1 Maccabees, Chapter 1
1
Now it came to pass that Alexander the [son] of Philip the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Kittim, overthrew Darius king of the Persians and Medes, and reigned in his place, first over Greece.[fn]
2
He fought many battles, and took strongholds, 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.[fn]
4
And he gathered a very strong army; and his heart was exalted and lifted up; and he ruled over countries of nations, and tyrants: and they became tributaries to him.[fn]
7
And Alexander reigned twelve years, and he died.
8
And his servants took power, every one in his place.
9
And they all put crowns upon themselves after his death, and their sons after them, many years; and evils were multiplied in the earth.[fn]
10
And there came out of them a wicked root, Antiochus Epiphanes, 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.
11
In those days there went out of Israel wicked men, and they persuaded many, saying: Let's go, and make a covenant with the nations that are round about us: for since we departed from them, many evils have befallen us.
12
And the word seemed good in their eyes.
13
And some of the people determined to do this, and went to the king: and he gave them license to do after the ordinances of the nations.
14
And they built a place for men to prey upon naked boys in Jerusalem, according to the customs of the nations.[fn]
15
And they made themselves foreskins, and departed from the holy covenant, and joined themselves to the nations, and were sold to do evil.
16
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.
17
And he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots and elephants, and horsemen, and a great number of ships.
18
And he made war against Ptolemy king of Egypt, but Ptolemy was afraid at his presence, and fled, and many were wounded to death.
19
And they took the strong cities in the land of Egypt: and he took the spoils of the land of Egypt.
20
And after Antiochus had ravaged Egypt in the hundred and forty-third year, he returned and went up against Israel.
21
And he went up to Jerusalem with a great multitude.
22
And he proudly entered into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and the lampstand of light, and all the vessels of it, 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.
23
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.
24
And he made a slaughter of men, and spoke with great arrogance.
25
And there was great mourning in Israel, And in every place where they were:
26
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.
27
Every bridegroom took up lamentation: And the bride who sat in the marriage bed, mourned:
28
And the land was moved for the inhabitants of it, And all the house of Jacob was covered with confusion.
29
And after two full years the king sent the chief collector of his tributes to the cities of Judah, and he came to Jerusalem with a great multitude.
30
And he spoke to them peaceful words in deceit: and they believed him. And he fell on the city suddenly, and struck it with a great slaughter, and destroyed many people in Israel.[fn]
31
And he took the spoils of the city, and burned it with fire, and threw down the houses of it, and the walls of it round about:
32
And they took the women captive, and the children, and the cattle they possessed.
33
And they built the city of David with a great and strong wall, and with strong towers, and made it a fortress for them.
34
And they placed there a sinful nation, wicked men, and they fortified themselves in it. And they stored up armor, and victuals, and gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem;
35
And laid them up there: and they became a great snare.
36
And it was a place to lie in wait against the sanctuary, and an evil adversary to Israel continually.
37
And they shed innocent blood round about the sanctuary, And defiled the holy place.
38
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.
39
Her sanctuary was desolate like a wilderness, Her festival days were turned into mourning, Her Sabbaths into reproach, Her honor was brought to nothing.
40
Her dishonor was increased according to her glory, And her excellency was turned into mourning.
41
And King Antiochus wrote to all his kingdom, that all the people should be one: and every one should leave his own law.
42
And all nations accepted according to the word of the king.
43
And many of Israel consented to his service, and they sacrificed to idols, and profaned the Sabbath.
44
And the king sent letters by the hands of messengers to Jerusalem, and to the cities of Judah: that they should follow the foreign customs of the land;
45
and should forbid burnt-offerings and sacrifice, and drink offering from the sanctuary; and should profane the sabbaths, and the festival days.
46
And to defile the sanctuary, and the holy things.
47
And to build altars, and temples, and idols, and to sacrifice swine's flesh, and unclean beasts.
48
And that they should leave their sons uncircumcised, and let their souls be defiled with all uncleannesses, and detestable things,
49
to the end that they should forget the law, and should change all the ordinances of God.
50
And that whoever would not do according to the word of the king should be put to death.
51
According to all these words he wrote to his whole kingdom, and he appointed overseers over the people, and he commanded the cities of Judah to sacrifice, city by city.[fn]
52
Then many of the people were gathered to those who had forsaken the law: and they committed evils in the land:
53
And they put Israel into hiding, into every place of refuge.
54
On the fifteenth day of the month Kislev, in the hundred and forty-fifth year, they set up the abomination of desolation on the altar, and they built altars in the cities of Judah round about:[fn]
55
And they burned incense at the doors of the houses, and in the streets.
56
And they cut in pieces, and burned with fire the books of the law:
57
And every one with whom a book of the covenant was found, and whoever consented to the law, they put to death, according to the decree of the king.
58
Thus by their power they dealt with the people of Israel, who were found in the cities month after month.
59
And on the five and twentieth day of the month they sacrificed on the altar that was upon the altar.
60
Now the women who circumcised their children, were slain according to the commandment.
61
And they hanged the infants about their necks, and put to death their families, and those who had circumcised them.
62
And many in Israel prevailed and were strengthened in themselves, not to eat common things.
63
And they accepted death so as not to be defiled by food, and not to profane the holy covenant: and they died.
64
And there was very great wrath on Israel.
Footnotes
1
Verses 5 and 6 are not included. See note after verse 4.
3
The clause 'and his heart was exalted and lifted up' (v.4) appears at different positions in the manuscript tradition — after verse 3 in some witnesses, after verse 4 in others. It is present in all witnesses (Greek, Vulgate, Old Latin) and is placed at verse 4 following the majority reading.
4
The Greek text here continues with verses 5-6, in which Alexander summons his companions and divides his kingdom while still alive. This did not happen — Alexander died without leaving instructions on the succession (Arrian, Diodorus, Justin). His generals subsequently fought over and divided the empire among themselves (v.8). The language of the scene is borrowed from 2 Chronicles 10:6-8 (Rehoboam's succession), part of the author's pattern of modeling Hellenistic events on Old Testament templates.
9
The author compresses the historical timeline here. While Alexander died in 323 BCE, his generals (the Diadochi) did not formally assume royal titles and crowns until 306-304 BCE.
14
The Greek word is γυμνάσιον (*gymnasion*), from γυμνός (*gymnos*, "naked"). The institution also served as a center for military training and cultural education. Greek law regulated adult men pursuing boys sexually at the gymnasium (Aeschines, *Against Timarchus* 10-12, 138-139; see also Scanlon, *Eros and Greek Athletics*, Oxford, 2002). The author's condemnation here echoes 2 Kings 17:7-17 — language reserved for child sacrifice and national apostasy. See The Greek Gymnasium: What 1 Maccabees 1:14 Actually Describes for the full evidence.
30
Some versions split this verse into two verses at this location.
51
Some versions split this verse into two verses at this location.
54
fifteenth: one Syriac version reads 'twenty-fifth'.
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