When such things had been said by this man, the rest of the king's friends, already ill-disposed toward Judas, quickly inflamed Demetrius further.
12| At once he put Nicanor forward, the one who had commanded the elephant corps, and having appointed him general over Judea, sent him out,
13| giving him written orders to do away with Judas himself, to scatter those who were with him, and to establish Alcimus as high priest of the greatest temple.
14| And the gentiles who had fled Judea before Judas joined themselves to Nicanor in droves, thinking that the misfortunes and calamities of the Jews would mean their own good fortune.
15| But when they heard of Nicanor's approach and the assault of the gentiles, they sprinkled earth upon themselves and made supplication to him who established his own people forever, and who always comes to the aid of his own portion with a manifest sign.
16| At the command of their leader, they set out at once from that place and joined battle with them near the village of Lessau.
17| Simon, the brother of Judas, had already engaged Nicanor, but had suffered a setback, being for the moment thrown into confusion by the sudden appearance of the enemy.
18| Nevertheless Nicanor, hearing of the valor that Judas and his men possessed and the courage they showed in the struggles for their homeland, was reluctant to bring the matter to a decision by bloodshed.
19| For this reason he sent Posidonius, Theodotus, and Mattathias to exchange pledges of good faith.
20| After lengthy deliberation over these matters, and the leader having communicated them to the multitude, and a unanimous vote of approval having appeared, they agreed to the terms.
21| They set a day on which they would meet privately at the same place; and from each side a chair came forward, and they set out the chairs.
22| Judas stationed armed men ready at strategic points, lest some treachery should suddenly arise from the enemy; they conducted the conference as was fitting.
23| Nicanor stayed on in Jerusalem and did nothing improper, and he dismissed the crowds of people who had gathered.
24| He kept Judas always before him; he had grown attached to the man in his heart.
25| He urged him to marry and have children; Judas married, settled down, and shared in the common life.
26| But Alcimus, observing the goodwill between them and having obtained a copy of the agreements made, came to Demetrius and said that Nicanor held views hostile to the state's interests; for he had appointed Judas, the plotter against his kingdom, as his own successor.
27| The king, becoming enraged and provoked by the slanders of this utterly wicked man, wrote to Nicanor saying that he took the terms of the agreement badly, and commanding him to send the Maccabeus in chains to Antioch without delay.
28| When this news reached Nicanor, he was thrown into confusion and bore it with difficulty, that he should set aside what had been agreed when the man had done nothing wrong.
29| But since it was not possible to oppose the king, he watched for a suitable occasion to carry out the order by some stratagem.
30| The Maccabeus, however, noticing that Nicanor was dealing with him more harshly, and that he had grown more uncivil in the customary manner of his greetings, understood that this harshness did not come from good intentions, and so, gathering together not a few of his men, he went into hiding from Nicanor.
31| When the other man realized that he had been outmaneuvered nobly by Judas, he went to the great and holy temple, while the priests were offering the customary sacrifices, and ordered them to hand the man over.
32| When they declared under oath that they did not know where the man being sought was,
33| he reached out with his right arm toward the sanctuary and swore this oath: If you do not hand Judas over to me in chains right now, I will flatten this house of God down to the ground, tear down the altar, and put up here in its place a splendid temple to Dionysus.
34| Having said this, he departed; but the priests, stretching out their hands toward heaven, called upon him who is forever the champion of our nation, saying these words,
35| You, Lord, who stand in need of nothing among all things, were pleased that a house of your dwelling should exist among us.
36| And now, holy Lord above all holiness, guard this house, so recently made pure, from ever being defiled again.
37| Now a certain Razis, one of the elders of Jerusalem, was denounced to Nicanor — a man who loved his fellow citizens and was very well spoken of, and who because of his goodwill was called a father of the Jews.
38| For in the earlier times of the mingling with the gentiles he had been brought before the court on a charge of Judaism, and had risked body and soul for the sake of Judaism with all earnestness.
39| Wishing to make plain the hostility he bore toward the Jews, Nicanor sent more than five hundred soldiers to seize him.
40| For he thought that by seizing him he would inflict a blow upon them.
41| When the crowds of soldiers were about to seize the tower and were forcing the courtyard door, and were calling for fire to be brought and the doors to be set alight, Razis, finding himself surrounded, drove his sword into himself,
42| choosing to die nobly rather than fall into the hands of the wicked and be subjected to abuse unworthy of his noble birth.
43| But since the blow, in the haste of the struggle, did not strike true, and the crowds were now bursting in through the doorways, he ran nobly up onto the wall and threw himself down bravely among the crowds.
44| As they quickly drew back, leaving a space, he fell in the middle of the open ground.
45| Still breathing and burning with passion, he rose up, though his blood was pouring out in streams and his wounds were severe, and running through the crowds, he stood upon a steep rock,
46| and now completely drained of blood, he pulled out his entrails, took hold of them with both hands, and hurled them at the crowds; and appealing to the Lord who holds life and breath itself to give them back to him again, he passed from life in this manner.