The Life and Teachings
of Jesus
A Restatement of the Gospels
by Preston Thomas
The Project Gutenberg
Etext of Deuterocanonical Books of the Bible
also known as
The Apocrypha
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
(link to KJV Old Testament) -
(link to RSV Old Testament)
Table of Contents:
The First Book of Esdras (1Esd 1:1 - 1Esd 9:55)
The Second Book of Esdras (2Esd 1:1 - 2Esd 16:78)
The Greek Additions to Esther (AEsth 10:4 -AEsth 16:24)
The First Book of the Maccabees (1Mac 1:1 - 1Mac 16:24)
The Second Book of the Maccabees (2Mac 1:1 - 2Mac 15:39)
The Book of Tobit (Tob 1:1 - Tob 14:15)
The Book of Judith (Jdt 1:1 - Jdt 16:25)
The Wisdom of Solomon (Ws 1:1 - Ws 19:22)
The Book of Sirach [or Ecclesiasticus] (Sir 1:1 - Sir 51:30)
The Book of Baruch (Bar 1:1 - Bar 5:9)
The Epistle (or letter) of Jeremiah (EpJer 6:1 - EpJer 6:73)
The Book of Susanna [in Daniel] (Sus 1:1 - Sus 1:64)
The Prayer of Azariah (PrAzar 1:1 - PrAzar 1:68)
The Prayer of Manasseh (PrMan 1:1)
Bel and the Dragon [in Daniel] (Bel 1:1 -Bel 1:42)
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The First Book of Esdras
~ Chapter 1 ~
1Esd 1:1 Josiah kept the passover to his Lord in Jerusalem; he killed the passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month,
1Esd 1:2 having placed the priests according to their divisions, arrayed in their garments, in the temple of the Lord.
1Esd 1:3 And he told the Levites, the temple servants of Israel, that they should sanctify themselves to the Lord and put the holy ark of the Lord in the house which Solomon the king, the son of David, had built;
1Esd 1:4 and he said, "You need no longer carry it upon your shoulders. Now worship the Lord your God and serve his people Israel; and prepare yourselves by your families and kindred,
1Esd 1:5 in accordance with the directions of David king of Israel and the magnificence of Solomon his son. Stand in order in the temple according to the groupings of the fathers' houses of you Levites, who minister before your brethren the people of Israel,
1Esd 1:6 and kill the passover lamb and prepare the sacrifices for your brethren, and keep the passover according to the commandment of the Lord which was given to Moses."
1Esd 1:7 And Josiah gave to the people who were present thirty thousand lambs and kids, and three thousand calves; these were given from the king's possessions, as he promised, to the people and the priests and Levites.
1Esd 1:8 And Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officers of the temple, gave to the priests for the passover two thousand six hundred sheep and three hundred calves.
1Esd 1:9 And Jeconiah and Shemaiah and Nethanel his brother, and Hashabiah and Ochiel and Joram, captains over thousands, gave the Levites for the passover five thousand sheep and seven hundred calves.
1Esd 1:10 And this is what took place. The priests and the Levites, properly arrayed and having the unleavened bread, stood according to kindred
1Esd 1:11 and the grouping of the fathers' houses, before the people, to make the offering to the Lord as it is written in the book of Moses; this they did in the morning.
1Esd 1:12 They roasted the passover lamb with fire, as required; and they boiled the sacrifices in brass pots and caldrons, with a pleasing odor,
1Esd 1:13 and carried them to all the people. Afterward they prepared the passover for themselves and for their brethren the priests, the sons of Aaron,
1Esd 1:14 because the priests were offering the fat until night; so the Levites prepared it for themselves and for their brethren the priests, the sons of Aaron.
1Esd 1:15 And the temple singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place according to the arrangement made by David, and also Asaph, Zechariah, and Eddinus, who represented the king.
1Esd 1:16 The gatekeepers were at each gate; no one needed to depart from his duties, for their brethren the Levites prepared the passover for them.
1Esd 1:17 So the things that had to do with the sacrifices to the Lord were accomplished that day: the passover was kept
1Esd 1:18 and the sacrifices were offered on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah.
1Esd 1:19 And the people of Israel who were present at that time kept the passover and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.
1Esd 1:20 No passover like it had been kept in Israel since the times of Samuel the prophet;
1Esd 1:21 none of the kings of Israel had kept such a passover as was kept by Josiah and the priests and Levites and the men of Judah and all of Israel who were dwelling in Jerusalem.
1Esd 1:22 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this passover was kept.
1Esd 1:23 And the deeds of Josiah were upright in the sight of the Lord, for his heart was full of godliness.
1Esd 1:24 The events of his reign have been recorded in the past, concerning those who sinned and acted wickedly toward the Lord beyond any other people or kingdom, and how they grieved the Lord deeply, so that the words of the Lord rose up against Israel.
1Esd 1:25 After all these acts of Josiah, it happened that Pharaoh, king of Egypt, went to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out against him.
1Esd 1:26 And the king of Egypt sent word to him saying, "What have we to do with each other, king of Judea?
1Esd 1:27 I was not sent against you by the Lord God, for my war is at the Euphrates. And now the Lord is with me! The Lord is with me, urging me on! Stand aside, and do not oppose the Lord."
1Esd 1:28 But Josiah did not turn back to his chariot, but tried to fight with him, and did not heed the words of Jeremiah the prophet from the mouth of the Lord.
1Esd 1:29 He joined battle with him in the plain of Megiddo, and the commanders came down against King Josiah.
1Esd 1:30 And the king said to his servants, "Take me away from the battle, for I am very weak." And immediately his servants took him out of the line of battle.
1Esd 1:31 And he got into his second chariot; and after he was brought back to Jerusalem he died, and was buried in the tomb of his fathers.
1Esd 1:32 And in all Judea they mourned for Josiah. Jeremiah the prophet lamented for Josiah, and the principal men, with the women, have made lamentation for him to this day; it was ordained that this should always be done throughout the whole nation of Israel.
1Esd 1:33 These things are written in the book of the histories of the kings of Judea; and every one of the acts of Josiah, and his splendor, and his understanding of the law of the Lord, and the things that he had done before and these that are now told, are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
1Esd 1:34 And the men of the nation took Jeconiah the son of Josiah, who was twenty-three years old, and made him king in succession to Josiah his father.
1Esd 1:35 And he reigned three months in Judah and Jerusalem. Then the king of Egypt deposed him from reigning in Jerusalem,
1Esd 1:36 and fined the nation a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
1Esd 1:37 And the king of Egypt made Jehoiakim his brother king of Judea and Jerusalem.
1Esd 1:38 Jehoiakim put the nobles in prison, and seized his brother Zarius and brought him up out of Egypt.
1Esd 1:39 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign in Judea and Jerusalem, and he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
1Esd 1:40 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him with a chain of brass and took him away to Babylon.
1Esd 1:41 Nebuchadnezzar also took some holy vessels of the Lord, and carried them away, and stored them in his temple in Babylon.
1Esd 1:42 But the things that are reported about Jehoiakim and his uncleanness and impiety are written in the chronicles of the kings.
1Esd 1:43 Jehoiachin his son became king in his stead; when he was made king he was eighteen years old,
1Esd 1:44 and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
1Esd 1:45 So after a year Nebuchadnezzar sent and removed him to Babylon, with the holy vessels of the Lord,
1Esd 1:46 and made Zedekiah king of Judea and Jerusalem. Zedekiah was twenty-one years old, and he reigned eleven years.
1Esd 1:47 He also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not heed the words that were spoken by Jeremiah the prophet from the mouth of the Lord.
1Esd 1:48 And though King Nebuchadnezzar had made him swear by the name of the Lord, he broke his oath and rebelled; and he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart and transgressed the laws of the Lord, the God of Israel.
1Esd 1:49 Even the leaders of the people and of the priests committed many acts of sacrilege and lawlessness beyond all the unclean deeds of all the nations, and polluted the temple of the Lord which had been hallowed in Jerusalem.
1Esd 1:50 So the God of their fathers sent by his messenger to call them back, because he would have spared them and his dwelling place.
1Esd 1:51 But they mocked his messengers, and whenever the Lord spoke, they scoffed at his prophets,
1Esd 1:52 until in his anger against his people because of their ungodly acts he gave command to bring against them the kings of the Chaldeans.
1Esd 1:53 These slew their young men with the sword around their holy temple, and did not spare young man or virgin, old man or child, for he gave them all into their hands.
1Esd 1:54 And all the holy vessels of the Lord, great and small, and the treasure chests of the Lord, and the royal stores, they took and carried away to Babylon.
1Esd 1:55 And they burned the house of the Lord and broke down the walls of Jerusalem and burned their towers with fire,
1Esd 1:56 and utterly destroyed all its glorious things. The survivors he led away to Babylon with the sword,
1Esd 1:57 and they were servants to him and to his sons until the Persians began to reign, in fulfilment of the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah:
1Esd 1:58 "Until the land has enjoyed its sabbaths, it shall keep sabbath all the time of its desolation until the completion of seventy years."
~ Chapter 2 ~
1Esd 2:1 In the first year of Cyrus as king of the Persians, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished,
1Esd 2:2 the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of the Persians, and he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:
1Esd 2:3 "Thus says Cyrus king of the Persians: The Lord of Israel, the Lord Most High, has made me king of the world,
1Esd 2:4 and he has commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judea.
1Esd 2:5 If any one of you, therefore, is of his people, may his Lord be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judea, and build the house of the Lord of Israel -- he is the Lord who dwells in Jerusalem,
1Esd 2:6 and let each man, wherever he may live, be helped by the men of his place with gold and silver,
1Esd 2:7 with gifts and with horses and cattle, besides the other things added as votive offerings for the temple of the Lord which is in Jerusalem."
1Esd 2:8 Then arose the heads of families of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, and all whose spirit the Lord had stirred to go up to build the house in Jerusalem for the Lord;
1Esd 2:9 and their neighbors helped them with everything, with silver and gold, with horses and cattle, and with a very great number of votive offerings from many whose hearts were stirred.
1Esd 2:10 Cyrus the king also brought out the holy vessels of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and stored in his temple of idols.
1Esd 2:11 When Cyrus king of the Perians brought these out, he gave them to Mithridates his treasurer,
1Esd 2:12 and by him they were given to Sheshbazzar the governor of Judea.
1Esd 2:13 The number of these was: a thousand gold cups, a thousand silver cups, twenty-nine silver censers, thirty gold bowls, two thousand four hundred and ten silver bowls, and a thousand other vessels.
1Esd 2:14 All the vessels were handed over, gold and silver, five thousand four hundred and sixty-nine,
1Esd 2:15 and they were carried back by Sheshbazzar with the returning exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem.
1Esd 2:16 But in the time of Artaxerxes king of the Persians, Bishlam, Mithridates, Tabeel, Rehum, Beltethmus, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, living in Samaria and other places, wrote him the following letter, against those who were living in Judea and Jerusalem:
1Esd 2:17 "To King Artaxerxes our lord, Your servants Rehum the recorder and Shimshai the scribe and the other judges of their council in Coelesyria and Phoenicia:
1Esd 2:18 Now be it known to our lord the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem and are building that rebellious and wicked city, repairing its market places and walls and laying the foundations for a temple.
1Esd 2:19 Now if this city is built and the walls finished, they will not only refuse to pay tribute but will even resist kings.
1Esd 2:20 And since the building of the temple is now going on, we think it best not to neglect such a matter,
1Esd 2:21 but to speak to our lord the king, in order that, if it seems good to you, search may be made in the records of your fathers.
1Esd 2:22 You will find in the chronicles what has been written about them, and will learn that this city was rebellious, troubling both kings and other cities,
1Esd 2:23 and that the Jews were rebels and kept setting up blockades in it from of old. That is why this city was laid waste.
1Esd 2:24 Therefore we now make known to you, O lord and king, that if this city is built and its walls finished, you will no longer have access to Coelesyria and Phoenicia."
1Esd 2:25 Then the king, in reply to Rehum the recorder and Beltethmus and Shimshai the scribe and the others associated with them and living in Samaria and Syria and Phoenicia, wrote as follows:
1Esd 2:26 "I have read the letter which you sent me. So I ordered search to be made, and it has been found that this city from of old has fought against kings,
1Esd 2:27 and that the men in it were given to rebellion and war, and that mighty and cruel kings ruled in Jerusalem and exacted tribute from Coelesyria and Phoenicia.
1Esd 2:28 Therefore I have now issued orders to prevent these men from building the city and to take care that nothing more be done
1Esd 2:29 and that such wicked proceedings go no further to the annoyance of kings."
1Esd 2:30 Then, when the letter from King Artaxerxes was read, Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates went in haste to Jerusalem, with horsemen and a multitude in battle array, and began to hinder the builders. And the building of the temple in Jerusalem ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of the Persians.
~ Chapter 3 ~
1Esd 3:1 Now King Darius gave a great banquet for all that were under him and all that were born in his house and all the nobles of Media and Persia
1Esd 3:2 and all the satraps and generals and governors that were under him in the hundred and twenty-seven satrapies from India to Ethiopia.
1Esd 3:3 They ate and drank, and when they were satisfied they departed; and Darius the king went to his bedroom, and went to sleep, and then awoke.
1Esd 3:4 Then the three young men of the bodyguard, who kept guard over the person of the king, said to one another,
1Esd 3:5 "Let each of us state what one thing is strongest; and to him whose statement seems wisest, Darius the king will give rich gifts and great honors of victory.
1Esd 3:6 He shall be clothed in purple, and drink from gold cups, and sleep on a gold bed, and have a chariot with gold bridles, and a turban of fine linen, and a necklace about his neck;
1Esd 3:7 and because of his wisdom he shall sit next to Darius and shall be called kinsman of Darius."
1Esd 3:8 Then each wrote his own statement, and they sealed them and put them under the pillow of Darius the king,
1Esd 3:9 and said, "When the king wakes, they will give him the writing; and to the one whose statement the king and the three nobles of Persia judge to be wisest the victory shall be given according to what is written."
1Esd 3:10 The first wrote, "Wine is strongest."
1Esd 3:11 The second wrote, "The king is strongest."
1Esd 3:12 The third wrote, "Women are strongest, but truth is victor over all things."
1Esd 3:13 When the king awoke, they took the writing and gave it to him, and he read it.
1Esd 3:14 Then he sent and summoned all the nobles of Persia and Media and the satraps and generals and governors and prefects,
1Esd 3:15 and he took his seat in the council chamber, and the writing was read in their presence.
1Esd 3:16 And he said, "Call the young men, and they shall explain their statements." So they were summoned, and came in.
1Esd 3:17 And they said to them, "Explain to us what you have written." Then the first, who had spoken of the strength of wine, began and said:
1Esd 3:18 "Gentlemen, how is wine the strongest? It leads astray the minds of all who drink it.
1Esd 3:19 It makes equal the mind of the king and the orphan, of the slave and the free, of the poor and the rich.
1Esd 3:20 It turns every thought to feasting and mirth, and forgets all sorrow and debt.
1Esd 3:21 It makes all hearts feel rich, forgets kings and satraps, and makes every one talk in millions.
1Esd 3:22 When men drink they forget to be friendly with friends and brothers, and before long they draw their swords.
1Esd 3:23 And when they recover from the wine, they do not remember what they have done.
1Esd 3:24 Gentlemen, is not wine the strongest, since it forces men to do these things?" When he had said this, he stopped speaking.
~ Chapter 4 ~
1Esd 4:1 Then the second, who had spoken of the strength of the king, began to speak:
1Esd 4:2 "Gentlemen, are not men strongest, who rule over land and sea and all that is in them?
1Esd 4:3 But the king is stronger; he is their lord and master, and whatever he says to them they obey.
1Esd 4:4 If he tells them to make war on one another, they do it; and if he sends them out against the enemy, they go, and conquer mountains, walls, and towers.
1Esd 4:5 They kill and are killed, and do not disobey the king's command; if they win the victory, they bring everything to the king -- whatever spoil they take and everything else.
1Esd 4:6 Likewise those who do not serve in the army or make war but till the soil, whenever they sow, reap the harvest and bring some to the king; and they compel one another to pay taxes to the king.
1Esd 4:7 And yet he is only one man! If he tells them to kill, they kill; if he tells them to release, they release;
1Esd 4:8 if he tells them to attack, they attack; if he tells them to lay waste, they lay waste; if he tells them to build, they build;
1Esd 4:9 if he tells them to cut down, they cut down; if he tells them to plant, they plant.
1Esd 4:10 All his people and his armies obey him. Moreover, he reclines, he eats and drinks and sleeps,
1Esd 4:11 but they keep watch around him and no one may go away to attend to his own affairs, nor do they disobey him.
1Esd 4:12 Gentlemen, why is not the king the strongest, since he is to be obeyed in this fashion?" And he stopped speaking.
1Esd 4:13 Then the third, that is Zerubbabel, who had spoken of women and truth, began to speak:
1Esd 4:14 Gentlemen, is not the king great, and are not men many, and is not wine strong? Who then is their master, or who is their lord? Is it not women?
1Esd 4:15 Women gave birth to the king and to every people that rules over sea and land.
1Esd 4:16 From women they came; and women brought up the very men who plant the vineyards from which comes wine.
1Esd 4:17 Women make men's clothes; they bring men glory; men cannot exist without women.
1Esd 4:18 If men gather gold and silver or any other beautiful thing, and then see a woman lovely in appearance and beauty,
1Esd 4:19 they let all those things go, and gape at her, and with open mouths stare at her, and all prefer her to gold or silver or any other beautiful thing.
1Esd 4:20 A man leaves his own father, who brought him up, and his own country, and cleaves to his wife.
1Esd 4:21 With his wife he ends his days, with no thought of his father or his mother or his country.
1Esd 4:22 Hence you must realize that women rule over you! "Do you not labor and toil, and bring everything and give it to women?
1Esd 4:23 A man takes his sword, and goes out to travel and rob and steal and to sail the sea and rivers;
1Esd 4:24 he faces lions, and he walks in darkness, and when he steals and robs and plunders, he brings it back to the woman he loves.
1Esd 4:25 A man loves his wife more than his father or his mother.
1Esd 4:26 Many men have lost their minds because of women, and have become slaves because of them.
1Esd 4:27 Many have perished, or stumbled, or sinned, because of women.
1Esd 4:28 And now do you not believe me? "Is not the king great in his power? Do not all lands fear to touch him?
1Esd 4:29 Yet I have seen him with Apame, the king's concubine, the daughter of the illustrious Bartacus; she would sit at the king's right hand
1Esd 4:30 and take the crown from the king's head and put it on her own, and slap the king with her left hand.
1Esd 4:31 At this the king would gaze at her with mouth agape. If she smiles at him, he laughs; if she loses her temper with him, he flatters her, that she may be reconciled to him.
1Esd 4:32 Gentlemen, why are not women strong, since they do such things?"
1Esd 4:33 Then the king and the nobles looked at one another; and he began to speak about truth:
1Esd 4:34 "Gentlemen, are not women strong? The earth is vast, and heaven is high, and the sun is swift in its course, for it makes the circuit of the heavens and returns to its place in one day.
1Esd 4:35 Is he not great who does these things? But truth is great, and stronger than all things.
1Esd 4:36 The whole earth calls upon truth, and heaven blesses her. All God's works quake and tremble, and with him there is nothing unrighteous.
1Esd 4:37 Wine is unrighteous, the king is unrighteous, women are unrighteous, all the sons of men are unrighteous, all their works are unrighteous, and all such things. There is no truth in them and in their unrighteousness they will perish.
1Esd 4:38 But truth endures and is strong for ever, and lives and prevails for ever and ever.
1Esd 4:39 With her there is no partiality or preference, but she does what is righteous instead of anything that is unrighteous or wicked. All men approve her deeds,
1Esd 4:40 and there is nothing unrighteous in her judgment. To her belongs the strength and the kingship and the power and the majesty of all the ages. Blessed be the God of truth!"
1Esd 4:41 He ceased speaking; then all the people shouted, and said, "Great is truth, and strongest of all!"
1Esd 4:42 Then the king said to him, "Ask what you wish, even beyond what is written, and we will give it to you, for you have been found to be the wisest. And you shall sit next to me, and be called my kinsman."
1Esd 4:43 Then he said to the king, "Remember the vow which you made to build Jerusalem, in the day when you became king,
1Esd 4:44 and to send back all the vessels that were taken from Jerusalem, which Cyrus set apart when he began to destroy Babylon, and vowed to send them back there.
1Esd 4:45 You also vowed to build the temple, which the Edomites burned when Judea was laid waste by the Chaldeans.
1Esd 4:46 And now, O lord the king, this is what I ask and request of you, and this befits your greatness. I pray therefore that you fulfil the vow whose fulfilment you vowed to the King of heaven with your own lips."
1Esd 4:47 Then Darius the king rose, and kissed him, and wrote letters for him to all the treasurers and governors and generals and satraps, that they should give escort to him and all who were going up with him to build Jerusalem.
1Esd 4:48 And he wrote letters to all the governors in Coelesyria and Phoenicia and to those in Lebanon, to bring cedar timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem, and to help him build the city.
1Esd 4:49 And he wrote for all the Jews who were going up from his kingdom to Judea, in the interest of their freedom, that no officer or satrap or governor or treasurer should forcibly enter their doors;
1Esd 4:50 that all the country which they would occupy should be theirs without tribute; that the Idumeans should give up the villages of the Jews which they held;
1Esd 4:51 that twenty talents a year should be given for the building of the temple until it was completed,
1Esd 4:52 and an additional ten talents a year for burnt offerings to be offered on the altar every day, in accordance with the commandment to make seventeen offerings;
1Esd 4:53 and that all who came from Babylonia to build the city should have their freedom, they and their children and all the priests who came.
1Esd 4:54 He wrote also concerning their support and the priests' garments in which they were to minister.
1Esd 4:55 He wrote that the support for the Levites should be provided until the day when the temple should be finished and Jerusalem built.
1Esd 4:56 He wrote that land and wages should be provided for all who guarded the city.
1Esd 4:57 And he sent back from Babylon all the vessels which Cyrus had set apart; everything that Cyrus had ordered to be done, he also commanded to be done and to be sent to Jerusalem.
1Esd 4:58 When the young man went out, he lifted up his face to heaven toward Jerusalem, and praised the King of heaven, saying,
1Esd 4:59 "From thee is the victory; from thee is wisdom, and thine is the glory. I am thy servant.
1Esd 4:60 Blessed art thou, who hast given me wisdom; I give thee thanks, O Lord of our fathers."
1Esd 4:61 So he took the letters, and went to Babylon and told this to all his brethren.
1Esd 4:62 And they praised the God of their fathers, because he had given them release and permission
1Esd 4:63 to go up and build Jerusalem and the temple which is called by his name; and they feasted, with music and rejoicing, for seven days.
~ Chapter 5 ~
1Esd 5:1 After this the heads of fathers' houses were chosen to go up, according to their tribes, with their wives and sons and daughters, and their menservants and maidservants, and their cattle.
1Esd 5:2 And Darius sent with them a thousand horsemen to take them back to Jerusalem in safety, with the music of drums and flutes;
1Esd 5:3 and all their brethren were making merry. And he made them go up with them.
1Esd 5:4 These are the names of the men who went up, according to their fathers' houses in the tribes, over their groups:
1Esd 5:5 the priests, the sons of Phinehas, son of Aaron; Jeshua the son of Jozadak, son of Seraiah, and Joakim the son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, of the house of David, of the lineage of Phares, of the tribe of Judah,
1Esd 5:6 who spoke wise words before Darius the king of the Persians, in the second year of his reign, in the month of Nisan, the first month.
1Esd 5:7 These are the men of Judea who came up out of their sojourn in captivity, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon
1Esd 5:8 and who returned to Jerusalem and the rest of Judea, each to his own town. They came with Zerubbabel and Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Resaiah, Bigvai, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Reeliah, Rehum, and Baanah, their leaders.
1Esd 5:9 The number of the men of the nation and their leaders: the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two. The sons of Shephatiah, four hundred and seventy-two.
1Esd 5:10 The sons of Arah, seven hundred and fifty-six.
1Esd 5:11 The sons of Pahathmoab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve.
1Esd 5:12 The sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four. The sons of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five. The sons of Chorbe, seven hundred and five. The sons of Bani, six hundred and forty-eight.
1Esd 5:13 The sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three. The sons of Azgad, one thousand three hundred and twenty-two.
1Esd 5:14 The sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven. The sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-six. The sons of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four.
1Esd 5:15 The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, ninety-two. The sons of Kilan and Azetas, sixty-seven. The sons of Azaru, four hundred and thirty-two.
1Esd 5:16 The sons of Annias, one hundred and one. The sons of Arom. The sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three. The sons of Jorah, one hundred and twelve.
1Esd 5:17 The sons of Baiterus, three thousand and five. The sons of Bethlehem, one hundred and twenty-three.
1Esd 5:18 The men of Netophah, fifty-five. The men of Anathoth, one hundred and fifty-eight. The men of Bethasmoth, forty-two.
1Esd 5:19 The men of Kiriatharim, twenty-five. The men of Chephirah and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three.
1Esd 5:20 The Chadiasans and Ammidians, four hundred and twenty-two. The men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one.
1Esd 5:21 The men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two. The men of Bethel, fifty-two. The sons of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six.
1Esd 5:22 The sons of the other Elam and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five. The sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five.
1Esd 5:23 The sons of Senaah, three thousand three hundred and thirty.
1Esd 5:24 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah the son of Jeshua, of the sons of Anasib, nine hundred and seventy-two. The sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two.
1Esd 5:25 The sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven. The sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.
1Esd 5:26 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel and Bannas and Sudias, seventy-four.
1Esd 5:27 The temple singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight.
1Esd 5:28 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, in all one hundred and thirty-nine.
1Esd 5:29 The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon, the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah,
1Esd 5:30 the sons of Akkub, the sons of Uthai, the sons of Ketab, the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shamlai, the sons of Hana, the sons of Cathua, the sons of Gahar,
1Esd 5:31 The sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Chezib, the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Hasrah, the sons of Besai, the sons of Asnah, the sons of the Meunites, the sons of Nephisim, the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Asur, the sons of Pharakim, the sons of Bazluth,
1Esd 5:32 the sons of Mehida, the sons of Cutha, the sons of Charea, the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.
1Esd 5:33 The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Hassophereth, the sons of Peruda, the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Lozon, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Shephatiah,
1Esd 5:34 the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Sarothie, the sons of Masiah, the sons of Gas, the sons of Addus, the sons of Subas, the sons of Apherra, the sons of Barodis, the sons of Shaphat, the sons of Ami.
1Esd 5:35 All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon's servants were three hundred and seventy-two.
1Esd 5:36 The following are those who came up from Telmelah and Telharsha, under the leadership of Cherub, Addan, and Immer,
1Esd 5:37 though they could not prove by their fathers' houses or lineage that they belonged to Israel: the sons of Delaiah the son of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two.
1Esd 5:38 Of the priests the following had assumed the priesthood but were not found registered: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Jaddus who had married Agia, one of the daughters of Barzillai, and was called by his name.
1Esd 5:39 And when the genealogy of these men was sought in the register and was not found, they were excluded from serving as priests.
1Esd 5:40 And Nehemiah and Attharias told them not to share in the holy things until a high priest should appear wearing Urim and Thummim.
1Esd 5:41 All those of Israel, twelve or more years of age, besides menservants and maidservants, were forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty;
1Esd 5:42 their menservants and maidservants were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; there were two hundred and forty-five musicians and singers.
1Esd 5:43 There were four hundred and thirty-five camels, and seven thousand and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty-five mules, and five thousand five hundred and twenty-five asses.
1Esd 5:44 Some of the heads of families, when they came to the temple of God which is in Jerusalem, vowed that they would erect the house on its site, to the best of their ability,
1Esd 5:45 and that they would give to the sacred treasury for the work a thousand minas of gold, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priests' garments.
1Esd 5:46 The priests, the Levites, and some of the people settled in Jerusalem and its vicinity; and the temple singers, the gatekeepers, and all Israel in their towns.
1Esd 5:47 When the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were each in his own home, they gathered as one man in the square before the first gate toward the east.
1Esd 5:48 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, with his kinsmen, took their places and prepared the altar of the God of Israel,
1Esd 5:49 to offer burnt offerings upon it, in accordance with the directions in the book of Moses the man of God.
1Esd 5:50 And some joined them from the other peoples of the land. And they erected the altar in its place, for all the peoples of the land were hostile to them and were stronger than they; and they offered sacrifices at the proper times and burnt offerings to the Lord morning and evening.
1Esd 5:51 They kept the feast of booths, as it is commanded in the law, and offered the proper sacrifices every day,
1Esd 5:52 and thereafter the continual offerings and sacrifices on sabbaths and at new moons and at all the consecrated feasts.
1Esd 5:53 And all who had made any vow to God began to offer sacrifices to God, from the new moon of the seventh month, though the temple of God was not yet built.
1Esd 5:54 And they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food and drink
1Esd 5:55 and carts to the Sidonians and the Tyrians, to bring cedar logs from Lebanon and convey them in rafts to the harbor of Joppa, according to the decree which they had in writing from Cyrus king of the Persians.
1Esd 5:56 In the second year after their coming to the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with their brethren and the Levitical priests and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity;
1Esd 5:57 and they laid the foundation of the temple of God on the new moon of the second month in the second year after they came to Judea and Jerusalem.
1Esd 5:58 And they appointed the Levites who were twenty or more years of age to have charge of the work of the Lord. And Jeshua arose, and his sons and brethren and Kadmiel his brother and the sons of Jeshua Emadabun and the sons of Joda son of Iliadun, with their sons and brethren, all the Levites, as one man pressing forward the work on the house of God. So the builders built the temple of the Lord.
1Esd 5:59 And the priests stood arrayed in their garments, with musical instruments and trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals,
1Esd 5:60 praising the Lord and blessing him, according to the directions of David king of Israel;
1Esd 5:61 and they sang hymns, giving thanks to the Lord, because his goodness and his glory are for ever upon all Israel.
1Esd 5:62 And all the people sounded trumpets and shouted with a great shout, praising the Lord for the erection of the house of the Lord.
1Esd 5:63 Some of the Levitical priests and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the former house, came to the building of this one with outcries and loud weeping,
1Esd 5:64 while many came with trumpets and a joyful noise,
1Esd 5:65 so that the people could not hear the trumpets because of the weeping of the people. For the multitude sounded the trumpets loudly, so that the sound was heard afar;
1Esd 5:66 and when the enemies of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin heard it, they came to find out what the sound of the trumpets meant.
1Esd 5:67 And they learned that those who had returned from captivity were building the temple for the Lord God of Israel.
1Esd 5:68 So they approached Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the heads of the fathers' houses and said to them, "We will build with you.
1Esd 5:69 For we obey your Lord just as you do and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of the Assyrians, who brought us here."
1Esd 5:70 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the heads of the fathers' houses in Israel said to them, "You have nothing to do with us in building the house for the Lord our God,
1Esd 5:71 for we alone will build it for the Lord of Israel, as Cyrus the king of the Persians has commanded us."
1Esd 5:72 But the peoples of the land pressed hard upon those in Judea, cut off their supplies, and hindered their building;
1Esd 5:73 and by plots and demagoguery and uprisings they prevented the completion of the building as long as King Cyrus lived. And they were kept from building for two years, until the reign of Darius.
~ Chapter 6 ~
1Esd 6:1 Now in the second year of the reign of Darius, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews who were in Judea and Jerusalem, they prophesied to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel.
1Esd 6:2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, with the help of the prophets of the Lord who were with them.
1Esd 6:3 At the same time Sisinnes the governor of Syria and Phoenicia and Sathrabuzanes and their associates came to them and said,
1Esd 6:4 "By whose order are you building this house and this roof and finishing all the other things? And who are the builders that are finishing these things?"
1Esd 6:5 Yet the elders of the Jews were dealt with kindly, for the providence of the Lord was over the captives;
1Esd 6:6 and they were not prevented from building until word could be sent to Darius concerning them and a report made.
1Esd 6:7 A copy of the letter which Sisinnes the governor of Syria and Phoenicia, and Sathrabuzanes, and their associates the local rulers in Syria and Phoenicia, wrote and sent to Darius:
1Esd 6:8 "To King Darius, greeting. Let it be fully known to our lord the king that, when we went to the country of Judea and entered the city of Jerusalem, we found the elders of the Jews, who had been in captivity,
1Esd 6:9 building in the city of Jerusalem a great new house for the Lord, of hewn stone, with costly timber laid in the walls.
1Esd 6:10 These operations are going on rapidly, and the work is prospering in their hands and being completed with all splendor and care.
1Esd 6:11 Then we asked these elders, `At whose command are you building this house and laying the foundations of this structure?'
1Esd 6:12 And in order that we might inform you in writing who the leaders are, we questioned them and asked them for a list of the names of those who are at their head.
1Esd 6:13 They answered us, `We are the servants of the Lord who created the heaven and the earth.
1Esd 6:14 And the house was built many years ago by a king of Israel who was great and strong, and it was finished.
1Esd 6:15 But when our fathers sinned against the Lord of Israel who is in heaven, and provoked him, he gave them over into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of the Chaldeans;
1Esd 6:16 and they pulled down the house, and burned it, and carried the people away captive to Babylon.
1Esd 6:17 But in the first year that Cyrus reigned over the country of Babylonia, King Cyrus wrote that this house should be rebuilt.
1Esd 6:18 And the holy vessels of gold and of silver, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the house in Jerusalem and stored in his own temple, these Cyrus the king took out again from the temple in Babylon, and they were delivered to Zerubbabel and Sheshbazzar the governor
1Esd 6:19 with the command that he should take all these vessels back and put them in the temple at Jerusalem, and that this temple of the Lord should be rebuilt on its site.
1Esd 6:20 Then this Sheshbazzar, after coming here, laid the foundations of the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, and although it has been in process of construction from that time until now, it has not yet reached completion.'
1Esd 6:21 Now therefore, if it seems wise, O king, let search be made in the royal archives of our lord the king that are in Babylon;
1Esd 6:22 and if it is found that the building of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem was done with the consent of King Cyrus, and if it is approved by our lord the king, let him send us directions concerning these things."
1Esd 6:23 Then Darius commanded that search be made in the royal archives that were deposited in Babylon. And in Ecbatana, the fortress which is in the country of Media, a scroll was found in which this was recorded:
1Esd 6:24 "In the first year of the reign of Cyrus, King Cyrus ordered the building of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, where they sacrifice with perpetual fire;
1Esd 6:25 its height to be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits, with three courses of hewn stone and one course of new native timber; the cost to be paid from the treasury of Cyrus the king;
1Esd 6:26 and that the holy vessels of the house of the Lord, both of gold and of silver, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the house in Jerusalem and carried away to Babylon, should be restored to the house in Jerusalem, to be placed where they had been."
1Esd 6:27 So Darius commanded Sisinnes the governor of Syria and Phoenicia, and Sathrabuzanes, and their associates, and those who were appointed as local rulers in Syria and Phoenicia, to keep away from the place, and to permit Zerubbabel, the servant of the Lord and governor of Judea, and the elders of the Jews to build this house of the Lord on its site.
1Esd 6:28 "And I command that it be built completely, and that full effort be made to help the men who have returned from the captivity of Judea, until the house of the Lord is finished;
1Esd 6:29 and that out of the tribute of Coelesyria and Phoenicia a portion be scrupulously given to these men, that is, to Zerubbabel the governor, for sacrifices to the Lord, for bulls and rams and lambs,
1Esd 6:30 and likewise wheat and salt and wine and oil, regularly every year, without quibbling, for daily use as the priests in Jerusalem may indicate,
1Esd 6:31 in order that libations may be made to the Most High God for the king and his children, and prayers be offered for their life."
1Esd 6:32 And he commanded that if any should transgress or nullify any of the things herein written, a beam should be taken out of his house and he should be hanged upon it, and his property should be forfeited to the king.
1Esd 6:33 "Therefore may the Lord, whose name is there called upon, destroy every king and nation that shall stretch out their hands to hinder or damage that house of the Lord in Jerusalem.
1Esd 6:34 "I, King Darius, have decreed that it be done with all diligence as here prescribed."
~ Chapter 7 ~
1Esd 7:1 Then Sisinnes the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, and Sathrabuzanes, and their associates, following the orders of King Darius,
1Esd 7:2 supervised the holy work with very great care, assisting the elders of the Jews and the chief officers of the temple.
1Esd 7:3 And the holy work prospered, while the prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesied;
1Esd 7:4 and they completed it by the command of the Lord God of Israel. So with the consent of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of the Persians,
1Esd 7:5 the holy house was finished by the twenty-third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of King Darius.
1Esd 7:6 And the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of those from the captivity who joined them, did according to what was written in the book of Moses.
1Esd 7:7 They offered at the dedication of the temple of the Lord one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs,
1Esd 7:8 and twelve he-goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the twelve leaders of the tribes of Israel;
1Esd 7:9 and the priests and the Levites stood arrayed in their garments, according to kindred, for the services of the Lord God of Israel in accordance with the book of Moses; and the gatekeepers were at each gate.
1Esd 7:10 The people of Israel who came from the captivity kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, after the priests and the Levites were purified together.
1Esd 7:11 Not all of the returned captives were purified, but the Levites were all purified together,
1Esd 7:12 and they sacrificed the passover lamb for all the returned captives and for their brethren the priests and for themselves.
1Esd 7:13 And the people of Israel who came from the captivity ate it, all those who had separated themselves from the abominations of the peoples of the land and sought the Lord.
1Esd 7:14 And they kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days, rejoicing before the Lord,
1Esd 7:15 Because he had changed the will of the king of the Assyrians concerning them, to strengthen their hands for the service of the Lord God of Israel.
~ Chapter 8 ~
1Esd 8:1 After these things, when Artaxerxes the king of the Persians was reigning, Ezra came, the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum,
1Esd 8:2 son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, son of Amariah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, son of Abishua, son of Phineas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest.
1Esd 8:3 This Ezra came up from Babylon as a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which was given by the God of Israel;
1Esd 8:4 and the king showed him honor, for he found favor before the king in all his requests.
1Esd 8:5 There came up with him to Jerusalem some of the people of Israel and some of the priests and Levites and temple singers and gatekeepers and temple servants,
1Esd 8:6 in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes, in the fifth month (this was the king's seventh year); for they left Babylon on the new moon of the first month and arrived in Jerusalem on the new moon of the fifth month, by the prosperous journey which the Lord gave them.
1Esd 8:7 For Ezra possessed great knowledge, so that he omitted nothing from the law of the Lord or the commandments, but taught all Israel all the ordinances and judgments.
1Esd 8:8 The following is a copy of the written commission from Artaxerxes the king which was delivered to Ezra the priest and reader of the law of the Lord:
1Esd 8:9 "King Artaxerxes to Ezra the priest and reader of the law of the Lord, greeting.
1Esd 8:10 In accordance with my gracious decision, I have given orders that those of the Jewish nation and of the priests and Levites and others in our realm, who freely choose to do so, may go with you to Jerusalem.
1Esd 8:11 Let as many as are so disposed, therefore, depart with you as I and the seven friends who are my counselors have decided,
1Esd 8:12 in order to look into matters in Judea and Jerusalem, in accordance with what is in the law of the Lord,
1Esd 8:13 and to carry to Jerusalem the gifts for the Lord of Israel which I and my friends have vowed, and to collect for the Lord in Jerusalem all the gold and silver that may be found in the country of Babylonia,
1Esd 8:14 together with what is given by the nation for the temple of their Lord which is in Jerusalem, both gold and silver for bulls and rams and lambs and what goes with them,
1Esd 8:15 so as to offer sacrifices upon the altar of their Lord which is in Jerusalem.
1Esd 8:16 And whatever you and your brethren are minded to do with the gold and silver, perform it in accordance with the will of your God;
1Esd 8:17 and deliver the holy vessels of the Lord which are given you for the use of the temple of your God which is in Jerusalem.
1Esd 8:18 And whatever else occurs to you as necessary for the temple of your God, you may provide out of the royal treasury.
1Esd 8:19 "And I, Artaxerxes the king, have commanded the treasurers of Syria and Phoenicia that whatever Ezra the priest and reader of the law of the Most High God sends for, they shall take care to give him,
1Esd 8:20 up to a hundred talents of silver, and likewise up to a hundred cors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, and salt in abundance.
1Esd 8:21 Let all things prescribed in the law of God be scrupulously fulfilled for the Most High God, so that wrath may not come upon the kingdom of the king and his sons.
1Esd 8:22 You are also informed that no tribute or any other tax is to be laid on any of the priests or Levites or temple singers or gatekeepers or temple servants or persons employed in this temple, and that no one has authority to impose any tax upon them.
1Esd 8:23 "And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of God, appoint judges and justices to judge all those who know the law of your God, throughout all Syria and Phoenicia; and those who do not know it you shall teach.
1Esd 8:24 And all who transgress the law of your God or the law of the kingdom shall be strictly punished, whether by death or some other punishment, either fine or imprisonment."
1Esd 8:25 Blessed be the Lord alone, who put this into the heart of the king, to glorify his house which is in Jerusalem,
1Esd 8:26 and who honored me in the sight of the king and his counselors and all his friends and nobles.
1Esd 8:27 I was encouraged by the help of the Lord my God, and I gathered men from Israel to go up with me.
1Esd 8:28 These are the principal men, according to their fathers' houses and their groups, who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:
1Esd 8:29 Of the sons of Phineas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Gamael. Of the sons of David, Hattush the son of Shecaniah.
1Esd 8:30 Of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him a hundred and fifty men enrolled.
1Esd 8:31 Of the sons of Pahathmoab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred men.
1Esd 8:32 Of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred men. Of the sons of Adin, Obed the son of Jonathan, and with him two hundred and fifty men.
1Esd 8:33 Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Gotholiah, and with him seventy men.
1Esd 8:34 Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zeraiah the son of Michael, and with him seventy men,
1Esd 8:35 Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and twelve men.
1Esd 8:36 Of the sons of Bani, Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and sixty men.
1Esd 8:37 Of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight men.
1Esd 8:38 Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten men.
1Esd 8:39 Of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them seventy men.
1Esd 8:40 Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai the son of Istalcurus, and with him seventy men.
1Esd 8:41 I assembled them at the river called Theras, and we encamped there three days, and I inspected them.
1Esd 8:42 When I found there none of the sons of the priests or of the Levites,
1Esd 8:43 I sent word to Eliezar, Iduel, Maasmas,
1Esd 8:44 Elnathan, Shemaiah, Jarib, Nathan, Elnathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders and men of understanding;
1Esd 8:45 and I told them to go to Iddo, who was the leading man at the place of the treasury,
1Esd 8:46 and ordered them to tell Iddo and his brethren and the treasurers at that place to send us men to serve as priests in the house of our Lord.
1Esd 8:47 And by the mighty hand of our Lord they brought us competent men of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, eighteen;
1Esd 8:48 also Hashabiah and Annunus and Jeshaiah his brother, of the sons of Hananiah, and their sons, twenty men;
1Esd 8:49 and of the temple servants, whom David and the leaders had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty temple servants; the list of all their names was reported.
1Esd 8:50 There I proclaimed a fast for the young men before our Lord, to seek from him a prosperous journey for ourselves and for our children and the cattle that were with us.
1Esd 8:51 For I was ashamed to ask the king for foot soldiers and horsemen and an escort to keep us safe from our adversaries;
1Esd 8:52 for we had said to the king, "The power of our Lord will be with those who seek him, and will support them in every way."
1Esd 8:53 And again we prayed to our Lord about these things, and we found him very merciful.
1Esd 8:54 Then I set apart twelve of the leaders of the priests, Sherebiah and Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them;
1Esd 8:55 and I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the holy vessels of the house of our Lord, which the king himself and his counselors and the nobles and all Israel had given.
1Esd 8:56 I weighed and gave to them six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels worth a hundred talents, and a hundred talents of gold,
1Esd 8:57 and twenty golden bowls, and twelve bronze vessels of fine bronze that glittered like gold.
1Esd 8:58 And I said to them, "You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are vowed to the Lord, the Lord of our fathers.
1Esd 8:59 Be watchful and on guard until you deliver them to the leaders of the priests and the Levites, and to the heads of the fathers' houses of Israel, in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of our Lord."
1Esd 8:60 So the priests and the Levites who took the silver and the gold and the vessels which had been in Jerusalem carried them to the temple of the Lord.
1Esd 8:61 We departed from the river Theras on the twelfth day of the first month; and we arrived in Jerusalem by the mighty hand of our Lord which was upon us; he delivered us from every enemy on the way, and so we came to Jerusalem.
1Esd 8:62 When we had been there three days, the silver and the gold were weighed and delivered in the house of our Lord to Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah;
1Esd 8:63 and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Moeth the son of Binnui, the Levites.
1Esd 8:64 The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded at that very time.
1Esd 8:65 And those who had come back from captivity offered sacrifices to the Lord, the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams,
1Esd 8:66 seventy-two lambs, and as a thank offering twelve he-goats -- all as a sacrifice to the Lord.
1Esd 8:67 And they delivered the king's orders to the royal stewards and to the governors of Coelesyria and Phoenicia; and these officials honored the people and the temple of the Lord.
1Esd 8:68 After these things had been done, the principal men came to me and said,
1Esd 8:69 "The people of Israel and the leaders and the priests and the Levites have not put away from themselves the alien peoples of the land and their pollutions, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Edomites.
1Esd 8:70 For they and their sons have married the daughters of these people, and the holy race has been mixed with the alien peoples of the land; and from the beginning of this matter the leaders and the nobles have been sharing in this iniquity."
1Esd 8:71 As soon as I heard these things I rent my garments and my holy mantle, and pulled out hair from my head and beard, and sat down in anxiety and grief.
1Esd 8:72 And all who were ever moved at the word of the Lord of Israel gathered round me, as I mourned over this iniquity, and I sat grief-stricken until the evening sacrifice.
1Esd 8:73 Then I rose from my fast, with my garments and my holy mantle rent, and kneeling down and stretching forth my hands to the Lord
1Esd 8:74 I said, "O Lord, I am ashamed and confounded before thy face.
1Esd 8:75 For our sins have risen higher than our heads, and our mistakes have mounted up to heaven
1Esd 8:76 from the times of our fathers, and we are in great sin to this day.
1Esd 8:77 And because of our sins and the sins of our fathers we with our brethren and our kings and our priests were given over to the kings of the earth, to the sword and captivity and plundering, in shame until this day.
1Esd 8:78 And now in some measure mercy has come to us from thee, O Lord, to leave to us a root and a name in thy holy place,
1Esd 8:79 and to uncover a light for us in the house of the Lord our God, and to give us food in the time of our servitude.
1Esd 8:80 Even in our bondage we were not forsaken by our Lord, but he brought us into favor with the kings of the Persians, so that they have given us food
1Esd 8:81 and glorified the temple of our Lord, and raised Zion from desolation, to give us a stronghold in Judea and Jerusalem.
1Esd 8:82 "And now, O Lord, what shall we say, when we have these things? For we have transgressed thy commandments, which thou didst give by thy servants the prophets, saying,
1Esd 8:83 `The land which you are entering to take possession of it is a land polluted with the pollution of the aliens of the land, and they have filled it with their uncleanness.
1Esd 8:84 Therefore do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons, and do not take their daughters for your sons;
1Esd 8:85 and do not seek ever to have peace with them, in order that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.'
1Esd 8:86 And all that has happened to us has come about because of our evil deeds and our great sins. For thou, O Lord, didst lift the burden of our sins
1Esd 8:87 and give us such a root as this; but we turned back again to transgress thy law by mixing with the uncleanness of the peoples of the land.
1Esd 8:88 Wast thou not angry enough with us to destroy us without leaving a root or seed or name?
1Esd 8:89 O Lord of Israel, thou art true; for we are left as a root to this day.
1Esd 8:90 Behold, we are now before thee in our iniquities; for we can no longer stand in thy presence because of these things."
1Esd 8:91 While Ezra was praying and making his confession, weeping and lying upon the ground before the temple, there gathered about him a very great throng from Jerusalem, men and women and youths; for there was great weeping among the multitude.
1Esd 8:92 Then Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the men of Israel, called out, and said to Ezra, "We have sinned against the Lord, and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; but even now there is hope for Israel.
1Esd 8:93 Let us take an oath to the Lord about this, that we will put away all our foreign wives, with their children,
1Esd 8:94 as seems good to you and to all who obey the law of the Lord.
1Esd 8:95 Arise and take action, for it is your task, and we are with you to take strong measures."
1Esd 8:96 Then Ezra arose and had the leaders of the priests and Levites of all Israel take oath that they would do this. And they took the oath.
~ Chapter 9 ~
1Esd 9:1 Then Ezra rose and went from the court of the temple to the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib,
1Esd 9:2 and spent the night there; and he did not eat bread or drink water, for he was mourning over the great iniquities of the multitude.
1Esd 9:3 And a proclamation was made throughout Judea and Jerusalem to all who had returned from the captivity that they should assemble at Jerusalem,
1Esd 9:4 and that if any did not meet there within two or three days, in accordance with the decision of the ruling elders, their cattle should be seized for sacrifice and the men themselves expelled from the multitude of those who had returned from the captivity.
1Esd 9:5 Then the men of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within three days; this was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month.
1Esd 9:6 And all the multitude sat in the open square before the temple, shivering because of the bad weather that prevailed.
1Esd 9:7 Then Ezra rose and said to them, "You have broken the law and married foreign women, and so have increased the sin of Israel.
1Esd 9:8 Now then make confession and give glory to the Lord the God of our fathers,
1Esd 9:9 and do his will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from your foreign wives."
1Esd 9:10 Then all the multitude shouted and said with a loud voice, "We will do as you have said.
1Esd 9:11 But the multitude is great and it is winter, and we are not able to stand in the open air. This is not a work we can do in one day or two, for we have sinned too much in these things.
1Esd 9:12 so let the leaders of the multitude stay, and let all those in our settlements who have foreign wives come at the time appointed,
1Esd 9:13 with the elders and judges of each place, until we are freed from the wrath of the Lord over this matter."
1Esd 9:14 Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah undertook the matter on these terms, and Meshullam and Levi and Shabbethai served with them as judges.
1Esd 9:15 And those who had returned from the captivity acted in accordance with all this.
1Esd 9:16 Ezra the priest chose for himself the leading men of their fathers' houses, all of them by name; and on the new moon of the tenth month they began their sessions to investigate the matter.
1Esd 9:17 And the cases of the men who had foreign wives were brought to an end by the new moon of the first month.
1Esd 9:18 Of the priests those who were brought in and found to have foreign wives were:
1Esd 9:19 of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren, Maaseiah, Eliezar, Jarib, and Jodan.
1Esd 9:20 They pledged themselves to put away their wives, and to give rams in expiation of their error.
1Esd 9:21 Of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah and Maaseiah and Shemaiah and Jehiel and Azariah.
1Esd 9:22 Of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, and Nathanael, and Gedaliah, and Elasah.
1Esd 9:23 And of the Levites: Jozabad and Shimei and Kelaiah, who was Kelita, and Pethahiah and Judah and Jonah.
1Esd 9:24 Of the temple singers: Eliashib and Zaccur.
1Esd 9:25 Of the gatekeepers: Shallum and Telem.
1Esd 9:26 Of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, and Eleazar, and Asibias, and Benaiah.
1Esd 9:27 Of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah and Zechariah, Jehiel and Abdi, and Jeremoth and Elijah.
1Esd 9:28 Of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Othoniah, Jeremoth, and Zabad and Zerdaiah.
1Esd 9:29 Of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan and Hananiah and Zabbai and Emathis.
1Esd 9:30 Of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal and Jeremoth.
1Esd 9:31 Of the sons of Addi: Naathus and Moossias, Laccunus and Naidus, and Bescaspasmys and Sesthel, and Belnuus and Manasseas.
1Esd 9:32 Of the sons of Annan, Elionas and Asaias and Melchias and Sabbaias and Simon Chosamaeus.
1Esd 9:33 Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai and Mattattah and Zabad and Eliphelet and Manasseh and Shimei.
1Esd 9:34 Of the sons of Bani: Jeremai, Maadai, Amram, Joel, Mamdai and Bedeiah and Vaniah, Carabasion and Eliashib and Machnadebai, Eliasis, Binnui, Elialis, Shimei, Shelemiah, Nethaniah. Of the sons of Ezora: Shashai, Azarel, Azael, Shemaiah, Amariah, Joseph.
1Esd 9:35 Of the sons of Nebo: Mattithiah, Zabad, Iddo, Joel, Benaiah.
1Esd 9:36 All these had married foreign women, and they put them away with their children.
1Esd 9:37 The priests and the Levites and the men of Israel settled in Jerusalem and in the country. On the new moon of the seventh month, when the sons of Israel were in their settlements,
1Esd 9:38 the whole multitude gathered with one accord into the open square before the east gate of the temple;
1Esd 9:39 and they told Ezra the chief priest and reader to bring the law of Moses which had been given by the Lord God of Israel.
1Esd 9:40 So Ezra the chief priest brought the law, for all the multitude, men and women, and all the priests to hear the law, on the new moon of the seventh month.
1Esd 9:41 And he read aloud in the open square before the gate of the temple from early morning until midday, in the presence of both men and women; and all the multitude gave attention to the law.
1Esd 9:42 Ezra the priest and reader of the law stood on the wooden platform which had been prepared;
1Esd 9:43 and beside him stood Mattathiah, Shema, Anaiah, Azariah, Uriah, Hezekiah, and Baalsamus on his right hand,
1Esd 9:44 and on his left Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Lothasubus, Nabariah, and Zechariah.
1Esd 9:45 Then Ezra took up the book of the law in the sight of the multitude, for he had the place of honor in the presence of all.
1Esd 9:46 And when he opened the law, they all stood erect. And Ezra blessed the Lord God Most High, the God of hosts, the Almighty;
1Esd 9:47 and all the multitude answered, "Amen." And they lifted up their hands, and fell to the ground and worshiped the Lord.
1Esd 9:48 Jeshua and Anniuth and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah and Kelita, Azariah and Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, taught the law of the Lord, at the same time explaining what was read.
1Esd 9:49 Then Attharates said to Ezra the chief priest and reader, and to the Levites who were teaching the multitude, and to all,
1Esd 9:50 "This day is holy to the Lord" -- now they were all weeping as they heard the law --
1Esd 9:51 "so go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send portions to those who have none;
1Esd 9:52 for the day is holy to the Lord; and do not be sorrowful, for the Lord will exalt you."
1Esd 9:53 And the Levites commanded all the people, saying, "This day is holy; do not be sorrowful."
1Esd 9:54 Then they all went their way, to eat and drink and enjoy themselves, and to give portions to those who had none, and to make great rejoicing;
1Esd 9:55 because they were inspired by the words which they had been taught. And they came together.
2 Esdras
~ Chapter 1 ~
2Esd 1:1 The second book of the prophet Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub,
2Esd 1:2 son of Ahijah, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, son of Arna, son of Uzzi, son of Borith, son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar,
2Esd 1:3 son of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi, who was a captive in the country of the Medes in the reign of Artaxerxes, king of the Persians.
2Esd 1:4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2Esd 1:5 "Go and declare to my people their evil deeds, and to their children the iniquities which they have committed against me, so that they may tell their children's children
2Esd 1:6 that the sins of their parents have increased in them, for they have forgotten me and have offered sacrifices to strange gods.
2Esd 1:7 Was it not I who brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage? But they have angered me and despised my counsels.
2Esd 1:8 Pull out the hair of your head and hurl all evils upon them, for they have not obeyed my law -- they are a rebellious people.
2Esd 1:9 How long shall I endure them, on whom I have bestowed such great benefits?
2Esd 1:10 For their sake I have overthrown many kings: I struck down Pharaoh with his servants, and all his army.
2Esd 1:11 I have destroyed all nations before them, and scattered in the east the people of two provinces, Tyre and Sidon; I have slain all their enemies.
2Esd 1:12 "But speak to them and say, Thus says the Lord:
2Esd 1:13 Surely it was I who brought you through the sea, and made safe highways for you where there was no road; I gave you Moses as leader and Aaron as priest;
2Esd 1:14 I provided light for you from a pillar of fire, and did great wonders among you. Yet you have forgotten me, says the Lord.
2Esd 1:15 "Thus says the Lord Almighty: The quails were a sign to you; I gave you camps for your protection, and in them you complained.
2Esd 1:16 You have not exulted in my name at the destruction of your enemies, but to this day you still complain.
2Esd 1:17 Where are the benefits which I bestowed on you? When you were hungry and thirsty in the wilderness, did you not cry out to me,
2Esd 1:18 saying, `Why hast thou led us into this wilderness to kill us? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in this wilderness.'
2Esd 1:19 I pitied your groanings and gave you manna for food; you ate the bread of angels.
2Esd 1:20 When you were thirsty, did I not cleave the rock so that waters flowed in abundance? Because of the heat I covered you with the leaves of trees.
2Esd 1:21 I divided fertile lands among you; I drove out the Canaanites, the Perizzites, and the Philistines before you. What more can I do for you? says the Lord.
2Esd 1:22 Thus says the Lord Almighty: When you were in the wilderness, at the bitter stream, thirsty and blaspheming my name,
2Esd 1:23 I did not send fire upon you for your blasphemies, but threw a tree into the water and made the stream sweet.
2Esd 1:24 "What shall I do to you, O Jacob? You would not obey me, O Judah. I will turn to other nations and will give them my name, that they may keep my statutes.
2Esd 1:25 Because you have forsaken me, I also will forsake you. When you beg mercy of me, I will show you no mercy.
2Esd 1:26 When you call upon me, I will not listen to you; for you have defiled your hands with blood, and your feet are swift to commit murder.
2Esd 1:27 It is not as though you had forsaken me; you have forsaken yourselves, says the Lord.
2Esd 1:28 "Thus says the Lord Almighty: Have I not entreated you as a father entreats his sons or a mother her daughters or a nurse her children,
2Esd 1:29 that you should be my people and I should be your God, and that you should be my sons and I should be your father?
2Esd 1:30 I gathered you as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. But now, what shall I do to you? I will cast you out from my presence.
2Esd 1:31 When you offer oblations to me, I will turn my face from you; for I have rejected your feast days, and new moons, and circumcisions of the flesh.
2Esd 1:32 I sent to you my servants the prophets, but you have taken and slain them and torn their bodies in pieces; their blood I will require of you, says the Lord.
2Esd 1:33 "Thus says the Lord Almighty: Your house is desolate; I will drive you out as the wind drives straw;
2Esd 1:34 and your sons will have no children, because with you they have neglected my commandment and have done what is evil in my sight.
2Esd 1:35 I will give your houses to a people that will come, who without having heard me will believe. Those to whom I have shown no signs will do what I have commanded.
2Esd 1:36 They have seen no prophets, yet will recall their former state.
2Esd 1:37 I call to witness the gratitude of the people that is to come, whose children rejoice with gladness; though they do not see me with bodily eyes, yet with the spirit they will believe the things I have said.
2Esd 1:38 "And now, father, look with pride and see the people coming from the east;
2Esd 1:39 to them I will give as leaders Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Hosea and Amos and Micah and Joel and Obadiah and Jonah
2Esd 1:40 and Nahum and Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, who is also called the messenger of the Lord.
~ Chapter 2 ~
2Esd 2:1 "Thus says the Lord: I brought this people out of bondage, and I gave them commandments through my servants the prophets; but they would not listen to them, and made my counsels void.
2Esd 2:2 The mother who bore them says to them, `Go, my children, because I am a widow and forsaken.
2Esd 2:3 I brought you up with gladness; but with mourning and sorrow I have lost you, because you have sinned before the Lord God and have done what is evil in my sight.
2Esd 2:4 But now what can I do for you? For I am a widow and forsaken. Go, my children, and ask for mercy from the Lord.'
2Esd 2:5 I call upon you, father, as a witness in addition to the mother of the children, because they would not keep my covenant,
2Esd 2:6 that you may bring confusion upon them and bring their mother to ruin, so that they may have no offspring.
2Esd 2:7 Let them be scattered among the nations, let their names be blotted out from the earth, because they have despised my covenant.
2Esd 2:8 "Woe to you, Assyria, who conceal the unrighteous in your midst! O wicked nation, remember what I did to Sodom and Gomorrah,
2Esd 2:9 whose land lies in lumps of pitch and heaps of ashes. So will I do to those who have not listened to me, says the Lord Almighty."
2Esd 2:10 Thus says the Lord to Ezra: "Tell my people that I will give them the kingdom of Jerusalem, which I was going to give to Israel.
2Esd 2:11 Moreover, I will take back to myself their glory, and will give to these others the everlasting habitations, which I had prepared for Israel.
2Esd 2:12 The tree of life shall give them fragrant perfume, and they shall neither toil nor become weary.
2Esd 2:13 Ask and you will receive; pray that your days may be few, that they may be shortened. The kingdom is already prepared for you; watch!
2Esd 2:14 Call, O call heaven and earth to witness, for I left out evil and created good, because I live, says the Lord.
2Esd 2:15 "Mother, embrace your sons; bring them up with gladness, as does the dove; establish their feet, because I have chosen you, says the Lord.
2Esd 2:16 And I will raise up the dead from their places, and will bring them out from their tombs, because I recognize my name in them.
2Esd 2:17 Do not fear, mother of sons, for I have chosen you, says the Lord.
2Esd 2:18 I will send you help, my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to their counsel I have consecrated and prepared for you twelve trees loaded with various fruits,
2Esd 2:19 and the same number of springs flowing with milk and honey, and seven mighty mountains on which roses and lilies grow; by these I will fill your children with joy.
2Esd 2:20 Guard the rights of the widow, secure justice for the fatherless, give to the needy, defend the orphan, clothe the naked,
2Esd 2:21 care for the injured and the weak, do not ridicule a lame man, protect the maimed, and let the blind man have a vision of my splendor.
2Esd 2:22 Protect the old and the young within your walls;
2Esd 2:23 When you find any who are dead, commit them to the grave and mark it, and I will give you the first place in my resurrection.
2Esd 2:24 Pause and be quiet, my people, because your rest will come.
2Esd 2:25 Good nurse, nourish your sons, and strengthen their feet.
2Esd 2:26 Not one of the servants whom I have given you will perish, for I will require them from among your number.
2Esd 2:27 Do not be anxious, for when the day of tribulation and anguish comes, others shall weep and be sorrowful, but you shall rejoice and have abundance.
2Esd 2:28 The nations shall envy you but they shall not be able to do anything against you, says the Lord.
2Esd 2:29 My hands will cover you, that your sons may not see Gehenna.
2Esd 2:30 Rejoice, O mother, with your sons, because I will deliver you, says the Lord.
2Esd 2:31 Remember your sons that sleep, because I will bring them out of the hiding places of the earth, and will show mercy to them; for I am merciful, says the Lord Almighty.
2Esd 2:32 Embrace your children until I come, and proclaim mercy to them; because my springs run over, and my grace will not fail."
2Esd 2:33 I, Ezra, received a command from the Lord on Mount Horeb to go to Israel. When I came to them they rejected me and refused the Lord's commandment.
2Esd 2:34 Therefore I say to you, O nations that hear and understand, "Await your shepherd; he will give you everlasting rest, because he who will come at the end of the age is close at hand.
2Esd 2:35 Be ready for the rewards of the kingdom, because the eternal light will shine upon you for evermore.
2Esd 2:36 Flee from the shadow of this age, receive the joy of your glory; I publicly call on my Savior to witness.
2Esd 2:37 Receive what the Lord has entrusted to you and be joyful, giving thanks to him who has called you to heavenly kingdoms.
2Esd 2:38 Rise and stand, and see at the feast of the Lord the number of those who have been sealed.
2Esd 2:39 Those who have departed from the shadow of this age have received glorious garments from the Lord.
2Esd 2:40 Take again your full number, O Zion, and conclude the list of your people who are clothed in white, who have fulfilled the law of the Lord.
2Esd 2:41 The number of your children, whom you desired, is full; beseech the Lord's power that your people, who have been called from the beginning, may be made holy."
2Esd 2:42 I, Ezra, saw on Mount Zion a great multitude, which I could not number, and they all were praising the Lord with songs.
2Esd 2:43 In their midst was a young man of great stature, taller than any of the others, and on the head of each of them he placed a crown, but he was more exalted than they. And I was held spellbound.
2Esd 2:44 Then I asked an angel, "Who are these, my lord?"
2Esd 2:45 He answered and said to me, "These are they who have put off mortal clothing and have put on the immortal, and they have confessed the name of God; now they are being crowned, and receive palms."
2Esd 2:46 Then I said to the angel, "Who is that young man who places crowns on them and puts palms in their hands?"
2Esd 2:47 He answered and said to me, "He is the Son of God, whom they confessed in the world." So I began to praise those who had stood valiantly for the name of the Lord.
2Esd 2:48 Then the angel said to me, "Go, tell my people how great and many are the wonders of the Lord God which you have seen."
~ Chapter 3 ~
2Esd 3:1 In the thirtieth year after the destruction of our city, I Salathiel, who am also called Ezra, was in Babylon. I was troubled as I lay on my bed, and my thoughts welled up in my heart,
2Esd 3:2 because I saw the desolation of Zion and the wealth of those who lived in Babylon.
2Esd 3:3 My spirit was greatly agitated, and I began to speak anxious words to the Most High, and said,
2Esd 3:4 "O sovereign Lord, didst thou not speak at the beginning when thou didst form the earth -- and that without help -- and didst command the dust
2Esd 3:5 and it gave thee Adam, a lifeless body? Yet he was the workmanship of thy hands, and thou didst breathe into him the breath of life, and he was made alive in thy presence.
2Esd 3:6 And thou didst lead him into the garden which thy right hand had planted before the earth appeared.
2Esd 3:7 And thou didst lay upon him one commandment of thine; but he transgressed it, and immediately thou didst appoint death for him and for his descendants. From him there sprang nations and tribes, peoples and clans without number.
2Esd 3:8 And every nation walked after its own will and did ungodly things before thee and scorned thee, and thou didst not hinder them.
2Esd 3:9 But again, in its time thou didst bring the flood upon the inhabitants of the world and destroy them.
2Esd 3:10 And the same fate befell them: as death came upon Adam, so the flood upon them.
2Esd 3:11 But thou didst leave one of them, Noah with his household, and all the righteous who have descended from him.
2Esd 3:12 "When those who dwelt on earth began to multiply, they produced children and peoples and many nations, and again they began to be more ungodly than were their ancestors.
2Esd 3:13 And when they were committing iniquity before thee, thou didst choose for thyself one of them, whose name was Abraham;
2Esd 3:14 and thou didst love him, and to him only didst thou reveal the end of the times, secretly by night.
2Esd 3:15 Thou didst make with him an everlasting covenant, and promise him that thou wouldst never forsake his descendants; and thou gavest to him Isaac, and to Isaac thou gavest Jacob and Esau.
2Esd 3:16 And thou didst set apart Jacob for thyself, but Esau thou didst reject; and Jacob became a great multitude.
2Esd 3:17 And when thou didst lead his descendants out of Egypt, thou didst bring them to Mount Sinai.
2Esd 3:18 Thou didst bend down the heavens and shake the earth, and move the world, and make the depths to tremble, and trouble the times.
2Esd 3:19 And thy glory passed through the four gates of fire and earthquake and wind and ice, to give the law to the descendants of Jacob, and thy commandment to the posterity of Israel.
2Esd 3:20 "Yet thou didst not take away from them their evil heart, so that thy law might bring forth fruit in them.
2Esd 3:21 For the first Adam, burdened with an evil heart, transgressed and was overcome, as were also all who were descended from him.
2Esd 3:22 Thus the disease became permanent; the law was in the people's heart along with the evil root, but what was good departed, and the evil remained.
2Esd 3:23 So the times passed and the years were completed, and thou didst raise up for thyself a servant, named David.
2Esd 3:24 And thou didst command him to build a city for thy name, and in it to offer thee oblations from what is thine.
2Esd 3:25 This was done for many years; but the inhabitants of the city transgressed,
2Esd 3:26 in everything doing as Adam and all his descendants had done, for they also had the evil heart.
2Esd 3:27 So thou didst deliver the city into the hands of thy enemies.
2Esd 3:28 "Then I said in my heart, Are the deeds of those who inhabit Babylon any better? Is that why she has gained dominion over Zion?
2Esd 3:29 For when I came here I saw ungodly deeds without number, and my soul has seen many sinners during these thirty years. And my heart failed me,
2Esd 3:30 for I have seen how thou dost endure those who sin, and hast spared those who act wickedly, and hast destroyed thy people, and hast preserved thy enemies,
2Esd 3:31 and hast not shown to any one how thy way may be comprehended. Are the deeds of Babylon better than those of Zion?
2Esd 3:32 Or has another nation known thee besides Israel? Or what tribes have so believed thy covenants as these tribes of Jacob?
2Esd 3:33 Yet their reward has not appeared and their labor has borne no fruit. For I have traveled widely among the nations and have seen that they abound in wealth, though they are unmindful of thy commandments.
2Esd 3:34 Now therefore weigh in a balance our iniquities and those of the inhabitants of the world; and so it will be found which way the turn of the scale will incline.
2Esd 3:35 When have the inhabitants of the earth not sinned in thy sight? Or what nation has kept thy commandments so well?
2Esd 3:36 Thou mayest indeed find individual men who have kept thy commandments, but nations thou wilt not find."
~ Chapter 4 ~
2Esd 4:1 Then the angel that had been sent to me, whose name was Uriel, answered
2Esd 4:2 and said to me, "Your understanding has utterly failed regarding this world, and do you think you can comprehend the way of the Most High?"
2Esd 4:3 Then I said, "Yes, my lord." And he replied to me, "I have been sent to show you three ways, and to put before you three problems.
2Esd 4:4 If you can solve one of them for me, I also will show you the way you desire to see, and will teach you why the heart is evil."
2Esd 4:5 I said, "Speak on, my lord." And he said to me, "Go, weigh for me the weight of fire, or measure for me a measure of wind, or call back for me the day that is past."
2Esd 4:6 I answered and said, "Who of those that have been born can do this, that you ask me concerning these things?"
2Esd 4:7 And he said to me, "If I had asked you, `How many dwellings are in the heart of the sea, or how many streams are at the source of the deep, or how many streams are above the firmament, or which are the exits of hell, or which are the entrances of paradise?'
2Esd 4:8 Perhaps you would have said to me, `I never went down into the deep, nor as yet into hell, neither did I ever ascend into heaven.'
2Esd 4:9 But now I have asked you only about fire and wind and the day, things through which you have passed and without which you cannot exist, and you have given me no answer about them!"
2Esd 4:10 And he said to me, "You cannot understand the things with which you have grown up;
2Esd 4:11 how then can your mind comprehend the way of the Most High? And how can one who is already worn out by the corrupt world understand incorruption?" When I heard this, I fell on my face
2Esd 4:12 and said to him, "It would be better for us not to be here than to come here and live in ungodliness, and to suffer and not understand why."
2Esd 4:13 He answered me and said, "I went into a forest of trees of the plain, and they made a plan
2Esd 4:14 and said, `Come, let us go and make war against the sea, that it may recede before us, and that we may make for ourselves more forests.'
2Esd 4:15 And in like manner the waves of the sea also made a plan and said, `Come, let us go up and subdue the forest of the plain so that there also we may gain more territory for ourselves.'
2Esd 4:16 But the plan of the forest was in vain, for the fire came and consumed it;
2Esd 4:17 likewise also the plan of the waves of the sea, for the sand stood firm and stopped them.
2Esd 4:18 If now you were a judge between them, which would you undertake to justify, and which to condemn?"
2Esd 4:19 I answered and said, "Each has made a foolish plan, for the land is assigned to the forest, and to the sea is assigned a place to carry its waves."
2Esd 4:20 He answered me and said, "You have judged rightly, but why have you not judged so in your own case?
2Esd 4:21 For as the land is assigned to the forest and the sea to its waves, so also those who dwell upon earth can understand only what is on the earth, and he who is above the heavens can understand what is above the height of the heavens."
2Esd 4:22 Then I answered and said, "I beseech you, my lord, why have I been endowed with the power of understanding?
2Esd 4:23 For I did not wish to inquire about the ways above, but about those things which we daily experience: why Israel has been given over to the Gentiles as a reproach; why the people whom you loved has been given over to godless tribes, and the law of our fathers has been made of no effect and the written covenants no longer exist;
2Esd 4:24 and why we pass from the world like locusts, and our life is like a mist, and we are not worthy to obtain mercy.
2Esd 4:25 But what will he do for his name, by which we are called? It is about these things that I have asked."
2Esd 4:26 He answered me and said, "If you are alive, you will see, and if you live long, you will often marvel, because the age is hastening swiftly to its end.
2Esd 4:27 For it will not be able to bring the things that have been promised to the righteous in their appointed times, because this age is full of sadness and infirmities.
2Esd 4:28 For the evil about which you ask me has been sown, but the harvest of it has not yet come.
2Esd 4:29 If therefore that which has been sown is not reaped, and if the place where the evil has been sown does not pass away, the field where the good has been sown will not come.
2Esd 4:30 For a grain of evil seed was sown in Adam's heart from the beginning, and how much ungodliness it has produced until now, and will produce until the time of threshing comes!
2Esd 4:31 Consider now for yourself how much fruit of ungodliness a grain of evil seed has produced.
2Esd 4:32 When heads of grain without number are sown, how great a threshing floor they will fill!"
2Esd 4:33 Then I answered and said, "How long and when will these things be? Why are our years few and evil?"
2Esd 4:34 He answered me and said, "You do not hasten faster than the Most High, for your haste is for yourself, but the Highest hastens on behalf of many.
2Esd 4:35 Did not the souls of the righteous in their chambers ask about these matters, saying, `How long are we to remain here? And when will come the harvest of our reward?
2Esd 4:36 And Jeremiel the archangel answered them and said, `When the number of those like yourselves is completed; for he has weighed the age in the balance,
2Esd 4:37 and measured the times by measure, and numbered the times by number; and he will not move or arouse them until that measure is fulfilled.'"
2Esd 4:38 Then I answered and said, "O sovereign Lord, but all of us also are full of ungodliness.
2Esd 4:39 And it is perhaps on account of us that the time of threshing is delayed for the righteous -- on account of the sins of those who dwell on earth."
2Esd 4:40 He answered me and said, "Go and ask a woman who is with child if, when her nine months have been completed, her womb can keep the child within her any longer."
2Esd 4:41 And I said, "No, lord, it cannot." And he said to me, "In Hades the chambers of the souls are like the womb.
2Esd 4:42 For just as a woman who is in travail makes haste to escape the pangs of birth, so also do these places hasten to give back those things that were committed to them from the beginning.
2Esd 4:43 Then the things that you desire to see will be disclosed to you."
2Esd 4:44 I answered and said, "If I have found favor in your sight, and if it is possible, and if I am worthy,
2Esd 4:45 show me this also: whether more time is to come than has passed, or whether for us the greater part has gone by.
2Esd 4:46 For I know what has gone by, but I do not know what is to come."
2Esd 4:47 And he said to me, "Stand at my right side, and I will show you the interpretation of a parable."
2Esd 4:48 So I stood and looked, and behold, a flaming furnace passed by before me, and when the flame had gone by I looked, and behold, the smoke remained.
2Esd 4:49 And after this a cloud full of water passed before me and poured down a heavy and violent rain, and when the rainstorm had passed, drops remained in the cloud.
2Esd 4:50 And he said to me, "Consider it for yourself; for as the rain is more than the drops, and the fire is greater than the smoke, so the quantity that passed was far greater; but drops and smoke remained."
2Esd 4:51 Then I prayed and said, "Do you think that I shall live until those days? Or who will be alive in those days?"
2Esd 4:52 He answered me and said, "Concerning the signs about which you ask me, I can tell you in part; but I was not sent to tell you concerning your life, for I do not know.
~ Chapter 5 ~
2Esd 5:1 "Now concerning the signs: behold, the days are coming when those who dwell on earth shall be seized with great terror, and the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith.
2Esd 5:2 And unrighteousness shall be increased beyond what you yourself see, and beyond what you heard of formerly.
2Esd 5:3 And the land which you now see ruling shall be waste and untrodden, and men shall see it desolate.
2Esd 5:4 But if the Most High grants that you live, you shall see it thrown into confusion after the third period; and the sun shall suddenly shine forth at night, and the moon during the day.
2Esd 5:5 Blood shall drip from wood, and the stone shall utter its voice; the peoples shall be troubled, and the stars shall fall.
2Esd 5:6 And one shall reign whom those who dwell on earth do not expect, and the birds shall fly away together;
2Esd 5:7 and the sea of Sodom shall cast up fish; and one whom the many do not know shall make his voice heard by night, and all shall hear his voice.
2Esd 5:8 There shall be chaos also in many places, and fire shall often break out, and the wild beasts shall roam beyond their haunts, and menstruous women shall bring forth monsters.
2Esd 5:9 And salt waters shall be found in the sweet, and all friends shall conquer one another; then shall reason hide itself, and wisdom shall withdraw into its chamber,
2Esd 5:10 and it shall be sought by many but shall not be found, and unrighteousness and unrestraint shall increase on earth.
2Esd 5:11 And one country shall ask its neighbor, `Has righteousness, or any one who does right, passed through you?' And it will answer, `No.'
2Esd 5:12 And at that time men shall hope but not obtain; they shall labor but their ways shall not prosper.
2Esd 5:13 These are the signs which I am permitted to tell you, and if you pray again, and weep as you do now, and fast for seven days, you shall hear yet greater things than these."
2Esd 5:14 Then I awoke, and my body shuddered violently, and my soul was so troubled that it fainted.
2Esd 5:15 But the angel who had come and talked with me held me and strengthened me and set me on my feet.
2Esd 5:16 Now on the second night Phaltiel, a chief of the people, came to me and said, "Where have you been? And why is your face sad?
2Esd 5:17 Or do you not know that Israel has been entrusted to you in the land of their exile?
2Esd 5:18 Rise therefore and eat some bread, so that you may not forsake us, like a shepherd who leaves his flock in the power of cruel wolves."
2Esd 5:19 Then I said to him, "Depart from me and do not come near me for seven days, and then you may come to me." He heard what I said and left me.
2Esd 5:20 So I fasted seven days, mourning and weeping, as Uriel the angel had commanded me.
2Esd 5:21 And after seven days the thoughts of my heart were very grievous to me again.
2Esd 5:22 Then my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began once more to speak words in the presence of the Most High.
2Esd 5:23 And I said, "O sovereign Lord, from every forest of the earth and from all its trees thou hast chosen one vine,
2Esd 5:24 and from all the lands of the world thou hast chosen for thyself one region, and from all the flowers of the world thou hast chosen for thyself one lily,
2Esd 5:25 and from all the depths of the sea thou hast filled for thyself one river, and from all the cities that have been built thou hast consecrated Zion for thyself,
2Esd 5:26 and from all the birds that have been created thou hast named for thyself one dove, and from all the flocks that have been made thou hast provided for thyself one sheep,
2Esd 5:27 and from all the multitude of peoples thou hast gotten for thyself one people; and to this people, whom thou hast loved, thou hast given the law which is approved by all.
2Esd 5:28 And now, O Lord, why hast thou given over the one to the many, and dishonored the one root beyond the others, and scattered thine only one among the many?
2Esd 5:29 And those who opposed thy promises have trodden down those who believed thy covenants.
2Esd 5:30 If thou dost really hate thy people, they should be punished at thy own hands."
2Esd 5:31 When I had spoken these words, the angel who had come to me on a previous night was sent to me,
2Esd 5:32 and he said to me, "Listen to me, and I will instruct you; pay attention to me, and I will tell you more."
2Esd 5:33 And I said, "Speak, my lord." And he said to me, "Are you greatly disturbed in mind over Israel? Or do you love him more than his Maker does?"
2Esd 5:34 And I said, "No, my lord, but because of my grief I have spoken; for every hour I suffer agonies of heart, while I strive to understand the way of the Most High and to search out part of his judgment."
2Esd 5:35 And he said to me, "You cannot." And I said, "Why not, my lord? Why then was I born? Or why did not my mother's womb become my grave, that I might not see the travail of Jacob and the exhaustion of the people of Israel?"
2Esd 5:36 He said to me, "Count up for me those who have not yet come, and gather for me the scattered raindrops, and make the withered flowers bloom again for me;
2Esd 5:37 open for me the closed chambers, and bring forth for me the winds shut up in them, or show me the picture of a voice; and then I will explain to you the travail that you ask to understand."
2Esd 5:38 And I said, "O sovereign Lord, who is able to know these things except he whose dwelling is not with men?
2Esd 5:39 As for me, I am without wisdom, and how can I speak concerning the things which thou hast asked me?"
2Esd 5:40 He said to me, "Just as you cannot do one of the things that were mentioned, so you cannot discover my judgment, or the goal of the love that I have promised my people."
2Esd 5:41 And I said, "Yet behold, O Lord, thou dost have charge of those who are alive at the end, but what will those do who were before us, or we, or those who come after us?"
2Esd 5:42 He said to me, "I shall liken my judgment to a circle; just as for those who are last there is no slowness, so for those who are first there is no haste."
2Esd 5:43 Then I answered and said, "Couldst thou not have created at one time those who have been and those who are and those who will be, that thou mightest show thy judgment the sooner?"
2Esd 5:44 He replied to me and said, "The creation cannot make more haste than the Creator, neither can the world hold at one time those who have been created in it."
2Esd 5:45 And I said, "How hast thou said to thy servant that thou wilt certainly give life at one time to thy creation? If therefore all creatures will live at one time and the creation will sustain them, it might even now be able to support all of them present at one time."
2Esd 5:46 He said to me, "Ask a woman's womb, and say to it, `If you bear ten children, why one after another?' Request it therefore to produce ten at one time."
2Esd 5:47 I said, "Of course it cannot, but only each in its own time."
2Esd 5:48 He said to me, "Even so have I given the womb of the earth to those who from time to time are sown in it.
2Esd 5:49 For as an infant does not bring forth, and a woman who has become old does not bring forth any longer, so have I organized the world which I created."
2Esd 5:50 Then I inquired and said, "Since thou hast now given me the opportunity, let me speak before thee. Is our mother, of whom thou hast told me, still young? Or is she now approaching old age?"
2Esd 5:51 He replied to me, "Ask a woman who bears children, and she will tell you.
2Esd 5:52 Say to her, "Why are those whom you have borne recently not like those whom you bore before, but smaller in stature?'
2Esd 5:53 And she herself will answer you, `Those born in the strength of youth are different from those born during the time of old age, when the womb is failing.'
2Esd 5:54 Therefore you also should consider that you and your contemporaries are smaller in stature than those who were before you,
2Esd 5:55 and those who come after you will be smaller than you, as born of a creation which already is aging and passing the strength of youth."
2Esd 5:56 And I said, "O Lord, I beseech thee, if I have found favor in thy sight, show thy servant through whom thou dost visit thy creation."
~ Chapter 6 ~
2Esd 6:1 And he said to me, "At the beginning of the circle of the earth, before the portals of the world were in place, and before the assembled winds blew,
2Esd 6:2 and before the rumblings of thunder sounded, and before the flashes of lightning shone, and before the foundations of paradise were laid,
2Esd 6:3 and before the beautiful flowers were seen, and before the powers of movement were established, and before the innumerable hosts of angels were gathered together,
2Esd 6:4 and before the heights of the air were lifted up, and before the measures of the firmaments were named, and before the footstool of Zion was established,
2Esd 6:5 and before the present years were reckoned; and before the imaginations of those who now sin were estranged, and before those who stored up treasures of faith were sealed --
2Esd 6:6 then I planned these things, and they were made through me and not through another, just as the end shall come through me and not through another."
2Esd 6:7 And I answered and said, "What will be the dividing of the times? Or when will be the end of the first age and the beginning of the age that follows?"
2Esd 6:8 He said to me, "From Abraham to Isaac, because from him were born Jacob and Esau, for Jacob's hand held Esau's heel from the beginning.
2Esd 6:9 For Esau is the end of this age, and Jacob is the beginning of the age that follows.
2Esd 6:10 For the beginning of a man is his hand, and the end of a man is his
heel; between the heel and the hand seek for nothing else, Ezra!"
2Esd 6:11 I answered and said, "O sovereign Lord, if I have found favor in thy sight,
2Esd 6:12 show thy servant the end of thy signs which thou didst show me in part on a previous night."
2Esd 6:13 He answered and said to me, "Rise to your feet and you will hear a full, resounding voice.
2Esd 6:14 And if the place where you are standing is greatly shaken
2Esd 6:15 while the voice is speaking, do not be terrified; because the word concerns the end, and the foundations of the earth will understand
2Esd 6:16 that the speech concerns them. They will tremble and be shaken, for they know that their end must be changed."
2Esd 6:17 When I heard this, I rose to my feet and listened, and behold, a voice was speaking, and its sound was like the sound of many waters.
2Esd 6:18 And it said, "Behold, the days are coming, and it shall be that when I draw near to visit the inhabitants of the earth,
2Esd 6:19 and when I require from the doers of iniquity the penalty of their iniquity, and when the humiliation of Zion is complete,
2Esd 6:20 and when the seal is placed upon the age which is about to pass away, then I will show these signs: the books shall be opened before the firmament, and all shall see it together.
2Esd 6:21 Infants a year old shall speak with their voices, and women with child shall give birth to premature children at three and four months, and these shall live and dance.
2Esd 6:22 Sown places shall suddenly appear unsown, and full storehouses shall suddenly be found to be empty;
2Esd 6:23 and the trumpet shall sound aloud, and when all hear it, they shall suddenly be terrified.
2Esd 6:24 At that time friends shall make war on friends like enemies, and the earth and those who inhabit it shall be terrified, and the springs of the fountains shall stand still, so that for three hours they shall not flow.
2Esd 6:25 "And it shall be that whoever remains after all that I have foretold to you shall himself be saved and shall see my salvation and the end of my world.
2Esd 6:26 And they shall see the men who were taken up, who from their birth have not tasted death; and the heart of the earth's inhabitants shall be changed and converted to a different spirit.
2Esd 6:27 For evil shall be blotted out, and deceit shall be quenched;
2Esd 6:28 faithfulness shall flourish, and corruption shall be overcome, and the truth, which has been so long without fruit, shall be revealed."
2Esd 6:29 While he spoke to me, behold, little by little the place where I was standing began to rock to and fro.
2Esd 6:30 And he said to me, "I have come to show you these things this night.
2Esd 6:31 If therefore you will pray again and fast again for seven days, I will again declare to you greater things than these,
2Esd 6:32 because your voice has surely been heard before the Most High; for the Mighty One has seen your uprightness and has also observed the purity which you have maintained from your youth.
2Esd 6:33 Therefore he sent me to show you all these things, and to say to you: `Believe and do not be afraid!
2Esd 6:34 Do not be quick to think vain thoughts concerning the former times, lest you be hasty concerning the last times.'"
2Esd 6:35 Now after this I wept again and fasted seven days as before, in order to complete the three weeks as I had been told.
2Esd 6:36 And on the eighth night my heart was troubled within me again, and I began to speak in the presence of the Most High.
2Esd 6:37 For my spirit was greatly aroused, and my soul was in distress.
2Esd 6:38 I said, "O Lord, thou didst speak at the beginning of creation, and didst say on the first day, `Let heaven and earth be made,' and thy word accomplished the work.
2Esd 6:39 And then the Spirit was hovering, and darkness and silence embraced everything; the sound of man's voice was not yet there.
2Esd 6:40 Then thou didst command that a ray of light be brought forth from thy treasuries, so that thy works might then appear.
2Esd 6:41 "Again, on the second day, thou didst create the spirit of the firmament, and didst command him to divide and separate the waters, that one part might move upward and the other part remain beneath.
2Esd 6:42 "On the third day thou didst command the waters to be gathered together in the seventh part of the earth; six parts thou didst dry up and keep so that some of them might be planted and cultivated and be of service before thee.
2Esd 6:43 For thy word went forth, and at once the work was done.
2Esd 6:44 For immediately fruit came forth in endless abundance and of varied appeal to the taste; and flowers of inimitable color; and odors of inexpressible fragrance. These were made on the third day.
2Esd 6:45 "On the fourth day thou didst command the brightness of the sun, the light of the moon, and the arrangement of the stars to come into being;
2Esd 6:46 and thou didst command them to serve man, who was about to be formed.
2Esd 6:47 "On the fifth day thou didst command the seventh part, where the water had been gathered together, to bring forth living creatures, birds, and fishes; and so it was done.
2Esd 6:48 The dumb and lifeless water produced living creatures, as it was commanded, that therefore the nations might declare thy wondrous works.
2Esd 6:49 "Then thou didst keep in existence two living creatures; the name of one thou didst call Behemoth and the name of the other Leviathan.
2Esd 6:50 And thou didst separate one from the other, for the seventh part where the water had been gathered together could not hold them both.
2Esd 6:51 And thou didst give Behemoth one of the parts which had been dried up on the third day, to live in it, where there are a thousand mountains;
2Esd 6:52 but to Leviathan thou didst give the seventh part, the watery part; and thou hast kept them to be eaten by whom thou wilt, and when thou wilt.
2Esd 6:53 "On the sixth day thou didst command the earth to bring forth before thee cattle, beasts, and creeping things;
2Esd 6:54 and over these thou didst place Adam, as ruler over all the works which thou hadst made; and from him we have all come, the people whom thou hast chosen.
2Esd 6:55 "All this I have spoken before thee, O Lord, because thou hast said that it was for us that thou didst create this world.
2Esd 6:56 As for the other nations which have descended from Adam, thou hast said that they are nothing, and that they are like spittle, and thou hast compared their abundance to a drop from a bucket.
2Esd 6:57 And now, O Lord, behold, these nations, which are reputed as nothing, domineer over us and devour us.
2Esd 6:58 But we thy people, whom thou hast called thy first-born, only begotten, zealous for thee, and most dear, have been given into their hands.
2Esd 6:59 If the world has indeed been created for us, why do we not possess our world as an inheritance? How long will this be so?"
~ Chapter 7 ~
2Esd 7:1 When I had finished speaking these words, the angel who had been sent to me on the former nights was sent to me again,
2Esd 7:2 and he said to me, "Rise, Ezra, and listen to the words that I have come to speak to you."
2Esd 7:3 I said, "Speak, my lord." And he said to me, "There is a sea set in a wide expanse so that it is broad and vast,
2Esd 7:4 but it has an entrance set in a narrow place, so that it is like a river.
2Esd 7:5 If any one, then, wishes to reach the sea, to look at it or to navigate it, how can he come to the broad part unless he passes through the narrow part?
2Esd 7:6 Another example: There is a city built and set on a plain, and it is full of all good things;
2Esd 7:7 but the entrance to it is narrow and set in a precipitous place, so that there is fire on the right hand and deep water on the left;
2Esd 7:8 and there is only one path lying between them, that is, between the fire and the water, so that only one man can walk upon that path.
2Esd 7:9 If now that city is given to a man for an inheritance, how will the heir receive his inheritance unless he passes through the danger set before him?"
2Esd 7:10 I said, "He cannot, lord." And he said to me, "So also is Israel's portion.
2Esd 7:11 For I made the world for their sake, and when Adam transgressed my statutes, what had been made was judged.
2Esd 7:12 And so the entrances of this world were made narrow and sorrowful and toilsome; they are few and evil, full of dangers and involved in great hardships.
2Esd 7:13 But the entrances of the greater world are broad and safe, and really yield the fruit of immortality.
2Esd 7:14 Therefore unless the living pass through the difficult and vain experiences, they can never receive those things that have been reserved for them.
2Esd 7:15 But now why are you disturbed, seeing that you are to perish? And why are you moved, seeing that you are mortal?
2Esd 7:16 And why have you not considered in your mind what is to come, rather than what is now present?"
2Esd 7:17 Then I answered and said, "O sovereign Lord, behold, thou hast ordained in thy law that the righteous shall inherit these things, but that the ungodly shall perish.
2Esd 7:18 The righteous therefore can endure difficult circumstances while hoping for easier ones; but those who have done wickedly have suffered the difficult circumstances and will not see the easier ones."
2Esd 7:19 And he said to me, "You are not a better judge than God, or wiser than the Most High!
2Esd 7:20 Let many perish who are now living, rather than that the law of God which is set before them be disregarded!
2Esd 7:21 For God strictly commanded those who came into the world, when they came, what they should do to live, and what they should observe to avoid punishment.
2Esd 7:22 Nevertheless they were not obedient, and spoke against him; they devised for themselves vain thoughts,
2Esd 7:23 and proposed to themselves wicked frauds; they even declared that the Most High does not exist, and they ignored his ways!
2Esd 7:24 They scorned his law, and denied his covenants; they have been unfaithful to his statutes, and have not performed his works.
2Esd 7:25 "Therefore, Ezra, empty things are for the empty, and full things are for the full.
2Esd 7:26 For behold, the time will come, when the signs which I have foretold to you will come to pass, that the city which now is not seen shall appear, and the land which now is hidden shall be disclosed.
2Esd 7:27 And every one who has been delivered from the evils that I have foretold shall see my wonders.
2Esd 7:28 For my son the Messiah shall be revealed with those who are with him, and those who remain shall rejoice four hundred years.
2Esd 7:29 And after these years my son the Messiah shall die, and all who draw human breath.
2Esd 7:30 And the world shall be turned back to primeval silence for seven days, as it was at the first beginnings; so that no one shall be left.
2Esd 7:31 And after seven days the world, which is not yet awake, shall be roused, and that which is corruptible shall perish.
2Esd 7:32 And the earth shall give up those who are asleep in it, and the dust those who dwell silently in it; and the chambers shall give up the souls which have been committed to them.
2Esd 7:33 And the Most High shall be revealed upon the seat of judgment, and compassion shall pass away, and patience shall be withdrawn;
2Esd 7:34 but only judgment shall remain, truth shall stand, and faithfulness shall grow strong.
2Esd 7:35 And recompense shall follow, and the reward shall be manifested; righteous deeds shall awake, and unrighteous deeds shall not sleep.
2Esd 7:36 Then the pit of torment shall appear, and opposite it shall be the place of rest; and the furnace of hell shall be disclosed, and opposite it the paradise of delight.
2Esd 7:37 Then the Most High will say to the nations that have been raised from the dead, `Look now, and understand whom you have denied, whom you have not served, whose commandments you have despised!
2Esd 7:38 Look on this side and on that; here are delight and rest, and there are fire and torments!' Thus he will speak to them on the day of judgment --
2Esd 7:39 a day that has no sun or moon or stars,
2Esd 7:40 or cloud or thunder or lightning or wind or water or air, or darkness or evening or morning,
2Esd 7:41 or summer or spring or heat or winter or frost or cold or hail or rain or dew,
2Esd 7:42 or noon or night, or dawn or shining or brightness or light, but only the splendor of the glory of the Most High, by which all shall see what has been determined for them.
2Esd 7:43 For it will last for about a week of years.
2Esd 7:44 This is my judgment and its prescribed order; and to you alone have I shown these things."
2Esd 7:45 I answered and said, "O sovereign Lord, I said then and I say now: Blessed are those who are alive and keep thy commandments!
2Esd 7:46 But what of those for whom I prayed? For who among the living is there that has not sinned, or who among men that has not transgressed thy covenant?
2Esd 7:47 And now I see that the world to come will bring delight to few, but torments to many.
2Esd 7:48 For an evil heart has grown up in us, which has alienated us from God, and has brought us into corruption and the ways of death, and has shown us the paths of perdition and removed us far from life -- and that not just a few of us but almost all who have been created!"
2Esd 7:49 He answered me and said, "Listen to me, Ezra, and I will instruct you, and will admonish you yet again.
2Esd 7:50 For this reason the Most High has made not one world but two.
2Esd 7:51 For whereas you have said that the righteous are not many but few, while the ungodly abound, hear the explanation for this.
2Esd 7:52 "If you have just a few precious stones, will you add to them lead and clay?"
2Esd 7:53 I said, "Lord, how could that be?"
2Esd 7:54 And he said to me, "Not only that, but ask the earth and she will tell you; defer to her, and she will declare it to you.
2Esd 7:55 Say to her, `You produce gold and silver and brass, and also iron and lead and clay;
2Esd 7:56 but silver is more abundant than gold, and brass than silver, and iron than brass, and lead than iron, and clay than lead.'
2Esd 7:57 Judge therefore which things are precious and desirable, those that are abundant or those that are rare?"
2Esd 7:58 I said, "O sovereign Lord, what is plentiful is of less worth, for what is more rare is more precious."
2Esd 7:59 He answered me and said, "Weigh within yourself what you have thought, for he who has what is hard to get rejoices more than he who has what is plentiful.
2Esd 7:60 So also will be the judgment which I have promised; for I will rejoice over the few who shall be saved, because it is they who have made my glory to prevail now, and through them my name has now been honored.
2Esd 7:61 And I will not grieve over the multitude of those who perish; for it is they who are now like a mist, and are similar to a flame and smoke -- they are set on fire and burn hotly, and are extinguished."
2Esd 7:62 I replied and said, "O earth, what have you brought forth, if the mind is made out of the dust like the other created things!
2Esd 7:63 For it would have been better if the dust itself had not been born, so that the mind might not have been made from it.
2Esd 7:64 But now the mind grows with us, and therefore we are tormented, because we perish and know it.
2Esd 7:65 Let the human race lament, but let the beasts of the field be glad; let all who have been born lament, but let the four-footed beasts and the flocks rejoice!
2Esd 7:66 For it is much better with them than with us; for they do not look for a judgment, nor do they know of any torment or salvation promised to them after death.
2Esd 7:67 For what does it profit us that we shall be preserved alive but cruelly tormented?
2Esd 7:68 For all who have been born are involved in iniquities, and are full of sins and burdened with transgressions.
2Esd 7:69 And if we were not to come into judgment after death, perhaps it would have been better for us."
2Esd 7:70 He answered me and said, "When the Most High made the world and Adam and all who have come from him, he first prepared the judgment and the things that pertain to the judgment.
2Esd 7:71 And now understand from your own words, for you have said that the mind grows with us.
2Esd 7:72 For this reason, therefore, those who dwell on earth shall be tormented, because though they had understanding they committed iniquity, and though they received the commandments they did not keep them, and though they obtained the law they dealt unfaithfully with what they received.
2Esd 7:73 What, then, will they have to say in the judgment, or how will they answer in the last times?
2Esd 7:74 For how long the time is that the Most High has been patient with those who inhabit the world, and not for their sake, but because of the times which he has foreordained!"
2Esd 7:75 I answered and said, "If I have found favor in thy sight, O Lord, show this also to thy servant: whether after death, as soon as every one of us yields up his soul, we shall be kept in rest until those times come when thou wilt renew the creation, or whether we shall be tormented at once?"
2Esd 7:76 He answered me and said, "I will show you that also, but do not be associated with those who have shown scorn, nor number yourself among those who are tormented.
2Esd 7:77 For you have a treasure of works laid up with the Most High; but it will not be shown to you until the last times.
2Esd 7:78 Now, concerning death, the teaching is: When the decisive decree has gone forth from the Most High that a man shall die, as the spirit leaves the body to return again to him who gave it, first of all it adores the glory of the Most High.
2Esd 7:79 And if it is one of those who have shown scorn and have not kept the way of the Most High, and who have despised his law, and who have hated those who fear God --
2Esd 7:80 such spirits shall not enter into habitations, but shall immediately wander about in torments, ever grieving and sad, in seven ways.
2Esd 7:81 The first way, because they have scorned the law of the Most High.
2Esd 7:82 The second way, because they cannot now make a good repentance that they may live.
2Esd 7:83 The third way, they shall see the reward laid up for those who have trusted the covenants of the Most High.
2Esd 7:84 The fourth way, they shall consider the torment laid up for themselves in the last days.
2Esd 7:85 The fifth way, they shall see how the habitations of the others are guarded by angels in profound quiet.
2Esd 7:86 The sixth way, they shall see how some of them will pass over into torments.
2Esd 7:87 The seventh way, which is worse than all the ways that have been mentioned, because they shall utterly waste away in confusion and be consumed with shame, and shall wither with fear at seeing the glory of the Most High before whom they sinned while they were alive, and before whom they are to be judged in the last times.
2Esd 7:88 "Now this is the order of those who have kept the ways of the Most High, when they shall be separated from their mortal body.
2Esd 7:89 During the time that they lived in it, they laboriously served the Most High, and withstood danger every hour, that they might keep the law of the Lawgiver perfectly.
2Esd 7:90 Therefore this is the teaching concerning them:
2Esd 7:91 First of all, they shall see with great joy the glory of him who receives them, for they shall have rest in seven orders.
2Esd 7:92 The first order, because they have striven with great effort to overcome the evil thought which was formed with them, that it might not lead them astray from life into death.
2Esd 7:93 The second order, because they see the perplexity in which the souls of the ungodly wander, and the punishment that awaits them.
2Esd 7:94 The third order, they see the witness which he who formed them bears concerning them, that while they were alive they kept the law which was given them in trust.
2Esd 7:95 The fourth order, they understand the rest which they now enjoy, being gathered into their chambers and guarded by angels in profound quiet, and the glory which awaits them in the last days.
2Esd 7:96 The fifth order, they rejoice that they have now escaped what is corruptible, and shall inherit what is to come; and besides they see the straits and toil from which they have been delivered, and the spacious liberty which they are to receive and enjoy in immortality.
2Esd 7:97 The sixth order, when it is shown to them how their face is to shine like the sun, and how they are to be made like the light of the stars, being incorruptible from then on.
2Esd 7:98 The seventh order, which is greater than all that have been mentioned, because they shall rejoice with boldness, and shall be confident without confusion, and shall be glad without fear, for they hasten to behold the face of him whom they served in life and from whom they are to receive their reward when glorified.
2Esd 7:99 This is the order of the souls of the righteous, as henceforth is announced; and the aforesaid are the ways of torment which those who would not give heed shall suffer hereafter."
2Esd 7:100 I answered and said, "Will time therefore be given to the souls, after they have been separated from the bodies, to see what you have described to me?"
2Esd 7:101 He said to me, "They shall have freedom for seven days, so that during these seven days they may see the things of which you have been told, and afterwards they shall be gathered in their habitations."
2Esd 7:102 I answered and said, "If I have found favor in thy sight, show further to me, thy servant, whether on the day of judgment the righteous will be able to intercede for the ungodly or to entreat the Most High for them,
2Esd 7:103 fathers for sons or sons for parents, brothers for brothers, relatives for their kinsmen, or friends for those who are most dear."
2Esd 7:104 He answered me and said, "Since you have found favor in my sight, I will show you this also. The day of judgment is decisive and displays to all the seal of truth. Just as now a father does not send his son, or a son his father, or a master his servant, or a friend his dearest friend, to be ill or sleep or eat or be healed in his stead,
2Esd 7:105 so no one shall ever pray for another on that day, neither shall any one lay a burden on another; for then every one shall bear his own righteousness and unrighteousness."
2Esd 7:106 I answered and said, "How then do we find that first Abraham prayed for the people of Sodom, and Moses for our fathers who sinned in the desert,
2Esd 7:107 and Joshua after him for Israel in the days of Achan,
2Esd 7:108 and Samuel in the days of Saul, and David for the plague, and Solomon for those in the sanctuary,
2Esd 7:109 and Elijah for those who received the rain, and for the one who was dead, that he might live,
2Esd 7:110 and Hezekiah for the people in the days of Sennacherib, and many others prayed for many?
2Esd 7:111 If therefore the righteous have prayed for the ungodly now, when corruption has increased and unrighteousness has multiplied, why will it not be so then as well?"
2Esd 7:112 He answered me and said, "This present world is not the end; the full glory does not abide in it; therefore those who were strong prayed for the weak.
2Esd 7:113 But the day of judgment will be the end of this age and the beginning of the immortal age to come, in which corruption has passed away,
2Esd 7:114 sinful indulgence has come to an end, unbelief has been cut off, and righteousness has increased and truth has appeared.
2Esd 7:115 Therefore no one will then be able to have mercy on him who has been condemned in the judgment, or to harm him who is victorious."
2Esd 7:116 I answered and said, "This is my first and last word, that it would have been better if the earth had not produced Adam, or else, when it had produced him, had restrained him from sinning.
2Esd 7:117 For what good is it to all that they live in sorrow now and expect punishment after death?
2Esd 7:118 O Adam, what have you done? For though it was you who sinned, the fall was not yours alone, but ours also who are your descendants.
2Esd 7:119 For what good is it to us, if an eternal age has been promised to us, but we have done deeds that bring death?
2Esd 7:120 And what good is it that an everlasting hope has been promised to us, but we have miserably failed?
2Esd 7:121 Or that safe and healthful habitations have been reserved for us, but we have lived wickedly?
2Esd 7:122 Or that the glory of the Most High will defend those who have led a pure life, but we have walked in the most wicked ways?
2Esd 7:123 Or that a paradise shall be revealed, whose fruit remains unspoiled and in which are abundance and healing, but we shall not enter it,
2Esd 7:124 because we have lived in unseemly places?
2Esd 7:125 Or that the faces of those who practiced self-control shall shine more than the stars, but our faces shall be blacker than darkness?
2Esd 7:126 For while we lived and committed iniquity we did not consider what we should suffer after death."
2Esd 7:127 He answered and said, "This is the meaning of the contest which every man who is born on earth shall wage,
2Esd 7:128 that if he is defeated he shall suffer what you have said, but if he is victorious he shall receive what I have said.
2Esd 7:129 For this is the way of which Moses, while he was alive, spoke to the people, saying, `Choose for yourself life, that you may live!'
2Esd 7:130 But they did not believe him, or the prophets after him, or even myself who have spoken to them.
2Esd 7:131 Therefore there shall not be grief at their destruction, so much as joy over those to whom salvation is assured."
2Esd 7:132 I answered and said, "I know, O Lord, that the Most High is now called merciful, because he has mercy on those who have not yet come into the world;
2Esd 7:133 and gracious, because he is gracious to those who turn in repentance to his law;
2Esd 7:134 and patient, because he shows patience toward those who have sinned, since they are his own works;
2Esd 7:135 and bountiful, because he would rather give than take away;
2Esd 7:136 and abundant in compassion, because he makes his compassions abound more and more to those now living and to those who are gone and to those yet to come,
2Esd 7:137 for if he did not make them abound, the world with those who inhabit it would not have life;
2Esd 7:138 and he is called giver, because if he did not give out of his goodness so that those who have committed iniquities might be relieved of them, not one ten-thousandth of mankind could have life;
2Esd 7:139 and judge, because if he did not pardon those who were created by his word and blot out the multitude of their sins,
2Esd 7:140 there would probably be left only very few of the innumerable multitude."
~ Chapter 8 ~
2Esd 8:1 He answered me and said, "The Most High made this world for the sake of many, but the world to come for the sake of few.
2Esd 8:2 But I tell you a parable, Ezra. Just as, when you ask the earth, it will tell you that it provides very much clay from which earthenware is made, but only a little dust from which gold comes; so is the course of the present world.
2Esd 8:3 Many have been created, but few shall be saved."
2Esd 8:4 I answered and said, "Then drink your fill of understanding, O my soul, and drink wisdom, O my heart!
2Esd 8:5 For not of your own will did you come into the world, and against your will you depart, for you have been given only a short time to live.
2Esd 8:6 O Lord who are over us, grant to thy servant that we may pray before thee, and give us seed for our heart and cultivation of our understanding so that fruit may be produced, by which every mortal who bears the likeness of a human being may be able to live.
2Esd 8:7 For thou alone dost exist, and we are a work of thy hands, as thou hast declared.
2Esd 8:8 And because thou dost give life to the body which is now fashioned in the womb, and dost furnish it with members, what thou hast created is preserved in fire and water, and for nine months the womb which thou has formed endures thy creation which has been created in it.
2Esd 8:9 But that which keeps and that which is kept shall both be kept by thy keeping. And when the womb gives up again what has been created in it,
2Esd 8:10 thou hast commanded that from the members themselves (that is, from the breasts) milk should be supplied which is the fruit of the breasts,
2Esd 8:11 so that what has been fashioned may be nourished for a time; and afterwards thou wilt guide him in thy mercy.
2Esd 8:12 Thou hast brought him up in thy righteousness, and instructed him in thy law, and reproved him in thy wisdom.
2Esd 8:13 Thou wilt take away his life, for he is thy creation; and thou wilt make him live, for he is thy work.
2Esd 8:14 If then thou wilt suddenly and quickly destroy him who with so great labor was fashioned by thy command, to what purpose was he made?
2Esd 8:15 And now I will speak out: About all mankind thou knowest best; but I will speak about thy people, for whom I am grieved,
2Esd 8:16 and about thy inheritance, for whom I lament, and about Israel, for whom I am sad, and about the seed of Jacob, for whom I am troubled.
2Esd 8:17 Therefore I will pray before thee for myself and for them, for I see the failings of us who dwell in the land,
2Esd 8:18 and I have heard of the swiftness of the judgment that is to come.
2Esd 8:19 Therefore hear my voice, and understand my words, and I will speak before thee." The beginning of the words of Ezra's prayer, before he was taken up. He said:
2Esd 8:20 "O Lord who inhabitest eternity, whose eyes are exalted and whose upper chambers are in the air,
2Esd 8:21 whose throne is beyond measure and whose glory is beyond comprehension, before whom the hosts of angels stand trembling
2Esd 8:22 and at whose command they are changed to wind and fire, whose word is sure and whose utterances are certain, whose ordinance is strong and whose command is terrible,
2Esd 8:23 whose look dries up the depths and whose indignation makes the mountains melt away, and whose truth is established for ever --
2Esd 8:24 hear, O Lord, the prayer of thy servant, and give ear to the petition of thy creature; attend to my words.
2Esd 8:25 For as long as I live I will speak, and as long as I have understanding I will answer.
2Esd 8:26 O look not upon the sins of thy people, but at those who have served thee in truth.
2Esd 8:27 Regard not the endeavors of those who act wickedly, but the endeavors of those who have kept thy covenants amid afflictions.
2Esd 8:28 Think not on those who have lived wickedly in thy sight; but remember those who have willingly acknowledged that thou art to be feared.
2Esd 8:29 Let it not be thy will to destroy those who have had the ways of cattle; but regard those who have gloriously taught thy law.
2Esd 8:30 Be not angry with those who are deemed worse than beasts; but love those who have always put their trust in thy glory.
2Esd 8:31 For we and our fathers have passed our lives in ways that bring death, but thou, because of us sinners, are called merciful.
2Esd 8:32 For if thou hast desired to have pity on us, who have no works of righteousness, then thou wilt be called merciful.
2Esd 8:33 For the righteous, who have many works laid up with thee, shall receive their reward in consequence of their own deeds.
2Esd 8:34 But what is man, that thou art angry with him; or what is a corruptible race, that thou art so bitter against it?
2Esd 8:35 For in truth there is no one among those who have been born who has not acted wickedly, and among those who have existed there is no one who has not transgressed.
2Esd 8:36 For in this, O Lord, thy righteousness and goodness will be declared, when thou art merciful to those who have no store of good works."
2Esd 8:37 He answered me and said, "Some things you have spoken rightly, and it will come to pass according to your words.
2Esd 8:38 For indeed I will not concern myself about the fashioning of those who have sinned, or about their death, their judgment, or their destruction;
2Esd 8:39 but I will rejoice over the creation of the righteous, over their pilgrimage also, and their salvation, and their receiving their reward.
2Esd 8:40 As I have spoken, therefore, so it shall be.
2Esd 8:41 "For just as the farmer sows many seeds upon the ground and plants a multitude of seedlings, and yet not all that have been sown will come up in due season, and not all that were planted will take root; so also those who have been sown in the world will not all be saved."
2Esd 8:42 I answered and said, "If I have found favor before thee, let me speak.
2Esd 8:43 For if the farmer's seed does not come up, because it has not received thy rain in due season, or if it has been ruined by too much rain, it perishes.
2Esd 8:44 But man, who has been formed by thy hands and is called thy own image because he is made like thee, and for whose sake thou hast formed all things -- hast thou also made him like the farmer's seed?
2Esd 8:45 No, O Lord who art over us! But spare thy people and have mercy on thy inheritance, for thou hast mercy on thy own creation."
2Esd 8:46 He answered me and said, "Things that are present are for those who live now, and things that are future are for those who will live hereafter.
2Esd 8:47 For you come far short of being able to love my creation more than I love it. But you have often compared yourself to the unrighteous. Never do so!
2Esd 8:48 But even in this respect you will be praiseworthy before the Most High,
2Esd 8:49 because you have humbled yourself, as is becoming for you, and have not deemed yourself to be among the righteous in order to receive the greatest glory.
2Esd 8:50 For many miseries will affect those who inhabit the world in the
last times, because they have walked in great pride.
2Esd 8:51 But think of your own case, and inquire concerning the glory of those who are like yourself,
2Esd 8:52 because it is for you that paradise is opened, the tree of life is planted, the age to come is prepared, plenty is provided, a city is built, rest is appointed, goodness is established and wisdom perfected beforehand.
2Esd 8:53 The root of evil is sealed up from you, illness is banished from you, and death is hidden; hell has fled and corruption has been forgotten;
2Esd 8:54 sorrows have passed away, and in the end the treasure of immortality is made manifest.
2Esd 8:55 Therefore do not ask any more questions about the multitude of those who perish.
2Esd 8:56 For they also received freedom , but they despised the Most High, and were contemptuous of his law, and forsook his ways.
2Esd 8:57 Moreover they have even trampled upon his righteous ones,
2Esd 8:58 and said in their hearts that there is not God -- though knowing full well that they must die.
2Esd 8:59 For just as the things which I have predicted await you, so the thirst and torment which are prepared await them. For the Most High did not intend that men should be destroyed;
2Esd 8:60 but they themselves who were created have defiled the name of him who made them, and have been ungrateful to him who prepared life for them.
2Esd 8:61 Therefore my judgment is now drawing near;
2Esd 8:62 I have not shown this to all men, but only to you and a few like you." Then I answered and said,
2Esd 8:63 "Behold, O Lord, thou hast now shown me a multitude of the signs which thou wilt do in the last times, but thou hast not shown me when thou wilt do them."
~ Chapter 9 ~
2Esd 9:1 He answered me and said, "Measure carefully in your mind, and when you see that a certain part of the predicted signs are past,
2Esd 9:2 then you will know that it is the very time when the Most High is about to visit the world which he has made.
2Esd 9:3 So when there shall appear in the world earthquakes, tumult of peoples, intrigues of nations, wavering of leaders, confusion of princes,
2Esd 9:4 then you will know that it was of these that the Most High spoke from the days that were of old, from the beginning.
2Esd 9:5 For just as with everything that has occurred in the world, the beginning is evident, and the end manifest;
2Esd 9:6 so also are the times of the Most High: the beginnings are manifest in wonders and mighty works, and the end in requital and in signs.
2Esd 9:7 And it shall be that every one who will be saved and will be able to escape on account of his works, or on account of the faith by which he has believed,
2Esd 9:8 will survive the dangers that have been predicted, and will see my salvation in my land and within my borders, which I have sanctified for myself from the beginning.
2Esd 9:9 Then those who have now abused my ways shall be amazed, and those who have rejected them with contempt shall dwell in torments.
2Esd 9:10 For as many as did not acknowledge me in their lifetime, although they received my benefits,
2Esd 9:11 and as many as scorned my law while they still had freedom, and did not understand but despised it while an opportunity of repentance was still open to them,
2Esd 9:12 these must in torment acknowledge it after death.
2Esd 9:13 Therefore, do not continue to be curious as to how the ungodly will be punished; but inquire how the righteous will be saved, those to whom the age belongs and for whose sake the age was made."
2Esd 9:14 I answered and said,
2Esd 9:15 "I said before, and I say now, and will say it again: there are more who perish than those who will be saved,
2Esd 9:16 as a wave is greater than a drop of water."
2Esd 9:17 He answered me and said, "As is the field, so is the seed; and as are the flowers, so are the colors; and as is the work, so is the product; and as is the farmer, so is the threshing floor.
2Esd 9:18 For there was a time in this age when I was preparing for those who now exist, before the world was made for them to dwell in, and no one opposed me then, for no one existed;
2Esd 9:19 but now those who have been created in this world which is supplied both with an unfailing table and an inexhaustible pasture, have become corrupt in their ways.
2Esd 9:20 So I considered my world, and behold, it was lost, and my earth, and behold, it was in peril because of the devices of those who had come into it.
2Esd 9:21 And I saw and spared some with great difficulty, and saved for myself one grape out of a cluster, and one plant out of a great forest.
2Esd 9:22 So let the multitude perish which has been born in vain, but let my grape and my plant be saved, because with much labor I have perfected them.
2Esd 9:23 But if you will let seven days more pass -- do not fast during them, however;
2Esd 9:24 but go into a field of flowers where no house has been built, and eat only of the flowers of the field, and taste no meat and drink no wine, but eat only flowers,
2Esd 9:25 and pray to the Most High continually -- then I will come and talk with you."
2Esd 9:26 So I went, as he directed me, into the field which is called Ardat; and there I sat among the flowers and ate of the plants of the field, and the nourishment they afforded satisfied me.
2Esd 9:27 And after seven days, as I lay on the grass, my heart was troubled again as it was before.
2Esd 9:28 And my mouth was opened, and I began to speak before the Most High, and said,
2Esd 9:29 "O Lord, thou didst show thyself among us, to our fathers in the wilderness when they came out from Egypt and when they came into the untrodden and unfruitful wilderness;
2Esd 9:30 and thou didst say, `Hear me, O Israel, and give heed to my words, O descendants of Jacob.
2Esd 9:31 For behold, I sow my law in you, and it shall bring forth fruit in you and you shall be glorified through it for ever.'
2Esd 9:32 But though our fathers received the law, they did not keep it, and did not observe the statutes; yet the fruit of the law did not perish -- for it could not, because it was thine.
2Esd 9:33 Yet those who received it perished, because they did not keep what had been sown in them.
2Esd 9:34 And behold, it is the rule that, when the ground has received seed, or the sea a ship, or any dish food or drink, and when it happens that what was sown or what was launched or what was put in is destroyed,
2Esd 9:35 they are destroyed, but the things that held them remain; yet with us it has not been so.
2Esd 9:36 For we who have received the law and sinned will perish, as well as our heart which received it;
2Esd 9:37 the law, however, does not perish but remains in its glory."
2Esd 9:38 When I said these things in my heart, I lifted up my eyes and saw a woman on my right, and behold, she was mourning and weeping with a loud voice, and was deeply grieved at heart, and her clothes were rent, and there were ashes on her head.
2Esd 9:39 Then I dismissed the thoughts with which I had been engaged, and turned to her
2Esd 9:40 and said to her, "Why are you weeping, and why are you grieved at heart?"
2Esd 9:41 And she said to me, "Let me alone, my lord, that I may weep for myself and continue to mourn, for I am greatly embittered in spirit and deeply afflicted."
2Esd 9:42 And I said to her, "What has happened to you? Tell me."
2Esd 9:43 And she said to me, "Your servant was barren and had no child, though I lived with my husband thirty years.
2Esd 9:44 And every hour and every day during those thirty years I besought the Most High, night and day.
2Esd 9:45 And after thirty years God heard your handmaid, and looked upon my low estate, and considered my distress, and gave me a son. And I rejoiced greatly over him, I and my husband and all my neighbors; and we gave great glory to the Mighty One.
2Esd 9:46 And I brought him up with much care.
2Esd 9:47 So when he grew up and I came to take a wife for him, I set a day for the marriage feast.
~ Chapter 10 ~
2Esd 10:1 "But it happened that when my son entered his wedding chamber, he fell down and died.
2Esd 10:2 Then we all put out the lamps, and all my neighbors attempted to console me; and I remained quiet until evening of the second day.
2Esd 10:3 But when they all had stopped consoling me, that I might be quiet, I got up in the night and fled, and came to this field, as you see.
2Esd 10:4 And now I intend not to return to the city, but to stay here, and I will neither eat nor drink, but without ceasing mourn and fast until I die."
2Esd 10:5 Then I broke off the reflections with which I was still engaged, and answered her in anger and said,
2Esd 10:6 "You most foolish of women, do you not see our mourning, and what has happened to us?
2Esd 10:7 For Zion, the mother of us all, is in deep grief and great affliction.
2Esd 10:8 It is most appropriate to mourn now, because we are all mourning, and to be sorrowful, because we are all sorrowing; you are sorrowing for one son, but we, the whole world, for our mother.
2Esd 10:9 Now ask the earth, and she will tell you that it is she who ought to mourn over so many who have come into being upon her.
2Esd 10:10 And from the beginning all have been born of her, and others will come; and behold, almost all go to perdition, and a multitude of them are destined for destruction.
2Esd 10:11 Who then ought to mourn the more, she who lost so great a multitude, or you who are grieving for one?
2Esd 10:12 But if you say to me, `My lamentation is not like the earth's, for I have lost the fruit of my womb, which I brought forth in pain and bore in sorrow;
2Esd 10:13 but it is with the earth according to the way of the earth -- the multitude that is now in it goes as it came';
2Esd 10:14 then I say to you, `As you brought forth in sorrow, so the earth also has from the beginning given her fruit, that is, man, to him who made her.'
2Esd 10:15 Now, therefore, keep your sorrow to yourself, and bear bravely the troubles that have come upon you.
2Esd 10:16 For if you acknowledge the decree of God to be just, you will receive your son back in due time, and will be praised among women.
2Esd 10:17 Therefore go into the city to your husband."
2Esd 10:18 She said to me, "I will not do so; I will not go into the city, but I will die here."
2Esd 10:19 So I spoke again to her, and said,
2Esd 10:20 "Do not say that, but let yourself be persuaded because of the troubles of Zion, and be consoled because of the sorrow of Jerusalem.
2Esd 10:21 For you see that our sanctuary has been laid waste, our altar thrown down, our temple destroyed;
2Esd 10:22 our harp has been laid low, our song has been silenced, and our rejoicing has been ended; the light of our lampstand has been put out, the ark of our covenant has been plundered, our holy things have been polluted, and the name by which we are called has been profaned; our free men have suffered abuse, our priests have been burned to death, our Levites have gone into captivity, our virgins have been defiled, and our wives have been ravished; our righteous men have been carried off, our little ones have been cast out, our young men have been enslaved and our strong men made powerless.
2Esd 10:23 And, what is more than all, the seal of Zion -- for she has now lost the seal of her glory, and has been given over into the hands of those that hate us.
2Esd 10:24 Therefore shake off your great sadness and lay aside your many sorrows, so that the Mighty One may be merciful to you again, and the Most High may give you rest, a relief from your troubles."
2Esd 10:25 While I was talking to her, behold, her face suddenly shone exceedingly, and her countenance flashed like lightning, so that I was too frightened to approach her, and my heart was terrified. While I was wondering what this meant,
2Esd 10:26 behold, she suddenly uttered a loud and fearful cry, so that the earth shook at the sound.
2Esd 10:27 And I looked, and behold, the woman was no longer visible to me, but there was an established city, and a place of huge foundations showed itself. Then I was afraid, and cried with a loud voice and said,
2Esd 10:28 "Where is the angel Uriel, who came to me at first? For it was he who brought me into this overpowering bewilderment; my end has become corruption, and my prayer a reproach."
2Esd 10:29 As I was speaking these words, behold, the angel who had come to me at first came to me, and he looked upon me;
2Esd 10:30 and behold, I lay there like a corpse and I was deprived of my understanding. Then he grasped my right hand and strengthened me and set me on my feet, and said to me,
2Esd 10:31 "What is the matter with you? And why are you troubled? And why are your understanding and the thoughts of your mind troubled?"
2Esd 10:32 I said, "Because you have forsaken me! I did as you directed, and went out into the field, and behold, I saw, and still see, what I am unable to explain."
2Esd 10:33 He said to me, "Stand up like a man, and I will instruct you."
2Esd 10:34 I said, "Speak, my lord; only do not forsake me, lest I die before my time.
2Esd 10:35 For I have seen what I did not know, and I have heard what I do not understand.
2Esd 10:36 Or is my mind deceived, and my soul dreaming?
2Esd 10:37 Now therefore I entreat you to give your servant an explanation of this bewildering vision."
2Esd 10:38 He answered me and said, "Listen to me and I will inform you, and tell you about the things which you fear, for the Most High has revealed many secrets to you.
2Esd 10:39 For he has seen your righteous conduct, that you have sorrowed continually for your people, and mourned greatly over Zion.
2Esd 10:40 This therefore is the meaning of the vision.
2Esd 10:41 The woman who appeared to you a little while ago, whom you saw mourning and began to console --
2Esd 10:42 but you do not now see the form of a woman, but an established city has appeared to you --
2Esd 10:43 and as for her telling you about the misfortune of her son, this is the interpretation:
2Esd 10:44 This woman whom you saw, whom you now behold as an established city, is Zion.
2Esd 10:45 And as for her telling you that she was barren for thirty years, it is because there were three thousand years in the world before any offering was offered in it.
2Esd 10:46 And after three thousand years Solomon built the city, and offered offerings; then it was that the barren woman bore a son.
2Esd 10:47 And as for her telling you that she brought him up with much care, that was the period of residence in Jerusalem.
2Esd 10:48 And as for her saying to you , `When my son entered his wedding chamber he died,' and that misfortune had overtaken her, that was the destruction which befell Jerusalem.
2Esd 10:49 And behold, you saw her likeness, how she mourned for her son, and you began to console her for what had happened.
2Esd 10:50 For now the Most High, seeing that you are sincerely grieved and profoundly distressed for her, has shown you the brilliance of her glory, and the loveliness of her beauty.
2Esd 10:51 Therefore I told you to remain in the field where no house had been built,
2Esd 10:52 for I knew that the Most High would reveal these things to you.
2Esd 10:53 Therefore I told you to go into the field where there was no foundation of any building,
2Esd 10:54 for no work of man's building could endure in a place where the city of the Most High was to be revealed.
2Esd 10:55 "Therefore do not be afraid, and do not let your heart be terrified; but go in and see the splendor and vastness of the building, as far as it is possible for your eyes to see it,
2Esd 10:56 and afterward you will hear as much as your ears can hear.
2Esd 10:57 For you are more blessed than many, and you have been called before the Most High, as but few have been.
2Esd 10:58 But tomorrow night you shall remain here,
2Esd 10:59 and the Most High will show you in those dream visions what the Most High will do to those who dwell on earth in the last days." So I slept that night and the following one, as he had commanded me.
~ Chapter 11 ~
2Esd 11:1 On the second night I had a dream, and behold, there came up from the sea an eagle that had twelve feathered wings and three heads.
2Esd 11:2 And I looked, and behold, he spread his wings over all the earth, and all the winds of heaven blew upon him, and the clouds were gathered about him.
2Esd 11:3 And I looked, and out of his wings there grew opposing wings; but they became little, puny wings.
2Esd 11:4 But his heads were at rest; the middle head was larger than the other heads, but it also was at rest with them.
2Esd 11:5 And I looked, and behold, the eagle flew with his wings, to reign over the earth and over those who dwell in it.
2Esd 11:6 And I saw how all things under heaven were subjected to him, and no one spoke against him, not even one creature that was on the earth.
2Esd 11:7 And I looked, and behold, the eagle rose upon his talons, and uttered a cry to his wings, saying,
2Esd 11:8 "Do not all watch at the same time; let each sleep in his own place, and watch in his turn;
2Esd 11:9 but let the heads be reserved for the last."
2Esd 11:10 And I looked, and behold, the voice did not come from his heads, but from the midst of his body.
2Esd 11:11 And I counted his opposing wings, and behold, there were eight of them.
2Esd 11:12 And I looked, and behold, on the right side one wing arose, and it reigned over all the earth.
2Esd 11:13 And while it was reigning it came to its end and disappeared, so that its place was not seen. Then the next wing arose and reigned, and it continued to reign a long time.
2Esd 11:14 And while it was reigning its end came also, so that it disappeared like the first.
2Esd 11:15 And behold, a voice sounded, saying to it.
2Esd 11:16 "Hear me, you who have ruled the earth all this time; I announce this to you before you disappear.
2Esd 11:17 After you no one shall rule as long as you, or even half as long."
2Esd 11:18 Then the third wing raised itself up, and held the rule like the former ones, and it also disappeared.
2Esd 11:19 And so it went with all the wings; they wielded power one after another and then were never seen again.
2Esd 11:20 And I looked, and behold, in due course the wings that followed also rose up on the right side, in order to rule. There were some of them that ruled, yet disappeared suddenly;
2Esd 11:21 and others of them rose up, but did not hold the rule.
2Esd 11:22 And after this I looked, and behold, the twelve wings and the two little wings disappeared;
2Esd 11:23 and nothing remained on the eagle's body except the three heads that were at rest and six little wings.
2Esd 11:24 And I looked, and behold, two little wings separated from the six and remained under the head that was on the right side; but four remained in their place.
2Esd 11:25 And I looked, and behold, these little wings planned to set themselves up and hold the rule.
2Esd 11:26 And I looked, and behold, one was set up, but suddenly disappeared;
2Esd 11:27 a second also, and this disappeared more quickly than the first.
2Esd 11:28 And I looked, and behold, the two that remained were planning between themselves to reign together;
2Esd 11:29 and while they were planning, behold, one of the heads that were at rest (the one which was in the middle) awoke; for it was greater than the other two heads.
2Esd 11:30 And I saw how it allied the two heads with itself,
2Esd 11:31 and behold, the head turned with those that were with it, and it devoured the two little wings which were planning to reign.
2Esd 11:32 Moreover this head gained control of the whole earth, and with much oppression dominated its inhabitants; and it had greater power over the world than all the wings that had gone before.
2Esd 11:33 And after this I looked, and behold, the middle head also suddenly disappeared, just as the wings had done.
2Esd 11:34 But the two heads remained, which also ruled over the earth and its inhabitants.
2Esd 11:35 And I looked, and behold, the head on the right side devoured the one on the left.
2Esd 11:36 Then I heard a voice saying to me, "Look before you and consider what you see."
2Esd 11:37 And I looked, and behold, a creature like a lion was aroused out of the forest, roaring; and I heard how he uttered a man's voice to the eagle, and spoke, saying,
2Esd 11:38 "Listen and I will speak to you. The Most High says to you,
2Esd 11:39 `Are you not the one that remains of the four beasts which I had made to reign in my world, so that the end of my times might come through them?
2Esd 11:40 You, the fourth that has come, have conquered all the beasts that have gone before; and you have held sway over the world with much terror, and over all the earth with grievous oppression; and for so long you have dwelt on the earth with deceit.
2Esd 11:41 And you have judged the earth, but not with truth;
2Esd 11:42 for you have afflicted the meek and injured the peaceable; you have hated those who tell the truth, and have loved liars; you have destroyed the dwellings of those who brought forth fruit, and have laid low the walls of those who did you no harm.
2Esd 11:43 And so your insolence has come up before the Most High, and your pride to the Mighty One.
2Esd 11:44 And the Most High has looked upon his times, and behold, they are ended, and his ages are completed!
2Esd 11:45 Therefore you will surely disappear, you eagle, and your terrifying wings, and your most evil little wings, and your malicious heads, and your most evil talons, and your whole worthless body,
2Esd 11:46 so that the whole earth, freed from your violence, may be refreshed and relieved, and may hope for the judgment and mercy of him who made it.'"
~ Chapter 12 ~
2Esd 12:1 While the lion was saying these words to the eagle, I looked,
2Esd 12:2 and behold, the remaining head disappeared. And the two wings that had gone over to it arose and set themselves up to reign, and their reign was brief and full of tumult.
2Esd 12:3 And I looked, and behold, they also disappeared, and the whole body of the eagle was burned, and the earth was exceedingly terrified. Then I awoke in great perplexity of mind and great fear, and I said to my spirit,
2Esd 12:4 "Behold, you have brought this upon me, because you search out the ways of the Most High.
2Esd 12:5 Behold, I am still weary in mind and very weak in my spirit, and not even a little strength is left in me, because of the great fear with which I have been terrified this night.
2Esd 12:6 Therefore I will now beseech the Most High that he may strengthen me to the end."
2Esd 12:7 And I said, "O sovereign Lord, if I have found favor in thy sight, and if I have been accounted righteous before thee beyond many others, and if my prayer has indeed come up before thy face,
2Esd 12:8 strengthen me and show me, thy servant, the interpretation and meaning of this terrifying vision, that thou mayest fully comfort my soul.
2Esd 12:9 For thou hast judged me worthy to be shown the end of the times and the last events of the times."
2Esd 12:10 He said to me, "This is the interpretation of this vision which you have seen:
2Esd 12:11 The eagle which you saw coming up from the sea is the fourth kingdom which appeared in a vision to your brother Daniel.
2Esd 12:12 But it was not explained to him as I now explain or have explained it to you.
2Esd 12:13 Behold, the days are coming when a kingdom shall arise on earth, and it shall be more terrifying than all the kingdoms that have been before it.
2Esd 12:14 And twelve kings shall reign in it, one after another.
2Esd 12:15 But the second that is to reign shall hold sway for a longer time than any other of the twelve.
2Esd 12:16 This is the interpretation of the twelve wings which you saw.
2Esd 12:17 As for your hearing a voice that spoke, coming not from the eagle's heads but from the midst of his body, this is the interpretation:
2Esd 12:18 In the midst of the time of that kingdom great struggles shall arise, and it shall be in danger of falling; nevertheless it shall not fall then, but shall regain its former power.
2Esd 12:19 As for your seeing eight little wings clinging to his wings, this is the interpretation:
2Esd 12:20 Eight kings shall arise in it, whose times shall be short and their years swift;
2Esd 12:21 and two of them shall perish when the middle of its time draws near; and four shall be kept for the time when its end approaches; but two shall be kept until the end.
2Esd 12:22 As for your seeing three heads at rest, this is the interpretation:
2Esd 12:23 In its last days the Most High will raise up three kings, and they shall renew many things in it, and shall rule the earth
2Esd 12:24 and its inhabitants more oppressively than all who were before them; therefore they are called the heads of the eagle.
2Esd 12:25 For it is they who shall sum up his wickedness and perform his last actions.
2Esd 12:26 As for your seeing that the large head disappeared, one of the kings shall die in his bed, but in agonies.
2Esd 12:27 But as for the two who remained, the sword shall devour them.
2Esd 12:28 For the sword of one shall devour him who was with him; but he also shall fall by the sword in the last days.
2Esd 12:29 As for your seeing two little wings passing over to the head which was on the right side,
2Esd 12:30 this is the interpretation: It is these whom the Most High has kept for the eagle's end; this was the reign which was brief and full of tumult, as you have seen.
2Esd 12:31 "And as for the lion whom you saw rousing up out of the forest and roaring and speaking to the eagle and reproving him for his unrighteousness, and as for all his words that you have heard,
2Esd 12:32 this is the Messiah whom the Most High has kept until the end of days, who will arise from the posterity of David, and will come and speak to them; he will denounce them for their ungodliness and for their wickedness, and will cast up before them their contemptuous dealings.
2Esd 12:33 For first he will set them living before his judgment seat, and when he has reproved them, then he will destroy them.
2Esd 12:34 But he will deliver in mercy the remnant of my people, those who have been saved throughout my borders, and he will make them joyful until the end comes, the day of judgment, of which I spoke to you at the beginning.
2Esd 12:35 This is the dream that you saw, and this is its interpretation.
2Esd 12:36 And you alone were worthy to learn this secret of the Most High.
2Esd 12:37 Therefore write all these things that you have seen in a book, and put it in a hidden place;
2Esd 12:38 and you shall teach them to the wise among your people, whose hearts you know are able to comprehend and keep these secrets.
2Esd 12:39 But wait here seven days more, so that you may be shown whatever it pleases the Most High to show you." Then he left me.
2Esd 12:40 When all the people heard that the seven days were past and I had not returned to the city, they all gathered together, from the least to the greatest, and came to me and spoke to me, saying,
2Esd 12:41 "How have we offended you, and what harm have we done you, that you have forsaken us and sit in this place?
2Esd 12:42 For of all the prophets you alone are left to us, like a cluster of grapes from the vintage, and like a lamp in a dark place, and like a haven for a ship saved from a storm.
2Esd 12:43 Are not the evils which have befallen us sufficient?
2Esd 12:44 Therefore if you forsake us, how much better it would have been for us if we also had been consumed in the burning of Zion!
2Esd 12:45 For we are no better than those who died there." And they wept with a loud voice. Then I answered them and said,
2Esd 12:46 "Take courage, O Israel; and do not be sorrowful, O house of Jacob;
2Esd 12:47 for the Most High has you in remembrance, and the Mighty One has not forgotten you in your struggle.
2Esd 12:48 As for me, I have neither forsaken you nor withdrawn from you; but I have come to this place to pray on account of the desolation of Zion, and to seek mercy on account of the humiliation of our sanctuary.
2Esd 12:49 Now go, every one of you to his house, and after these days I will come to you."
2Esd 12:50 So the people went into the city, as I told them to do.
2Esd 12:51 But I sat in the field seven days, as the angel had commanded me; and I ate only of the flowers of the field, and my food was of plants during those days.
~ Chapter 13 ~
2Esd 13:1 After seven days I dreamed a dream in the night;
2Esd 13:2 and behold, a wind arose from the sea and stirred up all its waves.
2Esd 13:3 And I looked, and behold, this wind made something like the figure of a man come up out of the heart of the sea. And I looked, and behold, that man flew with the clouds of heaven; and wherever he turned his face to look, everything under his gaze trembled,
2Esd 13:4 and whenever his voice issued from his mouth, all who heard his voice melted as wax melts when it feels the fire.
2Esd 13:5 After this I looked, and behold, an innumerable multitude of men were gathered together from the four winds of heaven to make war against the man who came up out of the sea.
2Esd 13:6 And I looked, and behold, he carved out for himself a great mountain, and flew up upon it.
2Esd 13:7 And I tried to see the region or place from which the mountain was carved, but I could not.
2Esd 13:8 After this I looked, and behold, all who had gathered together against him, to wage war with him, were much afraid, yet dared to fight.
2Esd 13:9 And behold, when he saw the onrush of the approaching multitude, he neither lifted his hand nor held a spear or any weapon of war;
2Esd 13:10 but I saw only how he sent forth from his mouth as it were a stream of fire, and from his lips a flaming breath, and from his tongue he shot forth a storm of sparks.
2Esd 13:11 All these were mingled together, the stream of fire and the flaming breath and the great storm, and fell on the onrushing multitude which was prepared to fight, and burned them all up, so that suddenly nothing was seen of the innumerable multitude but only the dust of ashes and the smell of smoke. When I saw it, I was amazed.
2Esd 13:12 After this I saw the same man come down from the mountain and call to him another multitude which was peaceable.
2Esd 13:13 Then many people came to him, some of whom were joyful and some sorrowful; some of them were bound, and some were bringing others as offerings. Then in great fear I awoke; and I besought the Most High, and said,
2Esd 13:14 "From the beginning thou hast shown thy servant these wonders, and hast deemed me worthy to have my prayer heard by thee;
2Esd 13:15 now show me also the interpretation of this dream.
2Esd 13:16 For as I consider it in my mind, alas for those who will be left in those days! And still more, alas for those who are not left!
2Esd 13:17 For those who are not left will be sad,
2Esd 13:18 because they understand what is reserved for the last days, but cannot attain it.
2Esd 13:19 But alas for those also who are left, and for that very reason! For they shall see great dangers and much distress, as these dreams show.
2Esd 13:20 Yet it is better to come into these things, though incurring peril, than to pass from the world like a cloud, and not to see what shall happen in the last days." He answered me and said,
2Esd 13:21 "I will tell you the interpretation of the vision, and I will also explain to you the things which you have mentioned.
2Esd 13:22 As for what you said about those who are left, this is the interpretation:
2Esd 13:23 He who brings the peril at that time will himself protect those who fall into peril, who have works and have faith in the Almighty.
2Esd 13:24 Understand therefore that those who are left are more blessed than those who have died.
2Esd 13:25 This is the interpretation of the vision: As for your seeing a man come up from the heart of the sea,
2Esd 13:26 this is he whom the Most High has been keeping for many ages, who will himself deliver his creation; and he will direct those who are left.
2Esd 13:27 And as for your seeing wind and fire and a storm coming out of his mouth,
2Esd 13:28 and as for his not holding a spear or weapon of war, yet destroying the onrushing multitude which came to conquer him, this is the interpretation:
2Esd 13:29 Behold, the days are coming when the Most High will deliver those who are on the earth.
2Esd 13:30 And bewilderment of mind shall come over those who dwell on the earth.
2Esd 13:31 And they shall plan to make war against one another, city against city, place against place, people against people, and kingdom against kingdom.
2Esd 13:32 And when these things come to pass and the signs occur which I showed you before, then my Son will be revealed, whom you saw as a man coming up from the sea.
2Esd 13:33 And when all the nations hear his voice, every man shall leave his own land and the warfare that they have against one another;
2Esd 13:34 and an innumerable multitude shall be gathered together, as you saw, desiring to come and conquer him.
2Esd 13:35 But he shall stand on the top of Mount Zion.
2Esd 13:36 And Zion will come and be made manifest to all people, prepared and built, as you saw the mountain carved out without hands.
2Esd 13:37 And he, my Son, will reprove the assembled nations for their ungodliness (this was symbolized by the storm),
2Esd 13:38 and will reproach them to their face with their evil thoughts and the torments with which they are to be tortured (which were symbolized by the flames), and will destroy them without effort by the law (which was symbolized by the fire).
2Esd 13:39 And as for your seeing him gather to himself another multitude that was peaceable,
2Esd 13:40 these are the ten tribes which were led away from their own land into captivity in the days of King Hoshea, whom Shalmaneser the king of the Assyrians led captive; he took them across the river, and they were taken into another land.
2Esd 13:41 But they formed this plan for themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the nations and go to a more distant region, where mankind had never lived,
2Esd 13:42 that there at least they might keep their statutes which they had not kept in their own land.
2Esd 13:43 And they went in by the narrow passages of the Euphrates river.
2Esd 13:44 For at that time the Most High performed signs for them, and stopped the channels of the
river until they had passed over.
2Esd 13:45 Through that region there was a long way to go, a journey of a year and a half; and that country is called Arzareth.
2Esd 13:46 "Then they dwelt there until the last times; and now, when they are about to come again,
2Esd 13:47 the Most High will stop the channels of the river again, so that they may be able to pass over. Therefore you saw the multitude gathered together in peace.
2Esd 13:48 But those who are left of your people, who are found within my holy borders, shall be saved.
2Esd 13:49 Therefore when he destroys the multitude of the nations that are gathered together, he will defend the people who remain.
2Esd 13:50 And then he will show them very many wonders."
2Esd 13:51 I said, "O sovereign Lord, explain this to me: Why did I see the man coming up from the heart of the sea?"
2Esd 13:52 He said to me, "Just as no one can explore or know what is in the depths of the sea, so no one on earth can see my Son or those who are with him, except in the time of his day.
2Esd 13:53 This is the interpretation of the dream which you saw. And you alone have been enlightened about this,
2Esd 13:54 because you have forsaken your own ways and have applied yourself to mine, and have searched out my law;
2Esd 13:55 for you have devoted your life to wisdom, and called understanding your mother.
2Esd 13:56 Therefore I have shown you this, for there is a reward laid up with the Most High. And after three more days I will tell you other things, and explain weighty and wondrous matters to you."
2Esd 13:57 Then I arose and walked in the field, giving great glory and praise to the Most High because of his wonders, which he did from time to time,
2Esd 13:58 and because he governs the times and whatever things come to pass in their seasons. And I stayed there three days.
~ Chapter 14 ~
2Esd 14:1 On the third day, while I was sitting under an oak, behold, a voice came out of a bush opposite me and said, "Ezra, Ezra."
2Esd 14:2 And I said, "Here I am, Lord," and I rose to my feet.
2Esd 14:3 Then he said to me, "I revealed myself in a bush and spoke to Moses, when my people were in bondage in Egypt;
2Esd 14:4 and I sent him and led my people out of Egypt; and I led him up on Mount Sinai, where I kept him with me many days;
2Esd 14:5 and I told him many wondrous things, and showed him the secrets of the times and declared to him the end of the times. Then I commanded him, saying,
2Esd 14:6 `These words you shall publish openly, and these you shall keep secret.'
2Esd 14:7 And now I say to you;
2Esd 14:8 Lay up in your heart the signs that I have shown you, the dreams that you have seen, and the interpretations that you have heard;
2Esd 14:9 for you shall be taken up from among men, and henceforth you shall live with my Son and with those who are like you, until the times are ended.
2Esd 14:10 For the age has lost its youth, and the times begin to grow old.
2Esd 14:11 For the age is divided into twelve parts, and nine of its parts have already passed,
2Esd 14:12 as well as half of the tenth part; so two of its parts remain, besides half of the tenth part.
2Esd 14:13 Now therefore, set your house in order, and reprove your people; comfort the lowly among them, and instruct those that are wise. And now renounce the life that is corruptible,
2Esd 14:14 and put away from you mortal thoughts; cast away from you the burdens of man, and divest yourself now of your weak nature,
2Esd 14:15 and lay to one side the thoughts that are most grievous to you, and hasten to escape from these times.
2Esd 14:16 For evils worse than those which you have now seen happen shall be done hereafter.
2Esd 14:17 For the weaker the world becomes through old age, the more shall evils be multiplied among its inhabitants.
2Esd 14:18 For truth shall go farther away, and falsehood shall come near. For the eagle which you saw in the vision is already hastening to come."
2Esd 14:19 Then I answered and said, "Let me speak in thy presence, Lord.
2Esd 14:20 For behold, I will go, as thou hast commanded me, and I will reprove the people who are now living; but who will warn those who will be born hereafter? For the world lies in darkness, and its inhabitants are without light.
2Esd 14:21 For thy law has been burned, and so no one knows the things which have been done or will be done by thee.
2Esd 14:22 If then I have found favor before thee, send the Holy Spirit into me, and I will write everything that has happened in the world from the beginning, the things which were written in thy law, that men may be able to find the path, and that those who wish to live in the last days may live."
2Esd 14:23 He answered me and said, "Go and gather the people, and tell them not to seek you for forty days.
2Esd 14:24 But prepare for yourself many writing tablets, and take with you Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, Ethanus, and Asiel -- these five, because they are trained to write rapidly;
2Esd 14:25 and you shall come here, and I will light in your heart the lamp of understanding, which shall not be put out until what you are about to write is finished.
2Esd 14:26 And when you have finished, some things you shall make public, and some you shall deliver in secret to the wise; tomorrow at this hour you shall begin to write."
2Esd 14:27 Then I went as he commanded me, and I gathered all the people together, and said,
2Esd 14:28 "Hear these words, O Israel
2Esd 14:29 At first our fathers dwelt as aliens in Egypt, and they were delivered from there,
2Esd 14:30 and received the law of life, which they did not keep, which you also have transgressed after them.
2Esd 14:31 Then land was given to you for a possession in the land of Zion; but you and your fathers committed iniquity and did not keep the ways which the Most High commanded you.
2Esd 14:32 And because he is a righteous judge, in due time he took from you what he had given.
2Esd 14:33 And now you are here, and your brethren are farther in the interior.
2Esd 14:34 If you, then, will rule over your minds and discipline your hearts, you shall be kept alive, and after death you shall obtain mercy.
2Esd 14:35 For after death the judgment will come, when we shall live again; and then the names of the righteous will become manifest, and the deeds of the ungodly will be disclosed.
2Esd 14:36 But let no one come to me now, and let no one seek me for forty days."
2Esd 14:37 So I took the five men, as he commanded me, and we proceeded to the field, and remained there.
2Esd 14:38 And on the next day, behold, a voice called me, saying, "Ezra, open your mouth and drink what I give you to drink."
2Esd 14:39 Then I opened my mouth, and behold, a full cup was offered to me; it was full of something like water, but its color was like fire.
2Esd 14:40 And I took it and drank; and when I had drunk it, my heart poured forth understanding, and wisdom increased in my breast, for my spirit retained its memory;
2Esd 14:41 and my mouth was opened, and was no longer closed.
2Esd 14:42 And the Most High gave understanding to the five men, and by turns they wrote what was dictated, in characters which they did not know. They sat forty days, and wrote during the daytime, and ate their bread at night.
2Esd 14:43 As for me, I spoke in the daytime and was not silent at night.
2Esd 14:44 So during the forty days ninety-four books were written.
2Esd 14:45 And when the forty days were ended, the Most High spoke to me, saying, "Make public the twenty-four books that you wrote first and let the worthy and the unworthy read them;
2Esd 14:46 but keep the seventy that were written last, in order to give them to the wise among your people.
2Esd 14:47 For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the river of knowledge."
2Esd 14:48 And I did so.
~ Chapter 15 ~
2Esd 15:1 The Lord says, "Behold, speak in the ears of my people the words of the prophecy which I will put in your mouth,
2Esd 15:2 and cause them to be written on paper; for they are trustworthy and true.
2Esd 15:3 Do not fear the plots against you, and do not be troubled by the unbelief of those who oppose you.
2Esd 15:4 For every unbeliever shall die in his unbelief."
2Esd 15:5 "Behold," says the Lord, "I bring evils upon the world, the sword and famine and death and destruction.
2Esd 15:6 For iniquity has spread throughout every land, and their harmful deeds have reached their limit.
2Esd 15:7 Therefore," says the Lord,
2Esd 15:8 "I will be silent no longer concerning their ungodly deeds which they impiously commit, neither will I tolerate their wicked practices. Behold, innocent and righteous blood cries out to me, and the souls of the righteous cry out continually.
2Esd 15:9 I will surely avenge them," says the Lord, "and will receive to myself all the innocent blood from among them.
2Esd 15:10 Behold, my people is led like a flock to the slaughter; I will not allow them to live any longer in the land of Egypt,
2Esd 15:11 but I will bring them out with a mighty hand and with an uplifted arm, and will smite Egypt with plagues, as before, and will destroy all its land."
2Esd 15:12 Let Egypt mourn, and its foundations, for the plague of chastisement and punishment that the Lord will bring upon it.
2Esd 15:13 Let the farmers that till the ground mourn, because their seed shall fail and their trees shall be ruined by blight and hail and by a terrible tempest.
2Esd 15:14 Alas for the world and for those who live in it!
2Esd 15:15 For the sword and misery draw near them, and nation shall rise up to fight against nation, with swords in their hands.
2Esd 15:16 For there shall be unrest among men; growing strong against one another, they shall in their might have no respect for their king or the chief of their leaders.
2Esd 15:17 For a man will desire to go into a city, and shall not be able.
2Esd 15:18 For because of their pride the cities shall be in confusion, the houses shall be destroyed, and people shall be afraid.
2Esd 15:19 A man shall have no pity upon his neighbors, but shall make an assault upon their houses with the sword, and plunder their goods, because of hunger for bread and because of great tribulation.
2Esd 15:20 "Behold," says God, "I call together all the kings of the earth to fear me, from the rising sun and from the south, from the east and from Lebanon; to turn and repay what they have given them.
2Esd 15:21 Just as they have done to my elect until this day, so I will do, and will repay into their bosom." Thus says the Lord God:
2Esd 15:22 "My right hand will not spare the sinners, and my sword will not cease from those who shed innocent blood on earth."
2Esd 15:23 And a fire will go forth from his wrath, and will consume the foundations of the earth, and the sinners, like straw that is kindled.
2Esd 15:24 "Woe to those who sin and do not observe my commandments," says the Lord;
2Esd 15:25 "I will not spare them. Depart, you faithless children! Do not pollute my sanctuary."
2Esd 15:26 For the Lord knows all who transgress against him; therefore he will hand them over to death and slaughter.
2Esd 15:27 For now calamities have come upon the whole earth, and you shall remain in them; for God will not deliver you, because you have sinned against him.
2Esd 15:28 Behold, a terrifying sight, appearing from the east!
2Esd 15:29 The nations of the dragons of Arabia shall come out with many chariots, and from the day that they set out, their hissing shall spread over the earth, so that all who hear them fear and tremble.
2Esd 15:30 Also the Carmonians, raging in wrath, shall go forth like wild boars of the forest, and with great power they shall come, and engage them in battle, and shall devastate a portion of the land of the Assyrians with their teeth.
2Esd 15:31 And then the dragons, remembering their origin, shall become still stronger; and if they combine in great power and turn to pursue them,
2Esd 15:32 then these shall be disorganized and silenced by their power, and shall turn and flee.
2Esd 15:33 And from the land of the Assyrians an enemy in ambush shall beset them and destroy one of them, and fear and trembling shall come upon their army, and indecision upon their kings.
2Esd 15:34 Behold, clouds from the east, and from the north to the south; and their appearance is very threatening, full of wrath and storm.
2Esd 15:35 They shall dash against one another and shall pour out a heavy tempest upon the earth, and their own tempest; and there shall be blood from the sword as high as a horse's belly
2Esd 15:36 and a man's thigh and a camel's hock.
2Esd 15:37 And there shall be fear and great trembling upon the earth; and those who see that wrath shall be horror-stricken, and they shall be seized with trembling.
2Esd 15:38 And, after that, heavy storm clouds shall be stirred up from the south, and from the north, and another part from the west.
2Esd 15:39 And the winds from the east shall prevail over the cloud that was raised in wrath, and shall dispel it; and the tempest that was to cause destruction by the east wind shall be driven violently toward the south and west.
2Esd 15:40 And great and mighty clouds, full of wrath and tempest, shall rise, to destroy all the earth and its inhabitants, and shall pour out upon every high and lofty place a terrible tempest,
2Esd 15:41 fire and hail and flying swords and floods of water, that all the fields and all the streams may be filled with the abundance of those waters.
2Esd 15:42 And they shall destroy cities and walls, mountains and hills, trees of the forests, and grass of the meadows, and their grain.
2Esd 15:43 And they shall go on steadily to Babylon, and shall destroy her.
2Esd 15:44 They shall come to her and surround her; they shall pour out the tempest and all its wrath upon her; then the dust and smoke shall go up to heaven, and all who are about her shall wail over her.
2Esd 15:45 And those who survive shall serve those who have destroyed her.
2Esd 15:46 And you, Asia, who share in the glamour of Babylon and the glory of her person --
2Esd 15:47 woe to you, miserable wretch! For you have made yourself like her; you have decked out your daughters in harlotry to please and glory in your lovers, who have always lusted after you.
2Esd 15:48 You have imitated that hateful harlot in all her deeds and devices; therefore God says,
2Esd 15:49 "I will send evils upon you, widowhood, poverty, famine, sword, and pestilence, to lay waste your houses and bring you to destruction and death.
2Esd 15:50 And the glory of your power shall wither like a flower, when the heat rises that is sent upon you.
2Esd 15:51 You shall be weakened like a wretched woman who is beaten and wounded, so that you cannot receive your mighty lovers.
2Esd 15:52 Would I have dealt with you so violently," says the Lord,
2Esd 15:53 "If you had not always killed my chosen people, exulting and clapping your hands and talking about their death when you were drunk?
2Esd 15:54 Trick out the beauty of your face!
2Esd 15:55 The reward of a harlot is in your bosom, therefore you shall receive your recompense.
2Esd 15:56 As you will do to my chosen people," says the Lord, "so God will do to you, and will hand you over to adversities.
2Esd 15:57 Your children shall die of hunger, and you shall fall by the sword, and your cities shall be wiped out, and all your people who are in the open country shall fall by the sword.
2Esd 15:58 And those who are in the mountains and highlands shall perish of hunger, and they shall eat their own flesh in hunger for bread and drink their own blood in thirst for water.
2Esd 15:59 Unhappy above all others, you shall come and suffer fresh afflictions.
2Esd 15:60 And as they pass they shall wreck the hateful city, and shall destroy a part of your land and abolish a portion of your glory, as they return from devastated Babylon.
2Esd 15:61 And you shall be broken down by them like stubble, and they shall be like fire to you.
2Esd 15:62 And they shall devour you and your cities, your land and your mountains; they shall burn with fire all your forests and your fruitful trees.
2Esd 15:63 They shall carry your children away captive, and shall plunder your wealth, and abolish the glory of your countenance."
~ Chapter 16 ~
2Esd 16:1 Woe to you, Babylon and Asia! Woe to you, Egypt and Syria!
2Esd 16:2 Gird yourselves with sackcloth and haircloth, and wail for your children, and lament for them; for your destruction is at hand.
2Esd 16:3 The sword has been sent upon you, and who is there to turn it back?
2Esd 16:4 A fire has been sent upon you, and who is there to quench it?
2Esd 16:5 Calamities have been sent upon you, and who is there to drive them away?
2Esd 16:6 Can one drive off a hungry lion in the forest, or quench a fire in the stubble, when once it has begun to burn?
2Esd 16:7 Can one turn back an arrow shot by a strong archer?
2Esd 16:8 The Lord God sends calamities, and who will drive them away?
2Esd 16:9 Fire will go forth from his wrath, and who is there to quench it?
2Esd 16:10 He will flash lightning, and who will not be afraid? He will thunder, and who will not be terrified?
2Esd 16:11 The Lord will threaten, and who will not be utterly shattered at his presence?
2Esd 16:12 The earth and its foundations quake, the sea is churned up from the depths, and its waves and the fish also shall be troubled at the presence of the Lord and before the glory of his power.
2Esd 16:13 For his right hand that bends the bow is strong, and his arrows that he shoots are sharp and will not miss when they begin to be shot to the ends of the world.
2Esd 16:14 Behold, calamities are sent forth and shall not return until they come over the earth.
2Esd 16:15 The fire is kindled, and shall not be put out until it consumes the foundations of the earth.
2Esd 16:16 Just as an arrow shot by a mighty archer does not return, so the calamities that are sent upon the earth shall not return.
2Esd 16:17 Alas for me! Alas for me! Who will deliver me in those days?
2Esd 16:18 The beginning of sorrows, when there shall be much lamentation; the beginning of famine, when many shall perish; the beginning of wars, when the powers shall be terrified; the beginning of calamities, when all shall tremble. What shall they do in these circumstances, when the calamities come?
2Esd 16:19 Behold, famine and plague, tribulation and anguish are sent as scourges for the correction of men.
2Esd 16:20 Yet for all this they will not turn from their iniquities, nor be always mindful of the scourges.
2Esd 16:21 Behold, provision will be so cheap upon earth that men will imagine that peace is assured for them, and then the calamities shall spring up on the earth -- the sword, famine, and great confusion.
2Esd 16:22 For many of those who live on the earth shall perish by famine; and those who survive the famine shall die by the sword.
2Esd 16:23 And the dead shall be cast out like dung, and there shall be no one to console them; for the earth shall be left desolate, and its cities shall be demolished.
2Esd 16:24 No one shall be left to cultivate the earth or to sow it.
2Esd 16:25 The trees shall bear fruit, and who will gather it?
2Esd 16:26 The grapes shall ripen, and who will tread them? For in all places there shall be great solitude;
2Esd 16:27 one man will long to see another, or even to hear his voice.
2Esd 16:28 For out of a city, ten shall be left; and out of the field, two who have hidden themselves in thick groves and clefts in the rocks.
2Esd 16:29 As in an olive orchard three or four olives may be left on every tree,
2Esd 16:30 or as when a vineyard is gathered some clusters may be left by those who search carefully through the vineyard,
2Esd 16:31 so in those days three or four shall be left by those who search their houses with the sword.
2Esd 16:32 And the earth shall be left desolate, and its fields shall be for briers, and its roads and all its paths shall bring forth thorns, because no sheep will go along them.
2Esd 16:33 Virgins shall mourn because they have no bridegrooms; women shall mourn because they have no husbands; their daughters shall mourn, because they have no helpers.
2Esd 16:34 Their bridegrooms shall be killed in war, and their husbands shall perish of famine.
2Esd 16:35 Listen now to these things, and understand them, O servants of the Lord.
2Esd 16:36 Behold the word of the Lord, receive it; do not disbelieve what the Lord says.
2Esd 16:37 Behold, the calamities draw near, and are not delayed.
2Esd 16:38 Just as a woman with child, in the ninth month, when the time of her delivery draws near, has great pains about her womb for two or three hours beforehand, and when the child comes forth from the womb, there will not be a moment's delay,
2Esd 16:39 so the calamities will not delay in coming forth upon the earth, and the world will groan, and pains will seize it on every side.
2Esd 16:40 "Hear my words, O my people; prepare for battle, and in the midst of the calamities be like strangers on the earth.
2Esd 16:41 Let him that sells be like one who will flee; let him that buys be like one who will lose;
2Esd 16:42 let him that does business be like one who will not make a profit; and let him that builds a house be like one who will not live in it;
2Esd 16:43 let him that sows be like one who will not reap; so also him that prunes the vines, like one who will not gather the grapes;
2Esd 16:44 them that marry, like those who will have no children; and them that do not marry, like those who are widowed.
2Esd 16:45 Because those who labor, labor in vain;
2Esd 16:46 for strangers shall gather their fruits, and plunder their goods, and overthrow their houses, and take their children captive; for in captivity and famine they will beget their children.
2Esd 16:47 Those who conduct business, do it only to be plundered; the more they adorn their cities, their houses and possessions, and their persons,
2Esd 16:48 the more angry I will be with them for their sins," says the Lord.
2Esd 16:49 Just as a respectable and virtuous woman abhors a harlot,
2Esd 16:50 so righteousness shall abhor iniquity, when she decks herself out, and shall accuse her to her face, when he comes who will defend him who searches out every sin on earth.
2Esd 16:51 Therefore do not be like her or her works.
2Esd 16:52 For behold, just a little while, and iniquity will be removed from the earth, and righteousness will reign over us.
2Esd 16:53 Let no sinner say that he has not sinned; for God will burn coals of fire on the head of him who says, "I have not sinned before God and his glory."
2Esd 16:54 Behold, the Lord knows all the works of men, their imaginations and their thoughts and their hearts.
2Esd 16:55 He said, "Let the earth be made," and it was made; "Let the heaven be made," and it was made.
2Esd 16:56 At his word the stars were fixed, and he knows the number of the stars.
2Esd 16:57 It is he who searches the deep and its treasures, who has measured the sea and its contents;
2Esd 16:58 who has enclosed the sea in the midst of the waters, and by his word has suspended the earth over the water;
2Esd 16:59 who has spread out the heaven like an arch, and founded it upon the waters;
2Esd 16:60 who has put springs of water in the desert, and pools on the tops of the mountains, to send rivers from the heights to water the earth;
2Esd 16:61 who formed man, and put a heart in the midst of his body, and gave him breath and life and understanding
2Esd 16:62 and the spirit of Almighty God; who made all things and searches out hidden things in hidden places.
2Esd 16:63 Surely he knows your imaginations and what you think in your hearts! Woe to those who sin and want to hide their sins!
2Esd 16:64 Because the Lord will strictly examine all their works, and will make a public spectacle of all of you.
2Esd 16:65 And when your sins come out before men, you shall be put to shame; and your own iniquities shall stand as your accusers in that day.
2Esd 16:66 What will you do? Or how will you hide your sins before God and his angels?
2Esd 16:67 Behold, God is the judge, fear him! Cease from your sins, and forget your iniquities, never to commit them again; so God will lead you forth and deliver you from all tribulation.
2Esd 16:68 For behold, the burning wrath of a great multitude is kindled over you, and they shall carry off some of you and shall feed you what was sacrificed to idols.
2Esd 16:69 And those who consent to eat shall be held in derision and contempt, and be trodden under foot.
2Esd 16:70 For in many places and in neighboring cities there shall be a great insurrection against those who fear the Lord.
2Esd 16:71 They shall be like mad men, sparing no one, but plundering and destroying those who continue to fear the Lord.
2Esd 16:72 For they shall destroy and plunder their goods, and drive them out of their houses.
2Esd 16:73 Then the tested quality of my elect shall be manifest, as gold that is tested by fire.
2Esd 16:74 "Hear, my elect," says the Lord. "Behold, the days of tribulation are at hand, and I will deliver you from them.
2Esd 16:75 Do not fear or doubt, for God is your guide.
2Esd 16:76 You who keep my commandments and precepts," says the Lord God, "do not let your sins pull you down, or your iniquities prevail over you."
2Esd 16:77 Woe to those who are choked by their sins and overwhelmed by their iniquities, as a field is choked with underbrush and its path overwhelmed with thorns, so that no one can pass through!
2Esd 16:78 It is shut off and given up to be consumed by fire.
Additions to the Book of Esther
~ Chapter .10 ~
AEsth 10:1 And Mordecai said, "These things have come from God.
AEsth 10:2 For I remember the dream that I had concerning these matters, and none of them has failed to be fulfilled.
AEsth 10:3 The tiny spring which became a river, and there was light and the sun and abundant water -- the river is Esther, whom the king married and made queen.
AEsth 10:4 The two dragons are Haman and myself.
AEsth 10:5 The nations are those that gathered to destroy the name of the Jews.
AEsth 10:6 And my nation, this is Israel, who cried out to God and were saved. The Lord has saved his people; the Lord has delivered us from all these evils; God has done great signs and wonders, which have not occurred among the nations.
AEsth 10:7 For this purpose he made two lots, one for the people of God and one for all the nations.
AEsth 10:8 And these two lots came to the hour and moment and day of decision before God and among all the nations.
AEsth 10:9 And God remembered his people and vindicated his inheritance.
AEsth 10:10 So they will observe these days in the month of Adar, on the fourteenth and fifteenth of that month, with an assembly and joy and gladness before God, from generation to generation for ever among his people Israel."
~ Chapter .11 ~
AEsth 11:1 In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said that he was a priest and a Levite, and Ptolemy his son brought to Egypt the preceeding Letter of Purim, which they said was genuine and had been translated by Lysimachus the son of Ptolemy, one of the residents of Jerusalem.
AEsth 11:2 In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the Great, on the first day of Nisan, Mordecai the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, had a dream.
AEsth 11:3 He was a Jew, dwelling in the city of Susa, a great man, serving in the court of the king.
AEsth 11:4 He was one of the captives whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had brought from Jerusalem with Jeconiah king of Judea. And this was his dream:
AEsth 11:5 Behold, noise and confusion, thunders and earthquake, tumult upon the earth!
AEsth 11:6 And behold, two great dragons came forward, both ready to fight, and they roared terribly.
AEsth 11:7 And at their roaring every nation prepared for war, to fight against the nation of the righteous.
AEsth 11:8 And behold, a day of darkness and gloom, tribulation and distress, affliction and great tumult upon the earth!
AEsth 11:9 And the whole righteous nation was troubled; they feared the evils that threatened them, and were ready to perish.
AEsth 11:10 Then they cried to God; and from their cry, as though from a tiny spring, there came a great river, with abundant water;
AEsth 11:11 light came, and the sun rose, and the lowly were exalted and consumed those held in honor.
AEsth 11:12 Mordecai saw in this dream what God had determined to do, and after he awoke he had it on his mind and sought all day to understand it in every detail.
~ Chapter .12 ~
AEsth 12:1 Now Mordecai took his rest in the courtyard with Gabatha and Tharra, the two eunuchs of the king who kept watch in the courtyard.
AEsth 12:2 He overheard their conversation and inquired into their purposes, and learned that they were preparing to lay hands upon Artaxerxes the king; and he informed the king concerning them.
AEsth 12:3 Then the king examined the two eunuchs, and when they confessed they were led to execution.
AEsth 12:4 The king made a permanent record of these things, and Mordecai wrote an account of them.
AEsth 12:5 And the king ordered Mordecai to serve in the court and rewarded him for these things.
AEsth 12:6 But Haman, the son of Hammedatha, a Bougaean, was in great honor with the king, and he sought to injure Mordecai and his people because of the two eunuchs of the king.
~ Chapter .13 ~
AEsth 13:1 This is a copy of the letter: "The Great King, Artaxerxes, to the rulers of the hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia and to the governors under them, writes thus:
AEsth 13:2 "Having become ruler of many nations and master of the whole world, not elated with presumption of authority but always acting reasonably and with kindness, I have determined to settle the lives of my subjects in lasting tranquillity and, in order to make my kingdom peaceable and open to travel throughout all its extent, to re-establish the peace which all men desire.
AEsth 13:3 "When I asked my counselors how this might be accomplished, Haman, who excels among us in sound judgment, and is distinguished for his unchanging good will and steadfast fidelity, and has attained the second place in the kingdom,
AEsth 13:4 pointed out to us that among all the nations in the world there is scattered a certain hostile people, who have laws contrary to those of every nation and continually disregard the ordinances of the kings, so that the unifying of the kingdom which we honorably intend cannot be brought about.
AEsth 13:5 We understand that this people, and it alone, stands constantly in opposition to all men, perversely following a strange manner of life and laws, and is ill-disposed to our government, doing all the harm they can so that our kingdom may not attain stability.
AEsth 13:6 "Therefore we have decreed that those indicated to you in the letters of Haman, who is in charge of affairs and is our second father, shall all, with their wives and children, be utterly destroyed by the sword of their enemies, without pity or mercy, on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, of this present year,
AEsth 13:7 so that those who have long been and are now hostile may in one day go down in violence to Hades, and leave our government completely secure and untroubled hereafter."
AEsth 13:8 Then Mordecai prayed to the Lord, calling to remembrance all the works of the Lord. He said:
AEsth 13:9 "O Lord, Lord, King who rulest over all things, for the universe is in thy power and there is no one who can oppose thee if it is thy will to save Israel.
AEsth 13:10 For thou hast made heaven and earth and every wonderful thing under heaven,
AEsth 13:11 and thou art Lord of all, and there is no one who can resist thee, who art the Lord.
AEsth 13:12 Thou knowest all things; thou knowest, O Lord, that it was not in insolence or pride or for any love of glory that I did this, and refused to bow down to this proud Haman.
AEsth 13:13 For I would have been willing to kiss the soles of his feet, to save Israel!
AEsth 13:14 But I did this, that I might not set the glory of man above the glory of God, and I will not bow down to any one but to thee, who art my Lord; and I will not do these things in pride.
AEsth 13:15 And now, O Lord God and King, God of Abraham, spare thy people; for the eyes of our foes are upon us to annihilate us, and they desire to destroy the inheritance that has been thine from the beginning.
AEsth 13:16 Do not neglect thy portion, which thou didst redeem for thyself out of the land of Egypt.
AEsth 13:17 Hear my prayer, and have mercy upon thy inheritance turn our mourning into feasting, that we may live and sing praise to thy name, O Lord; do not destroy the mouth of those who praise thee."
AEsth 13:18 And all Israel cried out mightily, for their death was before their eyes.
~ Chapter .14 ~
AEsth 14:1 And Esther the queen, seized with deathly anxiety, fled to the Lord;
AEsth 14:2 she took off her splendid apparel and put on the garments of distress and mourning, and instead of costly perfumes she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she utterly humbled her body, and every part that she loved to adorn she covered with her tangled hair.
AEsth 14:3 And she prayed to the Lord God of Israel, and said: Lord, thou only art our King; help me, who am alone and have no helper but thee,
AEsth 14:4 for my danger is in my hand.
AEsth 14:5 Ever since I was born I have heard in the tribe of my family that thou, O Lord, didst take Israel out of all the nations, and our fathers from among all their ancestors, for an everlasting inheritance, and that thou didst do for them all that thou didst promise.
AEsth 14:6 And now we have sinned before thee, and thou hast given us into the hands of our enemies,
AEsth 14:7 because we glorified their gods. Thou art righteous, O Lord!
AEsth 14:8 And now they are not satisfied that we are in bitter slavery, but they have covenanted with their idols
AEsth 14:9 to abolish what thy mouth has ordained and to destroy thy inheritance, to stop the mouths of those who praise thee and to quench thy altar and the glory of thy house,
AEsth 14:10 to open the mouths of the nations for the praise of vain idols, and to magnify for ever a mortal king.
AEsth 14:11 O Lord, do not surrender thy scepter to what has no being; and do not let them mock at our downfall; but turn their plan against themselves, and make an example of the man who began this against us.
AEsth 14:12 Remember, O Lord; make thyself known in this time of our affliction, and give me courage, O King of the gods and Master of all dominion!
AEsth 14:13 Put eloquent speech in my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hate the man who is fighting against us, so that there may be an end of him and those who agree with him.
AEsth 14:14 But save us by thy hand, and help me, who am alone and have no helper but thee, O Lord.
AEsth 14:15 Thou hast knowledge of all things; and thou knowest that I hate the splendor of the wicked and abhor the bed of the uncircumcised and of any alien.
AEsth 14:16 Thou knowest my necessity -- that I abhor the sign of my proud position, which is upon my head on the days when I appear in public. I abhor it like a menstruous rag, and I do not wear it on the days when I am at leisure.
AEsth 14:17 And thy servant has not eaten at Haman's table, and I have not honored the king's feast or drunk the wine of the libations.
AEsth 14:18 Thy servant has had no joy since the day that I was brought here until now, except in thee, O Lord God of Abraham.
AEsth 14:19 O God, whose might is over all, hear the voice of the despairing, and save us from the hands of evildoers. And save me from my fear!"
~ Chapter .15 ~
AEsth 15:1 On the third day, when she ended her prayer, she took off the garments in which she had worshiped, and arrayed herself in splendid attire.
AEsth 15:2 Then, majestically adorned, after invoking the aid of the all-seeing God and Savior, she took her two maids with her,
AEsth 15:3 leaning daintily on one,
AEsth 15:4 while the other followed carrying her train.
AEsth 15:5 She was radiant with perfect beauty, and she looked happy, as if beloved, but her heart was frozen with fear.
AEsth 15:6 When she had gone through all the doors, she stood before the king. He was seated on his royal throne, clothed in the full array of his majesty, all covered with gold and precious stones. And he was most terrifying.
AEsth 15:7 Lifting his face, flushed with splendor, he looked at her in fierce anger. And the queen faltered, and turned pale and faint, and collapsed upon the head of the maid who went before her.
AEsth 15:8 Then God changed the spirit of the king to gentleness, and in alarm he sprang from his throne and took her in his arms until she came to herself. And he comforted her with soothing words, and said to her,
AEsth 15:9 "What is it, Esther? I am your brother. Take courage;
AEsth 15:10 you shall not die, for our law applies only to the people. Come near."
AEsth 15:11 Then he raised the golden scepter and touched it to her neck;
AEsth 15:12 and he embraced her, and said, "Speak to me."
AEsth 15:13 And she said to him, "I saw you, my lord, like an angel of God and my heart was shaken with fear at your glory.
AEsth 15:14 For you are wonderful, my lord, and your countenance is full of grace."
AEsth 15:15 But as she was speaking, she fell fainting.
AEsth 15:16 And the king was agitated, and all his servants sought to comfort her.
~ Chapter .16 ~
AEsth 16:1 The following is a copy of this letter: "The Great King, Artaxerxes, to the rulers of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven satrapies, and to those who are loyal to our government, greeting.
AEsth 16:2 "The more often they are honored by the too great kindness of their benefactors, the more proud do many men become.
AEsth 16:3 They not only seek to injure our subjects, but in their inability to stand prosperity they even undertake to scheme against their own benefactors.
AEsth 16:4 They not only take away thankfulness from among men, but, carried away by the boasts of those who know nothing of goodness, they suppose that they will escape the evil-hating justice of God, who always sees everything.
AEsth 16:5 And often many of those who are set in places of authority have been made in part responsible for the shedding of innocent blood, and have been involved in irremediable calamities, by the persuasion of friends who have been entrusted with the administration of public affairs,
AEsth 16:6 when these men by the false trickery of their evil natures beguile the sincere good will of their sovereigns.
AEsth 16:7 "What has been wickedly accomplished through the pestilent behavior of those who exercise authority unworthily, can be seen not so much from the more ancient records which we hand on as from investigation of matters close at hand.
AEsth 16:8 For the future we will take care to render our kingdom quiet and peaceable for all men,
AEsth 16:9 by changing our methods and always judging what comes before our eyes with more equitable consideration.
AEsth 16:10 For Haman, the son of Hammedatha, a Macedonian (really an alien to the Persian blood, and quite devoid of our kindliness), having become our guest,
AEsth 16:11 so far enjoyed the good will that we have for every nation that he was called our father and was continually bowed down to by all as the person second to the royal throne.
AEsth 16:12 But, unable to restrain his arrogance, he undertook to deprive us of our kingdom and our life,
AEsth 16:13 and with intricate craft and deceit asked for the destruction of Mordecai, our savior and perpetual benefactor, and of Esther, the blameless partner of our kingdom, together with their whole nation.
AEsth 16:14 He thought that in this way he would find us undefended and would transfer the kingdom of the Persians to the Macedonians.
AEsth 16:15 "But we find that the Jews, who were consigned to annihilation by this thrice accursed man, are not evildoers but are governed by most righteous laws
AEsth 16:16 and are sons of the Most High, the most mighty living God, who has directed the kingdom both for us and for our fathers in the most excellent order.
AEsth 16:17 "You will therefore do well not to put in execution the letters sent by Haman the son of Hammedatha,
AEsth 16:18 because the man himself who did these things has been hanged at the gate of Susa, with all his household. For God, who rules over all things, has speedily inflicted on him the punishment he deserved.
AEsth 16:19 "Therefore post a copy of this letter publicly in every place, and permit the Jews to live under their own laws.
AEsth 16:20 And give them reinforcements, so that on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, on that very day they may defend themselves against those who attack them at the time of their affliction.
AEsth 16:21 For God, who rules over all things, has made this day to be a joy to his chosen people instead of a day of destruction for them.
AEsth 16:22 "Therefore you shall observe this with all good cheer as a notable day among your commemorative festivals,
AEsth 16:23 so that both now and hereafter it may mean salvation for us and the loyal Persians, but that for those who plot against us it may be a reminder of destruction.
AEsth 16:24 "Every city and country, without exception, which does not act accordingly, shall be destroyed in wrath with spear and fire. It shall be made not only impassable for men, but also most hateful for all time to beasts and birds."
1 Maccabees
~ Chapter 1 ~
1Mc 1:1 After Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came from the land of Kittim, had defeated Darius, king of the Persians and the Medes, he succeeded him as king. (He had previously become king of Greece.)
1Mc 1:2 He fought many battles, conquered strongholds, and put to death the kings of the earth.
1Mc 1:3 He advanced to the ends of the earth, and plundered many nations. When the earth became quiet before him, he was exalted, and his heart was lifted up.
1Mc 1:4 He gathered a very strong army and ruled over countries, nations, and princes, and they became tributary to him.
1Mc 1:5 After this he fell sick and perceived that he was dying.
1Mc 1:6 So he summoned his most honored officers, who had been brought up with him from youth, and divided his kingdom among them while he was still alive.
1Mc 1:7 And after Alexander had reigned twelve years, he died.
1Mc 1:8 Then his officers began to rule, each in his own place.
1Mc 1:9 They all put on crowns after his death, and so did their sons after them for many years; and they caused many evils on the earth.
1Mc 1:10 From them came forth a sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king; he had been a hostage in Rome. He began to reign in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.
1Mc 1:11 In those days lawless men came forth from Israel, and misled many, saying, "Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles round about us, for since we separated from them many evils have come upon us."
1Mc 1:12 This proposal pleased them,
1Mc 1:13 and some of the people eagerly went to the king. He authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles.
1Mc 1:14 So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom,
1Mc 1:15 and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.
1Mc 1:16 When Antiochus saw that his kingdom was established, he determined to become king of the land of Egypt, that he might reign over both kingdoms.
1Mc 1:17 So he invaded Egypt with a strong force, with chariots and elephants and cavalry and with a large fleet.
1Mc 1:18 He engaged Ptolemy king of Egypt in battle, and Ptolemy turned and fled before him, and many were wounded and fell.
1Mc 1:19 And they captured the fortified cities in the land of Egypt, and he plundered the land of Egypt.
1Mc 1:20 After subduing Egypt, Antiochus returned in the one hundred and forty-third year. He went up against Israel and came to Jerusalem with a strong force.
1Mc 1:21 He arrogantly entered the sanctuary and took the golden altar, the lampstand for the light, and all its utensils.
1Mc 1:22 He took also the table for the bread of the Presence, the cups for drink offerings, the bowls, the golden censers, the curtain, the crowns, and the gold decoration on the front of the temple; he stripped it all off.
1Mc 1:23 He took the silver and the gold, and the costly vessels; he took also the hidden treasures which he found.
1Mc 1:24 Taking them all, he departed to his own land. He committed deeds of murder, and spoke with great arrogance.
1Mc 1:25 Israel mourned deeply in every community,
1Mc 1:26 rulers and elders groaned, maidens and young men became faint, the beauty of women faded.
1Mc 1:27 Every bridegroom took up the lament; she who sat in the bridal chamber was mourning.
1Mc 1:28 Even the land shook for its inhabitants, and all the house of Jacob was clothed with shame.
1Mc 1:29 Two years later the king sent to the cities of Judah a chief collector of tribute, and he came to Jerusalem with a large force.
1Mc 1:30 Deceitfully he spoke peaceable words to them, and they believed him; but he suddenly fell upon the city, dealt it a severe blow, and destroyed many people of Israel.
1Mc 1:31 He plundered the city, burned it with fire, and tore down its houses and its surrounding walls.
1Mc 1:32 And they took captive the women and children, and seized the cattle.
1Mc 1:33 Then they fortified the city of David with a great strong wall and strong towers, and it became their citadel.
1Mc 1:34 And they stationed there a sinful people, lawless men. These strengthened their position;
1Mc 1:35 they stored up arms and food, and collecting the spoils of Jerusalem they stored them there, and became a great snare.
1Mc 1:36 It became an ambush against the sanctuary, an evil adversary of Israel continually.
1Mc 1:37 On every side of the sanctuary they shed innocent blood; they even defiled the sanctuary.
1Mc 1:38 Because of them the residents of Jerusalem fled; she became a dwelling of strangers; she became strange to her offspring, and her children forsook her.
1Mc 1:39 Her sanctuary became desolate as a desert; her feasts were turned into mourning, her sabbaths into a reproach, her honor into contempt.
1Mc 1:40 Her dishonor now grew as great as her glory; her exaltation was turned into mourning.
1Mc 1:41 Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people,
1Mc 1:42 and that each should give up his customs.
1Mc 1:43 All the Gentiles accepted the command of the king. Many even from Israel gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath.
1Mc 1:44 And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah; he directed them to follow customs strange to the land,
1Mc 1:45 to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary, to profane sabbaths and feasts,
1Mc 1:46 to defile the sanctuary and the priests,
1Mc 1:47 to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine and unclean animals,
1Mc 1:48 and to leave their sons uncircumcised. They were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane,
1Mc 1:49 so that they should forget the law and change all the ordinances.
1Mc 1:50 "And whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die."
1Mc 1:51 In such words he wrote to his whole kingdom. And he appointed inspectors over all the people and commanded the cities of Judah to offer sacrifice, city by city.
1Mc 1:52 Many of the people, every one who forsook the law, joined them, and they did evil in the land;
1Mc 1:53 they drove Israel into hiding in every place of refuge they had.
1Mc 1:54 Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifth year, they erected a desolating sacrilege upon the altar of burnt offering. They also built altars in the surrounding cities of Judah,
1Mc 1:55 and burned incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets.
1Mc 1:56 The books of the law which they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire.
1Mc 1:57 Where the book of the covenant was found in the possession of any one, or if any one adhered to the law, the decree of the king condemned him to death.
1Mc 1:58 They kept using violence against Israel, against those found month after month in the cities.
1Mc 1:59 And on the twenty-fifth day of the month they offered sacrifice on the altar which was upon the altar of burnt offering.
1Mc 1:60 According to the decree, they put to death the women who had their children circumcised,
1Mc 1:61 and their families and those who circumcised them; and they hung the infants from their mothers' necks.
1Mc 1:62 But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food.
1Mc 1:63 They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die.
1Mc 1:64 And very great wrath came upon Israel.
~ Chapter 2 ~
1Mc 2:1 In those days Mattathias the son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein.
1Mc 2:2 He had five sons, John surnamed Gaddi,
1Mc 2:3 Simon called Thassi,
1Mc 2:4 Judas called Maccabeus,
1Mc 2:5 Eleazar called Avaran, and Jonathan called Apphus.
1Mc 2:6 He saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem,
1Mc 2:7 and said, "Alas! Why was I born to see this, the ruin of my people, the ruin of the holy city, and to dwell there when it was given over to the enemy, the sanctuary given over to aliens?
1Mc 2:8 Her temple has become like a man without honor;
1Mc 2:9 her glorious vessels have been carried into captivity. Her babes have been killed in her streets, her youths by the sword of the foe.
1Mc 2:10 What nation has not inherited her palaces and has not seized her spoils?
1Mc 2:11 All her adornment has been taken away; no longer free, she has become a slave.
1Mc 2:12 And behold, our holy place, our beauty, and our glory have been laid waste; the Gentiles have profaned it.
1Mc 2:13 Why should we live any longer?"
1Mc 2:14 And Mattathias and his sons rent their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned greatly.
1Mc 2:15 Then the king's officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Modein to make them offer sacrifice.
1Mc 2:16 Many from Israel came to them; and Mattathias and his sons were assembled.
1Mc 2:17 Then the king's officers spoke to Mattathias as follows: "You are a leader, honored and great in this city, and supported by sons and brothers.
1Mc 2:18 Now be the first to come and do what the king commands, as all the Gentiles and the men of Judah and those that are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons will be numbered among the friends of the king, and you and your sons will be honored with silver and gold and many gifts."
1Mc 2:19 But Mattathias answered and said in a loud voice: "Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to do his commandments, departing each one from the religion of his fathers,
1Mc 2:20 yet I and my sons and my brothers will live by the covenant of our fathers.
1Mc 2:21 Far be it from us to desert the law and the ordinances.
1Mc 2:22 We will not obey the king's words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left."
1Mc 2:23 When he had finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice upon the altar in Modein, according to the king's command.
1Mc 2:24 When Mattathias saw it, be burned with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger; he ran and killed him upon the altar.
1Mc 2:25 At the same time he killed the king's officer who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar.
1Mc 2:26 Thus he burned with zeal for the law, as Phinehas did against Zimri the son of Salu.
1Mc 2:27 Then Mattathias cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying: "Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!"
1Mc 2:28 And he and his sons fled to the hills and left all that they had in the city.
1Mc 2:29 Then many who were seeking righteousness and justice went down to the wilderness to dwell there,
1Mc 2:30 they, their sons, their wives, and their cattle, because evils pressed heavily upon them.
1Mc 2:31 And it was reported to the king's officers, and to the troops in Jerusalem the city of David, that men who had rejected the king's command had gone down to the hiding places in the wilderness.
1Mc 2:32 Many pursued them, and overtook them; they encamped opposite them and prepared for battle against them on the sabbath day.
1Mc 2:33 And they said to them, "Enough of this! Come out and do what the king commands, and you will live."
1Mc 2:34 But they said, "We will not come out, nor will we do what the king commands and so profane the sabbath day."
1Mc 2:35 Then the enemy hastened to attack them.
1Mc 2:36 But they did not answer them or hurl a stone at them or block up their hiding places,
1Mc 2:37 for they said, "Let us all die in our innocence; heaven and earth testify for us that you are killing us unjustly."
1Mc 2:38 So they attacked them on the sabbath, and they died, with their wives and children and cattle, to the number of a thousand persons.
1Mc 2:39 When Mattathias and his friends learned of it, they mourned for them deeply.
1Mc 2:40 And each said to his neighbor: "If we all do as our brethren have done and refuse to fight with the Gentiles for our lives and for our ordinances, they will quickly destroy us from the earth."
1Mc 2:41 So they made this decision that day: "Let us fight against every man who comes to attack us on the sabbath day; let us not all die as our brethren died in their hiding places."
1Mc 2:42 Then there united with them a company of Hasideans, mighty warriors of Israel, every one who offered himself willingly for the law.
1Mc 2:43 And all who became fugitives to escape their troubles joined them and reinforced them.
1Mc 2:44 They organized an army, and struck down sinners in their anger and lawless men in their wrath; the survivors fled to the Gentiles for safety.
1Mc 2:45 And Mattathias and his friends went about and tore down the altars;
1Mc 2:46 they forcibly circumcised all the uncircumcised boys that they found within the borders of Israel.
1Mc 2:47 They hunted down the arrogant men, and the work prospered in their hands.
1Mc 2:48 They rescued the law out of the hands of the Gentiles and kings, and they never let the sinner gain the upper hand.
1Mc 2:49 Now the days drew near for Mattathias to die, and he said to his sons: "Arrogance and reproach have now become strong; it is a time of ruin and furious anger.
1Mc 2:50 Now, my children, show zeal for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of our fathers.
1Mc 2:51 "Remember the deeds of the fathers, which they did in their generations; and receive great honor and an everlasting name.
1Mc 2:52 Was not Abraham found faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness?
1Mc 2:53 Joseph in the time of his distress kept the commandment, and became lord of Egypt.
1Mc 2:54 Phinehas our father, because he was deeply zealous, received the covenant of everlasting priesthood.
1Mc 2:55 Joshua, because he fulfilled the command, became a judge in Israel.
1Mc 2:56 Caleb, because he testified in the assembly, received an inheritance in the land.
1Mc 2:57 David, because he was merciful, inherited the throne of the kingdom for ever.
1Mc 2:58 Elijah because of great zeal for the law was taken up into heaven.
1Mc 2:59 Hannaniah, Azariah, and Mishael believed and were saved from the flame.
1Mc 2:60 Daniel because of his innocence was delivered from the mouth of the lions.
1Mc 2:61 "And so observe, from generation to generation, that none who put their trust in him will lack strength.
1Mc 2:62 Do not fear the words of a sinner, for his splendor will turn into dung and worms.
1Mc 2:63 Today he will be exalted, but tomorrow he will not be found, because he has returned to the dust, and his plans will perish.
1Mc 2:64 My children, be courageous and grow strong in the law, for by it you will gain honor.
1Mc 2:65 "Now behold, I know that Simeon your brother is wise in counsel; always listen to him; he shall be your father.
1Mc 2:66 Judas Maccabeus has been a mighty warrior from his youth; he shall command the army for you and fight the battle against the peoples.
1Mc 2:67 You shall rally about you all who observe the law, and avenge the wrong done to your people.
1Mc 2:68 Pay back the Gentiles in full, and heed what the law commands."
1Mc 2:69 Then he blessed them, and was gathered to his fathers.
1Mc 2:70 He died in the one hundred and forty-sixth year and was buried in the tomb of his fathers at Modein. And all Israel mourned for him with great lamentation.
~ Chapter 3 ~
1Mc 3:1 Then Judas his son, who was called Maccabeus, took command in his place.
1Mc 3:2 All his brothers and all who had joined his father helped him; they gladly fought for Israel.
1Mc 3:3 He extended the glory of his people. Like a giant he put on his breastplate; he girded on his armor of war and waged battles, protecting the host by his sword.
1Mc 3:4 He was like a lion in his deeds, like a lion's cub roaring for prey.
1Mc 3:5 He searched out and pursued the lawless; he burned those who troubled his people.
1Mc 3:6 Lawless men shrank back for fear of him; all the evildoers were confounded; and deliverance prospered by his hand.
1Mc 3:7 He embittered many kings, but he made Jacob glad by his deeds, and his memory is blessed for ever.
1Mc 3:8 He went through the cities of Judah; he destroyed the ungodly out of the land; thus he turned away wrath from Israel.
1Mc 3:9 He was renowned to the ends of the earth; he gathered in those who were perishing.
1Mc 3:10 But Apollonius gathered together Gentiles and a large force from Samaria to fight against Israel.
1Mc 3:11 When Judas learned of it, he went out to meet him, and he defeated and killed him. Many were wounded and fell, and the rest fled.
1Mc 3:12 Then they seized their spoils; and Judas took the sword of Apollonius, and used it in battle the rest of his life.
1Mc 3:13 Now when Seron, the commander of the Syrian army, heard that Judas had gathered a large company, including a body of faithful men who stayed with him and went out to battle,
1Mc 3:14 he said, "I will make a name for myself and win honor in the kingdom. I will make war on Judas and his companions, who scorn the king's command."
1Mc 3:15 And again a strong army of ungodly men went up with him to help him, to take vengeance on the sons of Israel.
1Mc 3:16 When he approached the ascent of Beth-horon, Judas went out to meet him with a small company.
1Mc 3:17 But when they saw the army coming to meet them, they said to Judas, "How can we, few as we are, fight against so great and strong a multitude? And we are faint, for we have eaten nothing today."
1Mc 3:18 Judas replied, "It is easy for many to be hemmed in by few, for in the sight of Heaven there is no difference between saving by many or by few.
1Mc 3:19 It is not on the size of the army that victory in battle depends, but strength comes from Heaven.
1Mc 3:20 They come against us in great pride and lawlessness to destroy us and our wives and our children, and to despoil us;
1Mc 3:21 but we fight for our lives and our laws.
1Mc 3:22 He himself will crush them before us; as for you, do not be afraid of them."
1Mc 3:23 When he finished speaking, he rushed suddenly against Seron and his army, and they were crushed before him.
1Mc 3:24 They pursued them down the descent of Beth-horon to the plain; eight hundred of them fell, and the rest fled into the land of the Philistines.
1Mc 3:25 Then Judas and his brothers began to be feared, and terror fell upon the Gentiles round about them.
1Mc 3:26 His fame reached the king, and the Gentiles talked of the battles of Judas.
1Mc 3:27 When king Antiochus heard these reports, he was greatly angered; and he sent and gathered all the forces of his kingdom, a very strong army.
1Mc 3:28 And he opened his coffers and gave a year's pay to his forces, and ordered them to be ready for any need.
1Mc 3:29 Then he saw that the money in the treasury was exhausted, and that the revenues from the country were small because of the dissension and disaster which he had caused in the land by abolishing the laws that had existed from the earliest days.
1Mc 3:30 He feared that he might not have such funds as he had before for his expenses and for the gifts which he used to give more lavishly than preceding kings.
1Mc 3:31 He was greatly perplexed in mind, and determined to go to Persia and collect the revenues from those regions and raise a large fund.
1Mc 3:32 He left Lysias, a distinguished man of royal lineage, in charge of the king's affairs from the river Euphrates to the borders of Egypt.
1Mc 3:33 Lysias was also to take care of Antiochus his son until he returned.
1Mc 3:34 And he turned over to Lysias half of his troops and the elephants, and gave him orders about all that he wanted done. As for the residents of Judea and Jerusalem,
1Mc 3:35 Lysias was to send a force against them to wipe out and destroy the strength of Israel and the remnant of Jerusalem; he was to banish the memory of them from the place,
1Mc 3:36 settle aliens in all their territory, and distribute their land.
1Mc 3:37 Then the king took the remaining half of his troops and departed from Antioch his capital in the one hundred and forty-seventh year. He crossed the Euphrates river and went through the upper provinces.
1Mc 3:38 Lysias chose Ptolemy the son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor and Gorgias, mighty men among the friends of the king,
1Mc 3:39 and sent with them forty thousand infantry and seven thousand cavalry to go into the land of Judah and destroy it, as the king had commanded.
1Mc 3:40 so they departed with their entire force, and when they arrived they encamped near Emmaus in the plain.
1Mc 3:41 When the traders of the region heard what was said to them, they took silver and gold in immense amounts, and fetters, and went to the camp to get the sons of Israel for slaves. And forces from Syria and the land of the Philistines joined with them.
1Mc 3:42 Now Judas and his brothers saw that misfortunes had increased and that the forces were encamped in their territory. They also learned what the king had commanded to do to the people to cause their final destruction.
1Mc 3:43 But they said to one another, "Let us repair the destruction of our people, and fight for our people and the sanctuary."
1Mc 3:44 And the congregation assembled to be ready for battle, and to pray and ask for mercy and compassion.
1Mc 3:45 Jerusalem was uninhabited like a wilderness; not one of her children went in or out. The sanctuary was trampled down, and the sons of aliens held the citadel; it was a lodging place for the Gentiles. Joy was taken from Jacob; the flute and the harp ceased to play.
1Mc 3:46 So they assembled and went to Mizpah, opposite Jerusalem, because Israel formerly had a place of prayer in Mizpah.
1Mc 3:47 They fasted that day, put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes on their heads, and rent their clothes.
1Mc 3:48 And they opened the book of the law to inquire into those matters about which the Gentiles were consulting the images of their idols.
1Mc 3:49 They also brought the garments of the priesthood and the first fruits and the tithes, and they stirred up the Nazirites who had completed their days;
1Mc 3:50 and they cried aloud to Heaven, saying, "What shall we do with these? Where shall we take them?
1Mc 3:51 Thy sanctuary is trampled down and profaned, and thy priests mourn in humiliation.
1Mc 3:52 And behold, the Gentiles are assembled against us to destroy us; thou knowest what they plot against us.
1Mc 3:53 How will we be able to withstand them, if thou dost not help us?"
1Mc 3:54 Then they sounded the trumpets and gave a loud shout.
1Mc 3:55 After this Judas appointed leaders of the people, in charge of thousands and hundreds and fifties and tens.
1Mc 3:56 And he said to those who were building houses, or were betrothed, or were planting vineyards, or were fainthearted, that each should return to his home, according to the law.
1Mc 3:57 Then the army marched out and encamped to the south of Emmaus.
1Mc 3:58 And Judas said, "Gird yourselves and be valiant. Be ready early in the morning to fight with these Gentiles who have assembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary.
1Mc 3:59 It is better for us to die in battle than to see the misfortunes of our nation and of the sanctuary.
1Mc 3:60 But as his will in heaven may be, so he will do."
~ Chapter 4 ~
1Mc 4:1 Now Gorgias took five thousand infantry and a thousand picked cavalry, and this division moved out by night
1Mc 4:2 to fall upon the camp of the Jews and attack them suddenly. Men from the citadel were his guides.
1Mc 4:3 But Judas heard of it, and he and his mighty men moved out to attack the king's force in Emmaus
1Mc 4:4 while the division was still absent from the camp.
1Mc 4:5 When Gorgias entered the camp of Judas by night, he found no one there, so he looked for them in the hills, because he said, "These men are fleeing from us."
1Mc 4:6 At daybreak Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men, but they did not have armor and swords such as they desired.
1Mc 4:7 And they saw the camp of the Gentiles, strong and fortified, with cavalry round about it; and these men were trained in war.
1Mc 4:8 But Judas said to the men who were with him, "Do not fear their numbers or be afraid when they charge.
1Mc 4:9 Remember how our fathers were saved at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh with his forces pursued them.
1Mc 4:10 And now let us cry to Heaven, to see whether he will favor us and remember his covenant with our fathers and crush this army before us today.
1Mc 4:11 Then all the Gentiles will know that there is one who redeems and saves Israel."
1Mc 4:12 When the foreigners looked up and saw them coming against them,
1Mc 4:13 they went forth from their camp to battle. Then the men with Judas blew their trumpets
1Mc 4:14 and engaged in battle. The Gentiles were crushed and fled into the plain,
1Mc 4:15 and all those in the rear fell by the sword. They pursued them to Gazara, and to the plains of Idumea, and to Azotus and Jamnia; and three thousand of them fell.
1Mc 4:16 Then Judas and his force turned back from pursuing them,
1Mc 4:17 and he said to the people, "Do not be greedy for plunder, for there is a battle before us;
1Mc 4:18 Gorgias and his force are near us in the hills. But stand now against our enemies and fight them, and afterward seize the plunder boldly."
1Mc 4:19 Just as Judas was finishing this speech, a detachment appeared, coming out of the hills.
1Mc 4:20 They saw that their army had been put to flight, and that the Jews were burning the camp, for the smoke that was seen showed what had happened.
1Mc 4:21 When they perceived this they were greatly frightened, and when they also saw the army of Judas drawn up in the plain for battle,
1Mc 4:22 they all fled into the land of the Philistines.
1Mc 4:23 Then Judas returned to plunder the camp, and they seized much gold and silver, and cloth dyed blue and sea purple, and great riches.
1Mc 4:24 On their return they sang hymns and praises to Heaven, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever.
1Mc 4:25 Thus Israel had a great deliverance that day.
1Mc 4:26 Those of the foreigners who escaped went and reported to Lysias all that had happened.
1Mc 4:27 When he heard it, he was perplexed and discouraged, for things had not happened to Israel as he had intended, nor had they turned out as the king had commanded him.
1Mc 4:28 But the next year he mustered sixty thousand picked infantrymen and five thousand cavalry to subdue them.
1Mc 4:29 They came into Idumea and encamped at Beth-zur, and Judas met them with ten thousand men.
1Mc 4:30 When he saw that the army was strong, he prayed, saying, "Blessed art thou, O Savior of Israel, who didst crush the attack of the mighty warrior by the hand of thy servant David, and didst give the camp of the Philistines into the hands of Jonathan, the son of Saul, and of the man who carried his armor.
1Mc 4:31 So do thou hem in this army by the hand of thy people Israel, and let them be ashamed of their troops and their cavalry.
1Mc 4:32 Fill them with cowardice; melt the boldness of their strength; let them tremble in their destruction.
1Mc 4:33 Strike them down with the sword of those who love thee, and let all who know thy name praise thee with hymns."
1Mc 4:34 Then both sides attacked, and there fell of the army of Lysias five thousand men; they fell in action.
1Mc 4:35 And when Lysias saw the rout of his troops and observed the boldness which inspired those of Judas, and how ready they were either to live or to die nobly, he departed to Antioch and enlisted mercenaries, to invade Judea again with an even larger army.
1Mc 4:36 Then said Judas and his brothers, "Behold, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it."
1Mc 4:37 So all the army assembled and they went up to Mount Zion.
1Mc 4:38 And they saw the sanctuary desolate, the altar profaned, and the gates burned. In the courts they saw bushes sprung up as in a thicket, or as on one of the mountains. They saw also the chambers of the priests in ruins.
1Mc 4:39 Then they rent their clothes, and mourned with great lamentation, and sprinkled themselves with ashes.
1Mc 4:40 They fell face down on the ground, and sounded the signal on the trumpets, and cried out to Heaven.
1Mc 4:41 Then Judas detailed men to fight against those in the citadel until he had cleansed the sanctuary.
1Mc 4:42 He chose blameless priests devoted to the law,
1Mc 4:43 and they cleansed the sanctuary and removed the defiled stones to an unclean place.
1Mc 4:44 They deliberated what to do about the altar of burnt offering, which had been profaned.
1Mc 4:45 And they thought it best to tear it down, lest it bring reproach upon them, for the Gentiles had defiled it. So they tore down the altar,
1Mc 4:46 and stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until there should come a prophet to tell what to do with them.
1Mc 4:47 Then they took unhewn stones, as the law directs, and built a new altar like the former one.
1Mc 4:48 They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the interior of the temple, and consecrated the courts.
1Mc 4:49 They made new holy vessels, and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple.
1Mc 4:50 Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lampstand, and these gave light in the temple.
1Mc 4:51 They placed the bread on the table and hung up the curtains. Thus they finished all the work they had undertaken.
1Mc 4:52 Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year,
1Mc 4:53 they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of burnt offering which they had built.
1Mc 4:54 At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals.
1Mc 4:55 All the people fell on their faces and worshiped and blessed Heaven, who had prospered them.
1Mc 4:56 So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and offered burnt offerings with gladness; they offered a sacrifice of deliverance and praise.
1Mc 4:57 They decorated the front of the temple with golden crowns and small shields; they restored the gates and the chambers for the priests, and furnished them with doors.
1Mc 4:58 There was very great gladness among the people, and the reproach of the Gentiles was removed.
1Mc 4:59 Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with gladness and joy for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev.
1Mc 4:60 At that time they fortified Mount Zion with high walls and strong towers round about, to keep the Gentiles from coming and trampling them down as they had done before.
1Mc 4:61 And he stationed a garrison there to hold it. He also fortified Beth-zur, so that the people might have a stronghold that faced Idumea.
~ Chapter 5 ~
1Mc 5:1 When the Gentiles round about heard that the altar had been built and the sanctuary dedicated as it was before, they became very angry,
1Mc 5:2 and they determined to destroy the descendants of Jacob who lived among them. So they began to kill and destroy among the people.
1Mc 5:3 But Judas made war on the sons of Esau in Idumea, at Akrabattene, because they kept lying in wait for Israel. He dealt them a heavy blow and humbled them and despoiled them.
1Mc 5:4 He also remembered the wickedness of the sons of Baean, who were a trap and a snare to the people and ambushed them on the highways.
1Mc 5:5 They were shut up by him in their towers; and he encamped against them, vowed their complete destruction, and burned with fire their towers and all who were in them.
1Mc 5:6 Then he crossed over to attack the Ammonites, where he found a strong band and many people with Timothy as their leader.
1Mc 5:7 He engaged in many battles with them and they were crushed before him; he struck them down.
1Mc 5:8 He also took Jazer and its villages; then he returned to Judea.
1Mc 5:9 Now the Gentiles in Gilead gathered together against the Israelites who lived in their territory, and planned to destroy them. But they fled to the stronghold of Dathema,
1Mc 5:10 and sent to Judas and his brothers a letter which said, "The Gentiles around us have gathered together against us to destroy us.
1Mc 5:11 They are preparing to come and capture the stronghold to which we have fled, and Timothy is leading their forces.
1Mc 5:12 Now then come and rescue us from their hands, for many of us have fallen,
1Mc 5:13 and all our brethren who were in the land of Tob have been killed; the enemy have captured their wives and children and goods, and have destroyed about a thousand men there."
1Mc 5:14 While the letter was still being read, behold, other messengers, with their garments rent, came from Galilee and made a similar report;
1Mc 5:15 they said that against them had gathered together men of Ptolemais and Tyre and Sidon, and all Galilee of the Gentiles, "to annihilate us."
1Mc 5:16 When Judas and the people heard these messages, a great assembly was called to determine what they should do for their brethren who were in distress and were being attacked by enemies.
1Mc 5:17 Then Judas said to Simon his brother, "Choose your men and go and rescue your brethren in Galilee; I and Jonathan my brother will go to Gilead."
1Mc 5:18 But he left Joseph, the son of Zechariah, and Azariah, a leader of the people, with the rest of the forces, in Judea to guard it;
1Mc 5:19 and he gave them this command, "Take charge of this people, but do not engage in battle with the Gentiles until we return."
1Mc 5:20 Then three thousand men were assigned to Simon to go to Galilee, and eight thousand to Judas for Gilead.
1Mc 5:21 so Simon went to
Galilee and fought many battles against the Gentiles, and the Gentiles were crushed before him.
1Mc 5:22 He pursued them to the gate of Ptolemais, and as many as three thousand of the Gentiles fell, and he despoiled them.
1Mc 5:23 Then he took the Jews of Galilee and Arbatta, with their wives and children, and all they possessed, and led them to Judea with great rejoicing.
1Mc 5:24 Judas Maccabeus and Jonathan his brother crossed the Jordan and went three days' journey into the wilderness.
1Mc 5:25 They encountered the Nabateans, who met them peaceably and told them all that had happened to their brethren in Gilead:
1Mc 5:26 "Many of them have been shut up in Bozrah and Bosor, in Alema and Chaspho, Maked and Carnaim" -- all these cities were strong and large--
1Mc 5:27 "and some have been shut up in the other cities of Gilead; the enemy are getting ready to attack the strongholds tomorrow and take and destroy all these men in one day."
1Mc 5:28 Then Judas and his army quickly turned back by the wilderness road to Bozrah; and he took the city, and killed every male by the edge of the sword; then he seized all its spoils and burned it with fire.
1Mc 5:29 He departed from there at night, and they went all the way to the stronghold of Dathema.
1Mc 5:30 At dawn they looked up, and behold, a large company, that could not be counted, carrying ladders and engines of war to capture the stronghold, and attacking the Jews within.
1Mc 5:31 So Judas saw that the battle had begun and that the cry of the city went up to Heaven with trumpets and loud shouts,
1Mc 5:32 and he said to the men of his forces, "Fight today for your brethren!"
1Mc 5:33 Then he came up behind them in three companies, who sounded their trumpets and cried aloud in prayer.
1Mc 5:34 And when the army of Timothy realized that it was Maccabeus, they fled before him, and he dealt them a heavy blow. As many as eight thousand of them fell that day.
1Mc 5:35 Next he turned aside to Alema, and fought against it and took it; and he killed every male in it, plundered it, and burned it with fire.
1Mc 5:36 From there he marched on and took Chaspho, Maked, and Bosor, and the other cities of Gilead.
1Mc 5:37 After these things Timothy gathered another army and encamped opposite Raphon, on the other side of the stream.
1Mc 5:38 Judas sent men to spy out the camp, and they reported to him, "All the Gentiles around us have gathered to him; it is a very large force.
1Mc 5:39 They also have hired Arabs to help them, and they are encamped across the stream, ready to come and fight against you." And Judas went to meet them.
1Mc 5:40 Now as Judas and his army drew near to the stream of water, Timothy said to the officers of his forces, "If he crosses over to us first, we will not be able to resist him, for he will surely defeat us.
1Mc 5:41 But if he shows fear and camps on the other side of the river, we will cross over to him and defeat him."
1Mc 5:42 When Judas approached the stream of water, he stationed the scribes of the people at the stream and gave them this command, "Permit no man to encamp, but make them all enter the battle."
1Mc 5:43 Then he crossed over against them first, and the whole army followed him. All the Gentiles were defeated before him, and they threw away their arms and fled into the sacred precincts at Carnaim.
1Mc 5:44 But he took the city and burned the sacred precincts with fire, together with all who were in them. Thus Carnaim was conquered; they could stand before Judas no longer.
1Mc 5:45 Then Judas gathered together all the Israelites in Gilead, the small and the great, with their wives and children and goods, a very large company, to go to the land of Judah.
1Mc 5:46 So they came to Ephron. This was a large and very strong city on the road, and they could not go round it to the right or to the left; they had to go through it.
1Mc 5:47 But the men of the city shut them out and blocked up the gates with stones.
1Mc 5:48 And Judas sent them this friendly message, "Let us pass through your land to get to our land. No one will do you harm; we will simply pass by on foot." But they refused to open to him.
1Mc 5:49 Then Judas ordered proclamation to be made to the army that each should encamp where he was.
1Mc 5:50 So the men of the forces encamped, and he fought against the city all that day and all the night, and the city was delivered into his hands.
1Mc 5:51 He destroyed every male by the edge of the sword, and razed and plundered the city. Then he passed through the city over the slain.
1Mc 5:52 And they crossed the Jordan into the large plain before Beth-shan.
1Mc 5:53 And Judas kept rallying the laggards and encouraging the people all the way till he came to the land of Judah.
1Mc 5:54 So they went up to Mount Zion with gladness and joy, and offered burnt offerings, because not one of them had fallen before they returned in safety.
1Mc 5:55 Now while Judas and Jonathan were in Gilead and Simon his brother was in Galilee before Ptolemais,
1Mc 5:56 Joseph, the son of Zechariah, and Azariah, the commanders of the forces, heard of their brave deeds and of the heroic war they had fought.
1Mc 5:57 So they said, "Let us also make a name for ourselves; let us go and make war on the Gentiles around us."
1Mc 5:58 And they issued orders to the men of the forces that were with them, and they marched against Jamnia.
1Mc 5:59 And Gorgias and his men came out of the city to meet them in battle.
1Mc 5:60 Then Joseph and Azariah were routed, and were pursued to the borders of Judea; as many as two thousand of the people of Israel fell that day.
1Mc 5:61 Thus the people suffered a great rout because, thinking to do a brave deed, they did not listen to Judas and his brothers.
1Mc 5:62 But they did not belong to the family of those men through whom deliverance was given to Israel.
1Mc 5:63 The man Judas and his brothers were greatly honored in all Israel and among all the Gentiles, wherever their name was heard.
1Mc 5:64 Men gathered to them and praised them.
1Mc 5:65 Then Judas and his brothers went forth and fought the sons of Esau in the land to the south. He struck Hebron and its villages and tore down its strongholds and burned its towers round about.
1Mc 5:66 Then he marched off to go into the land of the Philistines, and passed through Marisa.
1Mc 5:67 On that day some priests, who wished to do a brave deed, fell in battle, for they went out to battle unwisely.
1Mc 5:68 But Judas turned aside to Azotus in the land of the Philistines; he tore down their altars, and the graven images of their gods he burned with fire; he plundered the cities and returned to the land of Judah.
~ Chapter 6 ~
1Mc 6:1 King Antiochus was going through the upper provinces when he heard that Elymais in Persia was a city famed for its wealth in silver and gold.
1Mc 6:2 Its temple was very rich, containing golden shields, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander, the son of Philip, the Macedonian king who first reigned over the Greeks.
1Mc 6:3 So he came and tried to take the city and plunder it, but he could not, because his plan became known to the men of the city
1Mc 6:4 and they withstood him in battle. So he fled and in great grief departed from there to return to Babylon.
1Mc 6:5 Then some one came to him in Persia and reported that the armies which had gone into the land of Judah had been routed;
1Mc 6:6 that Lysias had gone first with a strong force, but had turned and fled before the Jews; that the Jews had grown strong from the arms, supplies, and abundant spoils which they had taken from the armies they had cut down;
1Mc 6:7 that they had torn down the abomination which he had erected upon the altar in Jerusalem; and that they had surrounded the sanctuary with high walls as before, and also Beth-zur, his city.
1Mc 6:8 When the king heard this news, he was astounded and badly shaken. He took to his bed and became sick from grief, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned.
1Mc 6:9 He lay there for many days, because deep grief continually gripped him, and he concluded that he was dying.
1Mc 6:10 So he called all his friends and said to them, "Sleep departs from my eyes and I am downhearted with worry.
1Mc 6:11 I said to myself, `To what distress I have come! And into what a great flood I now am plunged! For I was kind and beloved in my power.'
1Mc 6:12 But now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem. I seized all her vessels of silver and gold; and I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without good reason.
1Mc 6:13 I know that it is because of this that these evils have come upon me; and behold, I am perishing of deep grief in a strange land."
1Mc 6:14 Then he called for Philip, one of his friends, and made him ruler over all his kingdom.
1Mc 6:15 He gave him the crown and his robe and the signet, that he might guide Antiochus his son and bring him up to be king.
1Mc 6:16 Thus Antiochus the king died there in the one hundred and forty-ninth year.
1Mc 6:17 And when Lysias learned that the king was dead, he set up Antiochus the king's son to reign. Lysias had brought him up as a boy, and he named him Eupator.
1Mc 6:18 Now the men in the citadel kept hemming Israel in around the sanctuary. They were trying in every way to harm them and strengthen the Gentiles.
1Mc 6:19 So Judas decided to destroy them, and assembled all the people to besiege them.
1Mc 6:20 They gathered together and besieged the citadel in the one hundred and fiftieth year; and he built siege towers and other engines of war.
1Mc 6:21 But some of the garrison escaped from the siege and some of the ungodly Israelites joined them.
1Mc 6:22 They went to the king and said, "How long will you fail to do justice and to avenge our brethren?
1Mc 6:23 We were happy to serve your father, to live by what he said and to follow his commands.
1Mc 6:24 For this reason the sons of our people besieged the citadel and became hostile to us; moreover, they have put to death as many of us as they have caught, and they have seized our inheritances.
1Mc 6:25 And not against us alone have they stretched out their hands, but also against all the lands on their borders.
1Mc 6:26 And behold, today they have encamped against the citadel in Jerusalem to take it; they have fortified both the sanctuary and Beth-zur;
1Mc 6:27 and unless you quickly prevent them, they will do still greater things, and you will not be able to stop them."
1Mc 6:28 The king was enraged when he heard this. He assembled all his friends, the commanders of his forces and those in authority.
1Mc 6:29 And mercenary forces came to him from other kingdoms and from islands of the seas.
1Mc 6:30 The number of his forces was a hundred thousand foot soldiers, twenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants accustomed to war.
1Mc 6:31 They came through Idumea and encamped against Beth-zur, and for many days they fought and built engines of war; but the Jews sallied out and burned these with fire, and fought manfully.
1Mc 6:32 Then Judas marched away from the citadel and encamped at Beth-zechariah, opposite the camp of the king.
1Mc 6:33 Early in the morning the king rose and took his army by a forced march along the road to Beth-zechariah, and his troops made ready for battle and sounded their trumpets.
1Mc 6:34 They showed the elephants the juice of grapes and mulberries, to arouse them for battle.
1Mc 6:35 And they distributed the beasts among the phalanxes; with each elephant they stationed a thousand men armed with coats of mail, and with brass helmets on their heads; and five hundred picked horsemen were assigned to each beast.
1Mc 6:36 These took their position beforehand wherever the beast was; wherever it went they went with it, and they never left it.
1Mc 6:37 And upon the elephants were wooden towers, strong and covered; they were fastened upon each beast by special harness, and upon each were four armed men who fought from there, and also its Indian driver.
1Mc 6:38 The rest of the horsemen were stationed on either side, on the two flanks of the army, to harass the enemy while being themselves protected by the phalanxes.
1Mc 6:39 When the sun shone upon the shields of gold and brass, the hills were ablaze with them and gleamed like flaming torches.
1Mc 6:40 Now a part of the king's army was spread out on the high hills, and some troops were on the plain, and they advanced steadily and in good order.
1Mc 6:41 All who heard the noise made by their multitude, by the marching of the multitude and the clanking of their arms, trembled, for the army was very large and strong.
1Mc 6:42 But Judas and his army advanced to the battle, and six hundred men of the king's army fell.
1Mc 6:43 And Eleazar, called Avaran, saw that one of the beasts was equipped with royal armor. It was taller than all the others, and he supposed that the king was upon it.
1Mc 6:44 So he gave his life to save his people and to win for himself an everlasting name.
1Mc 6:45 He courageously ran into the midst of the phalanx to reach it; he killed men right and left, and they parted before him on both sides.
1Mc 6:46 He got under the elephant, stabbed it from beneath, and killed it; but it fell to the ground upon him and he died.
1Mc 6:47 And when the Jews saw the royal might and the fierce attack of the forces, they turned away in flight.
1Mc 6:48 The soldiers of the king's army went up to Jerusalem against them, and the king encamped in Judea and at Mount Zion.
1Mc 6:49 He made peace with the men of Beth-zur, and they evacuated the city, because they had no provisions there to withstand a siege, since it was a sabbatical year for the land.
1Mc 6:50 So the king took Beth-zur and stationed a guard there to hold it.
1Mc 6:51 Then he encamped before the sanctuary for many days. He set up siege towers, engines of war to throw fire and stones, machines to shoot arrows, and catapults.
1Mc 6:52 The Jews also made engines of war to match theirs, and fought for many days.
1Mc 6:53 But they had no food in storage, because it was the seventh year; those who found safety in Judea from the Gentiles had consumed the last of the stores.
1Mc 6:54 Few men were left in the sanctuary, because famine had prevailed over the rest and they had been scattered, each to his own place.
1Mc 6:55 Then Lysias heard that Philip, whom King Antiochus while still living had appointed to bring up Antiochus his son to be king,
1Mc 6:56 had returned from Persia and Media with the forces that had gone with the king, and that he was trying to seize control of the government.
1Mc 6:57 So he quickly gave orders to depart, and said to the king, to the commanders of the forces, and to the men, "We daily grow weaker, our food supply is scant, the place against which we are fighting is strong, and the affairs of the kingdom press urgently upon us.
1Mc 6:58 Now then let us come to terms with these men, and make peace with them and with all their nation,
1Mc 6:59 and agree to let them live by their laws as they did before; for it was on account of their laws which we abolished that they became angry and did all these things."
1Mc 6:60 The speech pleased the king and the commanders, and he sent to the Jews an offer of peace, and they accepted it.
1Mc 6:61 So the king and the commanders gave them their oath. On these conditions the Jews evacuated the stronghold.
1Mc 6:62 But when the king entered Mount Zion and saw what a strong fortress the place was, he broke the oath he had sworn and gave orders to tear down the wall all around.
1Mc 6:63 Then he departed with haste and returned to Antioch. He found Philip in control of the city, but he fought against him, and took the city by force.
~ Chapter 7 ~
1Mc 7:1 In the one hundred and fifty-first year Demetrius the son of Seleucus set forth from Rome, sailed with a few men to a city by the sea, and there began to reign.
1Mc 7:2 As he was entering the royal palace of his fathers, the army seized Antiochus and Lysias to bring them to him.
1Mc 7:3 But when this act became known to him, he said, "Do not let me see their faces!"
1Mc 7:4 So the army killed them, and Demetrius took his seat upon the throne of his kingdom.
1Mc 7:5 Then there came to him all the lawless and ungodly men of Israel; they were led by Alcimus, who wanted to be high priest.
1Mc 7:6 And they brought to the king this accusation against the people: "Judas and his brothers have destroyed all your friends, and have driven us out of our land.
1Mc 7:7 Now then send a man whom you trust; let him go and see all the ruin which Judas has brought upon us and upon the land of the king, and let him punish them and all who help them."
1Mc 7:8 So the king chose Bacchides, one of the king's friends, governor of the province Beyond the River; he was a great man in the kingdom and was faithful to the king.
1Mc 7:9 And he sent him, and with him the ungodly Alcimus, whom he made high priest; and he commanded him to take vengeance on the sons of Israel.
1Mc 7:10 So they marched away and came with a large force into the land of Judah; and he sent messengers to Judas and his brothers with peaceable but treacherous words.
1Mc 7:11 But they paid no attention to their words, for they saw that they had come with a large force.
1Mc 7:12 Then a group of scribes appeared in a body before Alcimus and Bacchides to ask for just terms.
1Mc 7:13 The Hasideans were first among the sons of Israel to seek peace from them,
1Mc 7:14 for they said, "A priest of the line of Aaron has come with the army, and he will not harm us."
1Mc 7:15 And he spoke peaceable words to them and swore this oath to them, "We will not seek to injure you or your friends."
1Mc 7:16 So they trusted him; but he seized sixty of them and killed them in one day, in accordance with the word which was written,
1Mc 7:17 "The flesh of thy saints and their blood they poured out round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them."
1Mc 7:18 Then the fear and dread of them fell upon all the people, for they said, "There is no truth or justice in them, for they have violated the agreement and the oath which they swore."
1Mc 7:19 Then Bacchides departed from Jerusalem and encamped in Beth-zaith. And he sent and seized many of the men who had deserted to him, and some of the people, and killed them and threw them into a great pit.
1Mc 7:20 He placed Alcimus in charge of the country and left with him a force to help him; then Bacchides went back to the king.
1Mc 7:21 Alcimus strove for the high priesthood,
1Mc 7:22 and all who were troubling their people joined him. They gained control of the land of Judah and did great damage in Israel.
1Mc 7:23 And Judas saw all the evil that Alcimus and those with him had done among the sons of Israel; it was more than the Gentiles had done.
1Mc 7:24 So Judas went out into all the surrounding parts of Judea, and took vengeance on the men who had deserted, and he prevented those in the city from going out into the country.
1Mc 7:25 When Alcimus saw that Judas and those with him had grown strong, and realized that he could not withstand them, he returned to the king and brought wicked charges against them.
1Mc 7:26 Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his honored princes, who hated and detested Israel, and he commanded him to destroy the people.
1Mc 7:27 So Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a large force, and treacherously sent to Judas and his brothers this peaceable message,
1Mc 7:28 "Let there be no fighting between me and you; I shall come with a few men to see you face to face in peace."
1Mc 7:29 So he came to Judas, and they greeted one another peaceably. But the enemy were ready to seize Judas.
1Mc 7:30 It became known to Judas that Nicanor had come to him with treacherous intent, and he was afraid of him and would not meet him again.
1Mc 7:31 When Nicanor learned that his plan had been disclosed, he went out to meet Judas in battle near Caphar-salama.
1Mc 7:32 About five hundred men of the army of Nicanor fell, and the rest fled into the city of David.
1Mc 7:33 After these events Nicanor went up to Mount Zion. Some of the priests came out of the sanctuary, and some of the elders of the people, to greet him peaceably and to show him the burnt offering that was being offered for the king.
1Mc 7:34 But he mocked them and derided them and defiled them and spoke arrogantly,
1Mc 7:35 and in anger he swore this oath, "Unless Judas and his army are delivered into my hands this time, then if I return safely I will burn up this house." And he went out in great anger.
1Mc 7:36 Then the priests went in and stood before the altar and the temple, and they wept and said,
1Mc 7:37 "Thou didst choose this house to be called by thy name, and to be for thy people a house of prayer and supplication.
1Mc 7:38 Take vengeance on this man and on his army, and let them fall by the sword; remember their blasphemies, and let them live no longer."
1Mc 7:39 Now Nicanor went out from Jerusalem and encamped in Beth-horon, and the Syrian army joined him.
1Mc 7:40 And Judas encamped in Adasa with three thousand men. Then Judas prayed and said,
1Mc 7:41 "When the messengers from the king spoke blasphemy, thy angel went forth and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians.
1Mc 7:42 So also crush this army before us today; let the rest learn that Nicanor has spoken wickedly against the sanctuary, and judge him according to this wickedness."
1Mc 7:43 So the armies met in battle on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. The army of Nicanor was crushed, and he himself was the first to fall in the battle.
1Mc 7:44 When his army saw that Nicanor had fallen, they threw down their arms and fled.
1Mc 7:45 The Jews pursued them a day's journey, from Adasa as far as Gazara, and as they followed kept sounding the battle call on the trumpets.
1Mc 7:46 And men came out of all the villages of Judea round about, and they out-flanked the enemy and drove them back to their pursuers, so that they all fell by the sword; not even one of them was left.
1Mc 7:47 Then the Jews seized the spoils and the plunder, and they cut off Nicanor's head and the right hand which he so arrogantly stretched out, and brought them and displayed them just outside Jerusalem.
1Mc 7:48 The people rejoiced greatly and celebrated that day as a day of great gladness.
1Mc 7:49 And they decreed that this day should be celebrated each year on the thirteenth day of Adar.
1Mc 7:50 So the land of Judah had rest for a few days.
~ Chapter 8 ~
1Mc 8:1 Now Judas heard of the fame of the Romans, that they were very strong and were well-disposed toward all who made an alliance with them, that they pledged friendship to those who came to them,
1Mc 8:2 and that they were very strong. Men told him of their wars and of the brave deeds which they were doing among the Gauls, how they had defeated them and forced them to pay tribute,
1Mc 8:3 and what they had done in the land of Spain to get control of the silver and gold mines there,
1Mc 8:4 and how they had gained control of the whole region by their planning and patience, even though the place was far distant from them. They also subdued the kings who came against them from the ends of the earth, until they crushed them and inflicted great disaster upon them; the rest paid them tribute every year.
1Mc 8:5 Philip, and Perseus king of the Macedonians, and the others who rose up against them, they crushed in battle and conquered.
1Mc 8:6 They also defeated Antiochus the Great, king of Asia, who went to fight against them with a hundred and twenty elephants and with cavalry and chariots and a very large army. He was crushed by them;
1Mc 8:7 they took him alive and decreed that he and those who should reign after him should pay a heavy tribute and give hostages and surrender some of their best provinces,
1Mc 8:8 the country of India and Media and Lydia. These they took from him and gave to Eumenes the king.
1Mc 8:9 The Greeks planned to come and destroy them,
1Mc 8:10 but this became known to them, and they sent a general against the Greeks and attacked them. Many of them were wounded and fell, and the Romans took captive their wives and children; they plundered them, conquered the land, tore down their strongholds, and enslaved them to this day.
1Mc 8:11 The remaining kingdoms and islands, as many as ever opposed them, they destroyed and enslaved;
1Mc 8:12 but with their friends and those who rely on them they have kept friendship. They have subdued kings far and near, and as many as have heard of their fame have feared them.
1Mc 8:13 Those whom they wish to help and to make kings, they make kings, and those whom they wish they depose; and they have been greatly exalted.
1Mc 8:14 Yet for all this not one of them has put on a crown or worn purple as a mark of pride,
1Mc 8:15 but they have built for themselves a senate chamber, and every day three hundred and twenty senators constantly deliberate concerning the people, to govern them well.
1Mc 8:16 They trust one man each year to rule over them and to control all their land; they all heed the one man, and there is no envy or jealousy among them.
1Mc 8:17 So Judas chose Eupolemus the son of John, son of Accos, and Jason the son of Eleazar, and sent them to Rome to establish friendship and alliance,
1Mc 8:18 and to free themselves from the yoke; for they saw that the kingdom of the Greeks was completely enslaving Israel.
1Mc 8:19 They went to Rome, a very long journey; and they entered the senate chamber and spoke as follows:
1Mc 8:20 "Judas, who is also called Maccabeus, and his brothers and the people of the Jews have sent us to you to establish alliance and peace with you, that we may be enrolled as your allies and friends."
1Mc 8:21 The proposal pleased them,
1Mc 8:22 and this is a copy of the letter which they wrote in reply, on bronze tablets, and sent to Jerusalem to remain with them there as a memorial of peace and alliance:
1Mc 8:23 "May all go well with the Romans and with the nation of the Jews at sea and on land for ever, and may sword and enemy be far from them.
1Mc 8:24 If war comes first to Rome or to any of their allies in all their dominion,
1Mc 8:25 the nation of the Jews shall act as their allies wholeheartedly, as the occasion may indicate to them.
1Mc 8:26 And to the enemy who makes war they shall not give or supply grain, arms, money, or ships, as Rome has decided; and they shall keep their obligations without receiving any return.
1Mc 8:27 In the same way, if war comes first to the nation of the Jews, the Romans shall willingly act as their allies, as the occasion may indicate to them.
1Mc 8:28 And to the enemy allies shall be given no grain, arms, money, or ships, as Rome has decided; and they shall keep these obligations and do so without deceit.
1Mc 8:29 Thus on these terms the Romans make a treaty with the Jewish people.
1Mc 8:30 If after these terms are in effect both parties shall determine to add or delete anything, they shall do so at their discretion, and any addition or deletion that they may make shall be valid.
1Mc 8:31 "And concerning the wrongs which King Demetrius is doing to them we have written to him as follows, `Why have you made your yoke heavy upon our friends and allies the Jews?
1Mc 8:32 If now they appeal again for help against you, we will defend their rights and fight you on sea and on land.'"
~ Chapter 9 ~
1Mc 9:1 When Demetrius heard that Nicanor and his army had fallen in battle, he sent Bacchides and Alcimus into the land of Judah a second time, and with them the right wing of the army.
1Mc 9:2 They went by the road which leads to Gilgal and encamped against Mesaloth in Arbela, and they took it and killed many people.
1Mc 9:3 In the first month of the one hundred and fifty-second year they encamped against Jerusalem;
1Mc 9:4 then they marched off and went to Berea with twenty thousand foot soldiers and two thousand cavalry.
1Mc 9:5 Now Judas was encamped in Elasa, and with him were three thousand picked men.
1Mc 9:6 When they saw the huge number of the enemy forces, they were greatly frightened, and many slipped away from the camp, until no more than eight hundred of them were left.
1Mc 9:7 When Judas saw that his army had slipped away and the battle was imminent, he was crushed in spirit, for he had no time to assemble them.
1Mc 9:8 He became faint, but he said to those who were left, "Let us rise and go up against our enemies. We may be able to fight them."
1Mc 9:9 But they tried to dissuade him, saying, "We are not able. Let us rather save our own lives now, and let us come back with our brethren and fight them; we are too few."
1Mc 9:10 But Judas said, "Far be it from us to do such a thing as to flee from them. If our time has come, let us die bravely for our brethren, and leave no cause to question our honor."
1Mc 9:11 Then the army of Bacchides marched out from the camp and took its stand for the encounter. The cavalry was divided into two companies, and the slingers and the archers went ahead of the army, as did all the chief warriors.
1Mc 9:12 Bacchides was on the right wing. Flanked by the two companies, the phalanx advanced to the sound of the trumpets; and the men with Judas also blew their trumpets.
1Mc 9:13 The earth was shaken by the noise of the armies, and the battle raged from morning till evening.
1Mc 9:14 Judas saw that Bacchides and the strength of his army were on the right; then all the stouthearted men went with him,
1Mc 9:15 and they crushed the right wing, and he pursued them as far as Mount Azotus.
1Mc 9:16 When those on the left wing saw that the right wing was crushed, they turned and followed close behind Judas and his men.
1Mc 9:17 The battle became desperate, and many on both sides were wounded and fell.
1Mc 9:18 Judas also fell, and the rest fled.
1Mc 9:19 Then Jonathan and Simon took Judas their brother and buried him in the tomb of their fathers at Modein,
1Mc 9:20 and wept for him. And all Israel made great lamentation for him; they mourned many days and said,
1Mc 9:21 "How is the mighty fallen, the savior of Israel!"
1Mc 9:22 Now the rest of the acts of Judas, and his wars and the brave deeds that he did, and his greatness, have not been recorded, for they were very many.
1Mc 9:23 After the death of Judas, the lawless emerged in all parts of Israel; all the doers of injustice appeared.
1Mc 9:24 In those days a very great famine occurred, and the country deserted with them to the enemy.
1Mc 9:25 And Bacchides chose the ungodly and put them in charge of the country.
1Mc 9:26 They sought and searched for the friends of Judas, and brought them to Bacchides, and he took vengeance on them and made sport of them.
1Mc 9:27 Thus there was great distress in Israel, such as had not been since the time that prophets ceased to appear among them.
1Mc 9:28 Then all the friends of Judas assembled and said to Jonathan,
1Mc 9:29 "Since the death of your brother Judas there has been no one like him to go against our enemies and Bacchides, and to deal with those of our nation who hate us.
1Mc 9:30 So now we have chosen you today to take his place as our ruler and leader, to fight our battle."
1Mc 9:31 And Jonathan at that time accepted the leadership and took the place of Judas his brother.
1Mc 9:32 When Bacchides learned of this, he tried to kill him.
1Mc 9:33 But Jonathan and Simon his brother and all who were with him heard of it, and they fled into the wilderness of Tekoa and camped by the water of the pool of Asphar.
1Mc 9:34 Bacchides found this out on the sabbath day, and he with all his army crossed the Jordan.
1Mc 9:35 And Jonathan sent his brother as leader of the multitude and begged the Nabateans, who were his friends, for permission to store with them the great amount of baggage which they had.
1Mc 9:36 But the sons of Jambri from Medeba came out and seized John and all that he had, and departed with it.
1Mc 9:37 After these things it was reported to Jonathan and Simon his brother, "The sons of Jambri are celebrating a great wedding, and are conducting the bride, a daughter of one of the great nobles of Canaan, from Nadabath with a large escort."
1Mc 9:38 And they remembered the blood of John their brother, and went up and hid under cover of the mountain.
1Mc 9:39 They raised their eyes and looked, and saw a tumultuous procession with much baggage; and the bridegroom came out with his friends and his brothers to meet them with tambourines and musicians and many weapons.
1Mc 9:40 Then they rushed upon them from the ambush and began killing them. Many were wounded and fell, and the rest fled to the mountain; and they took all their goods.
1Mc 9:41 Thus the wedding was turned into mourning and the voice of their musicians into a funeral dirge.
1Mc 9:42 And when they had fully avenged the blood of their brother, they returned to the marshes of the Jordan.
1Mc 9:43 When Bacchides heard of this, he came with a large force on the sabbath day to the banks of the Jordan.
1Mc 9:44 And Jonathan said to those with him, "Let us rise up now and fight for our lives, for today things are not as they were before.
1Mc 9:45 For look! the battle is in front of us and behind us; the water of the Jordan is on this side and on that, with marsh and thicket; there is no place to turn.
1Mc 9:46 Cry out now to Heaven that you may be delivered from the hands of our enemies."
1Mc 9:47 So the battle began, and Jonathan stretched out his hand to strike Bacchides, but he eluded him and went to the rear.
1Mc 9:48 Then Jonathan and the men with him leaped into the Jordan and swam across to the other side, and the enemy did not cross the Jordan to attack them.
1Mc 9:49 And about
one thousand of Bacchides' men fell that day.
1Mc 9:50 Bacchides then returned to Jerusalem and built strong cities in Judea: the fortress in Jericho, and Emmaus, and Beth-horon, and Bethel, and Timnath, and Pharathon, and Tephon, with high walls and gates and bars.
1Mc 9:51 And he placed garrisons in them to harass Israel.
1Mc 9:52 He also fortified the city of Beth-zur, and Gazara, and the citadel, and in them he put troops and stores of food.
1Mc 9:53 And he took the sons of the leading men of the land as hostages and put them under guard in the citadel at Jerusalem.
1Mc 9:54 In the one hundred and fifty-third year, in the second month, Alcimus gave orders to tear down the wall of the inner court of the sanctuary. He tore down the work of the prophets!
1Mc 9:55 But he only began to tear it down, for at that time Alcimus was stricken and his work was hindered; his mouth was stopped and he was paralyzed, so that he could no longer say a word or give commands concerning his house.
1Mc 9:56 And Alcimus died at that time in great agony.
1Mc 9:57 When Bacchides saw that Alcimus was dead, he returned to the king, and the land of Judah had rest for two years.
1Mc 9:58 Then all the lawless plotted and said, "See! Jonathan and his men are living in quiet and confidence. So now let us bring Bacchides back, and he will capture them all in one night."
1Mc 9:59 And they went and consulted with him.
1Mc 9:60 He started to come with a large force, and secretly sent letters to all his allies in Judea, telling them to seize Jonathan and his men; but they were unable to do it, because their plan became known.
1Mc 9:61 And Jonathan's men seized about fifty of the men of the country who were leaders in this treachery, and killed them.
1Mc 9:62 Then Jonathan with his men, and Simon, withdrew to Bethbasi in the wilderness; he rebuilt the parts of it that had been demolished, and they fortified it.
1Mc 9:63 When Bacchides learned of this, he assembled all his forces, and sent orders to the men of Judea.
1Mc 9:64 Then he came and encamped against Bethbasi; he fought against it for many days and made machines of war.
1Mc 9:65 But Jonathan left Simon his brother in the city, while he went out into the country; and he went with only a few men.
1Mc 9:66 He struck down Odomera and his brothers and the sons of Phasiron in their tents.
1Mc 9:67 Then he began to attack and went into battle with his forces; and Simon and his men sallied out from the city and set fire to the machines of war.
1Mc 9:68 They fought with Bacchides, and he was crushed by them. They distressed him greatly, for his plan and his expedition had been in vain.
1Mc 9:69 So he was greatly enraged at the lawless men who had counseled him to come into the country, and he killed many of them. Then he decided to depart to his own land.
1Mc 9:70 When Jonathan learned of this, he sent ambassadors to him to make peace with him and obtain release of the captives.
1Mc 9:71 He agreed, and did as he said; and he swore to Jonathan that he would not try to harm him as long as he lived.
1Mc 9:72 He restored to him the captives whom he had formerly taken from the land of Judah; then he turned and departed to his own land, and came no more into their territory.
1Mc 9:73 Thus the sword ceased from Israel. And Jonathan dwelt in Michmash. And Jonathan began to judge the people, and he destroyed the ungodly out of Israel.
~ Chapter 10 ~
1Mc 10:1 In the one hundred and sixtieth year Alexander Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus, landed and occupied Ptolemais. They welcomed him, and there he began to reign.
1Mc 10:2 When Demetrius the king heard of it, he assembled a very large army and marched out to meet him in battle.
1Mc 10:3 And Demetrius sent Jonathan a letter in peaceable words to honor him;
1Mc 10:4 for he said, "Let us act first to make peace with him before he makes peace with Alexander against us,
1Mc 10:5 for he will remember all the wrongs which we did to him and to his brothers and his nation."
1Mc 10:6 So Demetrius gave him authority to recruit troops, to equip them with arms, and to become his ally; and he commanded that the hostages in the citadel should be released to him.
1Mc 10:7 Then Jonathan came to Jerusalem and read the letter in the hearing of all the people and of the men in the citadel.
1Mc 10:8 They were greatly alarmed when they heard that the king had given him authority to recruit troops.
1Mc 10:9 But the men in the citadel released the hostages to Jonathan, and he returned them to their parents.
1Mc 10:10 And Jonathan dwelt in Jerusalem and began to rebuild and restore the city.
1Mc 10:11 He directed those who were doing the work to build the walls and encircle Mount Zion with squared stones, for better fortification; and they did so.
1Mc 10:12 Then the foreigners who were in the strongholds that Bacchides had built fled;
1Mc 10:13 each left his place and departed to his own land.
1Mc 10:14 Only in Beth-zur did some remain who had forsaken the law and the commandments, for it served as a place of refuge.
1Mc 10:15 Now Alexander the king heard of all the promises which Demetrius had sent to Jonathan, and men told him of the battles that Jonathan and his brothers had fought, of the brave deeds that they had done, and of the troubles that they had endured.
1Mc 10:16 So he said, "Shall we find another such man? Come now, we will make him our friend and ally."
1Mc 10:17 And he wrote a letter and sent it to him, in the following words:
1Mc 10:18 "King Alexander to his brother Jonathan, greeting.
1Mc 10:19 We have heard about you, that you are a mighty warrior and worthy to be our friend.
1Mc 10:20 And so we have appointed you today to be the high priest of your nation; you are to be called the king's friend" (and he sent him a purple robe and a golden crown) "and you are to take our side and keep friendship with us."
1Mc 10:21 So Jonathan put on the holy garments in the seventh month of the one hundred and sixtieth year, at the feast of tabernacles, and he recruited troops and equipped them with arms in abundance.
1Mc 10:22 When Demetrius heard of these things he was grieved and said,
1Mc 10:23 "What is this that we have done? Alexander has gotten ahead of us in forming a friendship with the Jews to strengthen himself.
1Mc 10:24 I also will write them words of encouragement and promise them honor and gifts, that I may have their help."
1Mc 10:25 So he sent a message to them in the following words: "King Demetrius to the nation of the Jews, greeting.
1Mc 10:26 Since you have kept your agreement with us and have continued your friendship with us, and have not sided with our enemies, we have heard of it and rejoiced.
1Mc 10:27 And now continue still to keep faith with us, and we will repay you with good for what you do for us.
1Mc 10:28 We will grant you many immunities and give you gifts.
1Mc 10:29 "And now I free you and exempt all the Jews from payment of tribute and salt tax and crown levies,
1Mc 10:30 and instead of collecting the third of the grain and the half of the fruit of the trees that I should receive, I release them from this day and henceforth. I will not collect them from the land of Judah or from the three districts added to it from Samaria and Galilee, from this day and for all time.
1Mc 10:31 And let Jerusalem and her environs, her tithes and her revenues, be holy and free from tax.
1Mc 10:32 I release also my control of the citadel in Jerusalem and give it to the high priest, that he may station in it men of his own choice to guard it.
1Mc 10:33 And every one of the Jews taken as a captive from the land of Judah into any part of my kingdom, I set free without payment; and let all officials cancel also the taxes on their cattle.
1Mc 10:34 "And all the feasts and sabbaths and new moons and appointed days, and the three days before a feast and the three after a feast -- let them all be days of immunity and release for all the Jews who are in my kingdom.
1Mc 10:35 No one shall have authority to exact anything from them or annoy any of them about any matter.
1Mc 10:36 "Let Jews be enrolled in the king's forces to the number of thirty thousand men, and let the maintenance be given them that is due to all the forces of the king.
1Mc 10:37 Let some of them be stationed in the great strongholds of the king, and let some of them be put in positions of trust in the kingdom. Let their officers and leaders be of their own number, and let them live by their own laws, just as the king has commanded in the land of Judah.
1Mc 10:38 "As for the three districts that have been added to Judea from the country of Samaria, let them be so annexed to Judea that they are considered to be under one ruler and obey no other authority but the high priest.
1Mc 10:39 Ptolemais and the land adjoining it I have given as a gift to the sanctuary in Jerusalem, to meet the necessary expenses of the sanctuary.
1Mc 10:40 I also grant fifteen thousand shekels of silver yearly out of the king's revenues from appropriate places.
1Mc 10:41 And all the additional funds which the government officials have not paid as they did in the first years, they shall give from now on for the service of the temple.
1Mc 10:42 Moreover, the five thousand shekels of silver which my officials have received every year from the income of the services of the temple, this too is canceled, because it belongs to the priests who minister there.
1Mc 10:43 And whoever takes refuge at the temple in Jerusalem, or in any of its precincts, because he owes money to the king or has any debt, let him be released and receive back all his property in my kingdom.
1Mc 10:44 "Let the cost of rebuilding and restoring the structures of the sanctuary be paid from the revenues of the king.
1Mc 10:45 And let the cost of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and fortifying it round about, and the cost of rebuilding the walls in Judea, also be paid from the revenues of the king."
1Mc 10:46 When Jonathan and the people heard these words, they did not believe or accept them, because they remembered the great wrongs which Demetrius had done in Israel and how he had greatly oppressed them.
1Mc 10:47 They favored Alexander, because he had been the first to speak peaceable words to them, and they remained his allies all his days.
1Mc 10:48 Now Alexander the king assembled large forces and encamped opposite Demetrius.
1Mc 10:49 The two kings met in battle, and the army of Demetrius fled, and Alexander pursued him and defeated them.
1Mc 10:50 He pressed the battle strongly until the sun set, and Demetrius fell on that day.
1Mc 10:51 Then Alexander sent ambassadors to Ptolemy king of Egypt with the following message:
1Mc 10:52 "Since I have returned to my kingdom and have taken my seat on the throne of my fathers, and established my rule -- for I crushed Demetrius and gained control of our country;
1Mc 10:53 I met him in battle, and he and his army were crushed by us, and we have taken our seat on the throne of his kingdom --
1Mc 10:54 now therefore let us establish friendship with one another; give me now your daughter as my wife, and I will become your son-in-law, and will make gifts to you and to her in keeping with your position."
1Mc 10:55 Ptolemy the king replied and said, "Happy was the day on which you returned to the land of your fathers and took your seat on the throne of their kingdom.
1Mc 10:56 And now I will do for you as you wrote, but meet me at Ptolemais, so that we may see one another, and I will become your father-in-law, as you have said."
1Mc 10:57 So Ptolemy set out from Egypt, he and Cleopatra his daughter, and came to Ptolemais in the one hundred and sixty-second year.
1Mc 10:58 Alexander the king met him, and Ptolemy gave him Cleopatra his daughter in marriage, and celebrated her wedding at Ptolemais with great pomp, as kings do.
1Mc 10:59 Then Alexander the king wrote to Jonathan to come to meet him.
1Mc 10:60 So he went with pomp to Ptolemais and met the two kings; he gave them and their friends silver and gold and many gifts, and found favor with them.
1Mc 10:61 A group of pestilent men from Israel, lawless men, gathered together against him to accuse him; but the king paid no attention to them.
1Mc 10:62 The king gave orders to take off Jonathan's garments and to clothe him in purple, and they did so.
1Mc 10:63 The king also seated him at his side; and he said to his officers, "Go forth with him into the middle of the city and proclaim that no one is to bring charges against him about any matter, and let no one annoy him for any reason."
1Mc 10:64 And when his accusers saw the honor that was paid him, in accordance with the proclamation, and saw him clothed in purple, they all fled.
1Mc 10:65 Thus the king honored him and enrolled him among his chief friends, and made him general and governor of the province.
1Mc 10:66 And Jonathan returned to Jerusalem in peace and gladness.
1Mc 10:67 In the one hundred and sixty-fifth year Demetrius the son of Demetrius came from Crete to the land of his fathers.
1Mc 10:68 When Alexander the king heard of it, he was greatly grieved and returned to Antioch.
1Mc 10:69 And Demetrius appointed Apollonius the governor of Coelesyria, and he assembled a large force and encamped against Jamnia. Then he sent the following message to Jonathan the high priest:
1Mc 10:70 "You are the only one to rise up against us, and I have become a laughingstock and reproach because of you. Why do you assume authority against us in the hill country?
1Mc 10:71 If you now have confidence in your forces, come down to the plain to meet us, and let us match strength with each other there, for I have with me the power of the cities.
1Mc 10:72 Ask and learn who I am and who the others are that are helping us. Men will tell you that you cannot stand before us, for your fathers were twice put to flight in their own land.
1Mc 10:73 And now you will not be able to withstand my cavalry and such an army in the plain, where there is no stone or pebble, or place to flee."
1Mc 10:74 When Jonathan heard the words of Apollonius, his spirit was aroused. He chose ten thousand men and set out from Jerusalem, and Simon his brother met him to help him.
1Mc 10:75 He encamped before Joppa, but the men of the city closed its gates, for Apollonius had a garrison in Joppa.
1Mc 10:76 So they fought against it, and the men of the city became afraid and opened the gates, and Jonathan gained possession of Joppa.
1Mc 10:77 When Apollonius heard of it, he mustered three thousand cavalry and a large army, and went to Azotus as though he were going farther. At the same time he advanced into the plain, for he had a large troop of cavalry and put confidence in it.
1Mc 10:78 Jonathan pursued him to Azotus, and the armies engaged in battle.
1Mc 10:79 Now Apollonius had secretly left a thousand cavalry behind them.
1Mc 10:80 Jonathan learned that there was an ambush behind him, for they surrounded his army and shot arrows at his men from early morning till late afternoon.
1Mc 10:81 But his men stood fast, as Jonathan commanded, and the enemy's horses grew tired.
1Mc 10:82 Then Simon brought forward his force and engaged the phalanx in battle (for the cavalry was exhausted); they were overwhelmed by him and fled,
1Mc 10:83 and the cavalry was dispersed in the plain. They fled to Azotus and entered Beth-dagon, the temple of their idol, for safety.
1Mc 10:84 But Jonathan burned Azotus and the surrounding towns and plundered them; and the temple of Dagon, and those who had taken refuge in it he burned with fire.
1Mc 10:85 The number of those who fell by the sword, with those burned alive, came to eight thousand men.
1Mc 10:86 Then Jonathan departed from there and encamped against Askalon, and the men of the city came out to meet him with great pomp.
1Mc 10:87 And Jonathan and those with him returned to Jerusalem with much booty.
1Mc 10:88 When Alexander the king heard of these things, he honored Jonathan still more;
1Mc 10:89 and he sent to him a golden buckle, such as it is the custom to give to the kinsmen of kings. He also gave him Ekron and all its environs as his possession.
~ Chapter 11 ~
1Mc 11:1 Then the king of Egypt gathered great forces, like the sand by the seashore, and many ships; and he tried to get possession of Alexander's kingdom by trickery and add it to his own kingdom.
1Mc 11:2 He set out for Syria with peaceable words, and the people of the cities opened their gates to him and went to meet him, for Alexander the king had commanded them to meet him, since he was Alexander's father-in-law.
1Mc 11:3 But when Ptolemy entered the cities he stationed forces as a garrison in each city.
1Mc 11:4 When he approached Azotus, they showed him the temple of Dagon burned down, and Azotus and its suburbs destroyed, and the corpses lying about, and the charred bodies of those whom Jonathan had burned in the war, for they had piled them in heaps along his route.
1Mc 11:5 They also told the king what Jonathan had done, to throw blame on him; but the king kept silent.
1Mc 11:6 Jonathan met the king at Joppa with pomp, and they greeted one another and spent the night there.
1Mc 11:7 And Jonathan went with the king as far as the river called Eleutherus; then he returned to Jerusalem.
1Mc 11:8 So King Ptolemy gained control of the coastal cities as far as Seleucia by the sea, and he kept devising evil designs against Alexander.
1Mc 11:9 He sent envoys to Demetrius the king, saying, "Come, let us make a covenant with each other, and I will give you in marriage my daughter who was Alexander's wife, and you shall reign over your father's kingdom.
1Mc 11:10 For I now regret that I gave him my daughter, for he has tried to kill me."
1Mc 11:11 He threw blame on Alexander because he coveted his kingdom.
1Mc 11:12 So he took his daughter away from him and gave her to Demetrius. He was estranged from Alexander, and their enmity became manifest.
1Mc 11:13 Then Ptolemy entered Antioch and put on the crown of Asia. Thus he put two crowns upon his head, the crown of Egypt and that of Asia.
1Mc 11:14 Now Alexander the king was in Cilicia at that time, because the people of that region were in revolt.
1Mc 11:15 And Alexander heard of it and came against him in battle. Ptolemy marched out and met him with a strong force, and put him to flight.
1Mc 11:16 So Alexander fled into Arabia to find protection there, and King Ptolemy was exalted.
1Mc 11:17 And Zabdiel the Arab cut off the head of Alexander and sent it to Ptolemy.
1Mc 11:18 But King Ptolemy died three days later, and his troops in the strongholds were killed by the inhabitants of the strongholds.
1Mc 11:19 So Demetrius became king in the one hundred and sixty-seventh year.
1Mc 11:20 In those days Jonathan assembled the men of Judea to attack the citadel in Jerusalem, and he built many engines of war to use against it.
1Mc 11:21 But certain lawless men who hated their nation went to the king and reported to him that Jonathan was besieging the citadel.
1Mc 11:22 When he heard this he was angry, and as soon as he heard it he set out and came to Ptolemais; and he wrote Jonathan not to continue the siege, but to meet him for a conference at Ptolemais as quickly as possible.
1Mc 11:23 When Jonathan heard this, he gave orders to continue the siege; and he chose some of the elders of Israel and some of the priests, and put himself in danger,
1Mc 11:24 for he went to the king at Ptolemais, taking silver and gold and clothing and numerous other gifts. And he won his favor.
1Mc 11:25 Although certain lawless men of his nation kept making complaints against him,
1Mc 11:26 the king treated him as his predecessors had treated him; he exalted him in the presence of all his friends.
1Mc 11:27 He confirmed him in the high priesthood and in as many other honors as he had formerly had, and made him to be regarded as one of his chief friends.
1Mc 11:28 Then Jonathan asked the king to free Judea and the three districts of Samaria from tribute, and promised him three hundred talents.
1Mc 11:29 The king consented, and wrote a letter to Jonathan about all these things; its contents were as follows:
1Mc 11:30 "King Demetrius to Jonathan his brother and to the nation of the Jews, greeting.
1Mc 11:31 This copy of the letter which we wrote concerning you to Lasthenes our kinsman we have written to you also, so that you may know what it says.
1Mc 11:32 `King Demetrius to Lasthenes his father, greeting.
1Mc 11:33 To the nation of the Jews, who are our friends and fulfil their obligations to us, we have determined to do good, because of the good will they show toward us.
1Mc 11:34 We have confirmed as their possession both the territory of Judea and the three districts of Aphairema and Lydda and Rathamin; the latter, with all the region bordering them, were added to Judea from Samaria. To all those who offer sacrifice in Jerusalem, we have granted release from the royal taxes which the king formerly received from them each year, from the crops of the land and the fruit of the trees.
1Mc 11:35 And the other payments henceforth due to us of the tithes, and the taxes due to us, and the salt pits and the crown taxes due to us -- from all these we shall grant them release.
1Mc 11:36 And not one of these grants shall be canceled from this time forth for ever.
1Mc 11:37 Now therefore take care to make a copy of this, and let it be given to Jonathan and put up in a conspicuous place on the holy mountain.'"
1Mc 11:38 Now when Demetrius the king saw that the land was quiet before him and that there was no opposition to him, he dismissed all his troops, each man to his own place, except the foreign troops which he had recruited from the islands of the nations. So all the troops who had served his fathers hated him.
1Mc 11:39 Now Trypho had formerly been one of Alexander's supporters. He saw that all the troops were murmuring against Demetrius. So he went to Imalkue the Arab, who was bringing up Antiochus, the young son of Alexander,
1Mc 11:40 and insistently urged him to hand Antiochus over to him, to become king in place of his father. He also reported to Imalkue what Demetrius had done and told of the hatred which the troops of Demetrius had for him; and he stayed there many days.
1Mc 11:41 Now Jonathan sent to Demetrius the king the request that he remove the troops of the citadel from Jerusalem, and the troops in the strongholds; for they kept fighting against Israel.
1Mc 11:42 And Demetrius sent this message to Jonathan, "Not only will I do these things for you and your nation, but I will confer great honor on you and your nation, if I find an opportunity.
1Mc 11:43 Now then you will do well to send me men who will help me, for all my troops have revolted."
1Mc 11:44 So Jonathan sent three thousand stalwart men to him at Antioch, and when they came to the king, the king rejoiced at their arrival.
1Mc 11:45 Then the men of the city assembled within the city, to the number of a hundred and twenty thousand, and they wanted to kill the king.
1Mc 11:46 But the king fled into the palace. Then the men of the city seized the main streets of the city and began to fight.
1Mc 11:47 So the king called the Jews to his aid, and they all rallied about him and then spread out through the city; and they killed on that day as many as a hundred thousand men.
1Mc 11:48 They set fire to the city and seized much spoil on that day, and they saved the king.
1Mc 11:49 When the men of the city saw that the Jews had gained control of the city as they pleased, their courage failed and they cried out to the king with this entreaty,
1Mc 11:50 "Grant us peace, and make the Jews stop fighting against us and our city."
1Mc 11:51 And they threw down their arms and made peace. So the Jews gained glory in the eyes of the king and of all the people in his kingdom, and they returned to Jerusalem with much spoil.
1Mc 11:52 So Demetrius the king sat on the throne of his kingdom, and the land was quiet before him.
1Mc 11:53 But he broke his word about all that he had promised; and he became estranged from Jonathan and did not repay the favors which Jonathan had done him, but oppressed him greatly.
1Mc 11:54 After this Trypho returned, and with him the young boy Antiochus who began to reign and put on the crown.
1Mc 11:55 All the troops that Demetrius had cast off gathered around him, and they fought against Demetrius, and he fled and was routed.
1Mc 11:56 And Trypho captured the elephants and gained control of Antioch.
1Mc 11:57 Then the young Antiochus wrote to Jonathan, saying, "I confirm you in the high priesthood and set you over the four districts and make you one of the friends of the king."
1Mc 11:58 And he sent him gold plate and a table service, and granted him the right to drink from gold cups and dress in purple and wear a gold buckle.
1Mc 11:59 Simon his brother he made governor from the Ladder of Tyre to the borders of Egypt.
1Mc 11:60 Then Jonathan set forth and traveled beyond the river and among the cities, and all the army of Syria gathered to him as allies. When he came to Askalon, the people of the city met him and paid him honor.
1Mc 11:61 From there he departed to Gaza, but the men of Gaza shut him out. So he beseiged it and burned its suburbs with fire and plundered them.
1Mc 11:62 Then the people of Gaza pleaded with Jonathan, and he made peace with them, and took the sons of their rulers as hostages and sent them to Jerusalem. And he passed through the country as far as Damascus.
1Mc 11:63 Then Jonathan heard that the officers of Demetrius had come to Kadesh in Galilee with a large army, intending to remove him from office.
1Mc 11:64 He went to meet them, but left his brother Simon in the country.
1Mc 11:65 Simon encamped before Beth-zur and fought against it for many days and hemmed it in.
1Mc 11:66 Then they asked him to grant them terms of peace, and he did so. He removed them from there, took possession of the city, and set a garrison over it.
1Mc 11:67 Jonathan and his army encamped by the waters of Gennesaret. Early in the morning they marched to the plain of Hazor,
1Mc 11:68 and behold, the army of the foreigners met him in the plain; they had set an ambush against him in the mountains, but they themselves met him face to face.
1Mc 11:69 Then the men in ambush emerged from their places and joined battle.
1Mc 11:70 All the men with Jonathan fled; not one of them was left except Mattathias the son of Absalom and Judas the son of Chalphi, commanders of the forces of the army.
1Mc 11:71 Jonathan rent his garments and put dust on his head, and prayed.
1Mc 11:72 Then he turned back to the battle against the enemy and routed them, and they fled.
1Mc 11:73 When his men who were fleeing saw this, they returned to him and joined him in the pursuit as far as Kadesh, to their camp, and there they encamped.
1Mc 11:74 As many as three thousand of the foreigners fell that day. And Jonathan returned to Jerusalem.
~ Chapter 12 ~
1Mc 12:1 Now when Jonathan saw that the time was favorable for him, he chose men and sent them to Rome to confirm and renew the friendship with them.
1Mc 12:2 He also sent letters to the same effect to the Spartans and to other places.
1Mc 12:3 So they went to Rome and entered the senate chamber and said, "Jonathan the high priest and the Jewish nation have sent us to renew the former friendship and alliance with them."
1Mc 12:4 And the Romans gave them letters to the people in every place, asking them to provide for the envoys safe conduct to the land of Judah.
1Mc 12:5 This is a copy of the letter which Jonathan wrote to the Spartans:
1Mc 12:6 "Jonathan the high priest, the senate of the nation, the priests, and the rest of the Jewish people to their brethren the Spartans, greeting.
1Mc 12:7 Already in time past a letter was sent to Onias the high priest from Arius, who was king among you, stating that you are our brethren, as the appended copy shows.
1Mc 12:8 Onias welcomed the envoy with honor, and received the letter, which contained a clear declaration of alliance and friendship.
1Mc 12:9 Therefore, though we have no need of these things, since we have as encouragement the holy books which are in our hands,
1Mc 12:10 we have undertaken to send to renew our brotherhood and friendship with you, so that we may not become estranged from you, for considerable time has passed since you sent your letter to us.
1Mc 12:11 We therefore remember you constantly on every occasion, both in our feasts and on other appropriate days, at the sacrifices which we offer and in our prayers, as it is right and proper to remember brethren.
1Mc 12:12 And we rejoice in your glory.
1Mc 12:13 But as for ourselves, many afflictions and many wars have encircled us; the kings round about us have waged war against us.
1Mc 12:14 We were unwilling to annoy you and our other allies and friends with these wars,
1Mc 12:15 for we have the help which comes from Heaven for our aid; and we were delivered from our enemies and our enemies were humbled.
1Mc 12:16 We therefore have chosen Numenius the son of Antiochus and Antipater the son of Jason, and have sent them to Rome to renew our former friendship and alliance with them.
1Mc 12:17 We have commanded them to go also to you and greet you and deliver to you this letter from us concerning the renewal of our brotherhood.
1Mc 12:18 And now please send us a reply to this."
1Mc 12:19 This is a copy of the letter which they sent to Onias:
1Mc 12:20 "Arius, king of the Spartans, to Onias the high priest, greeting.
1Mc 12:21 It has been found in writing concerning the Spartans and the Jews that they are brethren and are of the family of Abraham.
1Mc 12:22 And now that we have learned this, please write us concerning your welfare;
1Mc 12:23 we on our part write to you that your cattle and your property belong to us, and ours belong to you. We therefore command that our envoys report to you accordingly."
1Mc 12:24 Now Jonathan heard that the commanders of Demetrius had returned, with a larger force than before, to wage war against him.
1Mc 12:25 So he marched away from Jerusalem and met them in the region of Hamath, for he gave them no opportunity to invade his own country.
1Mc 12:26 He sent spies to their camp, and they returned and reported to him that the enemy were being drawn up in formation to fall upon the Jews by night.
1Mc 12:27 So when the sun set, Jonathan commanded his men to be alert and to keep their arms at hand so as to be ready all night for battle, and he stationed outposts around the camp.
1Mc 12:28 When the enemy heard that Jonathan and his men were prepared for battle, they were afraid and were terrified at heart; so they kindled fires in their camp and withdrew.
1Mc 12:29 But Jonathan and his men did not know it until morning, for they saw the fires burning.
1Mc 12:30 Then Jonathan pursued them, but he did not overtake them, for they had crossed the Eleutherus river.
1Mc 12:31 So Jonathan turned aside against the Arabs who are called Zabadeans, and he crushed them and plundered them.
1Mc 12:32 Then he broke camp and went to Damascus, and marched through all that region.
1Mc 12:33 Simon also went forth and marched through the country as far as Askalon and the neighboring strongholds. He turned aside to Joppa and took it by surprise,
1Mc 12:34 for he had heard that they were ready to hand over the stronghold to the men whom Demetrius had sent. And he stationed a garrison there to guard it.
1Mc 12:35 When Jonathan returned he convened the elders of the people and planned with them to build strongholds in Judea,
1Mc 12:36 to build the walls of Jerusalem still higher, and to erect a high barrier between the citadel and the city to separate it from the city, in order to isolate it so that its garrison could neither buy nor sell.
1Mc 12:37 So they gathered together to build up the city; part of the wall on the valley to the east had fallen, and he repaired the section called Chaphenatha.
1Mc 12:38 And Simon built Adida in the Shephelah; he fortified it and installed gates with bolts.
1Mc 12:39 Then Trypho attempted to become king in Asia and put on the crown, and to raise his hand against Antiochus the king.
1Mc 12:40 He feared that Jonathan might not permit him to do so, but might make war on him, so he kept seeking to seize and kill him, and he marched forth and came to Beth-shan.
1Mc 12:41 Jonathan went out to meet him with forty thousand picked fighting men, and he came to Beth-shan.
1Mc 12:42 When Trypho saw that he had come with a large army, he was afraid to raise his hand against him.
1Mc 12:43 So he received him with honor and commended him to all his friends, and he gave him gifts and commanded his friends and his troops to obey him as they would himself.
1Mc 12:44 Then he said to Jonathan, "Why have you wearied all these people when we are not at war?
1Mc 12:45 Dismiss them now to their homes and choose for yourself a few men to stay with you, and come with me to Ptolemais. I will hand it over to you as well as the other strongholds and the remaining troops and all the officials, and will turn round and go home. For that is why I am here."
1Mc 12:46 Jonathan trusted him and did as he said; he sent away the troops, and they returned to the land of Judah.
1Mc 12:47 He kept with himself three thousand men, two thousand of whom he left in Galilee, while a thousand accompanied him.
1Mc 12:48 But when Jonathan entered Ptolemais, the men of Ptolemais closed the gates and seized him, and all who had entered with him they killed with the sword.
1Mc 12:49 Then Trypho sent troops and cavalry into Galilee and the Great Plain to destroy all Jonathan's soldiers.
1Mc 12:50 But they realized that Jonathan had been seized and had perished along with his men, and they encouraged one another and kept marching in close formation, ready for
battle.
1Mc 12:51 When their pursuers saw that they would fight for their lives, they turned back.
1Mc 12:52 So they all reached the land of Judah safely, and they mourned for Jonathan and his companions and were in great fear; and all Israel mourned deeply.
1Mc 12:53 And all the nations round about them tried to destroy them, for they said, "They have no leader or helper. Now therefore let us make war on them and blot out the memory of them from among men."
~ Chapter 13 ~
1Mc 13:1 Simon heard that Trypho had assembled a large army to invade the land of Judah and destroy it,
1Mc 13:2 and he saw that the people were trembling and fearful. So he went up to Jerusalem, and gathering the people together
1Mc 13:3 he encouraged them, saying to them, "You yourselves know what great things I and my brothers and the house of my father have done for the laws and the sanctuary; you know also the wars and the difficulties which we have seen.
1Mc 13:4 By reason of this all my brothers have perished for the sake of Israel, and I alone am left.
1Mc 13:5 And now, far be it from me to spare my life in any time of distress, for I am not better than my brothers.
1Mc 13:6 But I will avenge my nation and the sanctuary and your wives and children, for all the nations have gathered together out of hatred to destroy us."
1Mc 13:7 The spirit of the people was rekindled when they heard these words,
1Mc 13:8 and they answered in a loud voice, "You are our leader in place of Judas and Jonathan your brother.
1Mc 13:9 Fight our battles, and all that you say to us we will do."
1Mc 13:10 So he assembled all the warriors and hastened to complete the walls of Jerusalem, and he fortified it on every side.
1Mc 13:11 He sent Jonathan the son of Absalom to Joppa, and with him a considerable army; he drove out its occupants and remained there.
1Mc 13:12 Then Trypho departed from Ptolemais with a large army to invade the land of Judah, and Jonathan was with him under guard.
1Mc 13:13 And Simon encamped in Adida, facing the plain.
1Mc 13:14 Trypho learned that Simon had risen up in place of Jonathan his brother, and that he was about to join battle with him, so he sent envoys to him and said,
1Mc 13:15 "It is for the money that Jonathan your brother owed the royal treasury, in connection with the offices he held, that we are detaining him.
1Mc 13:16 Send now a hundred talents of silver and two of his sons as hostages, so that when released he will not revolt against us, and we will release him."
1Mc 13:17 Simon knew that they were speaking deceitfully to him, but he sent to get the money and the sons, lest he arouse great hostility among the people, who might say,
1Mc 13:18 "Because Simon did not send him the money and the sons, he perished."
1Mc 13:19 So he sent the sons and the hundred talents, but Trypho broke his word and did not release Jonathan.
1Mc 13:20 After this Trypho came to invade the country and destroy it, and he circled around by the way to Adora. But Simon and his army kept marching along opposite him to every place he went.
1Mc 13:21 Now the men in the citadel kept sending envoys to Trypho urging him to come to them by way of the wilderness and to send them food.
1Mc 13:22 So Trypho got all his cavalry ready to go, but that night a very heavy snow fell, and he did not go because of the snow. He marched off and went into the land of Gilead.
1Mc 13:23 When he approached Baskama, he killed Jonathan, and he was buried there.
1Mc 13:24 Then Trypho turned back and departed to his own land.
1Mc 13:25 And Simon sent and took the bones of Jonathan his brother, and buried him in Modein, the city of his fathers.
1Mc 13:26 All Israel bewailed him with great lamentation, and mourned for him many days.
1Mc 13:27 And Simon built a monument over the tomb of his father and his brothers; he made it high that it might be seen, with polished stone at the front and back.
1Mc 13:28 He also erected seven pyramids, opposite one another, for his father and mother and four brothers.
1Mc 13:29 And for the pyramids he devised an elaborate setting, erecting about them great columns, and upon the columns he put suits of armor for a permanent memorial, and beside the suits of armor carved ships, so that they could be seen by all who sail the sea.
1Mc 13:30 This is the tomb which he built in Modein; it remains to this day.
1Mc 13:31 Trypho dealt treacherously with the young king Antiochus; he killed him
1Mc 13:32 and became king in his place, putting on the crown of Asia; and he brought great calamity upon the land.
1Mc 13:33 But Simon built up the strongholds of Judea and walled them all around, with high towers and great walls and gates and bolts, and he stored food in the strongholds.
1Mc 13:34 Simon also chose men and sent them to Demetrius the king with a request to grant relief to the country, for all that Trypho did was to plunder.
1Mc 13:35 Demetrius the king sent him a favorable reply to this request, and wrote him a letter as follows,
1Mc 13:36 "King Demetrius to Simon, the high priest and friend of kings, and to the elders and nation of the Jews, greeting.
1Mc 13:37 We have received the gold crown and the palm branch which you sent, and we are ready to make a general peace with you and to write to our officials to grant you release from tribute.
1Mc 13:38 All the grants that we have made to you remain valid, and let the strongholds that you have built be your possession.
1Mc 13:39 We pardon any errors and offenses committed to this day, and cancel the crown tax which you owe; and whatever other tax has been collected in Jerusalem shall be collected no longer.
1Mc 13:40 And if any of you are qualified to be enrolled in our bodyguard, let them be enrolled, and let there be peace between us."
1Mc 13:41 In the one hundred and seventieth year the yoke of the Gentiles was removed from Israel,
1Mc 13:42 and the people began to write in their documents and contracts, "In the first year of Simon the great high priest and commander and leader of the Jews."
1Mc 13:43 In those days Simon encamped against Gazara and surrounded it with troops. He made a siege engine, brought it up to the city, and battered and captured one tower.
1Mc 13:44 The men in the siege engine leaped out into the city, and a great tumult arose in the city.
1Mc 13:45 The men in the city, with their wives and children, went up on the wall with their clothes rent, and they cried out with a loud voice, asking Simon to make peace with them;
1Mc 13:46 they said, "Do not treat us according to our wicked acts but according to your mercy."
1Mc 13:47 So Simon reached an agreement with them and stopped fighting against them. But he expelled them from the city and cleansed the houses in which the idols were, and then entered it with hymns and praise.
1Mc 13:48 He cast out of it all uncleanness, and settled in it men who observed the law. He also strengthened its fortifications and built in it a house for himself.
1Mc 13:49 The men in the citadel at Jerusalem were prevented from going out to the country and back to buy and sell. So they were very hungry, and many of them perished from famine.
1Mc 13:50 Then they cried to Simon to make peace with them, and he did so. But he expelled them from there and cleansed the citadel from its pollutions.
1Mc 13:51 On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the one hundred and seventy-first year, the Jews entered it with praise and palm branches, and with harps and cymbals and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel.
1Mc 13:52 And Simon decreed that every year they should celebrate this day with rejoicing. He strengthened the fortifications of the temple hill alongside the citadel, and he and his men dwelt there.
1Mc 13:53 And Simon saw that John his son had reached manhood, so he made him commander of all the forces, and he dwelt in Gazara.
~ Chapter 14 ~
1Mc 14:1 In the one hundred and seventy-second year Demetrius the king assembled his forces and marched into Media to secure help, so that he could make war against Trypho.
1Mc 14:2 When Arsaces the king of Persia and Media heard that Demetrius had invaded his territory, he sent one of his commanders to take him alive.
1Mc 14:3 And he went and defeated the army of Demetrius, and seized him and took him to Arsaces, who put him under guard.
1Mc 14:4 The land had rest all the days of Simon. He sought the good of his nation; his rule was pleasing to them, as was the honor shown him, all his days.
1Mc 14:5 To crown all his honors he took Joppa for a harbor, and opened a way to the isles of the sea.
1Mc 14:6 He extended the borders of his nation, and gained full control of the country.
1Mc 14:7 He gathered a host of captives; he ruled over Gazara and Beth-zur and the citadel, and he removed its uncleanness from it; and there was none to oppose him.
1Mc 14:8 They tilled their land in peace; the ground gave its increase, and the trees of the plains their fruit.
1Mc 14:9 Old men sat in the streets; they all talked together of good things; and the youths donned the glories and garments of war.
1Mc 14:10 He supplied the cities with food, and furnished them with the means of defense, till his renown spread to the ends of the earth.
1Mc 14:11 He established peace in the land, and Israel rejoiced with great joy.
1Mc 14:12 Each man sat under his vine and his fig tree, and there was none to make them afraid.
1Mc 14:13 No one was left in the land to fight them, and the kings were crushed in those days.
1Mc 14:14 He strengthened all the humble of his people; he sought out the law, and did away with every lawless and wicked man.
1Mc 14:15 He made the sanctuary glorious, and added to the vessels of the sanctuary.
1Mc 14:16 It was heard in Rome, and as far away as Sparta, that Jonathan had died, and they were deeply grieved.
1Mc 14:17 When they heard that Simon his brother had become high priest in his place, and that he was ruling over the country and the cities in it,
1Mc 14:18 they wrote to him on bronze tablets to renew with him the friendship and alliance which they had established with Judas and Jonathan his brothers.
1Mc 14:19 And these were read before the assembly in Jerusalem.
1Mc 14:20 This is a copy of the letter which the Spartans sent: "The rulers and the city of the Spartans to Simon the high priest and to the elders and the priests and the rest of the Jewish people, our brethren, greeting.
1Mc 14:21 The envoys who were sent to our people have told us about your glory and honor, and we rejoiced at their coming.
1Mc 14:22 And what they said we have recorded in our public decrees, as follows, `Numenius the son of Antiochus and Antipater the son of Jason, envoys of the Jews, have come to us to renew their friendship with us.
1Mc 14:23 It has pleased our people to receive these men with honor and to put a copy of their words in the public archives, so that the people of the Spartans may have a record of them. And they have sent a copy of this to Simon the high priest.'"
1Mc 14:24 After this Simon sent Numenius to Rome with a large gold shield weighing a thousand minas, to confirm the alliance with the Romans.
1Mc 14:25 When the people heard these things they said, "How shall we thank Simon and his sons?
1Mc 14:26 For he and his brothers and the house of his father have stood firm; they have fought and repulsed Israel's enemies and established its freedom."
1Mc 14:27 So they made a record on bronze tablets and put it upon pillars on Mount Zion. This is a copy of what they wrote: "On the eighteenth day of Elul, in the one hundred and seventy-second year, which is the third year of Simon the great high priest,
1Mc 14:28 in Asaramel, in the great assembly of the priests and the people and the rulers of the nation and the elders of the country, the following was proclaimed to us:
1Mc 14:29 "Since wars often occurred in the country, Simon the son of Mattathias, a priest of the sons of Joarib, and his brothers, exposed themselves to danger and resisted the enemies of their nation, in order that their sanctuary and the law might be perserved; and they brought great glory to their nation.
1Mc 14:30 Jonathan rallied the nation, and became their high priest, and was gathered to his people.
1Mc 14:31 And when their enemies decided to invade their country and lay hands on their sanctuary,
1Mc 14:32 then Simon rose up and fought for his nation. He spent great sums of his own money; he armed the men of his nation's forces and paid them wages.
1Mc 14:33 He fortified the cities of Judea, and Beth-zur on the borders of Judea, where formerly the arms of the enemy had been stored, and he placed there a garrison of Jews.
1Mc 14:34 He also fortified Joppa, which is by the sea, and Gazara, which is on the borders of Azotus, where the enemy formerly dwelt. He settled Jews there, and provided in those cities whatever was necessary for their restoration.
1Mc 14:35 "The people saw Simon's faithfulness and the glory which he had resolved to win for his nation, and they made him their leader and high priest, because he had done all these things and because of the justice and loyalty which he had maintained toward his nation. He sought in every way to exalt his people.
1Mc 14:36 And in his days things prospered in his hands, so that the Gentiles were put out of the country, as were also the men in the city of David in Jerusalem, who had built themselves a citadel from which they used to sally forth and defile the environs of the sanctuary and do great damage to its purity.
1Mc 14:37 He settled Jews in it, and fortified it for the safety of the country and of the city, and built the walls of Jerusalem higher.
1Mc 14:38 "In view of these things King Demetrius confirmed him in the high priesthood,
1Mc 14:39 and he made him one of the king's friends and paid him high honors.
1Mc 14:40 For he had heard that the Jews were addressed by the Romans as friends and allies and brethren, and that the Romans had received the envoys of Simon with honor.
1Mc 14:41 "And the Jews and their priests decided that Simon should be their leader and high priest for ever, until a trustworthy prophet should arise,
1Mc 14:42 and that he should be governor over them and that he should take charge of the sanctuary and appoint men over its tasks and over the country and the weapons and the strongholds, and that he should take charge of the sanctuary,
1Mc 14:43 and that he should be obeyed by all, and that all contracts in the country should be written in his name, and that he should be clothed in purple and wear gold.
1Mc 14:44 "And none of the people or priests shall be permitted to nullify any of these decisions or to oppose what he says, or to convene an assembly in the country without his permission, or to be clothed in purple or put on a gold buckle.
1Mc 14:45 Whoever acts contrary to these decisions or nullifies any of them shall be liable to punishment."
1Mc 14:46 And all the people agreed to grant Simon the right to act in accord with these decisions.
1Mc 14:47 So Simon accepted and agreed to be high priest, to be commander and ethnarch of the Jews and priests, and to be protector of them all.
1Mc 14:48 And they gave orders to inscribe this decree upon bronze tablets, to put them up in a conspicuous place in the precincts of the sanctuary,
1Mc 14:49 and to deposit copies of them in the treasury, so that Simon and his sons might have them.
~ Chapter 15 ~
1Mc 15:1 Antiochus, the son of Demetrius the king, sent a letter from the islands of the sea to Simon, the priest and ethnarch of the Jews, and to all the nation;
1Mc 15:2 its contents were as follows: "King Antiochus to Simon the high priest and ethnarch and to the nation of the Jews, greeting.
1Mc 15:3 Whereas certain pestilent men have gained control of the kingdom of our fathers, and I intend to lay claim to the kingdom so that I may restore it as it formerly was, and have recruited a host of mercenary troops and have equipped warships,
1Mc 15:4 and intend to make a landing in the country so that I may proceed against those who have destroyed our country and those who have devastated many cities in my kingdom,
1Mc 15:5 now therefore I confirm to you all the tax remissions that the kings before me have granted you, and release from all the other payments from which they have released you.
1Mc 15:6 I permit you to mint your own coinage as money for your country,
1Mc 15:7 and I grant freedom to Jerusalem and the sanctuary. All the weapons which you have prepared and the strongholds which you have built and now hold shall remain yours.
1Mc 15:8 Every debt you owe to the royal treasury and any such future debts shall be canceled for you from henceforth and for all time.
1Mc 15:9 When we gain control of our kingdom, we will bestow great honor upon you and your nation and the temple, so that your glory will become manifest in all the earth."
1Mc 15:10 In the one hundred and seventy-fourth year Antiochus set out and invaded the land of his fathers. All the troops rallied to him, so that there were few with Trypho.
1Mc 15:11 Antiochus pursued him, and he came in his flight to Dor, which is by the sea;
1Mc 15:12 for he knew that troubles had converged upon him, and his troops had deserted him.
1Mc 15:13 So Antiochus encamped against Dor, and with him were a hundred and twenty thousand warriors and eight thousand cavalry.
1Mc 15:14 He surrounded the city, and the ships joined battle from the sea; he pressed the city hard from land and sea, and permitted no one to leave or enter it.
1Mc 15:15 Then Numenius and his companions arrived from Rome, with letters to the kings and countries, in which the following was written:
1Mc 15:16 "Lucius, consul of the Romans, to King Ptolemy, greeting.
1Mc 15:17 The envoys of the Jews have come to us as our friends and allies to renew our ancient friendship and alliance. They had been sent by Simon the high priest and by the people of the Jews,
1Mc 15:18 and have brought a gold shield weighing a thousand minas.
1Mc 15:19 We therefore have decided to write to the kings and countries that they should not seek their harm or make war against them and their cities and their country, or make alliance with those who war against them.
1Mc 15:20 And it has seemed good to us to accept the shield from them.
1Mc 15:21 Therefore if any pestilent men have fled to you from their country, hand them over to Simon the high priest, that he may punish them according to their law."
1Mc 15:22 The consul wrote the same thing to Demetrius the king and to Attalus and Ariarathes and Arsaces,
1Mc 15:23 and to all the countries, and to Sampsames, and to the Spartans, and to Delos, and to Myndos, and to Sicyon, and to Caria, and to Samos, and to Pamphylia, and to Lycia, and to Halicarnassus, and to Rhodes, and to Phaselis, and to Cos, and to Side, and to Aradus and Gortyna and Cnidus and Cyprus and Cyrene.
1Mc 15:24 They also sent a copy of these things to Simon the high priest.
1Mc 15:25 Antiochus the king besieged Dor anew, continually throwing his forces against it and making engines of war; and he shut Trypho up and kept him from going out or in.
1Mc 15:26 And Simon sent to Antiochus two thousand picked men, to fight for him, and silver and gold and much military equipment.
1Mc 15:27 But he refused to receive them, and he broke all the agreements he formerly had made with Simon, and became estranged from him.
1Mc 15:28 He sent to him Athenobius, one of his friends, to confer with him, saying, "You hold control of Joppa and Gazara and the citadel in Jerusalem; they are cities of my kingdom.
1Mc 15:29 You have devastated their territory, you have done great damage in the land, and you have taken possession of many places in my kingdom.
1Mc 15:30 Now then, hand over the cities which you have seized and the tribute money of the places which you have conquered outside the borders of Judea;
1Mc 15:31 or else give me for them five hundred talents of silver, and for the destruction that you have caused and the tribute money of the cities, five hundred talents more. Otherwise we will come and conquer you."
1Mc 15:32 So Athenobius the friend of the king came to Jerusalem, and when he saw the splendor of Simon, and the sideboard with its gold and silver plate, and his great magnificence, he was amazed. He reported to him the words of the king,
1Mc 15:33 but Simon gave him this reply: "We have neither taken foreign land nor seized foreign property, but only the inheritance of our fathers, which at one time had been unjustly taken by our enemies.
1Mc 15:34 Now that we have the opportunity, we are firmly holding the inheritance of our fathers.
1Mc 15:35 As for Joppa and Gazara, which you demand, they were causing great damage among the people and to our land; for them we will give you a hundred talents." Athenobius did not answer him a word,
1Mc 15:36 but returned in wrath to the king and reported to him these words and the splendor of Simon and all that he had seen. And the king was greatly angered.
1Mc 15:37 Now Trypho embarked on a ship and escaped to Orthosia.
1Mc 15:38 Then the king made Cendebeus commander-in-chief of the coastal country, and gave him troops of infantry and cavalry.
1Mc 15:39 He commanded him to encamp against Judea, and commanded him to build up Kedron and fortify its gates, and to make war on the people; but the king pursued Trypho.
1Mc 15:40 So Cendebeus came to Jamnia and began to provoke the people and invade Judea and take the people captive and kill them.
1Mc 15:41 He built up Kedron and stationed there horsemen and troops, so that they might go out and make raids along the highways of Judea, as the king had ordered him.
~ Chapter 16 ~
1Mc 16:1 John went up from Gazara and reported to Simon his father what Cendebeus had done.
1Mc 16:2 And Simon called in his two older sons Judas and John, and said to them: "I and my brothers and the house of my father have fought the wars of Israel from our youth until this day, and things have prospered in our hands so that we have delivered Israel many times.
1Mc 16:3 But now I have grown old, and you by His mercy are mature in years. Take my place and my brother's, and go out and fight for our nation, and may the help which comes from Heaven be with you."
1Mc 16:4 So John chose out of the country twenty thousand warriors and horsemen, and they marched against Cendebeus and camped for the night in Modein.
1Mc 16:5 Early in the morning they arose and marched into the plain, and behold, a large force of infantry and horsemen was coming to meet them; and a stream lay between them.
1Mc 16:6 Then he and his army lined up against them. And he saw that the soldiers were afraid to cross the stream, so he crossed over first; and when his men saw him, they crossed over after him.
1Mc 16:7 Then he divided the army and placed the horsemen in the midst of the infantry, for the cavalry of the enemy were very numerous.
1Mc 16:8 And they sounded the trumpets, and Cendebeus and his army were put to flight, and many of them were wounded and fell; the rest fled into the stronghold.
1Mc 16:9 At that time Judas the brother of John was wounded, but John pursued them until Cendebeus reached Kedron, which he had built.
1Mc 16:10 They also fled into the towers that were in the fields of Azotus, and John burned it with fire, and about two thousand of them fell. And he returned to Judea safely.
1Mc 16:11 Now Ptolemy the son of Abubus had been appointed governor over the plain of Jericho, and he had much silver and gold,
1Mc 16:12 for he was son-in-law of the high priest.
1Mc 16:13 His heart was lifted up; he determined to get control of the country, and made treacherous plans against Simon and his sons, to do away with them.
1Mc 16:14 Now Simon was visiting the cities of the country and attending to their needs, and he went down to Jericho with Mattathias and Judas his sons, in the one hundred and seventy-seventh year, in the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat.
1Mc 16:15 The son of Abubus received them treacherously in the little stronghold called Dok, which he had built; he gave them a great banquet, and hid men there.
1Mc 16:16 When Simon and his sons were drunk, Ptolemy and his men rose up, took their weapons, and rushed in against Simon in the banquet hall, and they killed him and his two sons and some of his servants.
1Mc 16:17 So he committed an act of great treachery and returned evil for good.
1Mc 16:18 Then Ptolemy wrote a report about these things and sent it to the king, asking him to send troops to aid him and to turn over to him the cities and the country.
1Mc 16:19 He sent other men to Gazara to do away with John; he sent letters to the captains asking them to come to him so that he might give them silver and gold and gifts;
1Mc 16:20 and he sent other men to take possession of Jerusalem and the temple hill.
1Mc 16:21 But some one ran ahead and reported to John at Gazara that his father and brothers had perished, and that "he has sent men to kill you also."
1Mc 16:22 When he heard this, he was greatly shocked; and he seized the men who came to destroy him and killed them, for he had found out that they were seeking to destroy him.
1Mc 16:23 The rest of the acts of John and his wars and the brave deeds which he did, and the building of the walls which he built, and his achievements,
1Mc 16:24 behold, they are written in the chronicles of his high priesthood, from the time that he became high priest after his father.
2 Maccabees
~ Chapter 1 ~
2Mc 1:1 The Jewish brethren in Jerusalem and those in the land of Judea, To their Jewish brethren in Egypt, Greeting, and good peace.
2Mc 1:2 May God do good to you, and may he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants.
2Mc 1:3 May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his will with a strong heart and a willing spirit.
2Mc 1:4 May he open your heart to his law and his commandments, and may he bring peace.
2Mc 1:5 May he hear your prayers and be reconciled to you, and may he not forsake you in time of evil.
2Mc 1:6 We are now praying for you here.
2Mc 1:7 In the reign of Demetrius, in the one hundred and sixty-ninth year, we Jews wrote to you, in the critical distress which came upon us in those years after Jason and his company revolted from the holy land and the kingdom
2Mc 1:8 and burned the gate and shed innocent blood. We besought the Lord and we were heard, and we offered sacrifice and cereal offering, and we lighted the lamps and we set out the loaves.
2Mc 1:9 And now see that you keep the feast of booths in the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and eighty-eighth year.
2Mc 1:10 Those in Jerusalem and those in Judea and the senate and Judas, To Aristobulus, who is of the family of the anointed priests, teacher of Ptolemy the king, and to the Jews in Egypt, Greeting, and good health.
2Mc 1:11 Having been saved by God out of grave dangers we thank him greatly for taking our side against the king.
2Mc 1:12 For he drove out those who fought against the holy city.
2Mc 1:13 For when the leader reached Persia with a force that seemed irresistible, they were cut to pieces in the temple of Nanea by a deception employed by the priests of Nanea.
2Mc 1:14 For under pretext of intending to marry her, Antiochus came to the place together with his friends, to secure most of its treasures as a dowry.
2Mc 1:15 When the priests of the temple of Nanea had set out the treasures and Antiochus had come with a few men inside the wall of the sacred precinct, they closed the temple as soon as he entered it.
2Mc 1:16 Opening the secret door in the ceiling, they threw stones and struck down the leader and his men, and dismembered them and cut off their heads and threw them to the people outside.
2Mc 1:17 Blessed in every way be our God, who has brought judgment upon those who have behaved impiously.
2Mc 1:18 Since on the twenty-fifth day of Chislev we shall celebrate the purification of the temple, we thought it necessary to notify you, in order that you also may celebrate the feast of booths and the feast of the fire given when Nehemiah, who built the temple and the altar, offered sacrifices.
2Mc 1:19 For when our fathers were being led captive to Persia, the pious priests of that time took some of the fire of the altar and secretly hid it in the hollow of a dry cistern, where they took such precautions that the place was unknown to any one.
2Mc 1:20 But after many years had passed, when it pleased God, Nehemiah, having been commissioned by the king of Persia, sent the descendants of the priests who had hidden the fire to get it. And when they reported to us that they had not found fire but thick liquid, he ordered them to dip it out and bring it.
2Mc 1:21 And when the materials for the sacrifices were presented, Nehemiah ordered the priests to sprinkle the liquid on the wood and what was laid upon it.
2Mc 1:22 When this was done and some time had passed and the sun, which had been clouded over, shone out, a great fire blazed up, so that all marveled.
2Mc 1:23 And while the sacrifice was being consumed, the priests offered prayer -- the priests and every one. Jonathan led, and the rest responded, as did Nehemiah.
2Mc 1:24 The prayer was to this effect: "O Lord, Lord God, Creator of all things, who art awe-inspiring and strong and just and merciful, who alone art King and art kind,
2Mc 1:25 who alone art bountiful, who alone art just and almighty and eternal, who dost rescue Israel from every evil, who didst choose the fathers and consecrate them,
2Mc 1:26 accept this sacrifice on behalf of all thy people Israel and preserve thy portion and make it holy.
2Mc 1:27 Gather together our scattered people, set free those who are slaves among the Gentiles, look upon those who are rejected and despised, and let the Gentiles know that thou art our God.
2Mc 1:28 Afflict those who oppress and are insolent with pride.
2Mc 1:29 Plant thy people in thy holy place, as Moses said."
2Mc 1:30 Then the priests sang the hymns.
2Mc 1:31 And when the materials of the sacrifice were consumed, Nehemiah ordered that the liquid that was left should be poured upon large stones.
2Mc 1:32 When this was done, a flame blazed up; but when the light from the altar shone back, it went out.
2Mc 1:33 When this matter became known, and it was reported to the king of the Persians that, in the place where the exiled priests had hidden the fire, the liquid had appeared with which Nehemiah and his associates had burned the materials of the sacrifice,
2Mc 1:34 the king investigated the matter, and enclosed the place and made it sacred.
2Mc 1:35 And with those persons whom the king favored he exchanged many excellent gifts.
2Mc 1:36 Nehemiah and his associates called this "nephthar," which means purification, but by most people it is called naphtha.
~ Chapter 2 ~
2Mc 2:1 One finds in the records that Jeremiah the prophet ordered those who were being deported to take some of the fire, as has been told,
2Mc 2:2 and that the prophet after giving them the law instructed those who were being deported not to forget the commandments of the Lord, nor to be led astray in their thoughts upon seeing the gold and silver statues and their adornment.
2Mc 2:3 And with other similar words he exhorted them that the law should not depart from their hearts.
2Mc 2:4 It was also in the writing that the prophet, having received an oracle, ordered that the tent and the ark should follow with him, and that he went out to the mountain where Moses had gone up and had seen the inheritance of God.
2Mc 2:5 And Jeremiah came and found a cave, and he brought there the tent and the ark and the altar of incense, and he sealed up the entrance.
2Mc 2:6 Some of those who followed him came up to mark the way, but could not find it.
2Mc 2:7 When Jeremiah learned of it, he rebuked them and declared: "The place shall be unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy.
2Mc 2:8 And then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord and the cloud will appear, as they were shown in the case of Moses, and as Solomon asked that the place should be specially consecrated."
2Mc 2:9 It was also made clear that being possessed of wisdom Solomon offered sacrifice for the dedication and completion of the temple.
2Mc 2:10 Just as Moses prayed to the Lord, and fire came down from heaven and devoured the sacrifices, so also Solomon prayed, and the fire came down and consumed the whole burnt offerings.
2Mc 2:11 And Moses said, "They were consumed because the sin offering had not been eaten."
2Mc 2:12 Likewise Solomon also kept the eight days.
2Mc 2:13 The same things are reported in the records and in the memoirs of Nehemiah, and also that he founded a library and collected the books about the kings and prophets, and the writings of David, and letters of kings about votive offerings.
2Mc 2:14 In the same way Judas also collected all the books that had been lost on account of the war which had come upon us, and they are in our possession.
2Mc 2:15 So if you have need of them, send people to get them for you.
2Mc 2:16 Since, therefore, we are about to celebrate the purification, we write to you. Will you therefore please keep the days?
2Mc 2:17 It is God who has saved all his people, and has returned the inheritance to all, and the kingship and priesthood and consecration,
2Mc 2:18 as he promised through the law. For we have hope in God that he will soon have mercy upon us and will gather us from everywhere under heaven into his holy place, for he has rescued us from great evils and has purified the place.
2Mc 2:19 The story of Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, and the purification of the great temple, and the dedication of the altar,
2Mc 2:20 and further the wars against Antiochus Epiphanes and his son Eupator,
2Mc 2:21 and the appearances which came from heaven to those who strove zealously on behalf of Judaism, so that though few in number they seized the whole land and pursued the barbarian hordes,
2Mc 2:22 and recovered the temple famous throughout the world and freed the city and restored the laws that were about to be abolished, while the Lord with great kindness became gracious to them --
2Mc 2:23 all this, which has been set forth by Jason of Cyrene in five volumes, we shall attempt to condense into a single book.
2Mc 2:24 For considering the flood of numbers involved and the difficulty there is for those who wish to enter upon the narratives of history because of the mass of material,
2Mc 2:25 we have aimed to please those who wish to read, to make it easy for those who are inclined to memorize, and to profit all readers.
2Mc 2:26 For us who have undertaken the toil of abbreviating, it is no light matter but calls for sweat and loss of sleep,
2Mc 2:27 just as it is not easy for one who prepares a banquet and seeks the benefit of others. However, to secure the gratitude of many we will gladly endure the uncomfortable toil,
2Mc 2:28 leaving the responsibility for exact details to the compiler, while devoting our effort to arriving at the outlines of the condensation.
2Mc 2:29 For as the master builder of a new house must be concerned with the whole construction, while the one who undertakes its painting and decoration has to consider only what is suitable for its adornment, such in my judgment is the case with us.
2Mc 2:30 It is the duty of the original historian to occupy the ground and to discuss matters from every side and to take trouble with details,
2Mc 2:31 but the one who recasts the narrative should be allowed to strive for brevity of expression and to forego exhaustive treatment.
2Mc 2:32 At this point therefore let us begin our narrative, adding only so much to what has already been said; for it is foolish to lengthen the preface while cutting short the history itself.
~ Chapter 3 ~
2Mc 3:1 While the holy city was inhabited in unbroken peace and the laws were very well observed because of the piety of the high priest Onias and his hatred of wickedness,
2Mc 3:2 it came about that the kings themselves honored the place and glorified the temple with the finest presents,
2Mc 3:3 so that even Seleucus, the king of Asia, defrayed from his own revenues all the expenses connected with the service of the sacrifices.
2Mc 3:4 But a man named Simon, of the tribe of Benjamin, who had been made captain of the temple, had a disagreement with the high priest about the administration of the city market;
2Mc 3:5 and when he could not prevail over Onias he went to Apollonius of Tarsus, who at that time was governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia.
2Mc 3:6 He reported to him that the treasury in Jerusalem was full of untold sums of money, so that the amount of the funds could not be reckoned, and that they did not belong to the account of the sacrifices, but that it was possible for them to fall under the control of the king.
2Mc 3:7 When Apollonius met the king, he told him of the money about which he had been informed. The king chose Heliodorus, who was in charge of his affairs, and sent him with commands to effect the removal of the aforesaid money.
2Mc 3:8 Heliodorus at once set out on his journey, ostensibly to make a tour of inspection of the cities of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, but in fact to carry out the king's purpose.
2Mc 3:9 When he had arrived at Jerusalem and had been kindly welcomed by the high priest of the city, he told about the disclosure that had been made and stated why he had come, and he inquired whether this really was the situation.
2Mc 3:10 The high priest explained that there were some deposits belonging to widows and orphans,
2Mc 3:11 and also some money of Hyrcanus, son of Tobias, a man of very prominent position, and that it totaled in all four hundred talents of silver and two hundred of gold. To such an extent the impious Simon had misrepresented the facts.
2Mc 3:12 And he said that it was utterly impossible that wrong should be done to those people who had trusted in the holiness of the place and in the sanctity and inviolability of the temple which is honored throughout the whole world.
2Mc 3:13 But Heliodorus, because of the king's commands which he had, said that this money must in any case be confiscated for the king's treasury.
2Mc 3:14 So he set a day and went in to direct the inspection of these funds. There was no little distress throughout the whole city.
2Mc 3:15 The priests prostrated themselves before the altar in their priestly garments and called toward heaven upon him who had given the law about deposits, that he should keep them safe for those who had deposited them.
2Mc 3:16 To see the appearance of the high priest was to be wounded at heart, for his face and the change in his color disclosed the anguish of his soul.
2Mc 3:17 For terror and bodily trembling had come over the man, which plainly showed to those who looked at him the pain lodged in his heart.
2Mc 3:18 People also hurried out of their houses in crowds to make a general supplication because the holy place was about to be brought into contempt.
2Mc 3:19 Women, girded with sackcloth under their breasts, thronged the streets. Some of the maidens who were kept indoors ran together to the gates, and some to the walls, while others peered out of the windows.
2Mc 3:20 And holding up their hands to heaven, they all made entreaty.
2Mc 3:21 There was something pitiable in the prostration of the whole populace and the anxiety of the high priest in his great anguish.
2Mc 3:22 While they were calling upon the Almighty Lord that he would keep what had been entrusted safe and secure for those who had entrusted it,
2Mc 3:23 Heliodorus went on with what had been decided.
2Mc 3:24 But when he arrived at the treasury with his bodyguard, then and there the Sovereign of spirits and of all authority caused so great a manifestation that all who had been so bold as to accompany him were astounded by the power of God, and became faint with terror.
2Mc 3:25 For there appeared to them a magnificently caparisoned horse, with a rider of frightening mien, and it rushed furiously at Heliodorus and struck at him with its front hoofs. Its rider was seen to have armor and weapons of gold.
2Mc 3:26 Two young men also appeared to him, remarkably strong, gloriously beautiful and splendidly dressed, who stood on each side of him and scourged him continuously, inflicting many blows on him.
2Mc 3:27 When he suddenly fell to the ground and deep darkness came over him, his men took him up and put him on a stretcher
2Mc 3:28 and carried him away, this man who had just entered the aforesaid treasury with a great retinue and all his bodyguard but was now unable to help himself; and they recognized clearly the sovereign power of God.
2Mc 3:29 While he lay prostrate, speechless because of the divine intervention and deprived of any hope of recovery,
2Mc 3:30 they praised the Lord who had acted marvelously for his own place. And the temple, which a little while before was full of fear and disturbance, was filled with joy and gladness, now that the Almighty Lord had appeared.
2Mc 3:31 Quickly some of Heliodorus' friends asked Onias to call upon the Most High and to grant life to one who was lying quite at his last breath.
2Mc 3:32 And the high priest, fearing that the king might get the notion that some foul play had been perpetrated by the Jews with regard to Heliodorus, offered sacrifice for the man's recovery.
2Mc 3:33 While the high priest was making the offering of atonement, the same young men appeared again to Heliodorus dressed in the same clothing, and they stood and said, "Be very grateful to Onias the high priest, since for his sake the Lord has granted you your life.
2Mc 3:34 And see that you, who have been scourged by heaven, report to all men the majestic power of God." Having said this they vanished.
2Mc 3:35 Then Heliodorus offered sacrifice to the Lord and made very great vows to the Savior of his life, and having bidden Onias farewell, he marched off with his forces to the king.
2Mc 3:36 And he bore testimony to all men of the deeds of the supreme God, which he had seen with his own eyes.
2Mc 3:37 When the king asked Heliodorus what sort of person would be suitable to send on another mission to Jerusalem, he replied,
2Mc 3:38 "If you have any enemy or plotter against your government, send him there, for you will get him back thoroughly scourged, if he escapes at all, for there certainly is about the place some power of God.
2Mc 3:39 For he who has his dwelling in heaven watches over that place himself and brings it aid, and he strikes and destroys those who come to do it injury."
2Mc 3:40 This was the outcome of the episode of Heliodorus and the protection of the treasury.
~ Chapter 4 ~
2Mc 4:1 The previously mentioned Simon, who had informed about the money against his own country, slandered Onias, saying that it was he who had incited Heliodorus and had been the real cause of the misfortune.
2Mc 4:2 He dared to designate as a plotter against the government the man who was the benefactor of the city, the protector of his fellow countrymen, and a zealot for the laws.
2Mc 4:3 When his hatred progressed to such a degree that even murders were committed by one of Simon's approved agents,
2Mc 4:4 Onias recognized that the rivalry was serious and that Apollonius, the son of Menestheus and governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, was intensifying the malice of Simon.
2Mc 4:5 So he betook himself to the king, not accusing his fellow citizens but having in view the welfare, both public and private, of all the people.
2Mc 4:6 For he saw that without the king's attention public affairs could not again reach a peaceful settlement, and that Simon would not stop his folly.
2Mc 4:7 When Seleucus died and Antiochus who was called Epiphanes succeeded to the kingdom, Jason the brother of Onias obtained the high priesthood by corruption,
2Mc 4:8 promising the king at an interview three hundred and sixty talents of silver and, from another source of revenue, eighty talents.
2Mc 4:9 In addition to this he promised to pay one hundred and fifty more if permission were given to establish by his authority a gymnasium and a body of youth for it, and to enrol the men of Jerusalem as citizens of Antioch.
2Mc 4:10 When the king assented and Jason came to office, he at once shifted his countrymen over to the Greek way of life.
2Mc 4:11 He set aside the existing royal concessions to the Jews, secured through John the father of Eupolemus, who went on the mission to establish friendship and alliance with the Romans; and he destroyed the lawful ways of living and introduced new customs contrary to the law.
2Mc 4:12 For with alacrity he founded a gymnasium right under the citadel, and he induced the noblest of the young men to wear the Greek hat.
2Mc 4:13 There was such an extreme of Hellenization and increase in the adoption of foreign ways because of the surpassing wickedness of Jason, who was ungodly and no high priest,
2Mc 4:14 that the priests were no longer intent upon their service at the altar. Despising the sanctuary and neglecting the sacrifices, they hastened to take part in the unlawful proceedings in the wrestling arena after the call to the discus,
2Mc 4:15 disdaining the honors prized by their fathers and putting the highest value upon Greek forms of prestige.
2Mc 4:16 For this reason heavy disaster overtook them, and those whose ways of living they admired and wished to imitate completely became their enemies and punished them.
2Mc 4:17 For it is no light thing to show irreverence to the divine laws -- a fact which later events will make clear.
2Mc 4:18 When the quadrennial games were being held at Tyre and the king was present,
2Mc 4:19 the vile Jason sent envoys, chosen as being Antiochian citizens from Jerusalem, to carry three hundred silver drachmas for the sacrifice to Hercules. Those who carried the money, however, thought best not to use it for sacrifice, because that was inappropriate, but to expend it for another purpose.
2Mc 4:20 So this money was intended by the sender for the sacrifice to Hercules, but by the decision of its carriers it was applied to the construction of triremes.
2Mc 4:21 When Apollonius the son of Menestheus was sent to Egypt for the coronation of Philometor as king, Antiochus learned that Philometor had become hostile to his government, and he took measures for his own security. Therefore upon arriving at Joppa he proceeded to Jerusalem.
2Mc 4:22 He was welcomed magnificently by Jason and the city, and ushered in with a blaze of torches and with shouts. Then he marched into Phoenicia.
2Mc 4:23 After a period of three years Jason sent Menelaus, the brother of the previously mentioned Simon, to carry the money to the king and to complete the records of essential business.
2Mc 4:24 But he, when presented to the king, extolled him with an air of authority, and secured the high priesthood for himself, outbidding Jason by three hundred talents of silver.
2Mc 4:25 After receiving the king's orders he returned, possessing no qualification for the high priesthood, but having the hot temper of a cruel tyrant and the rage of a savage wild beast.
2Mc 4:26 So Jason, who after supplanting his own brother was supplanted by another man, was driven as a fugitive into the land of Ammon.
2Mc 4:27 And Menelaus held the office, but he did not pay regularly any of the money promised to the king.
2Mc 4:28 When Sostratus the captain of the citadel kept requesting payment, for the collection of the revenue was his responsibility, the two of them were summoned by the king on account of this issue.
2Mc 4:29 Menelaus left his own brother Lysimachus as deputy in the high priesthood, while Sostratus left Crates, the commander of the Cyprian troops.
2Mc 4:30 While such was the state of affairs, it happened that the people of Tarsus and of Mallus revolted because their cities had been given as a present to Antiochis, the king's concubine.
2Mc 4:31 So the king went hastily to settle the trouble, leaving Andronicus, a man of high rank, to act as his deputy.
2Mc 4:32 But Menelaus, thinking he had obtained a suitable opportunity, stole some of the gold vessels of the temple and gave them to Andronicus; other vessels, as it happened, he had sold to Tyre and the neighboring cities.
2Mc 4:33 When Onias became fully aware of these acts he publicly exposed them, having first withdrawn to a place of sanctuary at Daphne near Antioch.
2Mc 4:34 Therefore Menelaus, taking Andronicus aside, urged him to kill Onias. Andronicus came to Onias, and resorting to treachery offered him sworn pledges and gave him his right hand, and in spite of his suspicion persuaded Onias to come out from the place of sanctuary; then, with no regard for justice, he immediately put him out of the way.
2Mc 4:35 For this reason not only Jews, but many also of other nations, were grieved and displeased at the unjust murder of the man.
2Mc 4:36 When the king returned from the region of Cilicia, the Jews in the city appealed to him with regard to the unreasonable murder of Onias, and the Greeks shared their hatred of the crime.
2Mc 4:37 Therefore Antiochus was grieved at heart and filled with pity, and wept because of the moderation and good conduct of the deceased;
2Mc 4:38 and inflamed with anger, he immediately stripped off the purple robe from Andronicus, tore off his garments, and led him about the whole city to that very place where he had committed the outrage against Onias, and there he dispatched the bloodthirsty fellow. The Lord thus repaid him with the punishment he deserved.
2Mc 4:39 When many acts of sacrilege had been committed in the city by Lysimachus with the connivance of Menelaus, and when report of them had spread abroad, the populace gathered against Lysimachus, because many of the gold vessels had already been stolen.
2Mc 4:40 And since the crowds were becoming aroused and filled with anger, Lysimachus armed about three thousand men and launched an unjust attack, under the leadership of a certain Auranus, a man advanced in years and no less advanced in folly.
2Mc 4:41 But when the Jews became aware of Lysimachus' attack, some picked up stones, some blocks of wood, and others took handfuls of the ashes that were lying about, and threw them in wild confusion at Lysimachus and his men.
2Mc 4:42 As a result, they wounded many of them, and killed some, and put them all to flight; and the temple robber himself they killed close by the treasury.
2Mc 4:43 Charges were brought against Menelaus about this incident.
2Mc 4:44 When the king came to Tyre, three men sent by the senate presented the case before him.
2Mc 4:45 But Menelaus, already as good as beaten, promised a substantial bribe to Ptolemy son of Dorymenes to win over the king.
2Mc 4:46 Therefore Ptolemy, taking the king aside into a colonnade as if for refreshment, induced the king to change his mind.
2Mc 4:47 Menelaus, the cause of all the evil, he acquitted of the charges against him, while he sentenced to death those unfortunate men, who would have been freed uncondemned if they had pleaded even before Scythians.
2Mc 4:48 And so those who had spoken for the city and the villages and the holy vessels quickly suffered the unjust penalty.
2Mc 4:49 Therefore even the Tyrians, showing their hatred of the crime, provided magnificently for their funeral.
2Mc 4:50 But Menelaus, because of the cupidity of those in power, remained in office, growing in wickedness, having become the chief plotter against his fellow citizens.
~ Chapter 5 ~
2Mc 5:1 About this time Antiochus made his second invasion of Egypt.
2Mc 5:2 And it happened that over all the city, for almost forty days, there appeared golden-clad horsemen charging through the air, in companies fully armed with lances and drawn swords --
2Mc 5:3 troops of horsemen drawn up, attacks and counterattacks made on this side and on that, brandishing of shields, massing of spears, hurling of missiles, the flash of golden trappings, and armor of all sorts.
2Mc 5:4 Therefore all men prayed that the apparition might prove to have been a good omen.
2Mc 5:5 When a false rumor arose that Antiochus was dead, Jason took no less than a thousand men and suddenly made an assault upon the city. When the troops upon the wall had been forced back and at last the city was being taken, Menelaus took refuge in the citadel.
2Mc 5:6 But Jason kept relentlessly slaughtering his fellow citizens, not realizing that success at the cost of one's kindred is the greatest misfortune, but imagining that he was setting up trophies of victory over enemies and not over fellow countrymen.
2Mc 5:7 He did not gain control of the government, however; and in the end got only disgrace from his conspiracy, and fled again into the country of the Ammonites.
2Mc 5:8 Finally he met a miserable end. Accused before Aretas the ruler of the Arabs, fleeing from city to city, pursued by all men, hated as a rebel against the laws, and abhorred as the executioner of his country and his fellow citizens, he was cast ashore in Egypt;
2Mc 5:9 and he who had driven many from their own country into exile died in exile, having embarked to go to the Lacedaemonians in hope of finding protection because of their kinship.
2Mc 5:10 He who had cast out many to lie unburied had no one to mourn for him; he had no funeral of any sort and no place in the tomb of his fathers.
2Mc 5:11 When news of what had happened reached the king, he took it to mean that Judea was in revolt. So, raging inwardly, he left Egypt and took the city by storm.
2Mc 5:12 And he commanded his soldiers to cut down relentlessly every one they met and to slay those who went into the houses.
2Mc 5:13 Then there was killing of young and old, destruction of boys, women, and children, and slaughter of virgins and infants.
2Mc 5:14 Within the total of three days eighty thousand were destroyed, forty thousand in hand-to-hand fighting; and as many were sold into slavery as were slain.
2Mc 5:15 Not content with this, Antiochus dared to enter the most holy temple in all the world, guided by Menelaus, who had become a traitor both to the laws and to his country.
2Mc 5:16 He took the holy vessels with his polluted hands, and swept away with profane hands the votive offerings which other kings had made to enhance the glory and honor of the place.
2Mc 5:17 Antiochus was elated in spirit, and did not perceive that the Lord was angered for a little while because of the sins of those who dwelt in the city, and that therefore he was disregarding the holy place.
2Mc 5:18 But if it had not happened that they were involved in many sins, this man would have been scourged and turned back from his rash act as soon as he came forward, just as Heliodorus was, whom Seleucus the king sent to inspect the treasury.
2Mc 5:19 But the Lord did not choose the nation for the sake of the holy place, but the place for the sake of the nation.
2Mc 5:20 Therefore the place itself shared in the misfortunes that befell the nation and afterward participated in its benefits; and what was forsaken in the wrath of the Almighty was restored again in all its glory when the great Lord became reconciled.
2Mc 5:21 So Antiochus carried off eighteen hundred talents from the temple, and hurried away to Antioch, thinking in his arrogance that he could sail on the land and walk on the sea, because his mind was elated.
2Mc 5:22 And he left governors to afflict the people: at Jerusalem, Philip, by birth a Phrygian and in character more barbarous than the man who appointed him;
2Mc 5:23 and at Gerizim, Andronicus; and besides these Menelaus, who lorded it over his fellow citizens worse than the others did. In his malice toward the Jewish citizens,
2Mc 5:24 Antiochus sent Apollonius, the captain of the Mysians, with an army of twenty-two thousand, and commanded him to slay all the grown men and to sell the women and boys as slaves.
2Mc 5:25 When this man arrived in Jerusalem, he pretended to be peaceably disposed and waited until the holy sabbath day; then, finding the Jews not at work, he ordered his men to parade under arms.
2Mc 5:26 He put to the sword all those who came out to see them, then rushed into the city with his armed men and killed great numbers of people.
2Mc 5:27 But Judas Maccabeus, with about nine others, got away to the wilderness, and kept himself and his companions alive in the mountains as wild animals do; they continued to live on what grew wild, so that they might not share in the defilement.
~ Chapter 6 ~
2Mc 6:1 Not long after this, the king sent an Athenian senator to compel the Jews to forsake the laws of their fathers and cease to live by the laws of God,
2Mc 6:2 and also to pollute the temple in Jerusalem and call it the temple of Olympian Zeus, and to call the one in Gerizim the temple of Zeus the Friend of Strangers, as did the people who dwelt in that place.
2Mc 6:3 Harsh and utterly grievous was the onslaught of evil.
2Mc 6:4 For the temple was filled with debauchery and reveling by the Gentiles, who dallied with harlots and had intercourse with women within the sacred precincts, and besides brought in things for sacrifice that were unfit.
2Mc 6:5 The altar was covered with abominable offerings which were forbidden by the laws.
2Mc 6:6 A man could neither keep the sabbath, nor observe the feasts of his fathers, nor so much as confess himself to be a Jew.
2Mc 6:7 On the monthly celebration of the king's birthday, the Jews were taken, under bitter constraint, to partake of the sacrifices; and when the feast of Dionysus came, they were compelled to walk in the procession in honor of Dionysus, wearing wreaths of ivy.
2Mc 6:8 At the suggestion of Ptolemy a decree was issued to the neighboring Greek cities, that they should adopt the same policy toward the Jews and make them partake of the sacrifices,
2Mc 6:9 and should slay those who did not choose to change over to Greek customs. One could see, therefore, the misery that had come upon them.
2Mc 6:10 For example, two women were brought in for having circumcised their children. These women they publicly paraded about the city, with their babies hung at their breasts, then hurled them down headlong from the wall.
2Mc 6:11 Others who had assembled in the caves near by, to observe the seventh day secretly, were betrayed to Philip and were all burned together, because their piety kept them from defending themselves, in view of their regard for that most holy day.
2Mc 6:12 Now I urge those who read this book not to be depressed by such calamities, but to recognize that these punishments were designed not to destroy but to discipline our people.
2Mc 6:13 In fact, not to let the impious alone for long, but to punish them immediately, is a sign of great kindness.
2Mc 6:14 For in the case of the other nations the Lord waits patiently to punish them until they have reached the full measure of their sins; but he does not deal
in this way with us,
2Mc 6:15 in order that he may not take vengeance on us afterward when our sins have reached their height.
2Mc 6:16 Therefore he never withdraws his mercy from us. Though he disciplines us with calamities, he does not forsake his own people.
2Mc 6:17 Let what we have said serve as a reminder; we must go on briefly with the story.
2Mc 6:18 Eleazar, one of the scribes in high position, a man now advanced in age and of noble presence, was being forced to open his mouth to eat swine's flesh.
2Mc 6:19 But he, welcoming death with honor rather than life with pollution, went up to the the rack of his own accord, spitting out the flesh,
2Mc 6:20 as men ought to go who have the courage to refuse things that it is not right to taste, even for the natural love of life.
2Mc 6:21 Those who were in charge of that unlawful sacrifice took the man aside, because of their long acquaintance with him, and privately urged him to bring meat of his own providing, proper for him to use, and pretend that he was eating the flesh of the sacrificial meal which had been commanded by the king,
2Mc 6:22 so that by doing this he might be saved from death, and be treated kindly on account of his old friendship with them.
2Mc 6:23 But making a high resolve, worthy of his years and the dignity of his old age and the gray hairs which he had reached with distinction and his excellent life even from childhood, and moreover according to the holy God-given law, he declared himself quickly, telling them to send him to Hades.
2Mc 6:24 "Such pretense is not worthy of our time of life," he said, "lest many of the young should suppose that Eleazar in his ninetieth year has gone over to an alien religion,
2Mc 6:25 and through my pretense, for the sake of living a brief moment longer, they should be led astray because of me, while I defile and disgrace my old age.
2Mc 6:26 For even if for the present I should avoid the punishment of men, yet whether I live or die I shall not escape the hands of the Almighty.
2Mc 6:27 Therefore, by manfully giving up my life now, I will show myself worthy of my old age
2Mc 6:28 and leave to the young a noble example of how to die a good death willingly and nobly for the revered and holy laws." When he had said this, he went at once to the rack.
2Mc 6:29 And those who a little before had acted toward him with good will now changed to ill will, because the words he had uttered were in their opinion sheer madness.
2Mc 6:30 When he was about to die under the blows, he groaned aloud and said: "It is clear to the Lord in his holy knowledge that, though I might have been saved from death, I am enduring terrible sufferings in my body under this beating, but in my soul I am glad to suffer these things because I fear him."
2Mc 6:31 So in this way he died, leaving in his death an example of nobility and a memorial of courage, not only to the young but to the great body of his nation.
~ Chapter 7 ~
2Mc 7:1 It happened also that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and were being compelled by the king, under torture with whips and cords, to partake of unlawful swine's flesh.
2Mc 7:2 One of them, acting as their spokesman, said, "What do you intend to ask and learn from us? For we are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our fathers."
2Mc 7:3 The king fell into a rage, and gave orders that pans and caldrons be heated.
2Mc 7:4 These were heated immediately, and he commanded that the tongue of their spokesman be cut out and that they scalp him and cut off his hands and feet, while the rest of the brothers and the mother looked on.
2Mc 7:5 When he was utterly helpless, the king ordered them to take him to the fire, still breathing, and to fry him in a pan. The smoke from the pan spread widely, but the brothers and their mother encouraged one another to die nobly, saying,
2Mc 7:6 "The Lord God is watching over us and in truth has compassion on us, as Moses declared in his song which bore witness against the people to their faces, when he said, `And he will have compassion on his servants.'"
2Mc 7:7 After the first brother had died in this way, they brought forward the second for their sport. They tore off the skin of his head with the hair, and asked him, "Will you eat rather than have your body punished limb by limb?"
2Mc 7:8 He replied in the language of his fathers, and said to them, "No." Therefore he in turn underwent tortures as the first brother had done.
2Mc 7:9 And when he was at his last breath, he said, "You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws."
2Mc 7:10 After him, the third was the victim of their sport. When it was demanded, he quickly put out his tongue and courageously stretched forth his hands,
2Mc 7:11 and said nobly, "I got these from Heaven, and because of his laws I disdain them, and from him I hope to get them back again."
2Mc 7:12 As a result the king himself and those with him were astonished at the young man's spirit, for he regarded his sufferings as nothing.
2Mc 7:13 When he too had died, they maltreated and tortured the fourth in the same way.
2Mc 7:14 And when he was near death, he said, "One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by him. But for you there will be no resurrection to life!"
2Mc 7:15 Next they brought forward the fifth and maltreated him.
2Mc 7:16 But he looked at the king, and said, "Because you have authority among men, mortal though you are, you do what you please. But do not think that God has forsaken our people.
2Mc 7:17 Keep on, and see how his mighty power will torture you and your descendants!"
2Mc 7:18 After him they brought forward the sixth. And when he was about to die, he said, "Do not deceive yourself in vain. For we are suffering these things on our own account, because of our sins against our own God. Therefore astounding things have happened.
2Mc 7:19 But do not think that you will go unpunished for having tried to fight against God!"
2Mc 7:20 The mother was especially admirable and worthy of honorable memory. Though she saw her seven sons perish within a single day, she bore it with good courage because of her hope in the Lord.
2Mc 7:21 She encouraged each of them in the language of their fathers. Filled with a noble spirit, she fired her woman's reasoning with a man's courage, and said to them,
2Mc 7:22 "I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you.
2Mc 7:23 Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of man and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws."
2Mc 7:24 Antiochus felt that he was being treated with contempt, and he was suspicious of her reproachful tone. The youngest brother being still alive, Antiochus not only appealed to him in words, but promised with oaths that he would make him rich and enviable if he would turn from the ways of his fathers, and that he would take him for his friend and entrust him with public affairs.
2Mc 7:25 Since the young man would not listen to him at all, the king called the mother to him and urged her to advise the youth to save himself.
2Mc 7:26 After much urging on his part, she undertook to persuade her son.
2Mc 7:27 But, leaning close to him, she spoke in their native tongue as follows, deriding the cruel tyrant: "My son, have pity on me. I carried you nine months in my womb, and nursed you for three years, and have reared you and brought you up to this point in your life, and have taken care of you.
2Mc 7:28 I beseech you, my child, to look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. Thus also mankind comes into being.
2Mc 7:29 Do not fear this butcher, but prove worthy of your brothers. Accept death, so that in God's mercy I may get you back again with your brothers."
2Mc 7:30 While she was still speaking, the young man said, "What are you waiting for? I will not obey the king's command, but I obey the command of the law that was given to our fathers through Moses.
2Mc 7:31 But you, who have contrived all sorts of evil against the Hebrews, will certainly not escape the hands of God.
2Mc 7:32 For we are suffering because of our own sins.
2Mc 7:33 And if our living Lord is angry for a little while, to rebuke and discipline us, he will again be reconciled with his own servants.
2Mc 7:34 But you, unholy wretch, you most defiled of all men, do not be elated in vain and puffed up by uncertain hopes, when you raise your hand against the children of heaven.
2Mc 7:35 You have not yet escaped the judgment of the almighty, all-seeing God.
2Mc 7:36 For our brothers after enduring a brief suffering have drunk of everflowing life under God's covenant; but you, by the judgment of God, will receive just punishment for your arrogance.
2Mc 7:37 I, like my brothers, give up body and life for the laws of our fathers, appealing to God to show mercy soon to our nation and by afflictions and plagues to make you confess that he alone is God,
2Mc 7:38 and through me and my brothers to bring to an end the wrath of the Almighty which has justly fallen on our whole nation."
2Mc 7:39 The king fell into a rage, and handled him worse than the others, being exasperated at his scorn.
2Mc 7:40 So he died in his integrity, putting his whole trust in the Lord.
2Mc 7:41 Last of all, the mother died, after her sons.
2Mc 7:42 Let this be enough, then, about the eating of sacrifices and the extreme tortures.
~ Chapter 8 ~
2Mc 8:1 But Judas, who was also called Maccabeus, and his companions secretly entered the villages and summoned their kinsmen and enlisted those who had continued in the Jewish faith, and so they gathered about six thousand men.
2Mc 8:2 They besought the Lord to look upon the people who were oppressed by all, and to have pity on the temple which had been profaned by ungodly men,
2Mc 8:3 and to have mercy on the city which was being destroyed and about to be leveled to the ground, and to hearken to the blood that cried out to him,
2Mc 8:4 and to remember also the lawless destruction of the innocent babies and the blasphemies committed against his name, and to show his hatred of evil.
2Mc 8:5 As soon as Maccabeus got his army organized, the Gentiles could not withstand him, for the wrath of the Lord had turned to mercy.
2Mc 8:6 Coming without warning, he would set fire to towns and villages. He captured strategic positions and put to flight not a few of the enemy.
2Mc 8:7 He found the nights most advantageous for such attacks. And talk of his valor spread everywhere.
2Mc 8:8 When Philip saw that the man was gaining ground little by little, and that he was pushing ahead with more frequent successes, he wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, for aid to the king's government.
2Mc 8:9 And Ptolemy promptly appointed Nicanor the son of Patroclus, one of the king's chief friends, and sent him, in command of no fewer than twenty thousand Gentiles of all nations, to wipe out the whole race of Judea. He associated with him Gorgias, a general and a man of experience in military service.
2Mc 8:10 Nicanor determined to make up for the king the tribute due to the Romans, two thousand talents, by selling the captured Jews into slavery.
2Mc 8:11 And he immediately sent to the cities on the seacoast, inviting them to buy Jewish slaves and promising to hand over ninety slaves for a talent, not expecting the judgment from the Almighty that was about to overtake him.
2Mc 8:12 Word came to Judas concerning Nicanor's invasion; and when he told his companions of the arrival of the army,
2Mc 8:13 those who were cowardly and distrustful of God's justice ran off and got away.
2Mc 8:14 Others sold all their remaining property, and at the same time besought the Lord to rescue those who had been sold by the ungodly Nicanor before he ever met them,
2Mc 8:15 if not for their own sake, yet for the sake of the covenants made with their fathers, and because he had called them by his holy and glorious name.
2Mc 8:16 But Maccabeus gathered his men together, to the number six thousand, and exhorted them not to be frightened by the enemy and not to fear the great multitude of Gentiles who were wickedly coming against them, but to fight nobly,
2Mc 8:17 keeping before their eyes the lawless outrage which the Gentiles had committed against the holy place, and the torture of the derided city, and besides, the overthrow of their ancestral way of life.
2Mc 8:18 "For they trust to arms and acts of daring," he said, "but we trust in the Almighty God, who is able with a single nod to strike down those who are coming against us and even the whole world."
2Mc 8:19 Moreover, he told them of the times when help came to their ancestors; both the time of Sennacherib, when one hundred and eighty-five thousand perished,
2Mc 8:20 and the time of the battle with the Galatians that took place in Babylonia, when eight thousand in all went into the affair, with four thousand Macedonians; and when the Macedonians were hard pressed, the eight thousand, by the help that came to them from heaven, destroyed one hundred and twenty thousand and took much booty.
2Mc 8:21 With these words he filled them with good courage and made them ready to die for their laws and their country; then he divided his army into four parts.
2Mc 8:22 He appointed his brothers also, Simon and Joseph and Jonathan, each to command a division, putting fifteen hundred men under each.
2Mc 8:23 Besides, he appointed Eleazar to read aloud from the holy book, and gave the watchword, "God's help"; then, leading the first division himself, he joined battle with Nicanor.
2Mc 8:24 With the Almighty as their ally, they slew more than nine thousand of the enemy, and wounded and disabled most of Nicanor's army, and forced them all to flee.
2Mc 8:25 They captured the money of those who had come to buy them as slaves. After pursuing them for some distance, they were obliged to return because the hour was late.
2Mc 8:26 For it was the day before the sabbath, and for that reason they did not continue their pursuit.
2Mc 8:27 And when they had collected the arms of the enemy and stripped them of their spoils, they kept the sabbath, giving great praise and thanks to the Lord, who had preserved them for that day and allotted it to them as the beginning of mercy.
2Mc 8:28 After the sabbath they gave some of the spoils to those who had been tortured and to the widows and orphans, and distributed the rest among themselves and their children.
2Mc 8:29 When they had done this, they made common supplication and besought the merciful Lord to be wholly reconciled with his servants.
2Mc 8:30 In encounters with the forces of Timothy and Bacchides they killed more than twenty thousand of them and got possession of some exceedingly high strongholds, and they divided very much plunder, giving to those who had been tortured and to the orphans and widows, and also to the aged, shares equal to their own.
2Mc 8:31 Collecting the arms of the enemy, they stored them all carefully in strategic places, and carried the rest of the spoils to Jerusalem.
2Mc 8:32 They killed the commander of Timothy's forces, a most unholy man, and one who had greatly troubled the Jews.
2Mc 8:33 While they were celebrating the victory in the city of their fathers, they burned those who had set fire to the sacred gates, Callisthenes and some others, who had fled into one little house; so these received the proper recompense for their impiety.
2Mc 8:34 The thrice-accursed Nicanor, who had brought the thousand merchants to buy the Jews,
2Mc 8:35 having been humbled with the help of the Lord by opponents whom he regarded as of the least account, took off his splendid uniform and made his way alone like a runaway slave across the country till he reached Antioch, having succeeded chiefly in the destruction of his own army!
2Mc 8:36 Thus he who had undertaken to secure tribute for the Romans by the capture of the people of Jerusalem proclaimed that the Jews had a Defender, and that therefore the Jews were invulnerable, because they followed the laws ordained by him.
~ Chapter 9 ~
2Mc 9:1 About that time, as it happened, Antiochus had retreated in disorder from the region of Persia.
2Mc 9:2 For he had entered the city called Persepolis, and attempted to rob the temples and control the city. Therefore the people rushed to the rescue with arms, and Antiochus and his men were defeated, with the result that Antiochus was put to flight by the inhabitants and beat a shameful retreat.
2Mc 9:3 While he was in Ecbatana, news came to him of what had happened to Nicanor and the forces of Timothy.
2Mc 9:4 Transported with rage, he conceived the idea of turning upon the Jews the injury done by those who had put him to flight; so he ordered his charioteer to drive without stopping until he completed the journey. But the judgment of heaven rode with him! For in his arrogance he said, "When I get there I will make Jerusalem a cemetery of Jews."
2Mc 9:5 But the all-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him an incurable and unseen blow. As soon as he ceased speaking he was seized with a pain in his bowels for which there was no relief and with sharp internal tortures --
2Mc 9:6 and that very justly, for he had tortured the bowels of others with many and strange inflictions.
2Mc 9:7 Yet he did not in any way stop his insolence, but was even more filled with arrogance, breathing fire in his rage against the Jews, and giving orders to hasten the journey. And so it came about that he fell out of his chariot as it was rushing along, and the fall was so hard as to torture every limb of his body.
2Mc 9:8 Thus he who had just been thinking that he could command the waves of the sea, in his superhuman arrogance, and imagining that he could weigh the high mountains in a balance, was brought down to earth and carried in a litter, making the power of God manifest to all.
2Mc 9:9 And so the ungodly man's body swarmed with worms, and while he was still living in anguish and pain, his flesh rotted away, and because of his stench the whole army felt revulsion at his decay.
2Mc 9:10 Because of his intolerable stench no one was able to carry the man who a little while before had thought that he could touch the stars of heaven.
2Mc 9:11 Then it was that, broken in spirit, he began to lose much of his arrogance and to come to his senses under the scourge of God, for he was tortured with pain every moment.
2Mc 9:12 And when he could not endure his own stench, he uttered these words: "It is right to be subject to God, and no mortal should think that he is equal to God."
2Mc 9:13 Then the abominable fellow made a vow to the Lord, who would no longer have mercy on him, stating
2Mc 9:14 that the holy city, which he was hastening to level to the ground and to make a cemetery, he was now declaring to be free;
2Mc 9:15 and the Jews, whom he had not considered worth burying but had planned to throw out with their children to the beasts, for the birds to pick, he would make, all of them, equal to citizens of Athens;
2Mc 9:16 and the holy sanctuary, which he had formerly plundered, he would adorn with the finest offerings; and the holy vessels he would give back, all of them, many times over; and the expenses incurred for the sacrifices he would provide from his own revenues;
2Mc 9:17 and in addition to all this he also would become a Jew and would visit every inhabited place to proclaim the power of God.
2Mc 9:18 But when his sufferings did not in any way abate, for the judgment of God had justly come upon him, he gave up all hope for himself and wrote to the Jews the following letter, in the form of a supplication. This was its content:
2Mc 9:19 "To his worthy Jewish citizens, Antiochus their king and general sends hearty greetings and good wishes for their health and prosperity.
2Mc 9:20 If you and your children are well and your affairs are as you wish, I am glad. As my hope is in heaven,
2Mc 9:21 I remember with affection your esteem and good will. On my way back from the region of Persia I suffered an annoying illness, and I have deemed it necessary to take thought for the general security of all.
2Mc 9:22 I do not despair of my condition, for I have good hope of recovering from my illness,
2Mc 9:23 but I observed that my father, on the occasions when he made expeditions into the upper country, appointed his successor,
2Mc 9:24 so that, if anything unexpected happened or any unwelcome news came, the people throughout the realm would not be troubled, for they would know to whom the government was left.
2Mc 9:25 Moreover, I understand how the princes along the borders and the neighbors to my kingdom keep watching for opportunities and waiting to see what will happen. So I have appointed my son Antiochus to be king, whom I have often entrusted and commended to most of you when I hastened off to the upper provinces; and I have written to him what is written here.
2Mc 9:26 I therefore urge and beseech you to remember the public and private services rendered to you and to maintain your present good will, each of you, toward me and my son.
2Mc 9:27 For I am sure that he will follow my policy and will treat you with moderation and kindness."
2Mc 9:28 So the murderer and blasphemer, having endured the more intense suffering, such as he had inflicted on others, came to the end of his life by a most pitiable fate, among the mountains in a strange land.
2Mc 9:29 And Philip, one of his courtiers, took his body home; then, fearing the son of Antiochus, he betook himself to Ptolemy Philometor in Egypt.
~ Chapter 10 ~
2Mc 10:1 Now Maccabeus and his followers, the Lord leading them on, recovered the temple and the city;
2Mc 10:2 and they tore down the altars which had been built in the public square by the foreigners, and also destroyed the sacred precincts.
2Mc 10:3 They purified the sanctuary, and made another altar of sacrifice; then, striking fire out of flint, they offered sacrifices, after a lapse of two years, and they burned incense and lighted lamps and set out the bread of the Presence.
2Mc 10:4 And when they had done this, they fell prostrate and besought the Lord that they might never again fall into such misfortunes, but that, if they should ever sin, they might be disciplined by him with forbearance and not be handed over to blasphemous and barbarous nations.
2Mc 10:5 It happened that on the same day on which the sanctuary had been profaned by the foreigners, the purification of the sanctuary took place, that is, on the twenty-fifth day of the same month, which was Chislev.
2Mc 10:6 And they celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the feast of booths, remembering how not long before, during the feast of booths, they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals.
2Mc 10:7 Therefore bearing ivy-wreathed wands and beautiful branches and also fronds of palm, they offered hymns of thanksgiving to him who had given success to the purifying of his own holy place.
2Mc 10:8 They decreed by public ordinance and vote that the whole nation of the Jews should observe these days every year.
2Mc 10:9 Such then was the end of Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes.
2Mc 10:10 Now we will tell what took place under Antiochus Eupator, who was the son of that ungodly man, and will give a brief summary of the principal calamities of the wars.
2Mc 10:11 This man, when he succeeded to the kingdom, appointed one Lysias to have charge of the government and to be chief governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia.
2Mc 10:12 Ptolemy, who was called Macron, took the lead in showing justice to the Jews because of the wrong that had been done to them, and attempted to maintain peaceful relations with them.
2Mc 10:13 As a result he was accused before Eupator by the king's friends. He heard himself called a traitor at every turn, because he had abandoned Cyprus, which Philometor had entrusted to him, and had gone over to Antiochus Epiphanes. Unable to command the respect due his office, he took poison and ended his life.
2Mc 10:14 When Gorgias became governor of the region, he maintained a force of mercenaries, and at every turn kept on warring against the Jews.
2Mc 10:15 Besides this, the Idumeans, who had control of important strongholds, were harassing the Jews; they received those who were banished from Jerusalem, and endeavored to keep up the war.
2Mc 10:16 But Maccabeus and his men, after making solemn supplication and beseeching God to fight on their side, rushed to the strongholds of the Idumeans.
2Mc 10:17 Attacking them vigorously, they gained possession of the places, and beat off all who fought upon the wall, and slew those whom they encountered, killing no fewer than twenty thousand.
2Mc 10:18 When no less than nine thousand took refuge in two very strong towers well equipped to withstand a siege,
2Mc 10:19 Maccabeus left Simon and Joseph, and also Zacchaeus and his men, a force sufficient to besiege them; and he himself set off for places where he was more urgently needed.
2Mc 10:20 But the men with Simon, who were money-hungry, were bribed by some of those who were in the towers, and on receiving seventy thousand drachmas let some of them slip away.
2Mc 10:21 When word of what had happened came to Maccabeus, he gathered the leaders of the people, and accused these men of having sold their brethren for money by setting their enemies free to fight against them.
2Mc 10:22 Then he slew these men who had turned traitor, and immediately captured the two towers.
2Mc 10:23 Having success at arms in everything he undertook, he destroyed more than twenty thousand in the two strongholds.
2Mc 10:24 Now Timothy, who had been defeated by the Jews before, gathered a tremendous force of mercenaries and collected the cavalry from Asia in no small number. He came on, intending to take Judea by storm.
2Mc 10:25 As he drew near, Maccabeus and his men sprinkled dust upon their heads and girded their loins with sackcloth, in supplication to God.
2Mc 10:26 Falling upon the steps before the altar, they besought him to be gracious to them and to be an enemy to their enemies and an adversary to their adversaries, as the law declares.
2Mc 10:27 And rising from their prayer they took up their arms and advanced a considerable distance from the city; and when they came near to the enemy they halted.
2Mc 10:28 Just as dawn was breaking, the two armies joined battle, the one having as pledge of success and victory not only their valor but their reliance upon the Lord, while the other made rage their leader in the fight.
2Mc 10:29 When the battle became fierce, there appeared to the enemy from heaven five resplendent men on horses with golden bridles, and they were leading the Jews.
2Mc 10:30 Surrounding Maccabeus and protecting him with their own armor and weapons, they kept him from being wounded. And they showered arrows and thunderbolts upon the enemy, so that, confused and blinded, they were thrown into disorder and cut to pieces.
2Mc 10:31 Twenty thousand five hundred were slaughtered, besides six hundred horsemen.
2Mc 10:32 Timothy himself fled to a stronghold called Gazara, especially well garrisoned, where Chaereas was commander.
2Mc 10:33 Then Maccabeus and his men were glad, and they besieged the fort for four days.
2Mc 10:34 The men within, relying on the strength of the place, blasphemed terribly and hurled out wicked words.
2Mc 10:35 But at dawn of the fifth day, twenty young men in the army of Maccabeus, fired with anger because of the blasphemies, bravely stormed the wall and with savage fury cut down every one they met.
2Mc 10:36 Others who came up in the same way wheeled around against the defenders and set fire to the towers; they kindled fires and burned the blasphemers alive. Others broke open the gates and let in the rest of the force, and they occupied the city.
2Mc 10:37 They killed Timothy, who was hidden in a cistern, and his brother Chaereas, and Apollophanes.
2Mc 10:38 When they had accomplished these things, with hymns and thanksgivings they blessed the Lord who shows great kindness to Israel and gives them the victory.
~ Chapter 11 ~
2Mc 11:1 Very soon after this, Lysias, the king's guardian and kinsman, who was in charge of the government, being vexed at what had happened,
2Mc 11:2 gathered about eighty thousand men and all his cavalry and came against the Jews. He intended to make the city a home for Greeks,
2Mc 11:3 and to levy tribute on the temple as he did on the sacred places of the other nations, and to put up the high priesthood for sale every year.
2Mc 11:4 He took no account whatever of the power of God, but was elated with his ten thousands of infantry, and his thousands of cavalry, and his eighty elephants.
2Mc 11:5 Invading Judea, he approached Beth-zur, which was a fortified place about five leagues from Jerusalem, and pressed it hard.
2Mc 11:6 When Maccabeus and his men got word that Lysias was besieging the strongholds, they and all the people, with lamentations and tears, besought the Lord to send a good angel to save Israel.
2Mc 11:7 Maccabeus himself was the first to take up arms, and he urged the others to risk their lives with him to aid their brethren. Then they eagerly rushed off together.
2Mc 11:8 And there, while they were still near Jerusalem, a horseman appeared at their head, clothed in white and brandishing weapons of gold.
2Mc 11:9 And they all together praised the merciful God, and were strengthened in heart, ready to assail not only men but the wildest beasts or walls of iron.
2Mc 11:10 They advanced in battle order, having their heavenly ally, for the Lord had mercy on them.
2Mc 11:11 They hurled themselves like lions against the enemy, and slew eleven thousand of them and sixteen hundred horsemen, and forced all the rest to flee.
2Mc 11:12 Most of them got away stripped and wounded, and Lysias himself escaped by disgraceful flight.
2Mc 11:13 And as he was not without intelligence, he pondered over the defeat which had befallen him, and realized that the Hebrews were invincible because the mighty God fought on their side. So he sent to them
2Mc 11:14 and persuaded them to settle everything on just terms, promising that he would persuade the king, constraining him to be their friend.
2Mc 11:15 Maccabeus, having regard for the common good, agreed to all that Lysias urged. For the king granted every request in behalf of the Jews which Maccabeus delivered to Lysias in writing.
2Mc 11:16 The letter written to the Jews by Lysias was to this effect: "Lysias to the people of the Jews, greeting.
2Mc 11:17 John and Absalom, who were sent by you, have delivered your signed communication and have asked about the matters indicated therein.
2Mc 11:18 I have informed the king of everything that needed to be brought before him, and he has agreed to what was possible.
2Mc 11:19 If you will maintain your good will toward the government, I will endeavor for the future to help promote your welfare.
2Mc 11:20 And concerning these matters and their details, I have ordered these men and my representatives to confer with you.
2Mc 11:21 Farewell. The one hundred and forty-eighth year, Dioscorinthius twenty-fourth."
2Mc 11:22 The king's letter ran thus: "King Antiochus to his brother Lysias, greeting.
2Mc 11:23 Now that our father has gone on to the gods, we desire that the subjects of the kingdom be undisturbed in caring for their own affairs.
2Mc 11:24 We have heard that the Jews do not consent to our father's change to Greek customs but prefer their own way of living and ask that their own customs be allowed them.
2Mc 11:25 Accordingly, since we choose that this nation also be free from disturbance, our decision is that their temple be restored to them and that they live according to the customs of their ancestors.
2Mc 11:26 You will do well, therefore, to send word to them and give them pledges of friendship, so that they may know our policy and be of good cheer and go on happily in the conduct of their own affairs."
2Mc 11:27 To the nation the king's letter was as follows: "King Antiochus to the senate of the Jews and to the other Jews, greeting.
2Mc 11:28 If you are well, it is as we desire. We also are in good health.
2Mc 11:29 Menelaus has informed us that you wish to return home and look after your own affairs.
2Mc 11:30 Therefore those who go home by the thirtieth day of Xanthicus will have our pledge of friendship and full permission
2Mc 11:31 for the Jews to enjoy their own food and laws, just as formerly, and none of them shall be molested in any way for what he may have done in ignorance.
2Mc 11:32 And I have also sent Menelaus to encourage you.
2Mc 11:33 Farewell. The one hundred and forty-eighth year, Xanthicus fifteenth."
2Mc 11:34 The Romans also sent them a letter, which read thus: "Quintus Memmius and Titus Manius, envoys of the Romans, to the people of the Jews, greeting.
2Mc 11:35 With regard to what Lysias the kinsman of the king has granted you, we also give consent.
2Mc 11:36 But as to the matters which he decided are to be referred to the king, as soon as you have considered them, send some one promptly, so that we may make proposals appropriate for you.
For we are on our way to Antioch.
2Mc 11:37 Therefore make haste and send some men, so that we may have your judgment.
2Mc 11:38 Farewell. The one hundred and forty-eighth year, Xanthicus fifteenth."
~ Chapter 12 ~
2Mc 12:1 When this agreement had been reached, Lysias returned to the king, and the Jews went about their farming.
2Mc 12:2 But some of the governors in various places, Timothy and Apollonius the son of Gennaeus, as well as Hieronymus and Demophon, and in addition to these Nicanor the governor of Cyprus, would not let them live quietly and in peace.
2Mc 12:3 And some men of Joppa did so ungodly a deed as this: they invited the Jews who lived among them to embark, with their wives and children, on boats which they had provided, as though there were no ill will to the Jews;
2Mc 12:4 and this was done by public vote of the city. And when they accepted, because they wished to live peaceably and suspected nothing, the men of Joppa took them out to sea and drowned them, not less than two hundred.
2Mc 12:5 When Judas heard of the cruelty visited on his countrymen, he gave orders to his men
2Mc 12:6 and, calling upon God the righteous Judge, attacked the murderers of his brethren. He set fire to the harbor by night, and burned the boats, and massacred those who had taken refuge there.
2Mc 12:7 Then, because the city's gates were closed, he withdrew, intending to come again and root out the whole community of Joppa.
2Mc 12:8 But learning that the men in Jamnia meant in the same way to wipe out the Jews who were living among them,
2Mc 12:9 he attacked the people of Jamnia by night and set fire to the harbor and the fleet, so that the glow of the light was seen in Jerusalem, thirty miles distant.
2Mc 12:10 When they had gone more than a mile from there, on their march against Timothy, not less than five thousand Arabs with five hundred horsemen attacked them.
2Mc 12:11 After a hard fight Judas and his men won the victory, by the help of God. The defeated nomads besought Judas to grant them pledges of friendship, promising to give him cattle and to help his people in all other ways.
2Mc 12:12 Judas, thinking that they might really be useful in many ways, agreed to make peace with them; and after receiving his pledges they departed to their tents.
2Mc 12:13 He also attacked a certain city which was strongly fortified with earthworks and walls, and inhabited by all sorts of Gentiles. Its name was Caspin.
2Mc 12:14 And those who were within, relying on the strength of the walls and on their supply of provisions, behaved most insolently toward Judas and his men, railing at them and even blaspheming and saying unholy things.
2Mc 12:15 But Judas and his men, calling upon the great Sovereign of the world, who without battering-rams or engines of war overthrew Jericho in the days of Joshua, rushed furiously upon the walls.
2Mc 12:16 They took the city by the will of God, and slaughtered untold numbers, so that the adjoining lake, a quarter of a mile wide, appeared to be running over with blood.
2Mc 12:17 When they had gone ninety-five miles from there, they came to Charax, to the Jews who are called Toubiani.
2Mc 12:18 They did not find Timothy in that region, for he had by then departed from the region without accomplishing anything, though in one place he had left a very strong garrison.
2Mc 12:19 Dositheus and Sosipater, who were captains under Maccabeus, marched out and destroyed those whom Timothy had left in the stronghold, more than ten thousand men.
2Mc 12:20 But Maccabeus arranged his army in divisions, set men in command of the divisions, and hastened after Timothy, who had with him a hundred and twenty thousand infantry and two thousand five hundred cavalry.
2Mc 12:21 When Timothy learned of the approach of Judas, he sent off the women and the children and also the baggage to a place called Carnaim; for that place was hard to besiege and difficult of access because of the narrowness of all the approaches.
2Mc 12:22 But when Judas' first division appeared, terror and fear came over the enemy at the manifestation to them of him who sees all things; and they rushed off in flight and were swept on, this way and that, so that often they were injured by their own men and pierced by the points of their swords.
2Mc 12:23 And Judas pressed the pursuit with the utmost vigor, putting the sinners to the sword, and destroyed as many as thirty thousand men.
2Mc 12:24 Timothy himself fell into the hands of Dositheus and Sosipater and their men. With great guile he besought them to let him go in safety, because he held the parents of most of them and the brothers of some and no consideration would be shown them.
2Mc 12:25 And when with many words he had confirmed his solemn promise to restore them unharmed, they let him go, for the sake of saving their brethren.
2Mc 12:26 Then Judas marched against Carnaim and the temple of Atargatis, and slaughtered twenty-five thousand people.
2Mc 12:27 After the rout and destruction of these, he marched also against Ephron, a fortified city where Lysias dwelt with multitudes of people of all nationalities. Stalwart young men took their stand before the walls and made a vigorous defense; and great stores of war engines and missiles were there.
2Mc 12:28 But the Jews called upon the Sovereign who with power shatters the might of his enemies, and they got the city into their hands, and killed as many as twenty-five thousand of those who were within it.
2Mc 12:29 Setting out from there, they hastened to Scythopolis, which is seventy-five miles from Jerusalem.
2Mc 12:30 But when the Jews who dwelt there bore witness to the good will which the people of Scythopolis had shown them and their kind treatment of them in times of misfortune,
2Mc 12:31 they thanked them and exhorted them to be well disposed to their race in the future also. Then they went up to Jerusalem, as the feast of weeks was close at hand.
2Mc 12:32 After the feast called Pentecost, they hastened against Gorgias, the governor of Idumea.
2Mc 12:33 And he came out with three thousand infantry and four hundred cavalry.
2Mc 12:34 When they joined battle, it happened that a few of the Jews fell.
2Mc 12:35 But a certain Dositheus, one of Bacenor's men, who was on horseback and was a strong man, caught hold of Gorgias, and grasping his cloak was dragging him off by main strength, wishing to take the accursed man alive, when one of the Thracian horsemen bore down upon him and cut off his arm; so Gorgias escaped and reached Marisa.
2Mc 12:36 As Esdris and his men had been fighting for a long time and were weary, Judas called upon the Lord to show himself their ally and leader in the battle.
2Mc 12:37 In the language of their fathers he raised the battle cry, with hymns; then he charged against Gorgias' men when they were not expecting it, and put them to flight.
2Mc 12:38 Then Judas assembled his army and went to the city of Adullam. As the seventh day was coming on, they purified themselves according to the custom, and they kept the sabbath there.
2Mc 12:39 On the next day, as by that time it had become necessary, Judas and his men went to take up the bodies of the fallen and to bring them back to lie with their kinsmen in the sepulchres of their fathers.
2Mc 12:40 Then under the tunic of every one of the dead they found sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. And it became clear to all that this was why these men had fallen.
2Mc 12:41 So they all blessed the ways of the Lord, the righteous Judge, who reveals the things that are hidden;
2Mc 12:42 and they turned to prayer, beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out. And the noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen.
2Mc 12:43 He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection.
2Mc 12:44 For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead.
2Mc 12:45 But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.
~ Chapter 13 ~
2Mc 13:1 In the one hundred and forty-ninth year word came to Judas and his men that Antiochus Eupator was coming with a great army against Judea,
2Mc 13:2 and with him Lysias, his guardian, who had charge of the government. Each of them had a Greek force of one hundred and ten thousand infantry, five thousand three hundred cavalry, twenty-two elephants, and three hundred chariots armed with scythes.
2Mc 13:3 Menelaus also joined them and with utter hypocrisy urged Antiochus on, not for the sake of his country's welfare, but because he thought that he would be established in office.
2Mc 13:4 But the King of kings aroused the anger of Antiochus against the scoundrel; and when Lysias informed him that this man was to blame for all the trouble, he ordered them to take him to Beroea and to put him to death by the method which is the custom in that place.
2Mc 13:5 For there is a tower in that place, fifty cubits high, full of ashes, and it has a rim running around it which on all sides inclines precipitously into the ashes.
2Mc 13:6 There they all push to destruction any man guilty of sacrilege or notorious for other crimes.
2Mc 13:7 By such a fate it came about that Menelaus the lawbreaker died, without even burial in the earth.
2Mc 13:8 And this was eminently just; because he had committed many sins against the altar whose fire and ashes were holy, he met his death in ashes.
2Mc 13:9 The king with barbarous arrogance was coming to show the Jews things far worse than those that had been done in his father's time.
2Mc 13:10 But when Judas heard of this, he ordered the people to call upon the Lord day and night, now if ever to help those who were on the point of being deprived of the law and their country and the holy temple,
2Mc 13:11 and not to let the people who had just begun to revive fall into the hands of the blasphemous Gentiles.
2Mc 13:12 When they had all joined in the same petition and had besought the merciful Lord with weeping and fasting and lying prostrate for three days without ceasing, Judas exhorted them and ordered them to stand ready.
2Mc 13:13 After consulting privately with the elders, he determined to march out and decide the matter by the help of God before the king's army could enter Judea and get possession of the city.
2Mc 13:14 So, committing the decision to the Creator of the world and exhorting his men to fight nobly to the death for the laws, temple, city, country, and commonwealth, he pitched his camp near Modein.
2Mc 13:15 He gave his men the watchword, "God's victory," and with a picked force of the bravest young men, he attacked the king's pavilion at night and slew as many as two thousand men in the camp. He stabbed the leading elephant and its rider.
2Mc 13:16 In the end they filled the camp with terror and confusion and withdrew in triumph.
2Mc 13:17 This happened, just as day was dawning, because the Lord's help protected him.
2Mc 13:18 The king, having had a taste of the daring of the Jews, tried strategy in attacking their positions.
2Mc 13:19 He advanced against Beth-zur, a strong fortress of the Jews, was turned back, attacked again, and was defeated.
2Mc 13:20 Judas sent in to the garrison whatever was necessary.
2Mc 13:21 But Rhodocus, a man from the ranks of the Jews, gave secret information to the enemy; he was sought for, caught, and put in prison.
2Mc 13:22 The king negotiated a second time with the people in Beth-zur, gave pledges, received theirs, withdrew, attacked Judas and his men, was defeated;
2Mc 13:23 he got word that Philip, who had been left in charge of the government, had revolted in Antioch; he was dismayed, called in the Jews, yielded and swore to observe all their rights, settled with them and offered sacrifice, honored the sanctuary and showed generosity to the holy place.
2Mc 13:24 He received Maccabeus, left Hegemonides as governor from Ptolemais to Gerar,
2Mc 13:25 and went to Ptolemais. The people of Ptolemais were indignant over the treaty; in fact they were so angry that they wanted to annul its terms.
2Mc 13:26 Lysias took the public platform, made the best possible defense, convinced them, appeased them, gained their good will, and set out for Antioch. This is how the king's attack and withdrawal turned out.
~ Chapter 14 ~
2Mc 14:1 Three years later, word came to Judas and his men that Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, had sailed into the harbor of Tripolis with a strong army and a fleet,
2Mc 14:2 and had taken possession of the country, having made away with Antiochus and his guardian Lysias.
2Mc 14:3 Now a certain Alcimus, who had formerly been high priest but had wilfully defiled himself in the times of separation, realized that there was no way for him to be safe or to have access again to the holy altar,
2Mc 14:4 and went to King Demetrius in about the one hundred and fifty-first year, presenting to him a crown of gold and a palm, and besides these some of the customary olive branches from the temple. During that day he kept quiet.
2Mc 14:5 But he found an opportunity that furthered his mad purpose when he was invited by Demetrius to a meeting of the council and was asked about the disposition and intentions of the Jews. He answered:
2Mc 14:6 "Those of the Jews who are called Hasideans, whose leader is Judas Maccabeus, are keeping up war and stirring up sedition, and will not let the kingdom attain tranquillity.
2Mc 14:7 Therefore I have laid aside my ancestral glory -- I mean the high priesthood -- and have now come here,
2Mc 14:8 first because I am genuinely concerned for the interests of the king, and second because I have regard also for my fellow citizens. For through the folly of those whom I have mentioned our whole nation is now in no small misfortune.
2Mc 14:9 Since you are acquainted, O king, with the details of this matter, deign to take thought for our country and our hard-pressed nation with the gracious kindness which you show to all.
2Mc 14:10 For as long as Judas lives, it is impossible for the government to find peace."
2Mc 14:11 When he had said this, the rest of the king's friends, who were hostile to Judas, quickly inflamed Demetrius still more.
2Mc 14:12 And he immediately chose Nicanor, who had been in command of the elephants, appointed him governor of Judea, and sent him off
2Mc 14:13 with orders to kill Judas and scatter his men, and to set up Alcimus as high priest of the greatest temple.
2Mc 14:14 And the Gentiles throughout Judea, who had fled before Judas, flocked to join Nicanor, thinking that the misfortunes and calamities of the Jews would mean prosperity for themselves.
2Mc 14:15 When the Jews heard of Nicanor's coming and the gathering of the Gentiles, they sprinkled dust upon their heads and prayed to him who established his own people for ever and always upholds his own heritage by manifesting himself.
2Mc 14:16 At the command of the leader, they set out from there immediately and engaged them in battle at a village called Dessau.
2Mc 14:17 Simon, the brother of Judas, had encountered Nicanor, but had been temporarily checked because of the sudden consternation created by the enemy.
2Mc 14:18 Nevertheless Nicanor, hearing of the valor of Judas and his men and their courage in battle for their country, shrank from deciding the issue by bloodshed.
2Mc 14:19 Therefore he sent Posidonius and Theodotus and Mattathias to give and receive pledges of friendship.
2Mc 14:20 When the terms had been fully considered, and the leader had informed the people, and it had appeared that they were of one mind, they agreed to the covenant.
2Mc 14:21 And the leaders set a day on which to meet by themselves. A chariot came forward from each army; seats of honor were set in place;
2Mc 14:22 Judas posted armed men in readiness at key places to prevent sudden treachery on the part of the enemy; they held the proper conference.
2Mc 14:23 Nicanor stayed on in Jerusalem and did nothing out of the way, but dismissed the flocks of people that had gathered.
2Mc 14:24 And he kept Judas always in his presence; he was warmly attached to the man.
2Mc 14:25 And he urged him to marry and have children; so he married, settled down, and shared the common life.
2Mc 14:26 But when Alcimus noticed their good will for one another, he took the covenant that had been made and went to Demetrius. He told him that Nicanor was disloyal to the government, for he had appointed that conspirator against the kingdom, Judas, to be his successor.
2Mc 14:27 The king became excited and, provoked by the false accusations of that depraved man, wrote to Nicanor, stating that he was displeased with the covenant and commanding him to send Maccabeus to Antioch as a prisoner without delay.
2Mc 14:28 When this message came to Nicanor, he was troubled and grieved that he had to annul their agreement when the man had done no wrong.
2Mc 14:29 Since it was not possible to oppose the king, he watched for an opportunity to accomplish this by a stratagem.
2Mc 14:30 But Maccabeus, noticing that Nicanor was more austere in his dealings with him and was meeting him more rudely than had been his custom, concluded that this austerity did not spring from the best motives. So he gathered not a few of his men, and went into hiding from Nicanor.
2Mc 14:31 When the latter became aware that he had been cleverly outwitted by the man, he went to the great and holy temple while the priests were offering the customary sacrifices, and commanded them to hand the man over.
2Mc 14:32 And when they declared on oath that they did not know where the man was whom he sought,
2Mc 14:33 he stretched out his right hand toward the sanctuary, and swore this oath: "If you do not hand Judas over to me as a prisoner, I will level this precinct of God to the ground and tear down the altar, and I will build here a splendid temple to Dionysus."
2Mc 14:34 Having said this, he went away. Then the priests stretched forth their hands toward heaven and called upon the constant Defender of our nation, in these words:
2Mc 14:35 "O Lord of all, who hast need of nothing, thou wast pleased that there be a temple for thy habitation among us;
2Mc 14:36 so now, O holy One, Lord of all holiness, keep undefiled for ever this house that has been so recently purified."
2Mc 14:37 A certain Razis, one of the elders of Jerusalem, was denounced to Nicanor as a man who loved his fellow citizens and was very well thought of and for his good will was called father of the Jews.
2Mc 14:38 For in former times, when there was no mingling with the Gentiles, he had been accused of Judaism, and for Judaism he had with all zeal risked body and life.
2Mc 14:39 Nicanor, wishing to exhibit the enmity which he had for the Jews, sent more than five hundred soldiers to arrest him;
2Mc 14:40 for he thought that by arresting him he would do them an injury.
2Mc 14:41 When the troops were about to capture the tower and were forcing the door of the courtyard, they ordered that fire be brought and the doors burned. Being surrounded, Razis fell upon his own sword,
2Mc 14:42 preferring to die nobly rather than to fall into the hands of sinners and suffer outrages unworthy of his noble birth.
2Mc 14:43 But in the heat of the struggle he did not hit exactly, and the crowd was now rushing in through the doors. He bravely ran up on the wall, and manfully threw himself down into the crowd.
2Mc 14:44 But as they quickly drew back, a space opened and he fell in the middle of the empty space.
2Mc 14:45 Still alive and aflame with anger, he rose, and though his blood gushed forth and his wounds were severe he ran through the crowd; and standing upon a steep rock,
2Mc 14:46 with his blood now completely drained from him, he tore out his entrails, took them with both hands and hurled them at the crowd, calling upon the Lord of life and spirit to give them back to him again. This was the manner of his death.
~ Chapter 15 ~
2Mc 15:1 When Nicanor heard that Judas and his men were in the region of Samaria, he made plans to attack them with complete safety on the day of rest.
2Mc 15:2 And when the Jews who were compelled to follow him said, "Do not destroy so savagely and barbarously, but show respect for the day which he who sees all things has honored and hallowed above other days,"
2Mc 15:3 the thrice-accursed wretch asked if there were a sovereign in heaven who had commanded the keeping of the sabbath day.
2Mc 15:4 And when they declared, "It is the living Lord himself, the Sovereign in heaven, who ordered us to observe the seventh day,"
2Mc 15:5 he replied, "And I am a sovereign also, on earth, and I command you to take up arms and finish the king's business." Nevertheless, he did not succeed in carrying out his abominable design.
2Mc 15:6 This Nicanor in his utter boastfulness and arrogance had determined to erect a public monument of victory over Judas and his men.
2Mc 15:7 But Maccabeus did not cease to trust with all confidence that he would get help from the Lord.
2Mc 15:8 And he exhorted his men not to fear the attack of the Gentiles, but to keep in mind the former times when help had come to them from heaven, and now to look for the victory which the Almighty would give them.
2Mc 15:9 Encouraging them from the law and the prophets, and reminding them also of the struggles they had won, he made them the more eager.
2Mc 15:10 And when he had aroused their courage, he gave his orders, at the same time pointing out the perfidy of the Gentiles and their violation of oaths.
2Mc 15:11 He armed each of them not so much with confidence in shields and spears as with the inspiration of brave words, and he cheered them all by relating a dream, a sort of vision, which was worthy of belief.
2Mc 15:12 What he saw was this: Onias, who had been high priest, a noble and good man, of modest bearing and gentle manner, one who spoke fittingly and had been trained from childhood in all that belongs to excellence, was praying with outstretched hands for the whole body of the Jews.
2Mc 15:13 Then likewise a man appeared, distinguished by his gray hair and dignity, and of marvelous majesty and authority.
2Mc 15:14 And Onias spoke, saying, "This is a man who loves the brethren and prays much for the people and the holy city, Jeremiah, the prophet of God."
2Mc 15:15 Jeremiah stretched out his right hand and gave to Judas a golden sword, and as he gave it he addressed him thus:
2Mc 15:16 "Take this holy sword, a gift from God, with which you will strike down your adversaries."
2Mc 15:17 Encouraged by the words of Judas, so noble and so effective in arousing valor and awaking manliness in the souls of the young, they determined not to carry on a campaign but to attack bravely, and to decide the matter, by fighting hand to hand with all courage, because the city and the sanctuary and the temple were in danger.
2Mc 15:18 Their concern for wives and children, and also for brethren and relatives, lay upon them less heavily; their greatest and first fear was for the consecrated sanctuary.
2Mc 15:19 And those who had to remain in the city were in no little distress, being anxious over the encounter in the open country.
2Mc 15:20 When all were now looking forward to the coming decision, and the enemy was already close at hand with their army drawn up for battle, the elephants strategically stationed and the cavalry deployed on the flanks,
2Mc 15:21 Maccabeus, perceiving the hosts that were before him and the varied supply of arms and the savagery of the elephants, stretched out his hands toward heaven and called upon the Lord who works wonders; for he knew that it is not by arms, but as the Lord decides, that he gains the victory for those who deserve it.
2Mc 15:22 And he called upon him in these words: "O Lord, thou didst send thy angel in the time of Hezekiah king of Judea, and he slew fully a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of Sennacherib.
2Mc 15:23 So now, O Sovereign of the heavens, send a good angel to carry terror and trembling before us.
2Mc 15:24 By the might of thy arm may these blasphemers who come against thy holy people be struck down." With these words he ended his prayer.
2Mc 15:25 Nicanor and his men advanced with trumpets and battle songs;
2Mc 15:26 and Judas and his men met the enemy in battle with invocation to God and prayers.
2Mc 15:27 So, fighting with their hands and praying to God in their hearts, they laid low no less than thirty-five thousand men, and were greatly gladdened by God's manifestation.
2Mc 15:28 When the action was over and they were returning with joy, they recognized Nicanor, lying dead, in full armor.
2Mc 15:29 Then there was shouting and tumult, and they blessed the Sovereign Lord in the language of their fathers.
2Mc 15:30 And the man who was ever in body and soul the defender of his fellow citizens, the man who maintained his youthful good will toward his countrymen, ordered them to cut off Nicanor's head and arm and carry them to Jerusalem.
2Mc 15:31 And when he arrived there and had called his countrymen together and stationed the priests before the altar, he sent for those who were in the citadel.
2Mc 15:32 He showed them the vile Nicanor's head and that profane man's arm, which had been boastfully stretched out against the holy house of the Almighty;
2Mc 15:33 and he cut out the tongue of the ungodly Nicanor and said that he would give it piecemeal to the birds and hang up these rewards of his folly opposite the sanctuary.
2Mc 15:34 And they all, looking to heaven, blessed the Lord who had manifested himself, saying, "Blessed is he who has kept his own place undefiled."
2Mc 15:35 And he hung Nicanor's head from the citadel, a clear and conspicuous sign to every one of the help of the Lord.
2Mc 15:36 And they all decreed by public vote never to let this day go unobserved, but to celebrate the thirteenth day of the twelfth month -- which is called Adar in the Syrian language -- the day before Mordecai's day.
2Mc 15:37 This, then, is how matters turned out with Nicanor. And from that time the city has been in the possession of the Hebrews. So I too will here end my story.
2Mc 15:38 If it is well told and to the point, that is what I myself desired; if it is poorly done and mediocre, that was the best I could do.
2Mc 15:39 For just as it is harmful to drink wine alone, or, again, to drink water alone, while wine mixed with water is sweet and delicious and enhances one's enjoyment, so also the style of the story delights the ears of those who read the work. And here will be the end.
Tobit
~ Chapter 1 ~
Tob 1:1 The book of the acts of Tobit the son of Tobiel, son of Ananiel, son of Aduel, son of Gabael, of the descendants of Asiel and the tribe of Naphtali,
Tob 1:2 who in the days of Shalmaneser, king of the Assyrians, was taken into captivity from Thisbe, which is to the south of Kedesh Naphtali in Galilee above Asher.
Tob 1:3 I, Tobit, walked in the ways of truth and righteousness all the days of my life, and I performed many acts of charity to my brethren and countrymen who went with me into the land of the Assyrians, to Nineveh.
Tob 1:4 Now when I was in my own country, in the land of Israel, while I was still a young man, the whole tribe of Naphtali my forefather deserted the house of Jerusalem. This was the place which had been chosen from among all the tribes of Israel, where all the tribes should sacrifice and where the temple of the dwelling of the Most High was consecrated and established for all generations for ever.
Tob 1:5 All the tribes that joined in apostasy used to sacrifice to the calf Baal, and so did the house of Naphtali my forefather.
Tob 1:6 But I alone went often to Jerusalem for the feasts, as it is ordained for all Israel by an everlasting decree. Taking the first fruits and the tithes of my produce and the first shearings, I would give these to the priests, the sons of Aaron, at the altar.
Tob 1:7 Of all my produce I would give a tenth to the sons of Levi who ministered at Jerusalem; a second tenth I would sell, and I would go and spend the proceeds each year at Jerusalem;
Tob 1:8 the third tenth I would give to those to whom it was my duty, as Deborah my father's mother had commanded me, for I was left an orphan by my father.
Tob 1:9 When I became a man I married Anna, a member of our family, and by her I became the father of Tobias.
Tob 1:10 Now when I was carried away captive to Nineveh, all my brethren and my relatives ate the food of the Gentiles;
Tob 1:11 but I kept myself from eating it,
Tob 1:12 because I remembered God with all my heart.
Tob 1:13 Then the Most High gave me favor and good appearance in the sight of Shalmaneser, and I was his buyer of provisions.
Tob 1:14 So I used to go into Media, and once at Rages in Media I left ten talents of silver in trust with Gabael, the brother of Gabrias.
Tob 1:15 But when Shalmaneser died, Sennacherib his son reigned in his place; and under him the highways were unsafe, so that I could no longer go into Media.
Tob 1:16 In the days of Shalmaneser I performed many acts of charity to my brethren.
Tob 1:17 I would give my bread to the hungry and my clothing to the naked; and if I saw any one of my people dead and thrown out behind the wall of Nineveh, I would bury him.
Tob 1:18 And if Sennacherib the king put to death any who came fleeing from Judea, I buried them secretly. For in his anger he put many to death. When the bodies were sought by the king, they were not found.
Tob 1:19 Then one of the men of Nineveh went and informed the king about me, that I was burying them; so I hid myself. When I learned that I was being searched for, to be put to death, I left home in fear.
Tob 1:20 Then all my property was confiscated and nothing was left to me except my wife Anna and my son Tobias.
Tob 1:21 But not fifty days passed before two of Sennacherib's sons killed him, and they fled to the mountains of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon, his son, reigned in his place; and he appointed Ahikar, the son of my brother Anael, over all the accounts of his kingdom and over the entire administration.
Tob 1:22 Ahikar interceded for me, and I returned to Nineveh. Now Ahikar was cupbearer, keeper of the signet, and in charge of administration of the accounts, for Esarhaddon had appointed him second to himself. He was my nephew.
~ Chapter 2 ~
Tob 2:1 When I arrived home and my wife Anna and my son Tobias were restored to me, at the feast of Pentecost, which is the sacred festival of the seven weeks, a good dinner was prepared for me and I sat down to eat.
Tob 2:2 Upon seeing the abundance of food I said to my son, "Go and bring whatever poor man of our brethren you may find who is mindful of the Lord, and I will wait for you."
Tob 2:3 But he came back and said, "Father, one of our people has been strangled and thrown into the market place."
Tob 2:4 So before I tasted anything I sprang up and removed the body to a place of shelter until sunset.
Tob 2:5 And when I returned I washed myself and ate my food in sorrow.
Tob 2:6 Then I remembered the prophecy of Amos, how he said, "Your feasts shall be turned into mourning, and all your festivities into lamentation." And I wept.
Tob 2:7 When the sun had set I went and dug a grave and buried the body.
Tob 2:8 And my neighbors laughed at me and said, "He is no longer afraid that he will be put to death for doing this; he once ran away, and here he is burying the dead again!"
Tob 2:9 On the same night I returned from burying him, and because I was defiled I slept by the wall of the courtyard, and my face was uncovered.
Tob 2:10 I did not know that there were sparrows on the wall and their fresh droppings fell into my open eyes and white films formed on my eyes. I went to physicians, but they did not help me. Ahikar, however, took care of me until he went to Elymais.
Tob 2:11 Then my wife Anna earned money at women's work.
Tob 2:12 She used to send the product to the owners. Once when they paid her wages, they also gave her a kid;
Tob 2:13 and when she returned to me it began to bleat. So I said to her, "Where did you get the kid? It is not stolen, is it? Return it to the owners; for it is not right to eat what is stolen."
Tob 2:14 And she said, "It was given to me as a gift in addition to my wages." But I did not believe her, and told her to return it to the owners; and I blushed for her. Then she replied to me, "Where are your charities and your righteous deeds? You seem to know everything!"
~ Chapter 3 ~
Tob 3:1 Then in my grief I wept, and I prayed in anguish, saying,
Tob 3:2 "Righteous art thou, O Lord; all thy deeds and all they ways are mercy and truth, and thou dost render true and righteous judgment for ever.
Tob 3:3 Remember me and look favorably upon me; do not punish me for my sins and for my unwitting offences and those which my fathers committed before thee.
Tob 3:4 For they disobeyed thy commandments, and thou gavest us over to plunder, captivity, and death; thou madest us a byword of reproach in all the nations among which we have been dispersed.
Tob 3:5 And now thy many judgments are true in exacting penalty from me for my sins and those of my fathers, because we did not keep thy commandments. For we did not walk in truth before thee.
Tob 3:6 And now deal with me according to thy pleasure; command my spirit to be taken up, that I may depart and become dust. For it is better for me to die than to live, because I have heard false reproaches, and great is the sorrow within me. Command that I now be released from my distress to go to the eternal abode; do not turn thy face away from me."
Tob 3:7 On the same day, at Ecbatana in Media, it also happened that Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, was reproached by her father's maids,
Tob 3:8 because she had been given to seven husbands, and the evil demon Asmodeus had slain each of them before he had been with her as his wife. So the maids said to her, "Do you not know that you strangle your husbands? You already have had seven and have had no benefit from any of them.
Tob 3:9 Why do you beat us? If they are dead, go with them! May we never see a son or daughter of yours!"
Tob 3:10 When she heard these things she was deeply grieved, even to the thought of hanging herself. But she said, "I am the only child of my father; if I do this, it will be a disgrace to him, and I shall bring his old age down in sorrow to the grave.
Tob 3:11 So she prayed by her window and said, "Blessed art thou, O Lord my God, and blessed is thy holy and honored name for ever. May all thy works praise thee for ever.
Tob 3:12 And now, O Lord, I have turned my eyes and my face toward thee.
Tob 3:13 Command that I be released from the earth and that I hear reproach no more.
Tob 3:14 Thou knowest, O Lord, that I am innocent of any sin with man,
Tob 3:15 and that I did not stain my name or the name of my father in the land of my captivity. I am my father's only child, and he has no child to be his heir, no near kinsman or kinsman's son for whom I should keep myself as wife. Already seven husbands of mine are dead. Why should I live? But if it be not pleasing to thee to take my life, command that respect be shown to me and pity be taken upon me, and that I hear reproach no more."
Tob 3:16 The prayer of both was heard in the presence of the glory of the great God.
Tob 3:17 And Raphael was sent to heal the two of them: to scale away the white films of Tobit's eyes; to give Sarah the daughter of Raguel in marriage to Tobias the son of Tobit, and to bind Asmodeus the evil demon, because Tobias was entitled to possess her. At that very moment Tobit returned and entered his house and Sarah the daughter of Raguel came down from her upper room.
~ Chapter 4 ~
Tob 4:1 On that day Tobit remembered the money which he had left in trust with Gabael at Rages in Media, and he said to himself;
Tob 4:2 "I have asked for death. Why do I not call my son Tobias so that I may explain to him about the money before I die?"
Tob 4:3 So he called him and said, "My son, when I die, bury me, and do not neglect your mother. Honor her all the days of your life; do what is pleasing to her, and do not grieve her.
Tob 4:4 Remember, my son, that she faced many dangers for you while you were yet unborn. When she dies bury her beside me in the same grave.
Tob 4:5 "Remember the Lord our God all your days, my son, and refuse to sin or to transgress his commandments. Live uprightly all the days of your life, and do not walk in the ways of wrongdoing.
Tob 4:6 For if you do what is true, your ways will prosper through your deeds.
Tob 4:7 Give alms from your possessions to all who live uprightly, and do not let your eye begrudge the gift when you make it. Do not turn your face away from any poor man, and the face of God will not be turned away from you.
Tob 4:8 If you have many possessions, make your gift from them in proportion; if few, do not be afraid to give according to the little you have.
Tob 4:9 So you will be laying up a good treasure for yourself against the day of necessity.
Tob 4:10 For charity delivers from death and keeps you from entering the darkness;
Tob 4:11 and for all who practice it charity is an excellent offering in the presence of the Most High.
Tob 4:12 "Beware, my son, of all immorality. First of all take a wife from among the descendants of your fathers and do not marry a foreign woman, who is not of your father's tribe; for we are the sons of the prophets. Remember, my son, that Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our fathers of old, all took wives from among their brethren. They were blessed in their children, and their posterity will inherit the land.
Tob 4:13 So now, my son, love your brethren, and in your heart do not disdain your brethren and the sons and daughters of your people by refusing to take a wife for yourself from among them. For in pride there is ruin and great confusion; and in shiftlessness there is loss and great want, because shiftlessness is the mother of famine.
Tob 4:14 Do not hold over till the next day the wages of any man who works for you, but pay him at once; and if you serve God you will receive payment. "Watch yourself, my son, in everything you do, and be disciplined in all your conduct.
Tob 4:15 And what you hate, do not do to any one. Do not drink wine to excess or let drunkenness go with you on your way.
Tob 4:16 Give of your bread to the hungry, and of your clothing to the naked. Give all your surplus to charity, and do not let your eye begrudge the gift when you made it.
Tob 4:17 Place your bread on the grave of the righteous, but give none to sinners.
Tob 4:18 Seek advice from every wise man, and do not despise any useful counsel.
Tob 4:19 Bless the Lord God on every occasion; ask him that your ways may be made straight and that all your paths and plans may prosper. For none of the nations has understanding; but the Lord himself gives all good things, and according to his will he humbles whomever he wishes. "So, my son, remember my commands, and do not let them be blotted out of your mind.
Tob 4:20 And now let me explain to you about the ten talents of silver which I left in trust with Gabael the son of Gabrias at Rages in Media.
Tob 4:21 Do not be afraid, my son, because we have become poor. You have great wealth if you fear God and refrain from every sin and do what is pleasing in his sight."
~ Chapter 5 ~
Tob 5:1 Then Tobias answered him, "Father, I will do everything that you have commanded me;
Tob 5:2 but how can I obtain the money when I do not know the man?"
Tob 5:3 Then Tobit gave him the receipt, and said to him, "Find a man to go with you and I will pay him wages as long as I live; and go and get the money."
Tob 5:4 So he went to look for a man; and he found Raphael, who was an angel,
Tob 5:5 but Tobias did not know it. Tobias said to him, "Can you go with me to Rages in Media? Are you acquainted with that region?"
Tob 5:6 The angel replied, "I will go with you; I am familiar with the way, and I have stayed with our brother Gabael."
Tob 5:7 Then Tobias said to him, "Wait for me, and I shall tell my father."
Tob 5:8 And he said to him, "Go, and do not delay." So he went in and said to his father, "I have found some one to go with me." He said, "Call him to me, so that I may learn to what tribe he belongs, and whether he is a reliable man to go with you."
Tob 5:9 So Tobias invited him in; he entered and they greeted each other.
Tob 5:10 Then Tobit said to him, "My brother, to what tribe and family do you belong? Tell me. "
Tob 5:11 But he answered, "Are you looking for a tribe and a family or for a man whom you will pay to go with your son?" And Tobit said to him, "I should like to know, my brother, your people and your name."
Tob 5:12 He replied, "I am Azarias the son of the great Ananias, one of your relatives."
Tob 5:13 Then Tobit said to him, "You are welcome, my brother. Do not be angry with me because I tried to learn your tribe and family. You are a relative of mine, of a good and noble lineage. For I used to know Ananias and Jathan, the sons of the great Shemaiah, when we went together to Jerusalem to worship and offered the first-born of our flocks and the tithes of our produce. They did not go astray in the error of our brethren. My brother, you come of good stock.
Tob 5:14 But tell me, what wages am I to pay you -- a drachma a day, and expenses for yourself as for my son?
Tob 5:15 And besides, I will add to your wages if you both return safe and sound." So they agreed to these terms.
Tob 5:16 Then he said to Tobias, "Get ready for the journey, and good success to you both." So his son made the preparations for the journey. And his father said to him, "Go with this man; God who dwells in heaven will prosper your way, and may his angel attend you." So they both went out and departed, and the young man's dog was with them.
Tob 5:17 But Anna, his mother, began to weep, and said to Tobit, "Why have you sent our child away? Is he not the staff of our hands as he goes in and out before us?
Tob 5:18 Do not add money to money, but consider it as rubbish as compared to our child.
Tob 5:19 For the life that is given to us by the Lord is enough for us."
Tob 5:20 And Tobit said to her, "Do not worry, my sister; he will return safe and sound, and your eyes will see him.
Tob 5:21 For a good angel will go with him; his journey will be successful, and he will come back safe and sound."
Tob 5:Tob 5:22. So she stopped weeping.
~ Chapter 6 ~
Tob 6:1 Now as they proceeded on their way they came at evening to the Tigris river and camped there.
Tob 6:2 Then the young man went down to wash himself. A fish leaped up from the river and would have swallowed the young man;
Tob 6:3 and the angel said to him, "Catch the fish." So the young man seized the fish and threw it up on the land.
Tob 6:4 Then the angel said to him, "Cut open the fish and take the heart and liver and gall and put them away safely."
Tob 6:5 So the young man did as the angel told him; and they roasted and ate the fish. And they both continued on their way until they came near to Ecbatana.
Tob 6:6 Then the young man said to the angel, "Brother Azarias, of what use is the liver and heart and gall of the fish?"
Tob 6:7 He replied, "As for the heart and liver, if a demon or evil spirit gives trouble to any one, you make a smoke from these before the man or woman, and that person will never be troubled again.
Tob 6:8 And as for the gall, anoint with it a man who has white films in his eyes, and he will be cured."
Tob 6:9 When they approached Ecbatana,
Tob 6:10 the angel said to the young man, "Brother, today we shall stay with Raguel. He is your relative, and he has an only daughter named Sarah. I will suggest that she be given to you in marriage,
Tob 6:11 because you are entitled to her and to her inheritance, for you are her only eligible kinsman.
Tob 6:12 The girl is also beautiful and sensible. Now listen to my plan. I will speak to her father, and as soon as we return from Rages we will celebrate the marriage. For I know that Raguel, according to the law of Moses, cannot give her to another man without incurring the penalty of death, because you rather than any other man are entitled to the inheritance."
Tob 6:13 Then the young man said to the angel, "Brother Azarias, I have heard that the girl has been given to seven husbands and that each died in the bridal chamber.
Tob 6:14 Now I am the only son my father has, and I am afraid that if I go in I will die as those before me did, for a demon is in love with her, and he harms no one except those who approach her. So now I fear that I may die and bring the lives of my father and mother to the grave in sorrow on my account. And they have no other son to bury them."
Tob 6:15 But the angel said to him, "Do you not remember the words with which your father commanded you to take a wife from among your own people? Now listen to me, brother, for she will become your wife; and do not worry about the demon, for this very night she will be given to you in marriage.
Tob 6:16 When you enter the bridal chamber, you shall take live ashes of incense and lay upon them some of the heart and liver of the fish so as to make a smoke.
Tob 6:17 Then the demon will smell it and flee away, and will never again return. And when you approach her, rise up, both of you, and cry out to the merciful God, and he will save you and have mercy on you. Do not be afraid, for she was destined for you from eternity. You will save her, and she will go with you, and I suppose that you will have children by her." When Tobias heard these things, he fell in love with her and yearned deeply for her.
~ Chapter 7 ~
Tob 7:1 When they reached Ecbatana and arrived at the house of Raguel, Sarah met them and greeted them. They returned her greeting, and she brought them into the house.
Tob 7:2 Then Raguel said to his wife Edna, "How much the young man resembles my cousin Tobit!"
Tob 7:3 And Raguel asked them, "Where are you from, brethren?" They answered him, "We belong to the sons of Naphtali, who are captives in Nineveh."
Tob 7:4 So he said to them, "Do you know our brother Tobit?" And they said, "Yes, we do." And he asked them, "Is he in good health?"
Tob 7:5 They replied, "He is alive and in good health." And Tobias said, "He is my father."
Tob 7:6 Then Raguel sprang up and kissed him and wept.
Tob 7:7 And he blessed him and exclaimed, "Son of that good and noble man!" When he heard that Tobit had lost his sight, he was stricken with grief and wept.
Tob 7:8 And his wife Edna and his daughter Sarah wept. They received them very warmly; and they killed a ram from the flock and set large servings of food before them. Then Tobias said to Raphael, "Brother Azarias, speak of those things which you talked about on the journey, and let the matter be settled."
Tob 7:9 So he communicated the proposal to Raguel. And Raguel said to Tobias, "Eat, drink, and be merry;
Tob 7:10 for it is your right to take my child. But let me explain the true situation to you.
Tob 7:11 I have given my daughter to seven husbands, and when each came to her he died in the night. But for the present be merry." And Tobias said, "I will eat nothing here until you make a binding agreement with me."
Tob 7:12 So Raguel said, "Take her right now, in accordance with the law. You are her relative, and she is yours. The merciful God will guide you both for the best."
Tob 7:13 Then he called his daughter Sarah, and taking her by the hand he gave her to Tobias to be his wife, saying, "Here she is; take her according to the law of Moses, and take her with you to your father." And he blessed them.
Tob 7:14 Next he called his wife Edna, and took a scroll and wrote out the contract; and they set their seals to it.
Tob 7:15 Then they began to eat.
Tob 7:16 And Raguel called his wife Edna and said to her, "Sister, make up the other room, and take her into it."
Tob 7:17 so she did as he said, and took her there; and the girl began to weep. But the mother comforted her daughter in her tears, and said to her,
Tob 7:18 "Be brave, my child; the Lord of heaven and earth grant you joy in place of this sorrow of yours. Be brave, my daughter."
~ Chapter 8 ~
Tob 8:1 When they had finished eating, they escorted Tobias in to her.
Tob 8:2 As he went he remembered the words of Raphael, and he took the live ashes of incense and put the heart and liver of the fish upon them and made a smoke.
Tob 8:3 And when the demon smelled the odor he fled to the remotest parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him.
Tob 8:4 When the door was shut and the two were alone, Tobias got up from the bed and said, "Sister, get up, and let us pray that the Lord may have mercy upon us."
Tob 8:5 And Tobias began to pray, "Blessed art thou, O God of our fathers, and blessed be thy holy and glorious name for ever. Let the heavens and all thy creatures bless thee.
Tob 8:6 Thou madest Adam and gavest him Eve his wife as a helper and support. From them the race of mankind has sprung. Thou didst say, `It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.'
Tob 8:7 And now, O Lord, I am not taking this sister of mine because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that I may find mercy and may grow old together with her."
Tob 8:8 And she said with him, "Amen."
Tob 8:9 Then they both went to sleep for the night. But Raguel arose and went and dug a grave,
Tob 8:10 with the thought, "Perhaps he too will die."
Tob 8:11 Then Raguel went into his house
Tob 8:12 and said to his wife Edna, "Send one of the maids to see whether he is alive; and if he is not, let us bury him without any one knowing about it."
Tob 8:13 So the maid opened the door and went in, and found them both asleep.
Tob 8:14 And she came out and told them that he was alive.
Tob 8:15 Then Raguel blessed God and said, "Blessed art thou, O God, with every pure and holy blessing. Let thy saints and all thy creatures bless thee; let all thy angels and thy chosen people bless thee for ever.
Tob 8:16 Blessed art thou, because thou hast made me glad. It has not happened to me as I expected; but thou hast treated us according to thy great mercy.
Tob 8:17 Blessed art thou, because thou hast had compassion on two only children. Show them mercy, O Lord; and bring their lives to fulfilment in health and happiness and mercy."
Tob 8:18 Then he ordered his servants to fill in the grave.
Tob 8:19 After this he gave a wedding feast for them which lasted fourteen days.
Tob 8:20 And before the days of the feast were over, Raguel declared by oath to Tobias that he should not leave until the fourteen days of the wedding feast were ended,
Tob 8:21 that then he should take half of Raguel's property and return in safety to his father, and that the rest would be his "when my wife and I die."
~ Chapter 9 ~
Tob 9:1 Then Tobias called Raphael and said to him,
Tob 9:2 "Brother Azarias, take a servant and two camels with you and go to Gabael at Rages in Media and get the money for me; and bring him to the wedding feast.
Tob 9:3 For Raguel has sworn that I should not leave;
Tob 9:4 but my father is counting the days, and if I delay long he will be greatly distressed."
Tob 9:5 So Raphael made the journey and stayed over night with Gabael. He gave him the receipt, and Gabael brought out the money bags with their seals intact and gave them to him.
Tob 9:6 In the morning they both got up early and came to the wedding feast. And Gabael blessed Tobias and his wife.
~ Chapter 10 ~
Tob 10:1 Now his father Tobit was counting each day, and when the days for the journey had expired and they did not arrive,
Tob 10:2 he said, "Is it possible that he has been detained? Or is it possible that Gabael has died and there is no one to give him the money?"
Tob 10:3 And he was greatly distressed.
Tob 10:4 And his wife said to him, "The lad has perished; his long delay proves it." Then she began to mourn for him, and said,
Tob 10:5 "Am I not distressed, my child, that I let you go, you who are the light of my eyes?"
Tob 10:6 But Tobit said to her, "Be still and stop worrying; he is well."
Tob 10:7 And she answered him, "Be still and stop deceiving me; my child has perished." And she went out every day to the road by which they had left; she ate nothing in the daytime, and throughout the nights she never stopped mourning for her son Tobias, until the fourteen days of the wedding feast had expired which Raguel had sworn that he should spend there. At that time Tobias said to Raguel, "Send me back, for my father and mother have given up hope of ever seeing me again."
Tob 10:8 But his father-in-law said to him, "Stay with me, and I will send messengers to your father, and they will inform him how things are with you."
Tob 10:9 Tobias replied, "No, send me back to my father."
Tob 10:10 So Raguel arose and gave him his wife Sarah and half of his property in slaves, cattle, and money.
Tob 10:11 And when he had blessed them he sent them away, saying, "The God of heaven will prosper you, my children, before I die."
Tob 10:12 He said also to his daughter, "Honor your father-in-law and your mother-in-law; they are now your parents. Let me hear a good report of you. " And he kissed her. And Edna said to Tobias, "The Lord of heaven bring you back safely, dear brother, and grant me to see your children by my daughter Sarah, that I may rejoice before the Lord. See, I am entrusting my daughter to you; do nothing to grieve her."
~ Chapter 11 ~
Tob 11:1 After this Tobias went on his way, praising God because he had made his journey a success. And he blessed Raguel and his wife Edna. So he continued on his way until they came near to Nineveh.
Tob 11:2 Then Raphael said to Tobias, "Are you not aware, brother, of how you left your father?
Tob 11:3 Let us run ahead of your wife and prepare the house.
Tob 11:4 And take the gall of the fish with you." So they went their way, and the dog went along behind them.
Tob 11:5 Now Anna sat looking intently down the road for her son.
Tob 11:6 And she caught sight of him coming, and said to his father, "Behold, your son is coming, and so is the man who went with him!"
Tob 11:7 Raphael said, "I know, Tobias, that your father will open his eyes.
Tob 11:8 You therefore must anoint his eyes with the gall; and when they smart he will rub them, and will cause the white films to fall away, and he will see you."
Tob 11:9 Then Anna ran to meet them, and embraced her son, and said to him, "I have seen you, my child; now I am ready to die." And they both wept.
Tob 11:10 Tobit started toward the door, and stumbled. But his son ran to him
Tob 11:11 and took hold of his father, and he sprinkled the gall upon his father's eyes, saying, "Be of good cheer, father."
Tob 11:12 And when his eyes began to smart he rubbed them,
Tob 11:13 and the white films scaled off from the corners of his eyes.
Tob 11:14 Then he saw his son and embraced him, and he wept and said, "Blessed art thou, O God, and blessed is thy name for ever, and blessed are all thy holy angels.
Tob 11:15 For thou hast afflicted me, but thou hast had mercy upon me; here I see my son Tobias!" And his son went in rejoicing, and he reported to his father the great things that had happened to him in Media.
Tob 11:16 Then Tobit went out to meet his daughter-in-law at the gate of Nineveh, rejoicing and praising God. Those who saw him as he went were amazed because he could see.
Tob 11:17 And Tobit gave thanks before them that God had been merciful to him. When Tobit came near to Sarah his daughter-in-law, he blessed her, saying, "Welcome, daughter! Blessed is God who has brought you to us, and blessed are your father and your mother." So there was rejoicing among all his brethren in Nineveh.
Tob 11:18 Ahikar and his nephew Nadab came,
Tob 11:19 and Tobias' marriage was celebrated for seven days with great festivity.
~ Chapter 12 ~
Tob 12:1 Tobit then called his son Tobias and said to him, "My son, see to the wages of the man who went with you; and he must also be given more."
Tob 12:2 He replied, "Father, it would do me no harm to give him half of what I have brought back.
Tob 12:3 For he has led me back to you safely, he cured my wife, he obtained the money for me, and he also healed you."
Tob 12:4 The old man said, "He deserves it."
Tob 12:5 So he called the angel and said to him, "Take half of all that you two have brought back."
Tob 12:6 Then the angel called the two of them privately and said to them: "Praise God and give thanks to him; exalt him and give thanks to him in the presence of all the living for what he has done for you. It is good to praise God and to exalt his name, worthily declaring the works of God. Do not be slow to give him thanks.
Tob 12:7 It is good to guard the secret of a king, but gloriously to reveal the works of God. Do good, and evil will not overtake you.
Tob 12:8 Prayer is good when accompanied by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with wrongdoing. It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold.
Tob 12:9 For almsgiving delivers from death, and it will purge away every sin. Those who perform deeds of charity and of righteousness will have fulness of life;
Tob 12:10 but those who commit sin are the enemies of their own lives.
Tob 12:11 "I will not conceal anything from you. I have said, `It is good to guard the secret of a king, but gloriously to reveal the works of God.'
Tob 12:12 And so, when you and your daughter-in-law Sarah prayed, I brought a reminder of your prayer before the Holy One; and when you buried the dead, I was likewise present with you.
Tob 12:13 When you did not hesitate to rise and leave your dinner in order to go and lay out the dead, your good deed was not hidden from me, but I was with you.
Tob 12:14 So now God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah.
Tob 12:15 I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One."
Tob 12:16 They were both alarmed; and they fell upon their faces, for they were afraid.
Tob 12:17 But he said to them, "Do not be afraid; you will be safe. But praise God for ever.
Tob 12:18 For I did not come as a favor on my part, but by the will of our God. Therefore praise him for ever.
Tob 12:19 All these days I merely appeared to you and did not eat or drink, but you were seeing a vision.
Tob 12:20 And now give thanks to God, for I am ascending to him who sent me. Write in a book everything that has happened."
Tob 12:21 Then they stood up; but they saw him no more.
Tob 12:22 So they confessed the great and wonderful works of God, and acknowledged that the angel of the Lord had appeared to them.
~ Chapter 13 ~
Tob 13:1 Then Tobit wrote a prayer of rejoicing, and said: "Blessed is God who lives for ever, and blessed is his kingdom.
Tob 13:2 For he afflicts, and he shows mercy; he leads down to Hades, and brings up again, and there is no one who can escape his hand.
Tob 13:3 Acknowledge him before the nations, O sons of Israel; for he has scattered us among them.
Tob 13:4 Make his greatness
known there, and exalt him in the presence of all the living; because he is our Lord and God, he is our Father for ever.
Tob 13:5 He will afflict us for our iniquities; and again he will show mercy, and will gather us from all the nations among whom you have been scattered.
Tob 13:6 If you turn to him with all your heart and with all your soul, to do what is true before him, then he will turn to you and will not hide his face from you. But see what he will do with you; give thanks to him with your full voice. Praise the Lord of righteousness, and exalt the King of the ages. I give him thanks in the land of my captivity, and I show his power and majesty to a nation of sinners. Turn back, you sinners, and do right before him; who knows if he will accept you and have mercy on you?
Tob 13:7 I exalt my God; my soul exalts the King of heaven, and will rejoice in his majesty.
Tob 13:8 Let all men speak, and give him thanks in Jerusalem.
Tob 13:9 O Jerusalem, the holy city, he will afflict you for the deeds of your sons, but again he will show mercy to the sons of the righteous.
Tob 13:10 Give thanks worthily to the Lord, and praise the King of the ages, that his tent may be raised for you again with joy. May he cheer those within you who are captives, and love those within you who are distressed, to all generations for ever.
Tob 13:11 Many nations will come from afar to the name of the Lord God, bearing gifts in their hands, gifts for the King of heaven. Generations of generations will give you joyful praise.
Tob 13:12 Cursed are all who hate you; blessed for ever will be all who love you.
Tob 13:13 Rejoice and be glad for the sons of the righteous; for they will be gathered together, and will praise the Lord of the righteous.
Tob 13:14 How blessed are those who love you! They will rejoice in your peace. Blessed are those who grieved over all your afflictions; for they will rejoice for you upon seeing all your glory, and they will be made glad for ever.
Tob 13:15 Let my soul praise God the great King.
Tob 13:16 For Jerusalem will be built with sapphires and emeralds, her walls with precious stones, and her towers and battlements with pure gold.
Tob 13:17 The streets of Jerusalem will be paved with beryl and ruby and stones of Ophir;
Tob 13:18 all her lanes will cry `Hallelujah!' and will give praise, saying, `Blessed is God, who has exalted you for ever.'"
~ Chapter 14 ~
Tob 14:1 Here Tobit ended his words of praise.
Tob 14:2 He was fifty-eight years old when he lost his sight, and after eight years he regained it. He gave alms, and he continued to fear the Lord God and to praise him.
Tob 14:3 When he had grown very old he called his son and grandsons, and said to him, "My son, take your sons; behold, I have grown old and am about to depart this life.
Tob 14:4 Go to Media, my son, for I fully believe what Jonah the prophet said about Nineveh, that it will be overthrown. But in Media there will be peace for a time. Our brethren will be scattered over the earth from the good land, and Jerusalem will be desolate. The house of God in it will be burned down and will be in ruins for a time.
Tob 14:5 But God will again have mercy on them, and bring them back into their land; and they will rebuild the house of God, though it will not be like the former one until the times of the age are completed. After this they will return from the places of their captivity, and will rebuild Jerusalem in splendor. And the house of God will be rebuilt there with a glorious building for all generations for ever, just as the prophets said of it.
Tob 14:6 Then all the Gentiles will turn to fear the Lord God in truth, and will bury their idols.
Tob 14:7 All the Gentiles will praise the Lord, and his people will give thanks to God, and the Lord will exalt his people. And all who love the Lord God in truth and righteousness will rejoice, showing mercy to our brethren.
Tob 14:8 "So now, my son, leave Nineveh, because what the prophet Jonah said will surely happen.
Tob 14:9 But keep the law and the commandments, and be merciful and just, so that it may be well with you.
Tob 14:10 Bury me properly, and your mother with me. And do not live in Nineveh any longer. See, my son, what Nadab did to Ahikar who had reared him, how he brought him from light into darkness, and with what he repaid him. But Ahikar was saved, and the other received repayment as he himself went down into the darkness. Ahikar gave alms and escaped the deathtrap which Nadab had set for him; but Nadab fell into the trap and perished.
Tob 14:11 So now, my children, consider what almsgiving accomplishes and how righteousness delivers." As he said this he died in his bed. He was a hundred and fifty-eight years old; and Tobias gave him a magnificent funeral.
Tob 14:12 And when Anna died he buried her with his father. Then Tobias returned with his wife and his sons to Ecbatana, to Raguel his father-in-law.
Tob 14:13 He grew old with honor, and he gave his father-in-law and mother-in-law magnificent funerals. He inherited their property and that of his father Tobit.
Tob 14:14 He died in Ecbatana of Media at the age of a hundred and twenty-seven years.
Tob 14:15 But before he died he heard of the destruction of Nineveh, which Nebuchadnezzar and Ahasuerus had captured. Before his death he rejoiced over Nineveh.
Judith
~ Chapter 1 ~
Jdt 1:1 In the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled over the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh, in the days of Arphaxad, who ruled over the Medes in Ecbatana --
Jdt 1:2 he is the king who built walls about Ecbatana with hewn stones three cubits thick and six cubits long; he made the walls seventy cubits high and fifty cubits wide;
Jdt 1:3 at the gates he built towers a hundred cubits high and sixty cubits wide at the foundations;
Jdt 1:4 and he made its gates, which were seventy cubits high and forty cubits wide, so that his armies could march out in force and his infantry form their ranks --
Jdt 1:5 it was in those days that King Nebuchadnezzar made war against King Arphaxad in the great plain which is on the borders of Ragae.
Jdt 1:6 He was joined by all the people of the hill country and all those who lived along the Euphrates and the Tigris and the Hydaspes and in the plain where Arioch ruled the Elymaeans. Many nations joined the forces of the Chaldeans.
Jdt 1:7 Then Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians sent to all who lived in Persia and to all who lived in the west, those who lived in Cilicia and Damascus and Lebanon and Antilebanon and all who lived along the seacoast,
Jdt 1:8 and those among the nations of Carmel and Gilead, and Upper Galilee and the great Plain of Esdraelon,
Jdt 1:9 and all who were in Samaria and its surrounding towns, and beyond the Jordan as far as Jerusalem and Bethany and Chelous and Kadesh and the river of Egypt, and Tahpanhes and Raamses and the whole land of Goshen,
Jdt 1:10 even beyond Tanis and Memphis, and all who lived in Egypt as far as the borders of Ethiopia.
Jdt 1:11 But all who lived in the whole region disregarded the orders of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians, and refused to join him in the war; for they were not afraid of him, but looked upon him as only one man, and they sent back his messengers empty-handed and shamefaced.
Jdt 1:12 Then Nebuchadnezzar was very angry with this whole region, and swore by his throne and kingdom that he would surely take revenge on the whole territory of Cilicia and Damascus and Syria, that he would kill them by the sword, and also all the inhabitants of the land of Moab, and the people of Ammon, and all Judea, and every one in Egypt, as far as the coasts of the two seas.
Jdt 1:13 In the seventeenth year he led his forces against King Arphaxad, and defeated him in battle, and overthrew the whole army of Arphaxad, and all his cavalry and all his chariots.
Jdt 1:14 Thus he took possession of his cities, and came to Ecbatana, captured its towers, plundered its markets, and turned its beauty into shame.
Jdt 1:15 He captured Arphaxad in the mountains of Ragae and struck him down with hunting spears; and he utterly destroyed him, to this day.
Jdt 1:16 Then he returned with them to Nineveh, he and all his combined forces, a vast body of troops; and there he and his forces rested and feasted for one hundred and twenty days.
~ Chapter 2 ~
Jdt 2:1 In the eighteenth year, on the twenty-second day of the first month, there was talk in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians about carrying out his revenge on the whole region, just as he said.
Jdt 2:2 He called together all his officers and all his nobles and set forth to them his secret plan and recounted fully, with his own lips, all the wickedness of the region;
Jdt 2:3 and it was decided that every one who had not obeyed his command should be destroyed.
Jdt 2:4 When he had finished setting forth his plan, Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians called Holofernes, the chief general of his army, second only to himself, and said to him,
Jdt 2:5 "Thus says the Great King, the lord of the whole earth: When you leave my presence, take with you men confident in their strength, to the number of one hundred and twenty thousand foot soldiers and twelve thousand cavalry.
Jdt 2:6 Go and attack the whole west country, because they disobeyed my orders.
Jdt 2:7 Tell them to prepare earth and water, for I am coming against them in my anger, and will cover the whole face of the earth with the feet of my armies, and will hand them over to be plundered by my troops,
Jdt 2:8 till their wounded shall fill their valleys, and every brook and river shall be filled with their dead, and overflow;
Jdt 2:9 and I will lead them away captive to the ends of the whole earth.
Jdt 2:10 You shall go and seize all their territory for me in advance. They will yield themselves to you, and you shall hold them for me till the day of their punishment.
Jdt 2:11 But if they refuse, your eye shall not spare and you shall hand them over to slaughter and plunder throughout your whole region.
Jdt 2:12 For as I live, and by the power of my kingdom, what I have spoken my hand will execute.
Jdt 2:13 And you -- take care not to transgress any of your sovereign's commands, but be sure to carry them out just as I have ordered you; and do not delay about it."
Jdt 2:14 So Holofernes left the presence of his master, and called together all the commanders, generals, and officers of the Assyrian army,
Jdt 2:15 and mustered the picked troops by divisions as his lord had ordered him to do, one hundred and twenty thousand of them, together with twelve thousand archers on horseback,
Jdt 2:16 and he organized them as a great army is marshaled for a campaign.
Jdt 2:17 He collected a vast number of camels and asses and mules for transport, and innumerable sheep and oxen and goats for provision;
Jdt 2:18 also plenty of food for every man, and a huge amount of gold and silver from the royal palace.
Jdt 2:19 So he set out with his whole army, to go ahead of King Nebuchadnezzar and to cover the whole face of the earth to the west with their chariots and horsemen and picked troops of infantry.
Jdt 2:20 Along with them went a mixed crowd like a swarm of locusts, like the dust of the earth -- a multitude that could not be counted.
Jdt 2:21 They marched for three days from Nineveh to the plain of Bectileth, and camped opposite Bectileth near the mountain which is to the north of Upper Cilicia.
Jdt 2:22 From there Holofernes took his whole army, his infantry, cavalry, and chariots, and went up into the hill country
Jdt 2:23 and ravaged Put and Lud, and plundered all the people of Rassis and the Ishmaelites who lived along the desert, south of the country of the Chelleans.
Jdt 2:24 Then he followed the Euphrates and passed through Mesopotamia and destroyed all the hilltop cities along the brook Abron, as far as the sea.
Jdt 2:25 He also seized the territory of Cilicia, and killed every one who resisted him, and came to the southern borders of Japheth, fronting toward Arabia.
Jdt 2:26 He surrounded all the Midianites, and burned their tents and plundered their sheepfolds.
Jdt 2:27 Then he went down into the plain of Damascus during the wheat harvest, and burned all their fields and destroyed their flocks and herds and sacked their cities and ravaged their lands and put to death all their young men with the edge of the sword.
Jdt 2:28 So fear and terror of him fell upon all the people who lived along the seacoast, at Sidon and Tyre, and those who lived in Sur and Ocina and all who lived in Jamnia. Those who lived in Azotus and Ascalon feared him exceedingly.
~ Chapter 3 ~
Jdt 3:1 So they sent messengers to sue for peace, and said,
Jdt 3:2 "Behold, we the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, the Great King, lie prostrate before you. Do with us whatever you will.
Jdt 3:3 Behold, our buildings, and all our land, and all our wheat fields, and our flocks and herds, and all our sheepfolds with their tents, lie before you; do with them whatever you please.
Jdt 3:4 Our cities also and their inhabitants are your slaves; come and deal with them in any way that seems good to you."
Jdt 3:5 The men came to Holofernes and told him all this.
Jdt 3:6 Then he went down to the seacoast with his army and stationed garrisons in the hilltop cities and took picked men from them as his allies.
Jdt 3:7 And these people and all in the country round about welcomed him with garlands and dances and tambourines.
Jdt 3:8 And he demolished all their shrines and cut down their sacred groves; for it had been given to him to destroy all the gods of the land, so that all nations should worship Nebuchadnezzar only, and all their tongues and tribes should call upon him as god.
Jdt 3:9 Then he came to the edge of Esdraelon, near Dothan, fronting the great ridge of Judea;
Jdt 3:10 here he camped between Geba and Scythopolis, and remained for a whole month in order to assemble all the supplies for his army.
~ Chapter 4 ~
Jdt 4:1 By this time the people of Israel living in Judea heard of everything that Holofernes, the general of Nebuchadnezzar the king of the Assyrians, had done to the nations, and how he had plundered and destroyed all their temples;
Jdt 4:2 they were therefore very greatly terrified at his approach, and were alarmed both for Jerusalem and for the temple of the Lord their God.
Jdt 4:3 For they had only recently returned from the captivity, and all the people of Judea were newly gathered together, and the sacred vessels and the altar and the temple had been consecrated after their profanation.
Jdt 4:4 So they sent to every district of Samaria, and to Kona and Beth-horon and Belmain and Jericho and to Choba and Aesora and the valley of Salem,
Jdt 4:5 and immediately seized all the high hilltops and fortified the villages on them and stored up food in preparation for war -- since their fields had recently been harvested.
Jdt 4:6 And Joakim, the high priest, who was in Jerusalem at the time, wrote to the people of Bethulia and Betomesthaim, which faces Esdraelon opposite the plain near Dothan,
Jdt 4:7 ordering them to seize the passes up into the hills, since by them Judea could be invaded, and it was easy to stop any who tried to enter, for the approach was narrow, only wide enough for two men at the most.
Jdt 4:8 So the Israelites did as Joakim the high priest and the senate of the whole people of Israel, in session at Jerusalem, had given order.
Jdt 4:9 And every man of Israel cried out to God with great fervor, and they humbled themselves with much fasting.
Jdt 4:10 They and their wives and their children and their cattle and every resident alien and hired laborer and purchased slave -- they all girded themselves with sackcloth.
Jdt 4:11 And all the men and women of Israel, and their children, living at Jerusalem, prostrated themselves before the temple and put ashes on their heads and spread out their sackcloth before the Lord.
Jdt 4:12 They even surrounded the altar with sackcloth and cried out in unison, praying earnestly to the God of Israel not to give up their infants as prey and their wives as booty, and the cities they had inherited to be destroyed, and the sanctuary to be profaned and desecrated to the malicious joy of the Gentiles.
Jdt 4:13 So the Lord heard their prayers and looked upon their affliction; for the people fasted many days throughout Judea and in Jerusalem before the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty.
Jdt 4:14 And Joakim the high priest and all the priests who stood before the Lord and ministered to the Lord, with their loins girded with sackcloth, offered the continual burnt offerings and the vows and freewill offerings of the people.
Jdt 4:15 With ashes upon their turbans, they cried out to the Lord with all their might to look with favor upon the whole house of Israel.
~ Chapter 5 ~
Jdt 5:1 When Holofernes, the general of the Assyrian army, heard that the people of Israel had prepared for war and had closed the passes in the hills and fortified all the high hilltops and set up barricades in the plains,
Jdt 5:2 he was very angry. So he called together all the princes of Moab and the commanders of Ammon and all the governors of the coastland,
Jdt 5:3 and said to them, "Tell me, you Canaanites, what people is this that lives in the hill country? What cities do they inhabit? How large is their army, and in what does their power or strength consist? Who rules over them as king, leading their army?
Jdt 5:4 And why have they alone, of all who live in the west, refused to come out and meet me?"
Jdt 5:5 Then Achior, the leader of all the Ammonites, said to him, "Let my lord now hear a word from the mouth of your servant, and I will tell you the truth about this people that dwells in the nearby mountain district. No falsehood shall come from your servant's mouth.
Jdt 5:6 This people is descended from the Chaldeans.
Jdt 5:7 At one time they lived in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow the gods of their fathers who were in Chaldea.
Jdt 5:8 For they had left the ways of their ancestors, and they worshiped the God of heaven, the God they had come to know; hence they drove them out from the presence of their gods; and they fled to Mesopotamia, and lived there for a long time.
Jdt 5:9 Then their God commanded them to leave the place where they were living and go to the land of Canaan. There they settled, and prospered, with much gold and silver and very many cattle.
Jdt 5:10 When a famine spread over Canaan they went down to Egypt and lived there as long as they had food; and there they became a great multitude -- so great that they could not be counted.
Jdt 5:11 So the king of Egypt became hostile to them; he took advantage of them and set them to making bricks, and humbled them and made slaves of them.
Jdt 5:12 Then they cried out to their God, and he afflicted the whole land of Egypt with incurable plagues; and so the Egyptians drove them out of their sight.
Jdt 5:13 Then God dried up the Red Sea before them,
Jdt 5:14 and he led them by the way of Sinai and Kadesh-barnea, and drove out all the people of the wilderness.
Jdt 5:15 So they lived in the land of the Amorites, and by their might destroyed all the inhabitants of Heshbon; and crossing over the Jordan they took possession of all the hill country.
Jdt 5:16 And they drove out before them the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Jebusites and the Shechemites and all the Gergesites, and lived there a long time.
Jdt 5:17 As long as they did not sin against their God they prospered, for the God who hates iniquity is with them.
Jdt 5:18 But when they departed from the way which he had appointed for them, they were utterly defeated in many battles and were led away captive to a foreign country; the temple of their God was razed to the ground, and their cities were captured by their enemies.
Jdt 5:19 But now they have returned to their God, and have come back from the places to which they were scattered, and have occupied Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is, and have settled in the hill country, because it was uninhabited.
Jdt 5:20 Now therefore, my master and lord, if there is any unwitting error in this people and they sin against their God and we find out their offense, then we will go up and defeat them.
Jdt 5:21 But if there is no transgression in their nation, then let my lord pass them by; for their Lord will defend them, and their God will protect them, and we shall be put to shame before the whole world."
Jdt 5:22 When Achior had finished saying this, all the men standing around the tent began to complain; Holofernes' officers and all the men from the seacoast and from Moab insisted that he must be put to death.
Jdt 5:23 "For," they said, "we will not be afraid of the Israelites; they are a people with no strength or power for making war.
Jdt 5:24 Therefore let us go up, Lord Holofernes, and they will be devoured by your vast army."
~ Chapter 6 ~
Jdt 6:1 When the disturbance made by the men outside the council died down, Holofernes, the commander of the Assyrian army, said to Achior and all the Moabites in the presence of all the foreign contingents:
Jdt 6:2 "And who are you, Achior, and you hirelings of Ephraim, to prophesy among us as you have done today and tell us not to make war against the people of Israel because their God will defend them? Who is God except Nebuchadnezzar?
Jdt 6:3 He will send his forces and will destroy them from the face of the earth, and their God will not deliver them -- we the king's servants will destroy them as one man. They cannot resist the might of our cavalry.
Jdt 6:4 We will burn them up, and their mountains will be drunk with their blood, and their fields will be full of their dead. They cannot withstand us, but will utterly perish. So says King Nebuchadnezzar, the lord of the whole earth. For he has spoken; none of his words shall be in vain.
Jdt 6:5 "But you, Achior, you Ammonite hireling, who have said these words on the day of your iniquity, you shall not see my face again from this day until I take revenge on this race that came out of Egypt.
Jdt 6:6 Then the sword of my army and the spear of my servants shall pierce your sides, and you shall fall among their wounded, when I return.
Jdt 6:7 Now my slaves are going to take you back into the hill country and put you in one of the cities beside the passes,
Jdt 6:8 and you will not die until you perish along with them.
Jdt 6:9 If you really hope in your heart that they will not be taken, do not look downcast! I have spoken and none of my words shall fail."
Jdt 6:10 Then Holofernes ordered his slaves, who waited on him in his tent, to seize Achior and take him to Bethulia and hand him over to the men of Israel.
Jdt 6:11 So the slaves took him and led him out of the camp into the plain, and from the plain they went up into the hill country and came to the springs below Bethulia.
Jdt 6:12 When the men of the city saw them, they caught up their weapons and ran out of the city to the top of the hill, and all the slingers kept them from coming up by casting stones at them.
Jdt 6:13 However, they got under the shelter of the hill and they bound Achior and left him lying at the foot of the hill, and returned to their master.
Jdt 6:14 Then the men of Israel came down from their city and found him; and they untied him and brought him into Bethulia and placed him before the magistrates of their city,
Jdt 6:15 who in those days were Uzziah the son of Micah, of the tribe of Simeon, and Chabris the son of Gothoniel, and Charmis the son of Melchiel.
Jdt 6:16 They called together all the elders of the city, and all their young men and their women ran to the assembly; and they set Achior in the midst of all their people, and Uzziah asked him what had happened.
Jdt 6:17 He answered and told them what had taken place at the council of Holofernes, and all that he had said in the presence of the Assyrian leaders, and all that Holofernes had said so boastfully against the house of Israel.
Jdt 6:18 Then the people fell down and worshiped God, and cried out to him, and said,
Jdt 6:19 "O Lord God of heaven, behold their arrogance, and have pity on the humiliation of our people, and look this day upon the faces of those who are consecrated to thee."
Jdt 6:20 Then they consoled Achior, and praised him greatly.
Jdt 6:21 And Uzziah took him from the assembly to his own house and gave a banquet for the elders; and all that night they called on the God of Israel for help.
~ Chapter 7 ~
Jdt 7:1 The next day Holofernes ordered his whole army, and all the allies who had joined him, to break camp and move against Bethulia, and to seize the passes up into the hill country and make war on the Israelites.
Jdt 7:2 So all their warriors moved their camp that day; their force of men of war was one hundred and seventy thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry, together with the baggage and the foot soldiers handling it, a very great multitude.
Jdt 7:3 They encamped in the valley near Bethulia, beside the spring, and they spread out in breadth over Dothan as far as Balbaim and in length from Bethulia to Cyamon, which faces Esdraelon.
Jdt 7:4 When the Israelites saw their vast numbers they were greatly terrified, and every one said to his neighbor, "These men will now lick up the face of the whole land; neither the high mountains nor the valleys nor the hills will bear their weight."
Jdt 7:5 Then each man took up his weapons, and when they had kindled fires on their towers they remained on guard all that night.
Jdt 7:6 On the second day Holofernes led out all his cavalry in full view of the Israelites in Bethulia,
Jdt 7:7 and examined the approaches to the city, and visited the springs that supplied their water, and seized them and set guards of soldiers over them, and then returned to his army.
Jdt 7:8 Then all the chieftains of the people of Esau and all the leaders of the Moabites and the commanders of the coastland came to him and said,
Jdt 7:9 "Let our lord hear a word, lest his army be defeated.
Jdt 7:10 For these people, the Israelites, do not rely on their spears but on the height of the mountains where they live, for it is not easy to reach the tops of their mountains.
Jdt 7:11 Therefore, my lord, do not fight against them in battle array, and not a man of your army will fall.
Jdt 7:12 Remain in your camp, and keep all the men in your forces with you; only let your servants take possession of the spring of water that flows from the foot of the mountain --
Jdt 7:13 for this is where all the people of Bethulia get their water. So thirst will destroy them, and they will give up their city. We and our people will go up to the tops of the nearby mountains and camp there to keep watch that not a man gets out of the city.
Jdt 7:14 They and their wives and children will waste away with famine, and before the sword reaches them they will be strewn about in the streets where they live.
Jdt 7:15 So you will pay them back with evil, because they rebelled and did not receive you peaceably."
Jdt 7:16 These words pleased Holofernes and all his servants, and he gave orders to do as they had said.
Jdt 7:17 So the army of the Ammonites moved forward, together with five thousand Assyrians, and they encamped in the valley and seized the water supply and the springs of the Israelites.
Jdt 7:18 And the sons of Esau and the sons of Ammon went up and encamped in the hill country opposite Dothan; and they sent some of their men toward the south and the east, toward Acraba, which is near Chusi beside the brook Mochmur. The rest of the Assyrian army encamped in the plain, and covered the whole face of the land, and their tents and supply trains spread out in great number, and they formed a vast multitude.
Jdt 7:19 The people of Israel cried out to the Lord their God, for their courage failed, because all their enemies had surrounded them and there was no way of escape from them.
Jdt 7:20 The whole Assyrian army, their infantry, chariots, and cavalry, surrounded them for thirty-four days, until all the vessels of water belonging to every inhabitant of Bethulia were empty;
Jdt 7:21 their cisterns were going dry, and they did not have enough water to drink their fill for a single day, because it was measured out to them to drink.
Jdt 7:22 Their children lost heart, and the women and young men fainted from thirst and fell down in the streets of the city and in the passages through the gates; there was no strength left in them any longer.
Jdt 7:23 Then all the people, the young men, the women, and the children, gathered about Uzziah and the rulers of the city and cried out with a loud voice, and said before all the elders,
Jdt 7:24 "God be judge between you and us! For you have done us a great injury in not making peace with the Assyrians.
Jdt 7:25 For now we have no one to help us; God has sold us into their hands, to strew us on the ground before them with thirst and utter destruction.
Jdt 7:26 Now call them in and surrender the whole city to the army of Holofernes and to all his forces, to be plundered.
Jdt 7:27 For it would be better for us to be captured by them; for we will be slaves, but our lives will be spared, and we shall not witness the death of our babes before our eyes, or see our wives and children draw their last breath.
Jdt 7:28 We call to witness against you heaven and earth and our God, the Lord of our fathers, who punishes us according to our sins and the sins of our fathers. Let him not do this day the things which we have described!"
Jdt 7:29 Then great and general lamentation arose throughout the assembly, and they cried out to the Lord God with a loud voice.
Jdt 7:30 And Uzziah said to them, "Have courage, my brothers! Let us hold out for five more days; by that time the Lord our God will restore to us his mercy, for he will not forsake us utterly.
Jdt 7:31 But if these days pass by, and no help comes for us, I will do what you say."
Jdt 7:32 Then he dismissed the people to their various posts, and they went up on the walls and towers of their city. The women and children he sent home. And they were greatly depressed in the city.
~ Chapter 8 ~
Jdt 8:1 At that time Judith heard about these things: she was the daughter of Merari the son of Ox, son of Joseph, son of Oziel, son of Elkiah, son of Ananias, son of Gideon, son of Raphaim, son of Ahitub, son of Elijah, son of Hilkiah, son of Eliab, son of Nathanael, son of Salamiel, son of Sarasadai, son of Israel.
Jdt 8:2 Her husband Manasseh, who belonged to her tribe and family, had died during the barley harvest.
Jdt 8:3 For as he stood overseeing the men who were binding sheaves in the field, he was overcome by the burning heat, and took to his bed and died in Bethulia his city. So they buried him with his fathers in the field between Dothan and Balamon.
Jdt 8:4 Judith had lived at home as a widow for three years and four months.
Jdt 8:5 She set up a tent for herself on the roof of her house, and girded sackcloth about her loins and wore the garments of her widowhood.
Jdt 8:6 She fasted all the days of her widowhood, except the day before the sabbath and the sabbath itself, the day before the new moon and the day of the new moon, and the feasts and days of rejoicing of the house of Israel.
Jdt 8:7 She was beautiful in appearance, and had a very lovely face; and her husband Manasseh had left her gold and silver, and men and women slaves, and cattle, and fields; and she maintained this estate.
Jdt 8:8 No one spoke ill of her, for she feared God with great devotion.
Jdt 8:9 When Judith heard the wicked words spoken by the people against the ruler, because they were faint for lack of water, and when she heard all that Uzziah said to them, and how he promised them under oath to surrender the city to the Assyrians after five days,
Jdt 8:10 she sent her maid, who was in charge of all she possessed, to summon Chabris and Charmis, the elders of her city.
Jdt 8:11 They came to her, and she said to them, "Listen to me, rulers of the people of Bethulia! What you have said to the people today is not right; you have even sworn and pronounced this oath between God and you, promising to surrender the city to our enemies unless the Lord turns and helps us within so many days.
Jdt 8:12 Who are you, that have put God to the test this day, and are setting yourselves up in the place of God among the sons of men?
Jdt 8:13 You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test -- but you will never know anything!
Jdt 8:14 You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart, nor find out what a man is thinking; how do you expect to search out God, who made all these things, and find out his mind or comprehend his thought? No, my brethren, do not provoke the Lord our God to anger.
Jdt 8:15 For if he does not choose to help us within these five days, he has power to protect us within any time he pleases, or even to destroy us in the presence of our enemies.
Jdt 8:16 Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God; for God is not like man, to be threatened, nor like a human being, to be won over by pleading.
Jdt 8:17 Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it pleases him.
Jdt 8:18 "For never in our generation, nor in these present days, has there been any tribe or family or people or city of ours which worshiped gods made with hands, as was done in days gone by --
Jdt 8:19 and that was why our fathers were handed over to the sword, and to be plundered, and so they suffered a great catastrophe before our enemies.
Jdt 8:20 But we know no other god but him, and therefore we hope that he will not disdain us or any of our nation.
Jdt 8:21 For if we are captured all Judea will be captured and our sanctuary will be plundered; and he will exact of us the penalty for its desecration.
Jdt 8:22 And the slaughter of our brethren and the captivity of the land and the desolation of our inheritance -- all this he will bring upon our heads among the Gentiles, wherever we serve as slaves; and we shall be an offense and a reproach in the eyes of those who acquire us.
Jdt 8:23 For our slavery will not bring us into favor, but the Lord our God will turn it to dishonor.
Jdt 8:24 "Now therefore, brethren, let us set an example to our brethren, for their lives depend upon us, and the sanctuary and the temple and the altar rest upon us.
Jdt 8:25 In spite of everything let us give thanks to the Lord our God, who is putting us to the test as he did our forefathers.
Jdt 8:26 Remember what he did with Abraham, and how he tested Isaac, and what happened to Jacob in Mesopotamia in Syria, while he was keeping the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother.
Jdt 8:27 For he has not tried us with fire, as he did them, to search their hearts, nor has he taken revenge upon us; but the Lord scourges those who draw near to him, in order to admonish them."
Jdt 8:28 Then Uzziah said to her, "All that you have said has been spoken out of a true heart, and there is no one who can deny your words.
Jdt 8:29 Today is not the first time your wisdom has been shown, but from the beginning of your life all the people have recognized your understanding, for your heart's disposition is right.
Jdt 8:30 But the people were very thirsty, and they compelled us to do for them what we have promised, and made us take an oath which we cannot break.
Jdt 8:31 So pray for us, since you are a devout woman, and the Lord will send us rain to fill our cisterns and we will no longer be faint."
Jdt 8:32 Judith said to them, "Listen to me. I am about to do a thing which will go down through all generations of our descendants.
Jdt 8:33 Stand at the city gate tonight, and I will go out with my maid; and within the days after which you have promised to surrender the city to our enemies, the Lord will deliver Israel by my hand.
Jdt 8:34 Only, do not try to find out what I plan; for I will not tell you until I have finished what I am about to do."
Jdt 8:35 Uzziah and the rulers said to her, "Go in peace, and may the Lord God go before you, to take revenge upon our enemies."
Jdt 8:36 So they returned from the tent and went to their posts.
~ Chapter 9 ~
Jdt 9:1 Then Judith fell upon her face, and put ashes on her head, and uncovered the sackcloth she was wearing; and at the very time when that evening's incense was being offered in the house of God in Jerusalem, Judith cried out to the Lord with a loud voice, and said,
Jdt 9:2 "O Lord God of my father Simeon, to whom thou gavest a sword to take revenge on the strangers who had loosed the girdle of a virgin to defile her, and uncovered her thigh to put her to shame, and polluted her womb to disgrace her; for thou hast said, `It shall not be done' -- yet they did it.
Jdt 9:3 So thou gavest up their rulers to be slain, and their bed, which was ashamed of the deceit they had practiced, to be stained with blood, and thou didst strike down slaves along with princes, and princes on their thrones;
Jdt 9:4 and thou gavest their wives for a prey and their daughters to captivity, and all their booty to be divided among thy beloved sons, who were zealous for thee, and abhorred the pollution of their blood, and called on thee for help -- O God, my God, hear me also, a widow.
Jdt 9:5 "For thou hast done these things and those that went before and those that followed; thou hast designed the things that are now, and those that are to come. Yea, the things thou didst intend came to pass,
Jdt 9:6 and the things thou didst will presented themselves and said, `Lo, we are here'; for all they ways are prepared in advance, and thy judgment is with foreknowledge.
Jdt 9:7 "Behold now, the Assyrians are increased in their might; they are exalted, with their horses and riders; they glory in the strength of their foot soldiers; they trust in shield and spear, in bow and sling, and know not that thou art the Lord who crushest wars; the Lord is thy name.
Jdt 9:8 Break their strength by thy might, and bring down their power in thy anger; for they intend to defile thy sanctuary, and to pollute the tabernacle where thy glorious name rests, and to cast down the horn of thy altar with the sword.
Jdt 9:9 Behold their pride, and send thy wrath upon their heads; give to me, a widow, the strength to do what I plan.
Jdt 9:10 By the deceit of my lips strike down the slave with the prince and the prince with his servant; crush their arrogance by the hand of a woman.
Jdt 9:11 "For thy power depends not upon numbers, nor thy might upon men of strength; for thou art God of the lowly, helper of the oppressed, upholder of the weak, protector of the forlorn, savior of those without hope.
Jdt 9:12 Hear, O hear me, God of my father, God of the inheritance of Israel, Lord of heaven and earth, Creator of the waters, King of all thy creation, hear my
prayer!
Jdt 9:13 Make my deceitful words to be their wound and stripe, for they have planned cruel things against thy covenant, and against thy consecrated house, and against the top of Zion, and against the house possessed by thy children.
Jdt 9:14 And cause thy whole nation and every tribe to know and understand that thou art God, the God of all power and might, and that there is no other who protects the people of Israel but thou alone!"
~ Chapter 10 ~
Jdt 10:1 When Judith had ceased crying out to the God of Israel, and had ended all these words,
Jdt 10:2 she rose from where she lay prostrate and called her maid and went down into the house where she lived on sabbaths and on her feast days;
Jdt 10:3 and she removed the sackcloth which she had been wearing, and took off her widow's garments, and bathed her body with water, and anointed herself with precious ointment, and combed her hair and put on a tiara, and arrayed herself in her gayest apparel, which she used to wear while her husband Manasseh was living.
Jdt 10:4 And she put sandals on her feet, and put on her anklets and bracelets and rings, and her earrings and all her ornaments, and made herself very beautiful, to entice the eyes of all men who might see her.
Jdt 10:5 And she gave her maid a bottle of wine and a flask of oil, and filled a bag with parched grain and a cake of dried fruit and fine bread; and she wrapped up all her vessels and gave them to her to carry.
Jdt 10:6 Then they went out to the city gate of Bethulia, and found Uzziah standing there with the elders of the city, Chabris and Charmis.
Jdt 10:7 When they saw her, and noted how her face was altered and her clothing changed, they greatly admired her beauty, and said to her,
Jdt 10:8 "May the God of our fathers grant you favor and fulfil your plans, that the people of Israel may glory and Jerusalem may be exalted." And she worshiped God.
Jdt 10:9 Then she said to them, "Order the gate of the city to be opened for me, and I will go out and accomplish the things about which you spoke with me." So they ordered the young men to open the gate for her, as she had said.
Jdt 10:10 When they had done this, Judith went out, she and her maid with her; and the men of the city watched her until she had gone down the mountain and passed through the valley and they could no longer see her.
Jdt 10:11 The women went straight on through the valley; and an Assyrian patrol met her
Jdt 10:12 and took her into custody, and asked her, "To what people do you belong, and where are you coming from, and where are you going?" She replied, "I am a daughter of the Hebrews, but I am fleeing from them, for they are about to be handed over to you to be devoured.
Jdt 10:13 I am on my way to the presence of Holofernes the commander of your army, to give him a true report; and I will show him a way by which he can go and capture all the hill country without losing one of his men, captured or slain."
Jdt 10:14 When the men heard her words, and observed her face -- she was in their eyes marvelously beautiful -- they said to her,
Jdt 10:15 "You have saved your life by hurrying down to the presence of our lord. Go at once to his tent; some of us will escort you and hand you over to him.
Jdt 10:16 And when you stand before him, do not be afraid in your heart, but tell him just what you have said, and he will treat you well."
Jdt 10:17 They chose from their number a hundred men to accompany her and her maid, and they brought them to the tent of Holofernes.
Jdt 10:18 There was great excitement in the whole camp, for her arrival was reported from tent to tent, and they came and stood around her as she waited outside the tent of Holofernes while they told him about her.
Jdt 10:19 And they marveled at her beauty, and admired the Israelites, judging them by her, and every one said to his neighbor, "Who can despise these people, who have women like this among them? Surely not a man of them had better be left alive, for if we let them go they will be able to ensnare the whole world!"
Jdt 10:20 Then Holofernes' companions and all his servants came out and led her into the tent.
Jdt 10:21 Holofernes was resting on his bed, under a canopy which was woven with purple and gold and emeralds and precious stones.
Jdt 10:22 When they told him of her he came forward to the front of the tent, with silver lamps carried before him.
Jdt 10:23 And when Judith came into the presence of Holofernes and his servants, they all marveled at the beauty of her face; and she prostrated herself and made obeisance to him, and his slaves raised her up.
~ Chapter 11 ~
Jdt 11:1 Then Holofernes said to her, "Take courage, woman, and do not be afraid in your heart, for I have never hurt any one who chose to serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of all the earth.
Jdt 11:2 And even now, if your people who live in the hill country had not slighted me, I would never have lifted my spear against them; but they have brought all this on themselves.
Jdt 11:3 And now tell me why you have fled from them and have come over to us -- since you have come to safety.
Jdt 11:4 Have courage; you will live, tonight and from now on. No one will hurt you, but all will treat you well, as they do the servants of my lord King Nebuchadnezzar."
Jdt 11:5 Judith replied to him, "Accept the words of your servant, and let your maidservant speak in your presence, and I will tell nothing false to my lord this night.
Jdt 11:6 And if you follow out the words of your maidservant, God will accomplish something through you, and my lord will not fail to achieve his purposes.
Jdt 11:7 Nebuchadnezzar the king of the whole earth lives, and as his power endures, who had sent you to direct every living soul, not only do men serve him because of you, but also the beasts of the field and the cattle and the birds of the air will live by your power under Nebuchadnezzar and all his house.
Jdt 11:8 For we have heard of your wisdom and skill, and it is reported throughout the whole world that you are the one good man in the whole kingdom, thoroughly informed and marvelous in military strategy.
Jdt 11:9 "Now as for the things Achior said in your council, we have heard his words, for the men of Bethulia spared him and he told them all he had said to you.
Jdt 11:10 Therefore, my lord and master, do not disregard what he said, but keep it in your mind, for it is true: our nation cannot be punished, nor can the sword prevail against them, unless they sin against their God.
Jdt 11:11 "And now, in order that my lord may not be defeated and his purpose frustrated, death will fall upon them, for a sin has overtaken them by which they are about to provoke their God to anger when they do what is wrong.
Jdt 11:12 Since their food supply is exhausted and their water has almost given out, they have planned to kill their cattle and have determined to use all that God by his laws has forbidden them to eat.
Jdt 11:13 They have decided to consume the first fruits of the grain and the tithes of the wine and oil, which they had consecrated and set aside for the priests who minister in the presence of our God at Jerusalem -- although it is not lawful for any of the people so much as to touch these things with their hands.
Jdt 11:14 They have sent men to Jerusalem, because even the people living there have been doing this, to bring back to them permission from the senate.
Jdt 11:15 When the word reaches them and they proceed to do this, on that very day they will be handed over to you to be destroyed.
Jdt 11:16 "Therefore, when I, your servant, learned all this, I fled from them; and God has sent me to accomplish with you things that will astonish the whole world, as many as shall hear about them.
Jdt 11:17 For your servant is religious, and serves the God of heaven day and night; therefore, my lord, I will remain with you, and every night your servant will go out into the valley, and I will pray to God and he will tell me when they have committed their sins.
Jdt 11:18 And I will come and tell you, and then you shall go out with your whole army, and not one of them will withstand you.
Jdt 11:19 Then I will lead you through the middle of Judea, till you come to Jerusalem; and I will set your throne in the midst of it; and you will lead them like sheep that have no shepherd, and not a dog will so much as open its mouth to growl at you. For this has been told me, by my foreknowledge; it was announced to me, and I was sent to tell you."
Jdt 11:20 Her words pleased Holofernes and all his servants, and they marveled at her wisdom and said,
Jdt 11:21 "There is not such a woman from one end of the earth to the other, either for beauty of face or wisdom of speech!"
Jdt 11:22 And Holofernes said to her, "God has done well to send you before the people, to lend strength to our hands and to bring destruction upon those who have slighted my lord.
Jdt 11:23 You are not only beautiful in appearance, but wise in speech; and if you do as you have said, your God shall be my God, and you shall live in the house of King Nebuchadnezzar and be renowned throughout the whole world."
~ Chapter 12 ~
Jdt 12:1 Then he commanded them to bring her in where his silver dishes were kept, and ordered them to set a table for her with some of his own food and to serve her with his own wine.
Jdt 12:2 But Judith said, "I cannot eat it, lest it be an offense; but I will be provided from the things I have brought with me."
Jdt 12:3 Holofernes said to her, "If your supply runs out, where can we get more like it for you? For none of your people is here with us."
Jdt 12:4 Judith replied, "As your soul lives, my lord, your servant will not use up the things I have with me before the Lord carries out by my hand what he has determined to do."
Jdt 12:5 Then the servants of Holofernes brought her into the tent, and she slept until midnight. Along toward the morning watch she arose
Jdt 12:6 and sent to Holofernes and said, "Let my lord now command that your servant be permitted to go out and pray."
Jdt 12:7 So Holofernes commanded his guards not to hinder her. And she remained in the camp for three days, and went out each night to the valley of Bethulia, and bathed at the spring in the camp.
Jdt 12:8 When she came up from the spring she prayed the Lord God of Israel to direct her way for the raising up of her people.
Jdt 12:9 So she returned clean and stayed in the tent until she ate her food toward evening.
Jdt 12:10 On the fourth day Holofernes held a banquet for his slave only, and did not invite any of his officers.
Jdt 12:11 And he said to Bagoas, the eunuch who had charge of his personal affairs, "Go now and persuade the Hebrew woman who is in your care to join us and eat and drink with us.
Jdt 12:12 For it will be a disgrace if we let such a woman go without enjoying her company, for if we do not embrace her she will laugh at us."
Jdt 12:13 So Bagoas went out from the presence of Holofernes, and approached her and said, "This beautiful maidservant will please come to my lord and be honored in his presence, and drink wine and be merry with us, and become today like one of the daughters of the Assyrians who serve in the house of Nebuchadnezzar."
Jdt 12:14 And Judith said, "Who am I, to refuse my lord? Surely whatever pleases him I will do at once, and it will be a joy to me until the day of my death!"
Jdt 12:15 So she got up and arrayed herself in all her woman's finery, and her maid went and spread on the ground for her before Holofernes the soft fleeces which she had received from Bagoas for her daily use, so that she might recline on them when she ate.
Jdt 12:16 Then Judith came in and lay down, and Holofernes' heart was ravished with her and he was moved with great desire to possess her; for he had been waiting for an opportunity to deceive her, ever since the day he first saw her.
Jdt 12:17 So Holofernes said to her. "Drink now, and be merry with us!"
Jdt 12:18 Judith said, "I will drink now, my lord, because my life means more to me today than in all the days since I was born."
Jdt 12:19 Then she took and ate and drank before him what her maid had prepared.
Jdt 12:20 And Holofernes was greatly pleased with her, and drank a great quantity of wine, much more than he had ever drunk in any one day since he was born.
~ Chapter 13 ~
Jdt 13:1 When evening came, his slaves quickly withdrew, and Bagoas closed the tent from outside and shut out the attendants from his master's presence; and they went to bed, for they all were weary because the banquet had lasted long.
Jdt 13:2 So Judith was left alone in the tent , with Holofernes stretched out on his bed, for he was overcome with wine.
Jdt 13:3 Now Judith had told her maid to stand outside the bedchamber and to wait for her to come out, as she did every day; for she said she would be going out for her prayers. And she had said the same thing to Bagoas.
Jdt 13:4 So every one went out, and no one, either small or great, was left in the bedchamber. Then Judith, standing beside his bed, said in her heart, "O Lord God of all might, look in this hour upon the work of my hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem.
Jdt 13:5 For now is the time to help thy inheritance, and to carry out my undertaking for the destruction of the enemies who have risen up against us."
Jdt 13:6 She went up to the post at the end of the bed, above Holofernes' head, and took down his sword that hung there.
Jdt 13:7 She came close to his bed and took hold of the hair of his head, and said, "Give me strength this day, O Lord God of Israel!"
Jdt 13:8 And she struck his neck twice with all her might, and severed it from his body.
Jdt 13:9 Then she tumbled his body off the bed and pulled down the canopy from the posts; after a moment she went out, and gave Holofernes' head to her maid,
Jdt 13:10 who placed it in her food bag. Then the two of them went out together, as they were accustomed to go for prayer; and they passed through the camp and circled around the valley and went up the mountain to Bethulia and came to its gates.
Jdt 13:11 Judith called out from afar to the watchmen at the gates, "Open, open the gate! God, our God, is still with us, to show his power in Israel, and his strength against our enemies, even as he has done this day!"
Jdt 13:12 When the men of her city heard her voice, they hurried down to the city gate and called together the elders of the city.
Jdt 13:13 They all ran together, both small and great, for it was unbelievable that she had returned; they opened the gate and admitted them, and they kindled a fire for light, and gathered around them.
Jdt 13:14 Then she said to them with a loud voice, "Praise God, O praise him! Praise God, who has not withdrawn his mercy from the house of Israel, but has destroyed our enemies by my hand this very night!"
Jdt 13:15 Then she took the head out of the bag and showed it to them, and said, "See, here is the head of Holofernes, the commander of the Assyrian army, and here is the canopy beneath which he lay in his drunken stupor. The Lord has struck him down by the hand of a woman.
Jdt 13:16 As the Lord lives, who has protected me in the way I went, it was my face that tricked him to his destruction, and yet he committed no act of sin with me, to defile and shame me."
Jdt 13:17 All the people were greatly astonished, and bowed down and worshiped God, and said with one accord, "Blessed art thou, our God, who hast brought into contempt this day the enemies of thy people."
Jdt 13:18 And Uzziah said to her, "O daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God above all women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who has guided you to strike the head of the leader of our enemies.
Jdt 13:19 Your hope will never depart from the hearts of men, as they remember the power of God.
Jdt 13:20 May God grant this to be a perpetual honor to you, and may he visit you with blessings, because you did not spare your own life when our nation was brought low, but have avenged our ruin, walking in the straight path before our God." And all the people said, "So be it, so be it!"
~ Chapter 14 ~
Jdt 14:1 Then Judith said to them, "Listen to me, my brethren, and take this head and hang it upon the parapet of your wall.
Jdt 14:2 And as soon as morning comes and the sun rises, let every valiant man take his weapons and go out of the city, and set a captain over them, as if you were going down to the plain against the Assyrian outpost; only do not go down.
Jdt 14:3 Then they will seize their arms and go into the camp and rouse the officers of the Assyrian army; and they will rush into the tent of Holofernes, and will not find him. Then fear will come over them, and they will flee before you,
Jdt 14:4 and you and all who live within the borders of Israel shall pursue them and cut them down as they flee.
Jdt 14:5 But before you do all this, bring Achior the Ammonite to me, and let him see and recognize the man who despised the house of Israel and sent him to us as if to his death."
Jdt 14:6 So they summoned Achior from the house of Uzziah. And when he came and saw the head of Holofernes in the hand of one of the men at the gathering of the people, he fell down on his face and his spirit failed him.
Jdt 14:7 And when they raised him up he fell at Judith's feet, and knelt before her, and said, "Blessed are you in every tent of Judah! In every nation those who hear your name will be alarmed.
Jdt 14:8 Now tell me what you have done during these days." Then Judith described to him in the presence of the people all that she had done, from the day she left until the moment of her speaking to them.
Jdt 14:9 And when she had finished, the people raised a great shout and made a joyful noise in their city.
Jdt 14:10 And when Achior saw all that the God of Israel had done, he believed firmly in God, and was circumcised, and joined the house of Israel, remaining so to this day.
Jdt 14:11 As soon as it was dawn they hung the head of Holofernes on the wall, and every man took his weapons, and they went out in companies to the passes in the mountains.
Jdt 14:12 And when the Assyrians saw them they sent word to their commanders, and they went to the generals and the captains and to all their officers.
Jdt 14:13 So they came to Holofernes' tent and said to the steward in charge of all his personal affairs, "Wake up our lord, for the slaves have been so bold as to come down against us to give battle, in order to be destroyed completely."
Jdt 14:14 So Bagoas went in and knocked at the door of the tent, for he supposed that he was sleeping with Judith.
Jdt 14:15 But when no one answered, he opened it and went into the bedchamber and found him thrown down on the platform dead, with his head cut off and missing.
Jdt 14:16 And he cried out with a loud voice and wept and groaned and shouted, and rent his garments.
Jdt 14:17 Then he went to the tent where Judith had stayed, and when he did not find her he rushed out to the people and shouted,
Jdt 14:18 "The slaves have tricked us! One Hebrew woman has brought disgrace upon the house of King Nebuchadnezzar! For look, here is Holofernes lying on the ground, and his head is not on him!"
Jdt 14:19 When the leaders of the Assyrian army heard this, they rent their tunics and were greatly dismayed, and their loud cries and shouts arose in the midst of the camp.
~ Chapter 15 ~
Jdt 15:1 When the men in the tents heard it, they were amazed at what had happened.
Jdt 15:2 Fear and trembling came over them, so that they did not wait for one another, but with one impulse all rushed out and fled by every path across the plain and through the hill country.
Jdt 15:3 Those who had camped in the hills around Bethulia also took to flight. Then the men of Israel, every one that was a soldier, rushed out upon them.
Jdt 15:4 And Uzziah sent men to Betomasthaim and Bebai and Choba and Kola, and to all the frontiers of Israel, to tell what had taken place and to urge all to rush out upon their enemies to destroy them.
Jdt 15:5 And when the Israelites heard it, with one accord they fell upon the enemy, and cut them down as far as Choba. Those in Jerusalem and all the hill country also came, for they were told what had happened in the camp of the enemy; and those in Gilead and in Galilee outflanked them with great slaughter, even beyond Damascus and its borders.
Jdt 15:6 The rest of the people of Bethulia fell upon the Assyrian camp and plundered it, and were greatly enriched.
Jdt 15:7 And the Israelites, when they returned from the slaughter, took possession of what remained, and the villages and towns in the hill country and in the plain got a great amount of booty, for there was a vast quantity of it.
Jdt 15:8 Then Joakim the high priest, and the senate of the people of Israel who lived at Jerusalem, came to witness the good things which the Lord had done for Israel, and to see Judith and to greet her.
Jdt 15:9 And when they met her they all blessed her with one accord and said to her, "You are the exaltation of Jerusalem, you are the great glory of Israel, you are the great pride of our nation!
Jdt 15:10 You have done all this singlehanded; you have done great good to Israel, and God is well pleased with it. May the Almighty Lord bless you for ever!" And all the people said, "So be it!"
Jdt 15:11 So all the people plundered the camp for thirty days. They gave Judith the tent of Holofernes and all his silver dishes and his beds and his bowls and all his furniture; and she took them and loaded her mule and hitched up her carts and piled the things on them.
Jdt 15:12 Then all the women of Israel gathered to see her, and blessed her, and some of them performed a dance for her; and she took branches in her hands and gave them to the women who were with her;
Jdt 15:13 and they crowned themselves with olive wreaths, she and those who were with her; and she went before all the people in the dance, leading all the women, while all the men of Israel followed, bearing their arms and wearing garlands and with songs on their lips.
~ Chapter 16 ~
Jdt 16:1 Then Judith began this thanksgiving before all Israel, and all the people loudly sang this song of praise.
Jdt 16:2 And Judith said, Begin a song to my God with tambourines, sing to my Lord with cymbals. Raise to him a new psalm; exalt him, and call upon his name.
Jdt 16:3 For God is the Lord who crushes wars; for he has delivered me out of the hands of my pursuers, and brought me to his camp, in the midst of the people.
Jdt 16:4 The Assyrian came down from the mountains of the north; he came with myriads of his warriors; their multitude blocked up the valleys, their cavalry covered the hills.
Jdt 16:5 He boasted that he would burn up my territory, and kill my young men with the sword, and dash my infants to the ground and seize my children as prey, and take my virgins as booty.
Jdt 16:6 But the Lord Almighty has foiled them by the hand of a woman.
Jdt 16:7 For their mighty one did not fall by the hands of the young men, nor did the sons of the Titans smite him, nor did tall giants set upon him; but Judith the daughter of Merari undid him with the beauty of her countenance.
Jdt 16:8 For she took off her widow's mourning to exalt the oppressed in Israel. She anointed her face with ointment and fastened her hair with a tiara and put on a linen gown to deceive him.
Jdt 16:9 Her sandal ravished his eyes, her beauty captivated his mind, and the sword severed his neck.
Jdt 16:10 The Persians trembled at her boldness, the Medes were daunted at her daring.
Jdt 16:11 Then my oppressed people shouted for joy; my weak people shouted and the enemy trembled; they lifted up their voices, and the enemy were turned back.
Jdt 16:12 The sons of maidservants have pierced them through; they were wounded like the children of fugitives, they perished before the army of my Lord.
Jdt 16:13 I will sing to my God a new song: O Lord, thou are great and glorious, wonderful in strength, invincible.
Jdt 16:14 Let all thy creatures serve thee, for thou didst speak, and they were made. Thou didst send forth thy Spirit, and it formed them; there is none that can resist thy voice.
Jdt 16:15 For the mountains shall be shaken to their foundations with the waters; at thy presence the rocks shall melt like wax, but to those who fear thee thou wilt continue to show mercy.
Jdt 16:16 For every sacrifice as a fragrant offering is a small thing, and all fat for burnt offerings to thee is a very little thing, but he who fears the Lord shall be great for ever.
Jdt 16:17 Woe to the nations that rise up against my people! The Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them in the day of judgment; fire and worms he will give to their flesh; they shall weep in pain for ever.
Jdt 16:18 When they arrived at Jerusalem they worshiped God. As soon as the people were purified, they offered their burnt offerings, their freewill offerings, and their gifts.
Jdt 16:19 Judith also dedicated to God all the vessels of Holofernes, which the people had given her; and the canopy which she took for herself from his bedchamber she gave as a votive offering to the Lord.
Jdt 16:20 So the people continued feasting in Jerusalem before the sanctuary for three months, and Judith remained with them.
Jdt 16:21 After this every one returned home to his own inheritance, and Judith went to Bethulia, and remained on her estate, and was honored in her time throughout the whole country.
Jdt 16:22 Many desired to marry her, but she remained a widow all the days of her life after Manasseh her husband died and was gathered to his people.
Jdt 16:23 She became more and more famous, and grew old in her husband's house, until she was one hundred and five years old. She set her maid free. She died in Bethulia, and they buried her in the cave of her husband Manasseh,
Jdt 16:24 and the house of Israel mourned for her seven days. Before she died she distributed her property to all those who were next of kin to her husband Manasseh, and to her own nearest kindred.
Jdt 16:25 And no one ever again spread terror among the people of Israel in the days of Judith, or for a long time after her death.
Wisdom of Solomon
~ Chapter 1 ~
Ws 1:1 Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth, think of the Lord with uprightness, and seek him with sincerity of heart;
Ws 1:2 because he is found by those who do not put him to the test, and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him.
Ws 1:3 For perverse thoughts separate men from God, and when his power is tested, it convicts the foolish;
Ws 1:4 because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul, nor dwell in a body enslaved to sin.
Ws 1:5 For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit, and will rise and depart from foolish thoughts, and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness.
Ws 1:6 For wisdom is a kindly spirit and will not free a blasphemer from the guilt of his words; because God is witness of his inmost feelings, and a true observer of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue.
Ws 1:7 Because the Spirit of the Lord has filled the world, and that which holds all things together knows what is said;
Ws 1:8 therefore no one who utters unrighteous things will escape notice, and justice, when it punishes, will not pass him by.
Ws 1:9 For inquiry will be made into the counsels of an ungodly man, and a report of his words will come to the Lord, to convict him of his lawless deeds;
Ws 1:10 because a jealous ear hears all things, and the sound of murmurings does not go unheard.
Ws 1:11 Beware then of useless murmuring, and keep your tongue from slander; because no secret word is without result, and a lying mouth destroys the soul.
Ws 1:12 Do not invite death by the error of your life, nor bring on destruction by the works of your hands;
Ws 1:13 because God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living.
Ws 1:14 For he created all things that they might exist, and the generative forces of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them; and the dominion of Hades is not on earth.
Ws 1:15 For righteousness is immortal.
Ws 1:16 But ungodly men by their words and deeds summoned death; considering him a friend, they pined away, and they made a covenant with him, because they are fit to belong to his party.
~ Chapter 2 ~
Ws 2:1 For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves, "Short and sorrowful is our life, and there is no remedy when a man comes to his end, and no one has been known to return from Hades.
Ws 2:2 Because we were born by mere chance, and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been; because the breath in our nostrils is smoke, and reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our hearts.
Ws 2:3 When it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes, and the spirit will dissolve like empty air.
Ws 2:4 Our name will be forgotten in time and no one will remember our works; our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and be scattered like mist that is chased by the rays of the sun and overcome by its heat.
Ws 2:5 For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow, and there is no return from our death, because it is sealed up and no one turns back.
Ws 2:6 "Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist, and make use of the creation to the full as in youth.
Ws 2:7 Let us take our fill of costly wine and perfumes, and let no flower of spring pass by us.
Ws 2:8 Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.
Ws 2:9 Let none of us fail to share in our revelry, everywhere let us leave signs of enjoyment, because this is our portion, and this our lot.
Ws 2:10 Let us oppress the righteous poor man; let us not spare the widow nor regard the gray hairs of the aged.
Ws 2:11 But let our might be our law of right, for what is weak proves itself to be useless.
Ws 2:12 "Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training.
Ws 2:13 He professes to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child of the Lord.
Ws 2:14 He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
Ws 2:15 the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner of life is unlike that of others, and his ways are strange.
Ws 2:16 We are considered by him as something base, and he avoids our ways as unclean; he calls the last end of the righteous happy, and boasts that God is his father.
Ws 2:17 Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;
Ws 2:18 for if the righteous man is God's son, he will help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.
Ws 2:19 Let us test him with insult and torture, that we may find out how gentle he is, and make trial of his forbearance.
Ws 2:20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according to what he says, he will be protected."
Ws 2:21 Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray, for their wickedness blinded them,
Ws 2:22 and they did not know the secret purposes of God, nor hope for the wages of holiness, nor discern the prize for blameless souls;
Ws 2:23 for God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity,
Ws 2:24 but through the devil's envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it.
~ Chapter 3 ~
Ws 3:1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.
Ws 3:2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction,
Ws 3:3 and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace.
Ws 3:4 For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality.
Ws 3:5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
Ws 3:6 like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.
Ws 3:7 In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble.
Ws 3:8 They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them for ever.
Ws 3:9 Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect, and he watches over his holy ones.
Ws 3:10 But the ungodly will be punished as their reasoning deserves, who disregarded the righteous man and rebelled against the Lord;
Ws 3:11 for whoever despises wisdom and instruction is miserable. Their hope is vain, their labors are unprofitable, and their works are useless.
Ws 3:12 Their wives are foolish, and their children evil;
Ws 3:13 their offspring are accursed. For blessed is the barren woman who is undefiled, who has not entered into a sinful union; she will have fruit when God examines souls.
Ws 3:14 Blessed also is the eunuch whose hands have done no lawless deed, and who has not devised wicked things against the Lord; for special favor will be shown him for his faithfulness, and a place of great delight in the temple of the Lord.
Ws 3:15 For the fruit of good labors is renowned, and the root of understanding does not fail.
Ws 3:16 But children of adulterers will not come to maturity, and the offspring of an unlawful union will perish.
Ws 3:17 Even if they live long they will be held of no account, and finally their old age will be without honor.
Ws 3:18 If they die young, they will have no hope and no consolation in the day of decision.
Ws 3:19 For the end of an unrighteous generation is grievous.
~ Chapter 4 ~
Ws 4:1 Better than this is childlessness with virtue, for in the memory of virtue is immortality, because it is known both by God and by men.
Ws 4:2 When it is present, men imitate it, and they long for it when it has gone; and throughout all time it marches crowned in triumph, victor in the contest for prizes that are undefiled.
Ws 4:3 But the prolific brood of the ungodly will be of no use, and none of their illegitimate seedlings will strike a deep root or take a firm hold.
Ws 4:4 For even if they put forth boughs for a while, standing insecurely they will be shaken by the wind, and by the violence of the winds they will be uprooted.
Ws 4:5 The branches will be broken off before they come to maturity, and their fruit will be useless, not ripe enough to eat, and good for nothing.
Ws 4:6 For children born of unlawful unions are witnesses of evil against their parents when God examines them.
Ws 4:7 But the righteous man, though he die early, will be at rest.
Ws 4:8 For old age is not honored for length of time, nor measured by number of years;
Ws 4:9 but understanding is gray hair for men, and a blameless life is ripe old age.
Ws 4:10 There was one who pleased God and was loved by him, and while living among sinners he was taken up.
Ws 4:11 He was caught up lest evil change his understanding or guile deceive his soul.
Ws 4:12 For the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good, and roving desire perverts the innocent mind.
Ws 4:13 Being perfected in a short time, he fulfilled long years;
Ws 4:14 for his soul was pleasing to the Lord, therefore he took him quickly from the midst of wickedness.
Ws 4:15 Yet the peoples saw and did not understand, nor take such a thing to heart, that God's grace and mercy are with his elect, and he watches over his holy ones.
Ws 4:16 The righteous man who had died will condemn the ungodly who are living, and youth that is quickly perfected will condemn the prolonged old age of the unrighteous man.
Ws 4:17 For they will see the end of the wise man, and will not understand what the Lord purposed for him, and for what he kept him safe.
Ws 4:18 They will see, and will have contempt for him, but the Lord will laugh them to scorn. After this they will become dishonored corpses, and an outrage among the dead for ever;
Ws 4:19 because he will dash them speechless to the ground, and shake them from the foundations; they will be left utterly dry and barren, and they will suffer anguish, and the memory of them will perish.
Ws 4:20 They will come with dread when their sins are reckoned up, and their lawless deeds will convict them to their face.
~ Chapter 5 ~
Ws 5:1 Then the righteous man will stand with great confidence in the presence of those who have afflicted him, and those who make light of his labors.
Ws 5:2 When they see him, they will be shaken with dreadful fear, and they will be amazed at his unexpected salvation.
Ws 5:3 They will speak to one another in repentance, and in anguish of spirit they will groan, and say,
Ws 5:4 "This is the man whom we once held in derision and made a byword of reproach -- we fools! We thought that his life was madness and that his end was without honor.
Ws 5:5 Why has he been numbered among the sons of God? And why is his lot among the saints?
Ws 5:6 So it was we who strayed from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness did not shine on us, and the sun did not rise upon us.
Ws 5:7 We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction, and we journeyed through trackless deserts, but the way of the Lord we have not known.
Ws 5:8 What has our arrogance profited us? And what good has our boasted wealth brought us?
Ws 5:9 "All those things have vanished like a shadow, and like a rumor that passes by;
Ws 5:10 like a ship that sails through the billowy water, and when it has passed no trace can be found, nor track of its keel in the waves;
Ws 5:11 or as, when a bird flies through the air, no evidence of its passage is found; the light air, lashed by the beat of its pinions and pierced by the force of its rushing flight, is traversed by the movement of its wings, and afterward no sign of its coming is found there;
Ws 5:12 or as, when an arrow is shot at a target, the air, thus divided, comes together at once, so that no one knows its pathway.
Ws 5:13 So we also, as soon as we were born, ceased to be, and we had no sign of virtue to show, but were consumed in our wickedness."
Ws 5:14 Because the hope of the ungodly man is like chaff carried by the wind, and like a light hoarfrost driven away by a storm; it is dispersed like smoke before the wind, and it passes like the remembrance of a guest who stays but a day.
Ws 5:15 But the righteous live for ever, and their reward is with the Lord; the Most High takes care of them.
Ws 5:16 Therefore they will receive a glorious crown and a beautiful diadem from the hand of the Lord, because with his right hand he will cover them, and with his arm he will shield them.
Ws 5:17 The Lord will take his zeal as his whole armor, and will arm all creation to repel his enemies;
Ws 5:18 he will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and wear impartial justice as a helmet;
Ws 5:19 he will take holiness as an invincible shield,
Ws 5:20 and sharpen stern wrath for a sword, and creation will join with him to fight against the madmen.
Ws 5:21 Shafts of lightning will fly with true aim, and will leap to the target as from a well-drawn bow of clouds,
Ws 5:22 and hailstones full of wrath will be hurled as from a catapult; the water of the sea will rage against them, and rivers will relentlessly overwhelm them;
Ws 5:23 a mighty wind will rise against them , and like a tempest it will winnow them away. Lawlessness will lay waste the whole earth, and evil-doing will overturn the thrones of rulers.
~ Chapter 6 ~
Ws 6:1 Listen therefore, O kings, and understand; learn, O judges of the ends of the earth.
Ws 6:2 Give ear, you that rule over multitudes, and boast of many nations.
Ws 6:3 For your dominion was given you from the Lord, and your sovereignty from the Most High, who will search out your works and inquire into your plans.
Ws 6:4 Because as servants of his kingdom you did not rule rightly, nor keep the law, nor walk according to the purpose of God,
Ws 6:5 he will come upon you terribly and swiftly, because severe judgment falls on those in high places.
Ws 6:6 For the lowliest man may be pardoned in mercy, but mighty men will be mightily tested.
Ws 6:7 For the Lord of all will not stand in awe of any one, nor show deference to greatness; because he himself made both small and great, and he takes thought for all alike.
Ws 6:8 But a strict inquiry is in store for the mighty.
Ws 6:9 To you then, O monarchs, my words are directed, that you may learn wisdom and not transgress.
Ws 6:10 For they will be made holy who observe holy things in holiness, and those who have been taught them will find a defense.
Ws 6:11 Therefore set your desire on my words; long for them, and you will be instructed.
Ws 6:12 Wisdom is radiant and unfading, and she is easily discerned by those who love her, and is found by those who seek her.
Ws 6:13 She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.
Ws 6:14 He who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty, for he will find her sitting at his gates.
Ws 6:15 To fix one's thought on her is perfect understanding, and he who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care,
Ws 6:16 because she goes about seeking those worthy of her, and she graciously appears to them in their paths, and meets them in every thought.
Ws 6:17 The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction, and concern for instruction is love of her,
Ws 6:18 and love of her is the keeping of her laws, and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality,
Ws 6:19 and immortality brings one near to God;
Ws 6:20 so the desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom.
Ws 6:21 Therefore if you delight in thrones and scepters, O monarchs over the peoples, honor wisdom, that you may reign for ever.
Ws 6:22 I will tell you what wisdom is and how she came to be, and I will hide no secrets from you, but I will trace her course from the beginning of creation, and make knowledge of her clear, and I will not pass by the truth;
Ws 6:23 neither will I travel in the company of sickly envy, for envy does not associate with wisdom.
Ws 6:24 A multitude of wise men is the salvation of the world, and a sensible king is the stability of his people.
Ws 6:25 Therefore be instructed by my words, and you will profit.
~ Chapter 7 ~
Ws 7:1 I also am mortal, like all men, a descendant of the first-formed child of earth; and in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh,
Ws 7:2 within the period of ten months, compacted with blood, from the seed of a man and the pleasure of marriage.
Ws 7:3 And when I was born, I began to breathe the common air, and fell upon the kindred earth, and my first sound was a cry, like that of all.
Ws 7:4 I was nursed with care in swaddling cloths.
Ws 7:5 For no king has had a different beginning of existence;
Ws 7:6 there is for all mankind one entrance into life, and a common departure.
Ws 7:7 Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
Ws 7:8 I preferred her to scepters and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her.
Ws 7:9 Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem, because all gold is but a little sand in her sight, and silver will be accounted as clay before her.
Ws 7:10 I loved her more than health and beauty, and I chose to have her rather than light, because her radiance never ceases.
Ws 7:11 All good things came to me along with her, and in her hands uncounted wealth.
Ws 7:12 I rejoiced in them all, because wisdom leads them; but I did not know that she was their mother.
Ws 7:13 I learned without guile and I impart without grudging; I do not hide her wealth,
Ws 7:14 for it is an unfailing treasure for men; those who get it obtain friendship with God, commended for the gifts that come from instruction.
Ws 7:15 May God grant that I speak with judgment and have thought worthy of what I have received, for he is the guide even of wisdom and the corrector of the wise.
Ws 7:16 For both we and our words are in his hand, as are all understanding and skill in crafts.
Ws 7:17 For it is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements;
Ws 7:18 the beginning and end and middle of times, the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,
Ws 7:19 the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars,
Ws 7:20 the natures of animals and the tempers of wild beasts, the powers of spirits and the reasonings of men, the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots;
Ws 7:21 I learned both what is secret and what is manifest,
Ws 7:22 for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me. For in her there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible,
Ws 7:23 beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent and pure and most subtle.
Ws 7:24 For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.
Ws 7:25 For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.
Ws 7:26 For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.
Ws 7:27 Though she is but one, she can do all things, and while remaining in herself, she renews all things; in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets;
Ws 7:28 for God loves nothing so much as the man who lives with wisdom.
Ws 7:29 For she is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior,
Ws 7:30 for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail.
~ Chapter 8 ~
Ws 8:1 She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well.
Ws 8:2 I loved her and sought her from my youth, and I desired to take her for my bride, and I became enamored of her beauty.
Ws 8:3 She glorifies her noble birth by living with God, and the Lord of all loves her.
Ws 8:4 For she is an initiate in the knowledge of God, and an associate in his works.
Ws 8:5 If riches are a desirable possession in life, what is richer than wisdom who effects all things?
Ws 8:6 And if understanding is effective, who more than she is fashioner of what exists?
Ws 8:7 And if any one loves righteousness, her labors are virtues; for she teaches self-control and prudence, justice and courage; nothing in life is more profitable for men than these.
Ws 8:8 And if any one longs for wide experience, she knows the things of old, and infers the things to come; she understands turns of speech and the solutions of riddles; she has foreknowledge of signs and wonders and of the outcome of seasons and times.
Ws 8:9 Therefore I determined to take her to live with me, knowing that she would give me good counsel and encouragement in cares and grief.
Ws 8:10 Because of her I shall have glory among the multitudes and honor in the presence of the elders, though I am young.
Ws 8:11 I shall be found keen in judgment, and in the sight of rulers I shall be admired.
Ws 8:12 When I am silent they will wait for me, and when I speak they will give heed; and when I speak at greater length they will put their hands on their mouths.
Ws 8:13 Because of her I shall have immortality, and leave an everlasting remembrance to those who come after me.
Ws 8:14 I shall govern peoples, and nations will be subject to me;
Ws 8:15 dread monarchs will be afraid of me when they hear of me; among the people I shall show myself capable, and courageous in war.
Ws 8:16 When I enter my house, I shall find rest with her, for companionship with her has no bitterness, and life with her has no pain, but gladness and joy.
Ws 8:17 When I considered these things inwardly, and thought upon them in my mind, that in kinship with wisdom there is immortality,
Ws 8:18 and in friendship with her, pure delight, and in the labors of her hands, unfailing wealth, and in the experience of her company, understanding, and renown in sharing her words, I went about seeking how to get her for myself.
Ws 8:19 As a child I was by nature well endowed, and a good soul fell to my lot;
Ws 8:20 or rather, being good, I entered an undefiled body.
Ws 8:21 But I perceived that I would not possess wisdom unless God gave her to me -- and it was a mark of insight to know whose gift she was -- so I appealed to the Lord and besought him, and with my whole heart I said:
~ Chapter 9 ~
Ws 9:1 "O God of my fathers and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things by thy word,
Ws 9:2 and by thy wisdom hast formed man, to have dominion over the creatures thou hast made,
Ws 9:3 and rule the world in holiness and righteousness, and pronounce judgment in uprightness of soul,
Ws 9:4 give me the wisdom that sits by thy throne, and do not reject me from among thy servants.
Ws 9:5 For I am thy slave and the son of thy maidservant, a man who is weak and short-lived, with little understanding of judgment and laws;
Ws 9:6 for even if one is perfect among the sons of men, yet without the wisdom that comes from thee he will be regarded as nothing.
Ws 9:7 Thou hast chosen me to be king of thy people and to be judge over thy sons and daughters.
Ws 9:8 Thou hast given command to build a temple on thy holy mountain, and an altar in the city of thy habitation, a copy of the holy tent which thou didst prepare from the beginning.
Ws 9:9 With thee is wisdom, who knows thy works and was present when thou didst make the world, and who understand what is pleasing in thy sight and what is right according to thy commandments.
Ws 9:10 Send her forth from the holy heavens, and from the throne of thy glory send her, that she may be with me and toil, and that I may learn what is pleasing to thee.
Ws 9:11 For she knows and understands all things, and she will guide me wisely in my actions and guard me with her glory.
Ws 9:12 Then my works will be acceptable, and I shall judge thy people justly, and shall be worthy of the throne of my father.
Ws 9:13 For what man can learn the counsel of God? Or who can discern what the Lord wills?
Ws 9:14 For the reasoning of mortals is worthless, and our designs are likely to fail,
Ws 9:15 for a perishable body weighs down the soul, and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful mind.
Ws 9:16 We can hardly guess at what is on earth, and what is at hand we find with labor; but who has traced out what is in the heavens?
Ws 9:17 Who has learned thy counsel, unless thou hast given wisdom and sent thy holy Spirit from on high?
Ws 9:18 And thus the paths of those on earth were set right, and men were taught what pleases thee, and were saved by wisdom."
~ Chapter 10 ~
Ws 10:1 Wisdom protected the first-formed father of the world, when he alone had been created; she delivered him from his transgression,
Ws 10:2 and gave him strength to rule all things.
Ws 10:3 But when an unrighteous man departed from her in his anger, he perished because in rage he slew his brother.
Ws 10:4 When the earth was flooded because of him, wisdom again saved it, steering the righteous man by a paltry piece of wood.
Ws 10:5 Wisdom also, when the nations in wicked agreement had been confounded, recognized the righteous man and preserved him blameless before God, and kept him strong in the face of his compassion for his child.
Ws 10:6 Wisdom rescued a righteous man when the ungodly were perishing; he escaped the fire that descended on the Five Cities.
Ws 10:7 Evidence of their wickedness still remains: a continually smoking wasteland, plants bearing fruit that does not ripen, and a pillar of salt standing as a monument to an unbelieving soul.
Ws 10:8 For because they passed wisdom by, they not only were hindered from recognizing the good, but also left for mankind a reminder of their folly, so that their failures could never go unnoticed.
Ws 10:9 Wisdom rescued from troubles those who served her.
Ws 10:10 When a righteous man fled from his brother's wrath, she guided him on straight paths; she showed him the kingdom of God, and gave him knowledge of angels; she prospered him in his labors, and increased the fruit of his toil.
Ws 10:11 When his oppressors were covetous, she stood by him and made him rich.
Ws 10:12 She protected him from his enemies, and kept him safe from those who lay in wait for him; in his arduous contest she gave him the victory, so that he might learn that godliness is more powerful than anything.
Ws 10:13 When a righteous man was sold, wisdom did not desert him, but delivered him from sin. She descended with him into the dungeon,
Ws 10:14 and when he was in prison she did not leave him, until she brought him the scepter of a kingdom and authority over his masters. Those who accused him she showed to be false, and she gave him everlasting honor.
Ws 10:15 A holy people and blameless race wisdom delivered from a nation of oppressors.
Ws 10:16 She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord, and withstood dread kings with wonders and signs.
Ws 10:17 She gave holy men the reward of their labors; she guided them along a marvelous way, and became a shelter to them by day, and a starry flame through the night.
Ws 10:18 She brought them over the Red Sea, and led them through deep waters;
Ws 10:19 but she drowned their enemies, and cast them up from the depth of the sea.
Ws 10:20 Therefore the righteous plundered the ungodly; they sang hymns, O Lord, to thy holy name, and praised with one accord thy defending hand,
Ws 10:21 because wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the tongues of babes speak clearly.
~ Chapter 11 ~
Ws 11:1 Wisdom prospered their works by the hand of a holy prophet.
Ws 11:2 They journeyed through an uninhabited wilderness, and pitched their tents in untrodden places.
Ws 11:3 They withstood their enemies and fought off their foes.
Ws 11:4 When they thirsted they called upon thee, and water was given them out of flinty rock, and slaking of thirst from hard stone.
Ws 11:5 For through the very things by which their enemies were punished, they themselves received benefit in their need.
Ws 11:6 Instead of the fountain of an ever-flowing river, stirred up and defiled with blood
Ws 11:7 in rebuke for the decree to slay the infants, thou gavest them abundant water unexpectedly,
Ws 11:8 showing by their thirst at that time how thou didst punish their enemies.
Ws 11:9 For when they were tried, though they were being disciplined in mercy, they learned how the ungodly were tormented when judged in wrath.
Ws 11:10 For thou didst test them as a father does in warning, but thou didst examine the ungodly as a stern king does in condemnation.
Ws 11:11 Whether absent or present, they were equally distressed,
Ws 11:12 for a twofold grief possessed them, and a groaning at the memory of what had occurred.
Ws 11:13 For when they heard that through their own punishments the righteous had received benefit, they perceived it was the Lord's doing.
Ws 11:14 For though they had mockingly rejected him who long before had been cast out and exposed, at the end of the events they marveled at him, for their thirst was not like that of the righteous.
Ws 11:15 In return for their foolish and wicked thoughts, which led them astray to worship irrational serpents and worthless animals, thou didst send upon them a multitude of irrational creatures to punish them,
Ws 11:16 that they might learn that one is punished by the very things by which he sins.
Ws 11:17 For thy all-powerful hand, which created the world out of formless matter, did not lack the means to send upon them a multitude of bears, or bold lions,
Ws 11:18 or newly created unknown beasts full of rage, or such as breathe out fiery breath, or belch forth a thick pall of smoke, or flash terrible sparks from their eyes;
Ws 11:19 not only could their damage exterminate men, but the mere sight of them could kill by fright.
Ws 11:20 Even apart from these, men could fall at a single breath when pursued by justice and scattered by the breath of thy power. But thou hast arranged all things by measure and number and weight.
Ws 11:21 For it is always in thy power to show great strength, and who can withstand the might of thy arm?
Ws 11:22 Because the whole world before thee is like a speck that tips the scales, and like a drop of morning dew that falls upon the ground.
Ws 11:23 But thou art merciful to all, for thou canst do all things, and thou dost overlook men's sins, that they may repent.
Ws 11:24 For thou lovest all things that exist, and hast loathing for none of the things which thou hast made, for thou wouldst not have made anything if thou hadst hated it.
Ws 11:25 How would anything have endured if thou hadst not willed it? Or how would anything not called forth by thee have been preserved?
Ws 11:26 Thou sparest all things, for they are thine, O Lord who lovest the living.
~ Chapter 12 ~
Ws 12:1 For thy immortal spirit is in all things.
Ws 12:2 Therefore thou dost correct little by little those who trespass, and dost remind and warn them of the things wherein they sin, that they may be freed from wickedness and put their trust in thee, O Lord.
Ws 12:3 Those who dwelt of old in thy holy land
Ws 12:4 thou didst hate for their detestable practices, their works of sorcery and unholy rites,
Ws 12:5 their merciless slaughter of children, and their sacrificial feasting on human flesh and blood. These initiates from the midst of a heathen cult,
Ws 12:6 these parents who murder helpless lives, thou didst will to destroy by the hands of our fathers,
Ws 12:7 that the land most precious of all to thee might receive a worthy colony of the servants of God.
Ws 12:8 But even these thou didst spare, since they were but men, and didst send wasps as forerunners of thy army, to destroy them little by little,
Ws 12:9 though thou wast not unable to give the ungodly into the hands of the righteous in battle, or to destroy them at one blow by dread wild beasts or thy stern word.
Ws 12:10 But judging them little by little thou gavest them a chance to repent, though thou wast not unaware that their origin was evil and their wickedness inborn, and that their way of thinking would never change.
Ws 12:11 For they were an accursed race from the beginning, and it was not through fear of any one that thou didst leave them unpunished for their sins.
Ws 12:12 For who will say, "What hast thou done?" Or will resist thy judgment? Who will accuse thee for the destruction of nations which thou didst make? Or who will come before thee to plead as an advocate for unrighteous men?
Ws 12:13 For neither is there any god besides thee, whose care is for all men, to whom thou shouldst prove that thou hast not judged unjustly;
Ws 12:14 nor can any king or monarch confront thee about those whom thou hast punished.
Ws 12:15 Thou art righteous and rulest all things righteously, deeming it alien to thy power to condemn him who does not deserve to be punished.
Ws 12:16 For thy strength is the source of righteousness, and thy sovereignty over all causes thee to spare all.
Ws 12:17 For thou dost show thy strength when men doubt the completeness of thy power, and dost rebuke any insolence among those who know it.
Ws 12:18 Thou who art sovereign in strength dost judge with mildness, and with great forbearance thou dost govern us; for thou hast power to act whenever thou dost choose.
Ws 12:19 Through such works thou has taught thy people that the righteous man must be kind, and thou hast filled thy sons with good hope, because thou givest repentance for sins.
Ws 12:20 For if thou didst punish with such great care and indulgence the enemies of thy servants and those deserving of death, granting them time and
opportunity to give up their wickedness,
Ws 12:21 with what strictness thou hast judged thy sons, to whose fathers thou gavest oaths and covenants full of good promises!
Ws 12:22 So while chastening us thou scourgest our enemies ten thousand times more, so that we may meditate upon thy goodness when we judge, and when we are judged we may expect mercy.
Ws 12:23 Therefore those who in folly of life lived unrighteously thou didst torment through their own abominations.
Ws 12:24 For they went far astray on the paths of error, accepting as gods those animals which even their enemies despised; they were deceived like foolish babes.
Ws 12:25 Therefore, as to thoughtless children, thou didst send thy judgment to mock them.
Ws 12:26 But those who have not heeded the warning of light rebukes will experience the deserved judgment of God.
Ws 12:27 For when in their suffering they became incensed at those creatures which they had thought to be gods, being punished by means of them, they saw and recognized as the true God him whom they had before refused to know. Therefore the utmost condemnation came upon them.
~ Chapter 13 ~
Ws 13:1 For all men who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature; and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know him who exists, nor did they recognize the craftsman while paying heed to his works;
Ws 13:2 but they supposed that either fire or wind or swift air, or the circle of the stars, or turbulent water, or the luminaries of heaven were the gods that rule the world.
Ws 13:3 If through delight in the beauty of these things men assumed them to be gods, let them know how much better than these is their Lord, for the author of beauty created them.
Ws 13:4 And if men were amazed at their power and working, let them perceive from them how much more powerful is he who formed them.
Ws 13:5 For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator.
Ws 13:6 Yet these men are little to be blamed, for perhaps they go astray while seeking God and desiring to find him.
Ws 13:7 For as they live among his works they keep searching, and they trust in what they see, because the things that are seen are beautiful.
Ws 13:8 Yet again, not even they are to be excused;
Ws 13:9 for if they had the power to know so much that they could investigate the world, how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of these things?
Ws 13:10 But miserable, with their hopes set on dead things, are the men who give the name "gods" to the works of men's hands, gold and silver fashioned with skill, and likenesses of animals, or a useless stone, the work of an ancient hand.
Ws 13:11 A skilled woodcutter may saw down a tree easy to handle and skilfully strip off all its bark, and then with pleasing workmanship make a useful vessel that serves life's needs,
Ws 13:12 and burn the castoff pieces of his work to prepare his food, and eat his fill.
Ws 13:13 But a castoff piece from among them, useful for nothing, a stick crooked and full of knots, he takes and carves with care in his leisure, and shapes it with skill gained in idleness; he forms it like the image of a man,
Ws 13:14 or makes it like some worthless animal, giving it a coat of red paint and coloring its surface red and covering every blemish in it with paint;
Ws 13:15 then he makes for it a niche that befits it, and sets it in the wall, and fastens it there with iron.
Ws 13:16 So he takes thought for it, that it may not fall, because he knows that it cannot help itself, for it is only an image and has need of help.
Ws 13:17 When he prays about possessions and his marriage and children, he is not ashamed to address a lifeless thing.
Ws 13:18 For health he appeals to a thing that is weak; for life he prays to a thing that is dead; for aid he entreats a thing that is utterly inexperienced; for a prosperous journey, a thing that cannot take a step;
Ws 13:19 for money-making and work and success with his hands he asks strength of a thing whose hands have no strength.
~ Chapter 14 ~
Ws 14:1 Again, one preparing to sail and about to voyage over raging waves calls upon a piece of wood more fragile than the ship which carries him.
Ws 14:2 For it was desire for gain that planned that vessel, and wisdom was the craftsman who built it;
Ws 14:3 but it is thy providence, O Father, that steers its course, because thou hast given it a path in the sea, and a safe way through the waves,
Ws 14:4 showing that thou canst save from every danger, so that even if a man lacks skill, he may put to sea.
Ws 14:5 It is thy will that works of thy wisdom should not be without effect; therefore men trust their lives even to the smallest piece of wood, and passing through the billows on a raft they come safely to land.
Ws 14:6 For even in the beginning, when arrogant giants were perishing, the hope of the world took refuge on a raft, and guided by thy hand left to the world the seed of a new generation.
Ws 14:7 For blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes.
Ws 14:8 But the idol made with hands is accursed, and so is he who made it; because he did the work, and the perishable thing was named a god.
Ws 14:9 For equally hateful to God are the ungodly man and his ungodliness,
Ws 14:10 for what was done will be punished together with him who did it.
Ws 14:11 Therefore there will be a visitation also upon the heathen idols, because, though part of what God created, they became an abomination, and became traps for the souls of men and a snare to the feet of the foolish.
Ws 14:12 For the idea of making idols was the beginning of fornication, and the invention of them was the corruption of life,
Ws 14:13 for neither have they existed from the beginning nor will they exist for ever.
Ws 14:14 For through the vanity of men they entered the world, and therefore their speedy end has been planned.
Ws 14:15 For a father, consumed with grief at an untimely bereavement, made an image of his child, who had been suddenly taken from him; and he now honored as a god what was once a dead human being, and handed on to his dependents secret rites and initiations.
Ws 14:16 Then the ungodly custom, grown strong with time, was kept as a law, and at the command of monarchs graven images were worshiped.
Ws 14:17 When men could not honor monarchs in their presence, since they lived at a distance, they imagined their appearance far away, and made a visible image of the king whom they honored, so that by their zeal they might flatter the absent one as though present.
Ws 14:18 Then the ambition of the craftsman impelled even those who did not know the king to intensify their worship.
Ws 14:19 For he, perhaps wishing to please his ruler, skilfully forced the likeness to take more beautiful form,
Ws 14:20 and the multitude, attracted by the charm of his work, now regarded as an object of worship the one whom shortly before they had honored as a man.
Ws 14:21 And this became a hidden trap for mankind, because men, in bondage to misfortune or to royal authority, bestowed on objects of stone or wood the name that ought not to be shared.
Ws 14:22 Afterward it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God, but they live in great strife due to ignorance, and they call such great evils peace.
Ws 14:23 For whether they kill children in their initiations, or celebrate secret mysteries, or hold frenzied revels with strange customs,
Ws 14:24 they no longer keep either their lives or their marriages pure, but they either treacherously kill one another, or grieve one another by adultery,
Ws 14:25 and all is a raging riot of blood and murder, theft and deceit, corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury,
Ws 14:26 confusion over what is good, forgetfulness of favors, pollution of souls, sex perversion, disorder in marriage, adultery, and debauchery.
Ws 14:27 For the worship of idols not to be named is the beginning and cause and end of every evil.
Ws 14:28 For their worshipers either rave in exultation, or prophesy lies, or live unrighteously, or readily commit perjury;
Ws 14:29 for because they trust in lifeless idols they swear wicked oaths and expect to suffer no harm.
Ws 14:30 But just penalties will overtake them on two counts: because they thought wickedly of God in devoting themselves to idols, and because in deceit they swore unrighteously through contempt for holiness.
Ws 14:31 For it is not the power of the things by which men swear, but the just penalty for those who sin, that always pursues the transgression of the unrighteous.
~ Chapter 15 ~
Ws 15:1 But thou, our God, art kind and true, patient, and ruling all things in mercy.
Ws 15:2 For even if we sin we are thine, knowing thy power; but we will not sin, because we know that we are accounted thine.
Ws 15:3 For to know thee is complete righteousness, and to know thy power is the root of immortality.
Ws 15:4 For neither has the evil intent of human art misled us, nor the fruitless toil of painters, a figure stained with varied colors,
Ws 15:5 whose appearance arouses yearning in fools, so that they desire the lifeless form of a dead image.
Ws 15:6 Lovers of evil things and fit for such objects of hope are those who either make or desire or worship them.
Ws 15:7 For when a potter kneads the soft earth and laboriously molds each vessel for our service, he fashions out of the same clay both the vessels that serve clean uses and those for contrary uses, making all in like manner; but which shall be the use of each of these the worker in clay decides.
Ws 15:8 With misspent toil, he forms a futile god from the same clay -- this man who was made of earth a short time before and after a little while goes to the earth from which he was taken, when he is required to return the soul that was lent him.
Ws 15:9 But he is not concerned that he is destined to die or that his life is brief, but he competes with workers in gold and silver, and imitates workers in copper; and he counts it his glory that he molds counterfeit gods.
Ws 15:10 His heart is ashes, his hope is cheaper than dirt, and his life is of less worth than clay,
Ws 15:11 because he failed to know the one who formed him and inspired him with an active soul and breathed into him a living spirit.
Ws 15:12 But he considered our existence an idle game, and life a festival held for profit, for he says one must get money however one can, even by base means.
Ws 15:13 For this man, more than all others, knows that he sins when he makes from earthy matter fragile vessels and graven images.
Ws 15:14 But most foolish, and more miserable than an infant, are all the enemies who oppressed thy people.
Ws 15:15 For they thought that all their heathen idols were gods, though these have neither the use of their eyes to see with, nor nostrils with which to draw breath, nor ears with which to hear, nor fingers to feel with, and their feet are of no use for walking.
Ws 15:16 For a man made them, and one whose spirit is borrowed formed them; for no man can form a god which is like himself.
Ws 15:17 He is mortal, and what he makes with lawless hands is dead, for he is better than the objects he worships, since he has life, but they never have.
Ws 15:18 The enemies of thy people worship even the most hateful animals, which are worse than all others, when judged by their lack of intelligence;
Ws 15:19 and even as animals they are not so beautiful in appearance that one would desire them, but they have escaped both the praise of God and his blessing.
~ Chapter 16 ~
Ws 16:1 Therefore those men were deservedly punished through such creatures, and were tormented by a multitude of animals.
Ws 16:2 Instead of this punishment thou didst show kindness to thy people, and thou didst prepare quails to eat, a delicacy to satisfy the desire of appetite;
Ws 16:3 in order that those men, when they desired food, might lose the least remnant of appetite because of the odious creatures sent to them, while thy people, after suffering want a short time, might partake of delicacies.
Ws 16:4 For it was necessary that upon those oppressors inexorable want should come, while to these it was merely shown how their enemies were being tormented.
Ws 16:5 For when the terrible rage of wild beasts came upon thy people and they were being destroyed by the bites of writhing serpents, thy wrath did not continue to the end;
Ws 16:6 they were troubled for a little while as a warning, and received a token of deliverance to remind them of thy law's command.
Ws 16:7 For he who turned toward it was saved, not by what he saw, but by thee, the Savior of all.
Ws 16:8 And by this also thou didst convince our enemies that it is thou who deliverest from every evil.
Ws 16:9 For they were killed by the bites of locusts and flies, and no healing was found for them, because they deserved to be punished by such things;
Ws 16:10 but thy sons were not conquered even by the teeth of venomous serpents, for thy mercy came to their help and healed them.
Ws 16:11 To remind them of thy oracles they were bitten, and then were quickly delivered, lest they should fall into deep forgetfulness and become unresponsive to thy kindness.
Ws 16:12 For neither herb nor poultice cured them, but it was thy word, O Lord, which heals all men.
Ws 16:13 For thou hast power over life and death; thou dost lead men down to the gates of Hades and back again.
Ws 16:14 A man in his wickedness kills another, but he cannot bring back the departed spirit, nor set free the imprisoned soul.
Ws 16:15 To escape from thy hand is impossible;
Ws 16:16 for the ungodly, refusing to know thee, were scourged by the strength of thy arm, pursued by unusual rains and hail and relentless storms, and utterly consumed by fire.
Ws 16:17 For -- most incredible of all -- in the water, which quenches all things, the fire had still greater effect, for the universe defends the righteous.
Ws 16:18 At one time the flame was restrained, so that it might not consume the creatures sent against the ungodly, but that seeing this they might know that they were being pursued by the judgment of God;
Ws 16:19 and at another time even in the midst of water it burned more intensely than fire, to destroy the crops of the unrighteous land.
Ws 16:20 Instead of these things thou didst give thy people food of angels, and without their toil thou didst supply them from heaven with bread ready to eat, providing every pleasure and suited to every taste.
Ws 16:21 For thy sustenance manifested thy sweetness toward thy children; and the bread, ministering to the desire of the one who took it, was changed to suit every one's liking.
Ws 16:22 Snow and ice withstood fire without melting, so that they might know that the crops of their enemies were being destroyed by the fire that blazed in the hail and flashed in the showers of rain;
Ws 16:23 whereas the fire, in order that the righteous might be fed, even forgot its native power.
Ws 16:24 For creation, serving thee who hast made it, exerts itself to punish the unrighteous, and in kindness relaxes on behalf of those who trust in thee.
Ws 16:25 Therefore at that time also, changed into all forms, it served thy all-nourishing bounty, according to the desire of those who had need,
Ws 16:26 so that thy sons, whom thou didst love, O Lord, might learn that it is not the production of crops that feeds man, but that thy word preserves those who trust in thee.
Ws 16:27 For what was not destroyed by fire was melted when simply warmed by a fleeting ray of the sun,
Ws 16:28 to make it known that one must rise before the sun to give thee thanks, and must pray to thee at the dawning of the light;
Ws 16:29 for the hope of an ungrateful man will melt like wintry frost, and flow away like waste water.
~ Chapter 17 ~
Ws 17:1 Great are thy judgments and hard to describe; therefore unintructed souls have gone astray.
Ws 17:2 For when lawless men supposed that they held the holy nation in their power, they themselves lay as captives of darkness and prisoners of long night, shut in under their roofs, exiles from eternal providence.
Ws 17:3 For thinking that in their secret sins they were unobserved behind a dark curtain of forgetfulness, they were scattered, terribly alarmed, and appalled by specters.
Ws 17:4 For not even the inner chamber that held them protected them from fear, but terrifying sounds rang out around them, and dismal phantoms with gloomy faces appeared.
Ws 17:5 And no power of fire was able to give light, nor did the brilliant flames of the stars avail to illumine that hateful night.
Ws 17:6 Nothing was shining through to them except a dreadful, self-kindled fire, and in terror they deemed the things which they saw to be worse than that unseen appearance.
Ws 17:7 The delusions of their magic art lay humbled, and their boasted wisdom was scornfully rebuked.
Ws 17:8 For those who promised to drive off the fears and disorders of a sick soul were sick themselves with ridiculous fear.
Ws 17:9 For even if nothing disturbing frightened them, yet, scared by the passing of beasts and the hissing of serpents,
Ws 17:10 they perished in trembling fear, refusing to look even at the air, though it nowhere could be avoided.
Ws 17:11 For wickedness is a cowardly thing, condemned by its own testimony; distressed by conscience, it has always exaggerated the difficulties.
Ws 17:12 For fear is nothing but surrender of the helps that come from reason;
Ws 17:13 and the inner expectation of help, being weak, prefers ignorance of what causes the torment.
Ws 17:14 But throughout the night, which was really powerless, and which beset them from the recesses of powerless Hades, they all slept the same sleep,
Ws 17:15 and now were driven by monstrous specters, and now were paralyzed by their souls' surrender, for sudden and unexpected fear overwhelmed them.
Ws 17:16 And whoever was there fell down, and thus was kept shut up in a prison not made of iron;
Ws 17:17 for whether he was a farmer or a shepherd or a workman who toiled in the wilderness, he was seized, and endured the inescapable fate; for with one chain of darkness they all were bound.
Ws 17:18 Whether there came a whistling wind, or a melodious sound of birds in wide-spreading branches, or the rhythm of violently rushing water,
Ws 17:19 or the harsh crash of rocks hurled down, or the unseen running of leaping animals, or the sound of the most savage roaring beasts, or an echo thrown back from a hollow of the mountains, it paralyzed them with terror.
Ws 17:20 For the whole world was illumined with brilliant light, and was engaged in unhindered work,
Ws 17:21 while over those men alone heavy night was spread, an image of the darkness that was destined to receive them; but still heavier than darkness were they to themselves.
~ Chapter 18 ~
Ws 18:1 But for thy holy ones there was very great light. Their enemies heard their voices but did not see their forms, and counted them happy for not having suffered,
Ws 18:2 and were thankful that thy holy ones, though previously wronged, were doing them no injury; and they begged their pardon for having been at variance with them.
Ws 18:3 Therefore thou didst provide a flaming pillar of fire as a guide for thy people's unknown journey, and a harmless sun for their glorious wandering.
Ws 18:4 For their enemies deserved to be deprived of light and imprisoned in darkness, those who had kept thy sons imprisoned, through whom the imperishable light of the law was to be given to the world.
Ws 18:5 When they had resolved to kill the babes of thy holy ones, and one child had been exposed and rescued, thou didst in punishment take away a multitude of their children; and thou didst destroy them all together by a mighty flood.
Ws 18:6 That night was made known beforehand to our fathers, so that they might rejoice in sure knowledge of the oaths in which they trusted.
Ws 18:7 The deliverance of the righteous and the destruction of their enemies were expected by thy people.
Ws 18:8 For by the same means by which thou didst punish our enemies thou didst call us to thyself and glorify us.
Ws 18:9 For in secret the holy children of good men offered sacrifices, and with one accord agreed to the divine law, that the saints would share alike the same things, both blessings and dangers; and already they were singing the praises of the fathers.
Ws 18:10 But the discordant cry of their enemies echoed back, and their piteous lament for their children was spread abroad.
Ws 18:11 The slave was punished with the same penalty as the master, and the common man suffered the same loss as the king;
Ws 18:12 and they all together, by the one form of death, had corpses too many to count. For the living were not sufficient even to bury them, since in one instant their most valued children had been destroyed.
Ws 18:13 For though they had disbelieved everything because of their magic arts, yet, when their first-born were destroyed, they acknowledged thy people to be God's son.
Ws 18:14 For while gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course was now half gone,
Ws 18:15 thy all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne, into the midst of the land that was doomed, a stern warrior
Ws 18:16 carrying the sharp sword of thy authentic command, and stood and filled all things with death, and touched heaven while standing on the earth.
Ws 18:17 Then at once apparitions in dreadful dreams greatly troubled them, and unexpected fears assailed them;
Ws 18:18 and one here and another there, hurled down half dead, made known why they were dying;
Ws 18:19 for the dreams which disturbed them forewarned them of this, so that they might not perish without knowing why they suffered.
Ws 18:20 The experience of death touched also the righteous, and a plague came upon the multitude in the desert, but the wrath did not long continue.
Ws 18:21 For a blameless man was quick to act as their champion; he brought forward the shield of his ministry, prayer and propitiation by incense; he withstood the anger and put an end to the disaster, showing that he was thy servant.
Ws 18:22 He conquered the wrath not by strength of body, and not by force of arms, but by his word he subdued the punisher, appealing to the oaths and covenants given to our fathers.
Ws 18:23 For when the dead had already fallen on one another in heaps, he intervened and held back the wrath, and cut off its way to the living.
Ws 18:24 For upon his long robe the whole world was depicted, and the glories of the fathers were engraved on the four rows of stones, and thy majesty on the diadem upon his head.
Ws 18:25 To these the destroyer yielded, these he feared; for merely to test the wrath was enough.
~ Chapter 19 ~
Ws 19:1 But the ungodly were assailed to the end by pitiless anger, for God knew in advance even their future actions,
Ws 19:2 that, though they themselves had permitted thy people to depart and hastily sent them forth, they would change their minds and pursue them.
Ws 19:3 For while they were still busy at mourning, and were lamenting at the graves of their dead, they reached another foolish decision, and pursued as fugitives those whom they had begged and compelled to depart.
Ws 19:4 For the fate they deserved drew them on to this end, and made them forget what had happened, in order that they might fill up the punishment which their torments still lacked,
Ws 19:5 and that thy people might experience an incredible journey, but they themselves might meet a strange death.
Ws 19:6 For the whole creation in its nature was fashioned anew, complying with thy commands, that thy children might be kept unharmed.
Ws 19:7 The cloud was seen overshadowing the camp, and dry land emerging where water had stood before, an unhindered way out of the Red Sea, and a grassy plain out of the raging waves,
Ws 19:8 where those protected by thy hand passed through as one nation, after gazing on marvelous wonders.
Ws 19:9 For they ranged like horses, and leaped like lambs, praising thee, O Lord, who didst deliver them.
Ws 19:10 For they still recalled the events of their sojourn, how instead of producing animals the earth brought forth gnats, and instead of fish the river spewed out vast numbers of frogs.
Ws 19:11 Afterward they saw also a new kind of birds, when desire led them to ask for luxurious food;
Ws 19:12 for, to give them relief, quails came up from the sea.
Ws 19:13 The punishments did not come upon the sinners without prior signs in the violence of thunder, for they justly suffered because of their wicked acts; for they practiced a more bitter hatred of strangers.
Ws 19:14 Others had refused to receive strangers when they came to them, but these made slaves of guests who were their benefactors.
Ws 19:15 And not only so, but punishment of some sort will come upon the former for their hostile reception of the aliens;
Ws 19:16 but the latter, after receiving them with festal celebrations, afflicted with terrible sufferings those who had already shared the same rights.
Ws 19:17 They were stricken also with loss of sight -- just as were those at the door of the righteous man -- when, surrounded by yawning darkness, each tried to find the way through his own door.
Ws 19:18 For the elements changed places with one another, as on a harp the notes vary the nature of the rhythm, while each note remains the same. This may be clearly inferred from the sight of what took place.
Ws 19:19 For land animals were transformed into water creatures, and creatures that swim moved over to the land.
Ws 19:20 Fire even in water retained its normal power, and water forgot its fire-quenching nature.
Ws 19:21 Flames, on the contrary, failed to consume the flesh of perishable creatures that walked among them, nor did they melt the crystalline, easily melted kind of heavenly food.
Ws 19:22 For in everything, O Lord, thou hast exalted and glorified thy people; and thou hast not neglected to help them at all times and in all places.
Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach
~ Chapter 0 ~
Sir 0:1-14. Whereas many great teachings have been given to us through the law and the prophets and the others that followed them, on account of which we should praise Israel for instruction and wisdom; and since it is necessary not only that the readers themselves should acquire understanding but also that those who love learning should be able to help the outsiders by both speaking and writing, my grandfather Jesus, after devoting himself especially to the reading of the law and the prophets and the other books of our fathers, and after acquiring considerable proficiency in them, was himself also led to write something pertaining to instruction and wisdom, in order that, by becoming conversant with this also, those who love learning should make even greater progress in living according to the law.
Sir 0:15-26. You are urged therefore to read with good will and attention, and to be indulgent in cases where, despite out diligent labor in translating, we may seem to have rendered some phrases imperfectly. For what was originally expressed in Hebrew does not have exactly the same sense when translated into another language. Not only this work, but even the law itself, the prophecies, and the rest of the books differ not a little as originally expressed.
Sir 0:27-36. When I came to Egypt in the thirty-eighth year of the reign of Euergetes and stayed for some time, I found opportunity for no little instruction. It seemed highly necessary that I should myself devote some pains and labor to the translation of the following book, using in that period of time great watchfulness and skill in order to complete and publish the book for those living abroad who wished to gain learning, being prepared in character to live according to the law.
~ Chapter 1 ~
Sir 1:1 All wisdom comes from the Lord and is with him for ever.
Sir 1:2 The sand of the sea, the drops of rain, and the days of eternity -- who can count them?
Sir 1:3 The height of heaven, the breadth of the earth, the abyss, and wisdom -- who can search them out?
Sir 1:4 Wisdom was created before all things, and prudent understanding from eternity.
Sir 1:5 The root of wisdom -- to whom has it been revealed? Her clever devices -- who knows them?
Sir 1:6 There is One who is wise, greatly to be feared, sitting upon his throne.
Sir 1:7 The Lord himself created wisdom; he saw her and apportioned her, he poured her out upon all his works.
Sir 1:8 She dwells with all flesh according to his gift, and he supplied her to those who love him.
Sir 1:9 The fear of the Lord is glory and exultation, and gladness and a crown of rejoicing.
Sir 1:10 The fear of the Lord delights the heart, and gives gladness and joy and long life.
Sir 1:11 With him who fears the Lord it will go well at the end; on the day of his death he will be blessed.
Sir 1:12 To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; she is created with the faithful in the womb.
Sir 1:13 She made among men an eternal foundation, and among their descendants she will be trusted.
Sir 1:14 To fear the Lord is wisdom's full measure; she satisfies men with her fruits;
Sir 1:15 she fills their whole house with desirable goods, and their storehouses with her produce.
Sir 1:16 The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom, making peace and perfect health to flourish.
Sir 1:17 He saw her and apportioned her; he rained down knowledge and discerning comprehension, and he exalted the glory of those who held her fast.
Sir 1:18 To fear the Lord is the root of wisdom, and her branches are long life.
Sir 1:22 Unrighteous anger cannot be justified, for a man's anger tips the scale to his ruin.
Sir 1:23 A patient man will endure until the right moment, and then joy will burst forth for him.
Sir 1:24 He will hide his words until the right moment, and the lips of many will tell of his good sense.
Sir 1:25 In the treasuries of wisdom are wise sayings, but godliness is an abomination to a sinner.
Sir 1:26 If you desire wisdom, keep the commandments, and the Lord will supply it for you.
Sir 1:27 For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and instruction, and he delights in fidelity and meekness.
Sir 1:28 Do not disobey the fear of the Lord; do not approach him with a divided mind.
Sir 1:29 Be not a hypocrite in men's sight, and keep watch over your lips.
Sir 1:30 Do not exalt yourself lest you fall, and thus bring dishonor upon yourself. The Lord will reveal your secrets and cast you down in the midst of the congregation, because you did not come in the fear of the Lord, and your heart was full of deceit.
~ Chapter 2 ~
Sir 2:1 My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for temptation.
Sir 2:2 Set your heart right and be steadfast, and do not be hasty in time of calamity.
Sir 2:3 Cleave to him and do not depart, that you may be honored at the end of your life.
Sir 2:4 Accept whatever is brought upon you, and in changes that humble you be patient.
Sir 2:5 For gold is tested in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.
Sir 2:6 Trust in him, and he will help you; make your ways straight, and hope in him.
Sir 2:7 You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; and turn not aside, lest you fall.
Sir 2:8 You who fear the Lord, trust in him, and your reward will not fail;
Sir 2:9 you who fear the Lord, hope for good things, for everlasting joy and mercy.
Sir 2:10 Consider the ancient generations and see: who ever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame? Or who ever persevered in the fear of the Lord and was forsaken? Or who ever called upon him and was overlooked?
Sir 2:11 For the Lord is compassionate and merciful; he forgives sins and saves in time of affliction.
Sir 2:12 Woe to timid hearts and to slack hands, and to the sinner who walks along two ways!
Sir 2:13 Woe to the faint heart, for it has no trust! Therefore it will not be sheltered.
Sir 2:14 Woe to you who have lost your endurance! What will you do when the Lord punishes you?
Sir 2:15 Those who fear the Lord will not disobey his words, and those who love him will keep his ways.
Sir 2:16 Those who fear the Lord will seek his approval, and those who love him will be filled with the law.
Sir 2:17 Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and will humble themselves before him.
Sir 2:18 Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, but not into the hands of men; for as his majesty is, so also is his mercy.
~ Chapter 3 ~
Sir 3:1 Listen to me your father, O children; and act accordingly, that you may be kept in safety.
Sir 3:2 For the Lord honored the father above the children, and he confirmed the right of the mother over her sons.
Sir 3:3 Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
Sir 3:4 and whoever glorifies his mother is like one who lays up treasure.
Sir 3:5 Whoever honors his father will be gladdened by his own children, and when he prays he will be heard.
Sir 3:6 Whoever glorifies his father will have long life, and whoever obeys the Lord will refresh his mother;
Sir 3:7 he will serve his parents as his masters.
Sir 3:8 Honor your father by word and deed, that a blessing from him may come upon you.
Sir 3:9 For a father's blessing strengthens the houses of the children, but a mother's curse uproots their foundations.
Sir 3:10 Do not glorify yourself by dishonoring your father, for your father's dishonor is no glory to you.
Sir 3:11 For a man's glory comes from honoring his father, and it is a disgrace for children not to respect their mother.
Sir 3:12 O son, help your father in his old age, and do not grieve him as long as he lives;
Sir 3:13 even if he is lacking in understanding, show forbearance; in all your strength do not despise him.
Sir 3:14 For kindness to a father will not be forgotten, and against your sins it will be credited to you;
Sir 3:15 in the day of your affliction it will be remembered in your favor; as frost in fair weather, your sins will melt away.
Sir 3:16 Whoever forsakes his father is like a blasphemer, and whoever angers his mother is cursed by the Lord.
Sir 3:17 My son, perform your tasks in meekness; then you will be loved by those whom God accepts.
Sir 3:18 The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favor in the sight of the Lord.
Sir 3:20 For great is the might of the Lord; he is glorified by the humble.
Sir 3:21 Seek not what is too difficult for you, nor investigate what is beyond your power.
Sir 3:22 Reflect upon what has been assigned to you, for you do not need what is hidden.
Sir 3:23 Do not meddle in what is beyond your tasks, for matters too great for human understanding have been shown you.
Sir 3:24 For their hasty judgment has led many astray, and wrong opinion has caused their thoughts to slip.
Sir 3:26 A stubborn mind will be afflicted at the end, and whoever loves danger will perish by it.
Sir 3:27 A stubborn mind will be burdened by troubles, and the sinner will heap sin upon sin.
Sir 3:28 The affliction of the proud has no healing, for a plant of wickedness has taken root in him.
Sir 3:29 The mind of the intelligent man will ponder a parable, and an attentive ear is the wise man's desire.
Sir 3:30 Water extinguishes a blazing fire: so almsgiving atones for sin.
Sir 3:31 Whoever requites favors gives thought to the future; at the moment of his falling he will find support.
~ Chapter 4 ~
Sir 4:1 My son, deprive not the poor of his living, and do not keep needy eyes waiting.
Sir 4:2 Do not grieve the one who is hungry, nor anger a man in want.
Sir 4:3 Do not add to the troubles of an angry mind, nor delay your gift to a beggar.
Sir 4:4 Do not reject an afflicted suppliant, nor turn your face away from the poor.
Sir 4:5 Do not avert your eye from the needy, nor give a man occasion to curse you;
Sir 4:6 for if in bitterness of soul he calls down a curse upon you, his Creator will hear his prayer.
Sir 4:7 Make yourself beloved in the congregation; bow your head low to a great man.
Sir 4:8 Incline your ear to the poor, and answer him peaceably and gently.
Sir 4:9 Deliver him who is wronged from the hand of the wrongdoer; and do not be fainthearted in judging a case.
Sir 4:10 Be like a father to orphans, and instead of a husband to their mother; you will then be like a son of the Most High, and he will love you more than does your mother.
Sir 4:11 Wisdom exalts her sons and gives help to those who seek her.
Sir 4:12 Whoever loves her loves life, and those who seek her early will be filled with joy.
Sir 4:13 Whoever holds her fast will obtain glory, and the Lord will bless the place she enters.
Sir 4:14 Those who serve her will minister to the Holy One; the Lord loves those who love her.
Sir 4:15 He who obeys her will judge the nations, and whoever gives heed to her will dwell secure.
Sir 4:16 If he has faith in her he will obtain her; and his descendants will remain in possession of her.
Sir 4:17 For at first she will walk with him on tortuous paths, she will bring fear and cowardice upon him, and will torment him by her discipline until she trusts him, and she will test him with her ordinances.
Sir 4:18 Then she will come straight back to him and gladden him, and will reveal her secrets to him.
Sir 4:19 If he goes astray she will forsake him, and hand him over to his ruin.
Sir 4:20 Observe the right time, and beware of evil; and do not bring shame on yourself.
Sir 4:21 For there is a shame which brings sin, and there is a shame which is glory and favor.
Sir 4:22 Do not show partiality, to your own harm, or deference, to your downfall.
Sir 4:23 Do not refrain from speaking at the crucial time, and do not hide your wisdom.
Sir 4:24 For wisdom is known through speech, and education through the words of the tongue.
Sir 4:25 Never speak against the truth, but be mindful of your ignorance.
Sir 4:26 Do not be ashamed to confess your sins, and do not try to stop the current of a river.
Sir 4:27 Do not subject yourself to a foolish fellow, nor show partiality to a ruler.
Sir 4:28 Strive even to death for the truth and the Lord God will fight for you.
Sir 4:29 Do not be reckless in your speech, or sluggish and remiss in your deeds.
Sir 4:30 Do not be like a lion in your home, nor be a faultfinder with your servants.
Sir 4:31 Let not your hand be extended to receive, but withdrawn when it is time to repay.
~ Chapter 5 ~
Sir 5:1 Do not set your heart on your wealth, nor say, "I have enough."
Sir 5:2 Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your heart.
Sir 5:3 Do not say, "Who will have power over me?" for the Lord will surely punish you.
Sir 5:4 Do not say, "I sinned, and what happened to me?" for the Lord is slow to anger.
Sir 5:5 Do not be so confident of atonement that you add sin to sin.
Sir 5:6 Do not say, "His mercy is great, he will forgive the multitude of my sins," for both mercy and wrath are with him, and his anger rests on sinners.
Sir 5:7 Do not delay to turn to the Lord, nor postpone it from day to day; for suddenly the wrath of the Lord will go forth, and at the time of punishment you will perish.
Sir 5:8 Do not depend on dishonest wealth, for it will not benefit you in the day of calamity.
Sir 5:9 Do not winnow with every wind, nor follow every path: the double-tongued sinner does that.
Sir 5:10 Be steadfast in your understanding, and let your speech be consistent.
Sir 5:11 Be quick to hear, and be deliberate in answering.
Sir 5:12 If you have understanding, answer your neighbor; but if not, put your hand on your mouth.
Sir 5:13 Glory and dishonor come from speaking, and a man's tongue is his downfall.
Sir 5:14 Do not be called a slanderer, and do not lie in ambush with your tongue; for shame comes to the thief, and severe condemnation to the double-tongued.
Sir 5:15 In great and small matters do not act amiss,
~ Chapter 6 ~
Sir 6:1 and do not become an enemy instead of a friend; for a bad name incurs shame and reproach: so fares the double-tongued sinner.
Sir 6:2 Do not exalt yourself through your soul's counsel, lest your soul be torn in pieces like a bull.
Sir 6:3 You will devour your leaves and destroy your fruit, and will be left like a withered tree.
Sir 6:4 An evil soul will destroy him who has it, and make him the laughingstock of his enemies.
Sir 6:5 A pleasant voice multiplies friends, and a gracious tongue multiplies courtesies.
Sir 6:6 Let those that are at peace with you be many, but let your advisers be one in a thousand.
Sir 6:7 When you gain a friend, gain him through testing, and do not trust him hastily.
Sir 6:8 For there is a friend who is such at his own convenience, but will not stand by you in your day of trouble.
Sir 6:9 And there is a friend who changes into an enemy, and will disclose a quarrel to your disgrace.
Sir 6:10 And there is a friend who is a table companion, but will not stand by you in your day of trouble.
Sir 6:11 In prosperity he will make himself your equal, and be bold with your servants;
Sir 6:12 but if you are brought low he will turn against you, and will hide himself from your presence.
Sir 6:13 Keep yourself far from your enemies, and be on guard toward your friends.
Sir 6:14 A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter: he that has found one has found a treasure.
Sir 6:15 There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend, and no scales can measure his excellence.
Sir 6:16 A faithful friend is an elixir of life; and those who fear the Lord will find him.
Sir 6:17 Whoever fears the Lord directs his friendship aright, for as he is, so is his neighbor also.
Sir 6:18 My son, from your youth up choose instruction, and until you are old you will keep finding wisdom.
Sir 6:19 Come to her like one who plows and sows, and wait for her good harvest. For in her service you will toil a little while, and soon you will eat of her produce.
Sir 6:20 She seems very harsh to the uninstructed; a weakling will not remain with her.
Sir 6:21 She will weigh him down like a heavy testing stone, and he will not be slow to cast her off.
Sir 6:22 For wisdom is like her name, and is not manifest to many.
Sir 6:23 Listen, my son, and accept my judgment; do not reject my counsel.
Sir 6:24 Put your feet into her fetters, and your neck into her collar.
Sir 6:25 Put your shoulder under her and carry her, and do not fret under her bonds.
Sir 6:26 Come to her with all your soul, and keep her ways with all your might.
Sir 6:27 Search out and seek, and she will become known to you; and when you get hold of her, do not let her go.
Sir 6:28 For at last you will find the rest she gives, and she will be changed into joy for you.
Sir 6:29 Then her fetters will become for you a strong protection, and her collar a glorious robe.
Sir 6:30 Her yoke is a golden ornament, and her bonds are a cord of blue.
Sir 6:31 You will wear her like a glorious robe, and put her on like a crown of gladness.
Sir 6:32 If you are willing, my son, you will be taught, and if you apply yourself you will become clever.
Sir 6:33 If you love to listen you will gain knowledge, and if you incline your ear you will become wise.
Sir 6:34 Stand in the assembly of the elders. Who is wise? Cleave to him.
Sir 6:35 Be ready to listen to every narrative, and do not let wise proverbs escape you.
Sir 6:36 If you see an intelligent man, visit him early; let your foot wear out his doorstep.
Sir 6:37 Reflect on the statutes of the Lord, and meditate at all times on his commandments. It is he who will give insight to your mind, and your desire for wisdom will be granted.
~ Chapter 7 ~
Sir 7:1 Do no evil, and evil will never befall you.
Sir 7:2 Stay away from wrong, and it will turn away from you.
Sir 7:3 My son, do not sow the furrows of injustice, and you will not reap a sevenfold crop.
Sir 7:4 Do not seek from the Lord the highest office, nor the seat of honor from the king.
Sir 7:5 Do not assert your righteousness before the Lord, nor display your wisdom before the king.
Sir 7:6 Do not seek to become a judge, lest you be unable to remove iniquity, lest you be partial to a powerful man, and thus put a blot on your integrity.
Sir 7:7 Do not offend against the public, and do not disgrace yourself among the people.
Sir 7:8 Do not commit a sin twice; even for one you will not go unpunished.
Sir 7:9 Do not say, "He will consider the multitude of my gifts, and when I make an offering to the Most High God he will accept it."
Sir 7:10 Do not be fainthearted in your prayer, nor neglect to give alms.
Sir 7:11 Do not ridicule a man who is bitter in soul, for there is One who abases and exalts.
Sir 7:12 Do not devise a lie against your brother, nor do the like to a friend.
Sir 7:13 Refuse to utter any lie, for the habit of lying serves no good.
Sir 7:14 Do not prattle in the assembly of the elders, nor repeat yourself in your prayer.
Sir 7:15 Do not hate toilsome labor, or farm work, which were created by the Most High.
Sir 7:16 Do not count yourself among the crowd of sinners; remember that wrath does not delay.
Sir 7:17 Humble yourself greatly, for the punishment of the ungodly is fire and worms.
Sir 7:18 Do not exchange a friend for money, or a real brother for the gold of Ophir.
Sir 7:19 Do not deprive yourself of a wise and good wife, for her charm is worth more than gold.
Sir 7:20 Do not abuse a servant who performs his work faithfully, or a hired laborer who devotes himself to you.
Sir 7:21 Let your soul love an intelligent servant; do not withhold from him his freedom.
Sir 7:22 Do you have cattle? Look after them; if they are profitable to you, keep them.
Sir 7:23 Do you have children? Discipline them, and make them obedient from their youth.
Sir 7:24 Do you have daughters? Be concerned for their chastity, and do not show yourself too indulgent with them.
Sir 7:25 Give a daughter in marriage; you will have finished a great task. But give her to a man of understanding.
Sir 7:26 If you have a wife who pleases you, do not cast her out; but do not trust yourself to one whom you detest.
Sir 7:27 With all your heart honor your father, and do not forget the birth pangs of your mother.
Sir 7:28 Remember that through your parents you were born; and what can you give back to them that equals their gift to you?
Sir 7:29 With all your soul fear the Lord, and honor his priests.
Sir 7:30 With all your might love your Maker, and do not forsake his ministers.
Sir 7:31 Fear the Lord and honor the priest, and give him his portion, as is commanded you: the first fruits, the guilt offering, the gift of the shoulders, the sacrifice of sanctification, and the first fruits of the holy things.
Sir 7:32 Stretch forth your hand to the poor, so that your blessing may be complete.
Sir 7:33 Give graciously to all the living, and withhold not kindness from the dead.
Sir 7:34 Do not fail those who weep, but mourn with those who mourn.
Sir 7:35 Do not shrink from visiting a sick man, because for such deeds you will be loved.
Sir 7:36 In all you do, remember the end of your life, and then you will never sin.
~ Chapter 8 ~
Sir 8:1 Do not contend with a powerful man, lest you fall into his hands.
Sir 8:2 Do not quarrel with a rich man, lest his resources outweigh yours; for gold has ruined many, and has perverted the minds of kings.
Sir 8:3 Do not argue with a chatterer, nor heap wood on his fire.
Sir 8:4 Do not jest with an ill-bred person, lest your ancestors be disgraced.
Sir 8:5 Do not reproach a man who is turning away from sin; remember that we all deserve punishment.
Sir 8:6 Do not disdain a man when he is old, for some of us are growing old.
Sir 8:7 Do not rejoice over any one's death; remember that we all must die.
Sir 8:8 Do not slight the discourse of the sages, but busy yourself with their maxims; because from them you will gain instruction and learn how to serve great men.
Sir 8:9 Do not disregard the discourse of the aged, for they themselves learned from their fathers; because from them you will gain understanding and learn how to give an answer in time of need.
Sir 8:10 Do not kindle the coals of a sinner, lest you be burned in his flaming fire.
Sir 8:11 Do not get up and leave an insolent fellow, lest he lie in ambush against your words.
Sir 8:12 Do not lend to a man who is stronger than you; but if you do lend anything, be as one who has lost it.
Sir 8:13 Do not give surety beyond your means, but if you give surety, be concerned as one who must pay.
Sir 8:14 Do not go to law against a judge, for the decision will favor him because of his standing.
Sir 8:15 Do not travel on the road with a foolhardy fellow, lest he be burdensome to you; for he will act as he pleases, and through his folly you will perish with him.
Sir 8:16 Do not fight with a wrathful man, and do not cross the wilderness with him; because blood is as nothing in his sight, and where no help is at hand, he will strike you down.
Sir 8:17 Do not consult with a fool, for he will not be able to keep a secret.
Sir 8:18 In the presence of a stranger do nothing that is to be kept secret, for you do not know what he will divulge.
Sir 8:19 Do not reveal your thoughts to every one, lest you drive away your good luck.
~ Chapter 9 ~
Sir 9:1 Do not be jealous of the wife of your bosom, and do not teach her an evil lesson to your own hurt.
Sir 9:2 Do not give yourself to a woman so that she gains mastery over your strength.
Sir 9:3 Do not go to meet a loose woman, lest you fall into her snares.
Sir 9:4 Do not associate with a woman singer, lest you be caught in her intrigues.
Sir 9:5 Do not look intently at a virgin, lest you stumble and incur penalties for her.
Sir 9:6 Do not give yourself to harlots lest you lose your inheritance.
Sir 9:7 Do not look around in the streets of a city, nor wander about in its deserted sections.
Sir 9:8 Turn away your eyes from a shapely woman, and do not look intently at beauty belonging to another; many have been misled by a woman's beauty, and by it passion is kindled like a fire.
Sir 9:9 Never dine with another man's wife, nor revel with her at wine; lest your heart turn aside to her, and in blood you be plunged into destruction.
Sir 9:10 Forsake not an old friend, for a new one does not compare with him. A new friend is like new wine; when it has aged you will drink it with pleasure.
Sir 9:11 Do not envy the honors of a sinner, for you do not know what his end will be.
Sir 9:12 Do not delight in what pleases the ungodly; remember that they will not be held guiltless as long as they live.
Sir 9:13 Keep far from a man who has the power to kill, and you will not be worried by the fear of death. But if you approach him, make no misstep, lest he rob you of your life. Know that you are walking in the midst of snares, and that you are going about on the city battlements.
Sir 9:14 As much as you can, aim to know your neighbors, and consult with the wise.
Sir 9:15 Let your conversation be with men of understanding, and let all your discussion be about the law of the Most High.
Sir 9:16 Let righteous men be your dinner companions, and let your glorying be in the fear of the Lord.
Sir 9:17 A work will be praised for the skill of the craftsmen; so a people's leader is proved wise by his words.
Sir 9:18 A babbler is feared in his city, and the man who is reckless in speech will be hated.
~ Chapter 10 ~
Sir 10:1 A wise magistrate will educate his people, and the rule of an understanding man will be well ordered.
Sir 10:2 Like the magistrate of the people, so are his officials; and like the ruler of the city, so are all its inhabitants.
Sir 10:3 An undisciplined king will ruin his people, but a city will grow through the understanding of its rulers.
Sir 10:4 The government of the earth is in the hands of the Lord, and over it he will raise up the right man for the time.
Sir 10:5 The success of a man is in the hands of the Lord, and he confers his honor upon the person of the scribe.
Sir 10:6 Do not be angry with your neighbor for any injury, and do not attempt anything by acts of insolence.
Sir 10:7 Arrogance is hateful before the Lord and before men, and injustice is outrageous to both.
Sir 10:8 Sovereignty passes from nation to nation on account of injustice and insolence and wealth.
Sir 10:9 How can he who is dust and ashes be proud? for even in life his bowels decay.
Sir 10:10 A long illness baffles the physician; the king of today will die tomorrow.
Sir 10:11 For when a man is dead, he will inherit creeping things, and wild beasts, and worms.
Sir 10:12 The beginning of man's pride is to depart from the Lord; his heart has forsaken his Maker.
Sir 10:13 For the beginning of pride is sin, and the man who clings to it pours out abominations. Therefore the Lord brought upon them extraordinary afflictions, and destroyed them utterly.
Sir 10:14 The Lord has cast down the thrones of rulers, and has seated the lowly in their place.
Sir 10:15 The Lord has plucked up the roots of the nations, and has planted the humble in their place.
Sir 10:16 The Lord has overthrown the lands of the nations, and has destroyed them to the foundations of the earth.
Sir 10:17 He has removed some of them and destroyed them, and has extinguished the memory of them from the earth.
Sir 10:18 Pride was not created for men, nor fierce anger for those born of women.
Sir 10:19 What race is worthy of honor? The human race. What race is worthy of honor? Those who fear the Lord. What race is unworthy of honor? The human race. What race is unworthy of honor? Those who transgress the commandments.
Sir 10:20 Among brothers their leader is worthy of honor, and those who fear the Lord are worthy of honor in his eyes.
Sir 10:22 The rich, and the eminent, and the poor -- their glory is the fear of the Lord.
Sir 10:23 It is not right to despise an intelligent poor man, nor is it proper to honor a sinful man.
Sir 10:24 The nobleman, and the judge, and the ruler will be honored, but none of them is greater than the man who fears the Lord.
Sir 10:25 Free men will be at the service of a wise servant, and a man of understanding will not grumble.
Sir 10:26 Do not make a display of your wisdom when you do your work, nor glorify yourself at a time when you are in want.
Sir 10:27 Better is a man who works and has an abundance of everything, than one who goes about boasting, but lacks bread.
Sir 10:28 My son, glorify yourself with humility, and ascribe to yourself honor according to your worth.
Sir 10:29 Who will justify the man that sins against himself? And who will honor the man that dishonors his own life?
Sir 10:30 A poor man is honored for his knowledge, while a rich man is honored for his wealth.
Sir 10:31 A man honored in poverty, how much more in wealth! And a man dishonored in wealth, how much more in poverty!
~ Chapter 11 ~
Sir 11:1 The wisdom of a humble man will lift up his head, and will seat him among the great.
Sir 11:2 Do not praise a man for his good looks, nor loathe a man because of his appearance.
Sir 11:3 The bee is small among flying creatures, but her product is the best of sweet things.
Sir 11:4 Do not boast about wearing fine clothes, nor exalt yourself in the day that you are honored; for the works of the Lord are wonderful, and his works are concealed from men.
Sir 11:5 Many kings have had to sit on the ground, but one who was never thought of has worn a crown.
Sir 11:6 Many rulers have been greatly disgraced, and illustrious men have been handed over to others.
Sir 11:7 Do not find fault before you investigate; first consider, and then reprove.
Sir 11:8 Do not answer before you have heard, nor interrupt a speaker in the midst of his words.
Sir 11:9 Do not argue about a matter which does not concern you, nor sit with sinners when they judge a case.
Sir 11:10 My son, do not busy yourself with many matters; if you multiply activities you will not go unpunished, and if you pursue you will not overtake, and by fleeing you will not escape.
Sir 11:11 There is a man who works, and toils, and presses on, but is so much the more in want.
Sir 11:12 There is another who is slow and needs help, who lacks strength and abounds in poverty; but the eyes of the Lord look upon him for his good; he lifts him out of his low estate
Sir 11:13 and raises up his head, so that many are amazed at him.
Sir 11:14 Good things and bad, life and death, poverty and wealth, come from the Lord.
Sir 11:17 The gift of the Lord endures for those who are godly, and what he approves will have lasting success.
Sir 11:18 There is a man who is rich through his diligence and self-denial, and this is the reward allotted to him:
Sir 11:19 when he says, "I have found rest, and now I shall enjoy my goods!" he does not know how much time will pass until he leaves them to others and dies.
Sir 11:20 Stand by your covenant and attend to it, and grow old in your work.
Sir 11:21 Do not wonder at the works of a sinner, but trust in the Lord and keep at your toil; for it is easy in the sight of the Lord to enrich a poor man quickly and suddenly.
Sir 11:22 The blessing of the Lord is the reward of the godly, and quickly God causes his blessing to flourish.
Sir 11:23 Do not say, "What do I need, and what prosperity could be mine in the future?"
Sir 11:24 Do not say, "I have enough, and what calamity could happen to me in the future?"
Sir 11:25 In the day of prosperity, adversity is forgotten, and in the day of adversity, prosperity is not remembered.
Sir 11:26 For it is easy in the sight of the Lord to reward a man on the day of death according to his conduct.
Sir 11:27 The misery of an hour makes one forget luxury, and at the close of a man's life his deeds will be revealed.
Sir 11:28 Call no one happy before his death; a man will be known through his children.
Sir 11:29 Do not bring every man into your home, for many are the wiles of the crafty.
Sir 11:30 Like a decoy partridge in a cage, so is the mind of a proud man, and like a spy he observes your weakness;
Sir 11:31 for he lies in wait, turning good into evil, and to worthy actions he will attach blame.
Sir 11:32 From a spark of fire come many burning coals, and a sinner lies in wait to shed blood.
Sir 11:33 Beware of a scoundrel, for he devises evil, lest he give you a lasting blemish.
Sir 11:34 Receive a stranger into your home and he will upset you with commotion, and will estrange you from your family.
~ Chapter 12 ~
Sir 12:1 If you do a kindness, know to whom you do it, and you will be thanked for your good deeds.
Sir 12:2 Do good to a godly man, and you will be repaid -- if not by him, certainly by the Most High.
Sir 12:3 No good will come to the man who persists in evil or to him who does not give alms.
Sir 12:4 Give to the godly man, but do not help the sinner.
Sir 12:5 Do good to the humble, but do not give to the ungodly; hold back his bread, and do not give it to him, lest by means of it he subdue you; for you will receive twice as much evil for all the good which you do to him.
Sir 12:6 For the Most High also hates sinners and will inflict punishment on the ungodly.
Sir 12:7 Give to the good man, but do not help the sinner.
Sir 12:8 A friend will not be known in prosperity, nor will an enemy be hidden in adversity.
Sir 12:9 A man's enemies are grieved when he prospers, and in his adversity even his friend will separate from him.
Sir 12:10 Never trust your enemy, for like the rusting of copper, so is his wickedness.
Sir 12:11 Even if he humbles himself and goes about cringing, watch yourself, and be on your guard against him; and you will be to him like one who has polished a mirror, and you will know that it was not hopelessly tarnished.
Sir 12:12 Do not put him next to you, lest he overthrow you and take your place; do not have him sit at your right, lest he try to take your seat of honor, and at last you will realize the truth of my words, and be stung by what I have said.
Sir 12:13 Who will pity a snake charmer bitten by a serpent, or any who go near wild beasts?
Sir 12:14 So no one will pity a man who associates with a sinner and becomes involved in his sins.
Sir 12:15 He will stay with you for a time, but if you falter, he will not stand by you.
Sir 12:16 An enemy will speak
sweetly with his lips, but in his mind he will plan to throw you into a pit; an enemy will weep with his eyes, but if he finds an opportunity his thirst for blood will be insatiable.
Sir 12:17 If calamity befalls you, you will find him there ahead of you; and while pretending to help you, he will trip you by the heel;
Sir 12:18 he will shake his head, and clap his hands, and whisper much, and change his expression.
~ Chapter 13 ~
Sir 13:1 Whoever touches pitch will be defiled, and whoever associates with a proud man will become like him.
Sir 13:2 Do not lift a weight beyond your strength, nor associate with a man mightier and richer than you. How can the clay pot associate with the iron kettle? The pot will strike against it, and will itself be broken.
Sir 13:3 A rich man does wrong, and he even adds reproaches; a poor man suffers wrong, and he must add apologies.
Sir 13:4 A rich man will exploit you if you can be of use to him, but if you are in need he will forsake you.
Sir 13:5 If you own something, he will live with you; he will drain your resources and he will not care.
Sir 13:6 When he needs you he will deceive you, he will smile at you and give you hope. He will speak to you kindly and say, "What do you need?"
Sir 13:7 He will shame you with his foods, until he has drained you two or three times; and finally he will deride you. Should he see you afterwards, he will forsake you, and shake his head at you.
Sir 13:8 Take care not to be led astray, and not to be humiliated in your feasting.
Sir 13:9 When a powerful man invites you, be reserved; and he will invite you the more often.
Sir 13:10 Do not push forward, lest you be repulsed; and do not remain at a distance, lest you be forgotten.
Sir 13:11 Do not try to treat him as an equal, nor trust his abundance of words; for he will test you through much talk, and while he smiles he will be examining you.
Sir 13:12 Cruel is he who does not keep words to himself; he will not hesitate to injure or to imprison.
Sir 13:13 Keep words to yourself and be very watchful, for you are walking about with your own downfall.
Sir 13:15 Every creature loves its like, and every person his neighbor;
Sir 13:16 all living beings associate by species, and a man clings to one like himself.
Sir 13:17 What fellowship has a wolf with a lamb? No more has a sinner with a godly man.
Sir 13:18 What peace is there between a hyena and a dog? And what peace between a rich man and a poor man?
Sir 13:19 Wild asses in the wilderness are the prey of lions; likewise the poor are pastures for the rich.
Sir 13:20 Humility is an abomination to a proud man; likewise a poor man is an abomination to a rich one.
Sir 13:21 When a rich man totters, he is steadied by friends, but when a humble man falls, he is even pushed away by friends.
Sir 13:22 If a rich man slips, his helpers are many; he speaks unseemly words, and they justify him. If a humble man slips, they even reproach him; he speaks sensibly, and receives no attention.
Sir 13:23 When the rich man speaks all are silent, and they extol to the clouds what he says. When the poor man speaks they say, "Who is this fellow?" And should he stumble, they even push him down.
Sir 13:24 Riches are good if they are free from sin, and poverty is evil in the opinion of the ungodly.
Sir 13:25 A man's heart changes his countenance, either for good or for evil.
Sir 13:26 The mark of a happy heart is a cheerful face, but to devise proverbs requires painful thinking.
~ Chapter 14 ~
Sir 14:1 Blessed is the man who does not blunder with his lips and need not suffer grief for sin.
Sir 14:2 Blessed is he whose heart does not condemn him, and who has not given up his hope.
Sir 14:3 Riches are not seemly for a stingy man; and of what use is property to an envious man?
Sir 14:4 Whoever accumulates by depriving himself, accumulates for others; and others will live in luxury on his goods.
Sir 14:5 If a man is mean to himself, to whom will he be generous? He will not enjoy his own riches.
Sir 14:6 No one is meaner than the man who is grudging to himself, and this is the retribution for his baseness;
Sir 14:7 even if he does good, he does it unintentionally, and betrays his baseness in the end.
Sir 14:8 Evil is the man with a grudging eye; he averts his face and disregards people.
Sir 14:9 A greedy man's eye is not satisfied with a portion, and mean injustice withers the soul.
Sir 14:10 A stingy man's eye begrudges bread, and it is lacking at his table.
Sir 14:11 My son, treat yourself well, according to your means, and present worthy offerings to the Lord.
Sir 14:12 Remember that death will not delay, and the decree of Hades has not been shown to you.
Sir 14:13 Do good to a friend before you die, and reach out and give to him as much as you can.
Sir 14:14 Do not deprive yourself of a happy day; let not your share of desired good pass by you.
Sir 14:15 Will you not leave the fruit of your labors to another, and what you acquired by toil to be divided by lot?
Sir 14:16 Give, and take, and beguile yourself, because in Hades one cannot look for luxury.
Sir 14:17 All living beings become old like a garment, for the decree from of old is, "You must surely die!"
Sir 14:18 Like flourishing leaves on a spreading tree which sheds some and puts forth others, so are the generations of flesh and blood: one dies and another is born.
Sir 14:19 Every product decays and ceases to exist, and the man who made it will pass away with it.
Sir 14:20 Blessed is the man who meditates on wisdom and who reasons intelligently.
Sir 14:21 He who reflects in his mind on her ways will also ponder her secrets.
Sir 14:22 Pursue wisdom like a hunter, and lie in wait on her paths.
Sir 14:23 He who peers through her windows will also listen at her doors;
Sir 14:24 he who encamps near her house will also fasten his tent peg to her walls;
Sir 14:25 he will pitch his tent near her, and will lodge in an excellent lodging place;
Sir 14:26 he will place his children under her shelter, and will camp under her boughs;
Sir 14:27 he will be sheltered by her from the heat, and will dwell in the midst of her glory.
~ Chapter 15 ~
Sir 15:1 The man who fears the Lord will do this, and he who holds to the law will obtain wisdom.
Sir 15:2 She will come to meet him like a mother, and like the wife of his youth she will welcome him.
Sir 15:3 She will feed him with the bread of understanding, and give him the water of wisdom to drink.
Sir 15:4 He will lean on her and will not fall, and he will rely on her and will not be put to shame.
Sir 15:5 She will exalt him above his neighbors, and will open his mouth in the midst of the assembly.
Sir 15:6 He will find gladness and a crown of rejoicing, and will acquire an everlasting name.
Sir 15:7 Foolish men will not obtain her, and sinful men will not see her.
Sir 15:8 She is far from men of pride, and liars will never think of her.
Sir 15:9 A hymn of praise is not fitting on the lips of a sinner, for it has not been sent from the Lord.
Sir 15:10 For a hymn of praise should be uttered in wisdom, and the Lord will prosper it.
Sir 15:11 Do not say, "Because of the Lord I left the right way"; for he will not do what he hates.
Sir 15:12 Do not say, "It was he who led me astray"; for he had no need of a sinful man.
Sir 15:13 The Lord hates all abominations, and they are not loved by those who fear him.
Sir 15:14 It was he who created man in the beginning, and he left him in the power of his own inclination.
Sir 15:15 If you will, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice.
Sir 15:16 He has placed before you fire and water: stretch out your hand for whichever you wish.
Sir 15:17 Before a man are life and death, and whichever he chooses will be given to him.
Sir 15:18 For great is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power and sees everything;
Sir 15:19 his eyes are on those who fear him, and he knows every deed of man.
Sir 15:20 He has not commanded any one to be ungodly, and he has not given any one permission to sin.
~ Chapter 16 ~
Sir 16:1 Do not desire a multitude of useless children, nor rejoice in ungodly sons.
Sir 16:2 If they multiply , do not rejoice in them, unless the fear of the Lord is in them.
Sir 16:3 Do not trust in their survival, and do not rely on their multitude; for one is better than a thousand, and to die childless is better than to have ungodly children.
Sir 16:4 For through one man of understanding a city will be filled with people, but through a tribe of lawless men it will be made desolate.
Sir 16:5 Many such things my eye has seen, and my ear has heard things more striking than these.
Sir 16:6 In an assembly of sinners a fire will be kindled, and in a disobedient nation wrath was kindled.
Sir 16:7 He was not propitiated for the ancient giants who revolted in their might.
Sir 16:8 He did not spare the neighbors of Lot, whom he loathed on account of their insolence.
Sir 16:9 He showed no pity for a nation devoted to destruction, for those destroyed in their sins;
Sir 16:10 nor for the six hundred thousand men on foot, who rebelliously assembled in their stubbornness.
Sir 16:11 Even if there is only one stiff-necked person, it will be a wonder if he remains unpunished. For mercy and wrath are with the Lord; he is mighty to forgive, and he pours out wrath.
Sir 16:12 As great as his mercy, so great is also his reproof; he judges a man according to his deeds.
Sir 16:13 The sinner will not escape with his plunder, and the patience of the godly will not be frustrated.
Sir 16:14 He will make room for every act of mercy; every one will receive in accordance with his deeds.
Sir 16:17 Do not say, "I shall be hidden from the Lord, and who from on high will remember me? Among so many people I shall not be known, for what is my soul in the boundless creation?
Sir 16:18 Behold, heaven and the highest heaven, the abyss and the earth, will tremble at his visitation.
Sir 16:19 The mountains also and the foundations of the earth shake with trembling when he looks upon them.
Sir 16:20 And no mind will reflect on this. Who will ponder his ways?
Sir 16:21 Like a tempest which no man can see, so most of his works are concealed.
Sir 16:22 Who will announce his acts of justice? Or who will await them? For the covenant is far off."
Sir 16:23 This is what one devoid of understanding thinks; a senseless and misguided man thinks foolishly.
Sir 16:24 Listen to me, my son, and acquire knowledge, and pay close attention to my words.
Sir 16:25 I will impart instruction by weight, and declare knowledge accurately.
Sir 16:26 The works of the Lord have existed from the beginning by his creation, and when he made them, he determined their divisions.
Sir 16:27 He arranged his works in an eternal order, and their dominion for all generations; they neither hunger nor grow weary, and they do not cease from their labors.
Sir 16:28 They do not crowd one another aside, and they will never disobey his word.
Sir 16:29 After this the Lord looked upon the earth, and filled it with his good things;
Sir 16:30 with all kinds of living beings he covered its surface, and to it they return.
~ Chapter 17 ~
Sir 17:1 The Lord created man out of earth, and turned him back to it again.
Sir 17:2 He gave to men few days, a limited time, but granted them authority over the things upon the earth.
Sir 17:3 He endowed them with strength like his own, and made them in his own image.
Sir 17:4 He placed the fear of them in all living beings, and granted them dominion over beasts and birds.
Sir 17:6 He made for them tongue and eyes; he gave them ears and a mind for thinking.
Sir 17:7 He filled them with knowledge and understanding, and showed them good and evil.
Sir 17:8 He set his eye upon their hearts to show them the majesty of his works.
Sir 17:10 And they will praise his holy name, to proclaim the grandeur of his works.
Sir 17:11 He bestowed knowledge upon them, and allotted to them the law of life.
Sir 17:12 He established with them an eternal covenant, and showed them his judgments.
Sir 17:13 Their eyes saw his glorious majesty, and their ears heard the glory of his voice.
Sir 17:14 And he said to them, "Beware of all unrighteousness." And he gave commandment to each of them concerning his neighbor.
Sir 17:15 Their ways are always before him, they will not be hid from his eyes.
Sir 17:17 He appointed a ruler for every nation, but Israel is the Lord's own portion.
Sir 17:19 All their works are as the sun before him, and his eyes are continually upon their ways.
Sir 17:20 Their iniquities are not hidden from him, and all their sins are before the Lord.
Sir 17:22 A man's almsgiving is like a signet with the Lord and he will keep a person's kindness like the apple of his eye.
Sir 17:23 Afterward he will arise and requite them, and he will bring their recompense on their heads.
Sir 17:24 Yet to those who repent he grants a return, and he encourages those whose endurance is failing.
Sir 17:25 Turn to the Lord and forsake your sins; pray in his presence and lessen your offenses.
Sir 17:26 Return to the Most High and turn away from iniquity, and hate abominations intensely.
Sir 17:27 Who will sing praises to the Most High in Hades, as do those who are alive and give thanks?
Sir 17:28 From the dead, as from one who does not exist, thanksgiving has ceased; he who is alive and well sings the Lord's praises.
Sir 17:29 How great is the mercy of the Lord, and his forgiveness for those who turn to him!
Sir 17:30 For all things cannot be in men, since a son of man is not immortal.
Sir 17:31 What is brighter than the sun? Yet its light fails. So flesh and blood devise evil.
Sir 17:32 He marshals the host of the height of heaven; but all men are dust and ashes.
~ Chapter 18 ~
Sir 18:1 He who lives for ever created the whole universe;
Sir 18:2 the Lord alone will be declared righteous.
Sir 18:4 To none has he given power to proclaim his works; and who can search out his mighty deeds?
Sir 18:5 Who can measure his majestic power? And who can fully recount his mercies?
Sir 18:6 It is not possible to diminish or increase them, nor is it possible to trace the wonders of the Lord.
Sir 18:7 When a man has finished, he is just beginning, and when he stops, he will be at a loss.
Sir 18:8 What is man, and of what use is he? What is his good and what is his evil?
Sir 18:9 The number of a man's days is great if he reaches a hundred years.
Sir 18:10 Like a drop of water from the sea and a grain of sand so are a few years in the day of eternity.
Sir 18:11 Therefore the Lord is patient with them and pours out his mercy upon them.
Sir 18:12 He sees and recognizes that their end will be evil; therefore he grants them forgiveness in abundance.
Sir 18:13 The compassion of man is for his neighbor, but the compassion of the Lord is for all living beings. He rebukes and trains and teaches them, and turns them back, as a shepherd his flock.
Sir 18:14 He has compassion on those who accept his discipline and who are eager for his judgments.
Sir 18:15 My son, do not mix reproach with your good deeds, nor cause grief by your words when you present a gift.
Sir 18:16 Does not the dew assuage the scorching heat? So a word is better than a gift.
Sir 18:17 Indeed, does not a word surpass a good gift? Both are to be found in a gracious man.
Sir 18:18 A fool is ungracious and abusive, and the gift of a grudging man makes the eyes dim.
Sir 18:19 Before you speak, learn, and before you fall ill, take care of your health.
Sir 18:20 Before judgment, examine yourself, and in the hour of visitation you will find forgiveness.
Sir 18:21 Before falling ill, humble yourself, and when you are on the point of sinning, turn back.
Sir 18:22 Let nothing hinder you from paying a vow promptly, and do not wait until death to be released from it.
Sir 18:23 Before making a vow, prepare yourself; and do not be like a man who tempts the Lord.
Sir 18:24 Think of his wrath on the day of death, and of the moment of vengeance when he turns away his face.
Sir 18:25 In the time of plenty think of the time of hunger; in the days of wealth think of poverty and need.
Sir 18:26 From morning to evening conditions change, and all things move swiftly before the Lord.
Sir 18:27 A wise man is cautious in everything, and in days of sin he guards against wrongdoing.
Sir 18:28 Every intelligent man knows wisdom, and he praises the one who finds her.
Sir 18:29 Those who understand sayings become skilled themselves, and pour forth apt proverbs.
Sir 18:30 Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites.
Sir 18:31 If you allow your soul to take pleasure in base desire, it will make you the laughingstock of your enemies.
Sir 18:32 Do not revel in great luxury, lest you become impoverished by its expense.
Sir 18:33 Do not become a beggar by feasting with borrowed money, when you have nothing in your purse.
~ Chapter 19 ~
Sir 19:1 A workman who is a drunkard will not become rich; he who despises small things will fail little by little.
Sir 19:2 Wine and women lead intelligent men astray, and the man who consorts with harlots is very reckless.
Sir 19:3 Decay and worms will inherit him, and the reckless soul will be snatched away.
Sir 19:4 One who trusts others too quickly is lightminded, and one who sins does wrong to himself.
Sir 19:5 One who rejoices in wickedness will be condemned,
Sir 19:6 and for one who hates gossip evil is lessened.
Sir 19:7 Never repeat a conversation, and you will lose nothing at all.
Sir 19:8 With friend or foe do not report it, and unless it would be a sin for you, do not disclose it;
Sir 19:9 for some one has heard you and watched you, and when the time comes he will hate you.
Sir 19:10 Have you heard a word? Let it die with you. Be brave! It will not make you burst!
Sir 19:11 With such a word a fool will suffer pangs like a woman in labor with a child.
Sir 19:12 Like an arrow stuck in the flesh of the thigh, so is a word inside a fool.
Sir 19:13 Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything, so that he may do it no more.
Sir 19:14 Question a neighbor, perhaps he did not say it; but if he said it, so that he may not say it again.
Sir 19:15 Question a friend, for often it is slander; so do not believe everything you hear.
Sir 19:16 A person may make a slip without intending it. Who has never sinned with his tongue?
Sir 19:17 Question your neighbor before you threaten him; and let the law of the Most High take its course.
Sir 19:20 All wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and in all wisdom there is the fulfilment of the law.
Sir 19:22 But the knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom, nor is there prudence where sinners take counsel.
Sir 19:23 There is a cleverness which is abominable, but there is a fool who merely lacks wisdom.
Sir 19:24 Better is the God-fearing man who lacks intelligence, than the highly prudent man who transgresses the law.
Sir 19:25 There is a cleverness which is scrupulous but unjust, and there are people who distort kindness to gain a verdict.
Sir 19:26 There is a rascal bowed down in mourning, but inwardly he is full of deceit.
Sir 19:27 He hides his face and pretends not to hear; but where no one notices, he will forestall you.
Sir 19:28 And if by lack of strength he is prevented from sinning, he will do evil when he finds an opportunity.
Sir 19:29 A man is known by his appearance, and a sensible man is known by his face, when you meet him.
Sir 19:30 A man's attire and open-mouthed laughter, and a man's manner of walking, show what he is.
~ Chapter 20 ~
Sir 20:1 There is a reproof which is not timely; and there is a man who keeps silent but is wise.
Sir 20:2 How much better it is to reprove than to stay angry! And the one who confesses his fault will be kept from loss.
Sir 20:4 Like a eunuch's desire to violate a maiden is a man who executes judgments by violence.
Sir 20:5 There is one who by keeping silent is found wise, while another is detested for being too talkative.
Sir 20:6 There is one who keeps silent because he has no answer, while another keeps silent because he knows when to speak.
Sir 20:7 A wise man will be silent until the right moment, but a braggart and fool goes beyond the right moment.
Sir 20:8 Whoever uses too many words will be loathed, and whoever usurps the right to speak will be hated.
Sir 20:9 There may be good fortune for a man in adversity, and a windfall may result in a loss.
Sir 20:10 There is a gift that profits you nothing, and there is a gift that brings a double return.
Sir 20:11 There are losses because of glory, and there are men who have raised their heads from humble circumstances.
Sir 20:12 There is a man who buys much for a little, but pays for it seven times over.
Sir 20:13 The wise man makes himself beloved through his words, but the courtesies of fools are wasted.
Sir 20:14 A fool's gift will profit you nothing, for he has many eyes instead of one.
Sir 20:15 He gives little and upbraids much, he opens his mouth like a herald; today he lends and tomorrow he asks it back; such a one is a hateful man.
Sir 20:16 A fool will say, "I have no friend, and there is no gratitude for my good deeds; those who eat my bread speak unkindly."
Sir 20:17 How many will ridicule him, and how often!
Sir 20:18 A slip on the pavement is better than a slip of the tongue; so the downfall of the wicked will occur speedily.
Sir 20:19 An ungracious man is like a story told at the wrong time, which is continually on the lips of the ignorant.
Sir 20:20 A proverb from a fool's lips will be rejected, for he does not tell it at its proper time.
Sir 20:21 A man may be prevented from sinning by his poverty, so when he rests he feels no remorse.
Sir 20:22 A man may lose his life through shame, or lose it because of his foolish look.
Sir 20:23 A man may for shame make promises to a friend, and needlessly make him an enemy.
Sir 20:24 A lie is an ugly blot on a man; it is continually on the lips of the ignorant.
Sir 20:25 A thief is preferable to a habitual liar, but the lot of both is ruin.
Sir 20:26 The disposition of a liar brings disgrace, and his shame is ever with him.
Sir 20:27 He who speaks wisely will advance himself, and a sensible man will please great men.
Sir 20:28 Whoever cultivates the soil will heap up his harvest, and whoever pleases great men will atone for injustice.
Sir 20:29 Presents and gifts blind the eyes of the wise; like a muzzle on the mouth they avert reproofs.
Sir 20:30 Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure, what advantage is there in either of them?
Sir 20:31 Better is the man who hides his folly than the man who hides his wisdom.
~ Chapter 21 ~
Sir 21:1 Have you sinned, my son? Do so no more, but pray about your former sins.
Sir 21:2 Flee from sin as from a snake; for if you approach sin, it will bite you. Its teeth are lion's teeth, and destroy the souls of men.
Sir 21:3 All lawlessness is like a two-edged sword; there is no healing for its wound.
Sir 21:4 Terror and violence will lay waste riches; thus the house of the proud will be laid waste.
Sir 21:5 The prayer of a poor man goes from his lips to the ears of God, and his judgment comes speedily.
Sir 21:6 Whoever hates reproof walks in the steps of the sinner, but he that fears the Lord will repent in his heart.
Sir 21:7 He who is mighty in speech is known from afar; but the sensible man, when he slips, is aware of it.
Sir 21:8 A man who builds his house with other people's money is like one who gathers stones for his burial mound.
Sir 21:9 An assembly of the wicked is like tow gathered together, and their end is a flame of fire.
Sir 21:10 The way of sinners is smoothly paved with stones, but at its end is the pit of Hades.
Sir 21:11 Whoever keeps the law controls his thoughts, and wisdom is the fulfilment of the fear of the Lord.
Sir 21:12 He who is not clever cannot be taught, but there is a cleverness which increases bitterness.
Sir 21:13 The knowledge of a wise man will increase like a flood, and his counsel like a flowing spring.
Sir 21:14 The mind of a fool is like a broken jar; it will hold no knowledge.
Sir 21:15 When a man of understanding hears a wise saying, he will praise it and add to it; when a reveler hears it, he dislikes it and casts it behind his back.
Sir 21:16 A fool's narration is like a burden on a journey, but delight will be found in the speech of the intelligent.
Sir 21:17 The utterance of a sensible man will be sought in the assembly, and they will ponder his words in their minds.
Sir 21:18 Like a house that has vanished, so is wisdom to a fool; and the knowledge of the ignorant is unexamined talk.
Sir 21:19 To a senseless man education is fetters on his feet, and like manacles on his right hand.
Sir 21:20 A fool raises his voice when he laughs, but a clever man smiles quietly.
Sir 21:21 To a sensible man education is like a golden ornament, and like a bracelet on the right arm.
Sir 21:22 The foot of a fool rushes into a house, but a man of experience stands respectfully before it.
Sir 21:23 A boor peers into the house from the door, but a cultivated man remains outside.
Sir 21:24 It is ill-mannered for a man to listen at a door, and a discreet man is grieved by the disgrace.
Sir 21:25 The lips of strangers will speak of these things, but the words of the prudent will be weighed in the balance.
Sir 21:26 The mind of fools is in their mouth, but the mouth of wise men is in their mind.
Sir 21:27 When an ungodly man curses his adversary, he curses his own soul.
Sir 21:28 A whisperer defiles his own soul and is hated in his neighborhood.
~ Chapter 22 ~
Sir 22:1 The indolent may be compared to a filthy stone, and every one hisses at his disgrace.
Sir 22:2 The indolent may be compared to the filth of dunghills; any one that picks it up will shake it off his hand.
Sir 22:3 It is a disgrace to be the father of an undisciplined son, and the birth of a daughter is a loss.
Sir 22:4 A sensible daughter obtains her husband, but one who acts shamefully brings grief to her father.
Sir 22:5 An impudent daughter disgraces father and husband, and will be despised by both.
Sir 22:6 Like music in mourning is a tale told at the wrong time, but chastising and discipline are wisdom at all times.
Sir 22:7 He who teaches a fool is like one who glues potsherds together, or who rouses a sleeper from deep slumber.
Sir 22:8 He who tells a story to a fool tells it to a drowsy man; and at the end he will say, "What is it?"
Sir 22:11 Weep for the dead, for he lacks the light; and weep for the fool, for he lacks intelligence; weep less bitterly for the dead, for he has attained rest; but the life of the fool is worse than death.
Sir 22:12 Mourning for the dead lasts seven days, but for a fool or an ungodly man it lasts all his life.
Sir 22:13 Do not talk much with a foolish man, and do not visit an unintelligent man; guard yourself from him to escape trouble, and you will not be soiled when he shakes himself off; avoid him and you will find rest, and you will never be wearied by his madness.
Sir 22:14 What is heavier than lead? And what is its name except "Fool"?
Sir 22:15 Sand, salt, and a piece of iron are easier to bear than a stupid man.
Sir 22:16 A wooden beam firmly bonded into a building will not be torn loose by an earthquake; so the mind firmly fixed on a reasonable counsel will not be afraid in a crisis.
Sir 22:17 A mind settled on an intelligent thought is like the stucco decoration on the wall of a colonnade.
Sir 22:18 Fences set on a high place will not stand firm against the wind; so a timid heart with a fool's purpose will not stand firm against any fear.
Sir 22:19 A man who pricks an eye will make tears fall, and one who pricks the heart makes it show feeling.
Sir 22:20 One who throws a stone at birds scares them away, and one who reviles a friend will break off the friendship.
Sir 22:21 Even if you have drawn your sword against a friend, do not despair, for a renewal of friendship is possible.
Sir 22:22 If you have opened your mouth against your friend, do not worry, for reconciliation is possible; but as for reviling, arrogance, disclosure of secrets, or a treacherous blow -- in these cases any friend will flee.
Sir 22:23 Gain the trust of your neighbor in his poverty, that you may rejoice with him in his prosperity; stand by him in time of affliction, that you may share with him in his inheritance.
Sir 22:24 The vapor and smoke of the furnace precede the fire; so insults precede bloodshed.
Sir 22:25 I will not be ashamed to protect a friend, and I will not hide from him;
Sir 22:26 but if some harm should happen to me because of him, whoever hears of it will beware of him.
Sir 22:27 O that a guard were set over my mouth, and a seal of prudence upon my lips, that it may keep me from falling, so that my tongue may not destroy me!
~ Chapter 23 ~
Sir 23:1 O Lord, Father and Ruler of my life, do not abandon me to their counsel, and let me not fall because of them!
Sir 23:2 O that whips were set over my thoughts, and the discipline of wisdom over my mind! That they may not spare me in my errors, and that it may not pass by my sins;
Sir 23:3 in order that my mistakes may not be multiplied, and my sins may not abound; then I will not fall before my adversaries, and my enemy will not rejoice over me.
Sir 23:4 O Lord, Father and God of my life, do not give me haughty eyes,
Sir 23:5 and remove from me evil desire.
Sir 23:6 Let neither gluttony nor lust overcome me, and do not surrender me to a shameless soul.
Sir 23:7 Listen, my children, to instruction concerning speech; the one who observes it will never be caught.
Sir 23:8 The sinner is overtaken through his lips, the reviler and the arrogant are tripped by them.
Sir 23:9 Do not accustom your mouth to oaths, and do not habitually utter the name of the Holy One;
Sir 23:10 for as a servant who is continually examined under torture will not lack bruises, so also the man who always swears and utters the Name will not be cleansed from sin.
Sir 23:11 A man who swears many oaths will be filled with iniquity, and the scourge will not leave his house; if he offends, his sin remains on him, and if he disregards it, he sins doubly; if he has sworn needlessly, he will not be justified, for his house will be filled with calamities.
Sir 23:12 There is an utterance which is comparable to death; may it never be found in the inheritance of Jacob! For all these errors will be far from the godly, and they will not wallow in sins.
Sir 23:13 Do not accustom your mouth to lewd vulgarity, for it involves sinful speech.
Sir 23:14 Remember your father and mother when you sit among great men; lest you be forgetful in their presence, and be deemed a fool on account of your habits; then you will wish that you had never been born, and you will curse the day of your birth.
Sir 23:15 A man accustomed to use insulting words will never become disciplined all his days.
Sir 23:16 Two sorts of men multiply sins, and a third incurs wrath. The soul heated like a burning fire will not be quenched until it is consumed; a man who commits fornication with his near of kin will never cease until the fire burns him up.
Sir 23:17 To a fornicator all bread tastes sweet; he will never cease until he dies.
Sir 23:18 A man who breaks his marriage vows says to himself, "Who sees me? Darkness surrounds me, and the walls hide me, and no one sees me. Why should I fear? The Most High will not take notice of my sins."
Sir 23:19 His fear is confined to the eyes of men, and he does not realize that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the sun; they look upon all the ways of men, and perceive even the hidden places.
Sir 23:20 Before the universe was created, it was known to him; so it was also after it was finished.
Sir 23:21 This man will be punished in the streets of the city, and where he least suspects it, he will be seized.
Sir 23:22 So it is with a woman who leaves her husband and provides an heir by a stranger.
Sir 23:23 For first of all, she has disobeyed the law of the Most High; second, she has committed an offense against her husband; and third, she has committed adultery through harlotry and brought forth children by another man.
Sir 23:24 She herself will be brought before the assembly, and punishment will fall on her children.
Sir 23:25 Her children will not take root, and her branches will not bear fruit.
Sir 23:26 She will leave her memory for a curse, and her disgrace will not be blotted out.
Sir 23:27 Those who survive her will recognize that nothing is better than the fear of the Lord, and nothing sweeter than to heed the commandments of the Lord.
~ Chapter 24 ~
Sir 24:1 Wisdom will praise herself, and will glory in the midst of her people.
Sir 24:2 In the assembly of the Most High she will open her mouth, and in the presence of his host she will glory:
Sir 24:3 "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and covered the earth like a mist.
Sir 24:4 I dwelt in high places, and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
Sir 24:5 Alone I have made the circuit of the vault of heaven and have walked in the depths of the abyss.
Sir 24:6 In the waves of the sea, in the whole earth, and in every people and nation I have gotten a possession.
Sir 24:7 Among all these I sought a resting place; I sought in whose territory I might lodge.
Sir 24:8 "Then the Creator of all things gave me a commandment, and the one who created me assigned a place for my tent. And he said, `Make your dwelling in Jacob, and in Israel receive your inheritance.'
Sir 24:9 From eternity, in the beginning, he created me, and for eternity I shall not cease to exist.
Sir 24:10 In the holy tabernacle I ministered before him, and so I was established in Zion.
Sir 24:11 In the beloved city likewise he gave me a resting place, and in Jerusalem was my dominion.
Sir 24:12 So I took root in an honored people, in the portion of the Lord, who is their inheritance.
Sir 24:13 "I grew tall like a cedar in Lebanon, and like a cypress on the heights of Hermon.
Sir 24:14 I grew tall like a palm tree in En-ge'di, and like rose plants in Jericho; like a beautiful olive tree in the field, and like a plane tree I grew tall.
Sir 24:15 Like cassia and camel's thorn I gave forth the aroma of spices, and like choice myrrh I spread a pleasant odor,
like galbanum, onycha, and stacte, and like the fragrance of frankincense in the tabernacle.
Sir 24:16 Like a terebinth I spread out my branches, and my branches are glorious and graceful.
Sir 24:17 Like a vine I caused loveliness to bud, and my blossoms became glorious and abundant fruit.
Sir 24:19 "Come to me, you who desire me, and eat your fill of my produce.
Sir 24:20 For the remembrance of me is sweeter than honey, and my inheritance sweeter than the honeycomb.
Sir 24:21 Those who eat me will hunger for more, and those who drink me will thirst for more.
Sir 24:22 Whoever obeys me will not be put to shame, and those who work with my help will not sin."
Sir 24:23 All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God, the law which Moses commanded us as an inheritance for the congregations of Jacob.
Sir 24:25 It fills men with wisdom, like the Pishon, and like the Tigris at the time of the first fruits.
Sir 24:26 It makes them full of understanding, like the Euphrates, and like the Jordan at harvest time.
Sir 24:27 It makes instruction shine forth like light, like the Gihon at the time of vintage.
Sir 24:28 Just as the first man did not know her perfectly, the last one has not fathomed her;
Sir 24:29 for her thought is more abundant than the sea, and her counsel deeper than the great abyss.
Sir 24:30 I went forth like a canal from a river and like a water channel into a garden.
Sir 24:31 I said, "I will water my orchard and drench my garden plot"; and lo, my canal became a river, and my river became a sea.
Sir 24:32 I will again make instruction shine forth like the dawn, and I will make it shine afar;
Sir 24:33 I will again pour out teaching like prophecy, and leave it to all future generations.
Sir 24:34 Observe that I have not labored for myself alone, but for all who seek instruction.
~ Chapter 25 ~
Sir 25:1 My soul takes pleasure in three things, and they are beautiful in the sight of the Lord and of men; agreement between brothers, friendship between neighbors, and a wife and a husband who live in harmony.
Sir 25:2 My soul hates three kinds of men, and I am greatly offended at their life: a beggar who is proud, a rich man who is a liar, and an adulterous old man who lacks good sense.
Sir 25:3 You have gathered nothing in your youth; how then can you find anything in your old age?
Sir 25:4 What an attractive thing is judgment in gray-haired men, and for the aged to possess good counsel!
Sir 25:5 How attractive is wisdom in the aged, and understanding and counsel in honorable men!
Sir 25:6 Rich experience is the crown of the aged, and their boast is the fear of the Lord.
Sir 25:7 With nine thoughts I have gladdened my heart, and a tenth I shall tell with my tongue: a man rejoicing in his children; a man who lives to see the downfall of his foes;
Sir 25:8 happy is he who lives with an intelligent wife, and he who has not made a slip with his tongue, and he who has not served a man inferior to himself;
Sir 25:9 happy is he who has gained good sense, and he who speaks to attentive listeners.
Sir 25:10 How great is he who has gained wisdom! But there is no one superior to him who fears the Lord.
Sir 25:11 The fear of the Lord surpasses everything; to whom shall be likened the one who holds it fast?
Sir 25:13 Any wound, but not a wound of the heart! Any wickedness, but not the wickedness of a wife!
Sir 25:14 Any attack, but not an attack from those who hate! And any vengeance, but not the vengeance of enemies!
Sir 25:15 There is no venom worse than a snake's venom, and no wrath worse than an enemy's wrath.
Sir 25:16 I would rather dwell with a lion and a dragon than dwell with an evil wife.
Sir 25:17 The wickedness of a wife changes her appearance, and darkens her face like that of a bear.
Sir 25:18 Her husband takes his meals among the neighbors, and he cannot help sighing bitterly.
Sir 25:19 Any iniquity is insignificant compared to a wife's iniquity; may a sinner's lot befall her!
Sir 25:20 A sandy ascent for the feet of the aged -- such is a garrulous wife for a quiet husband.
Sir 25:21 Do not be ensnared by a woman's beauty, and do not desire a woman for her possessions.
Sir 25:22 There is wrath and impudence and great disgrace when a wife supports her husband.
Sir 25:23 A dejected mind, a gloomy face, and a wounded heart are caused by an evil wife. Drooping hands and weak knees are caused by the wife who does not make her husband happy.
Sir 25:24 From a woman sin had its beginning, and because of her we all die.
Sir 25:25 Allow no outlet to water, and no boldness of speech in an evil wife.
Sir 25:26 If she does not go as you direct, separate her from yourself.
~ Chapter 26 ~
Sir 26:1 Happy is the husband of a good wife; the number of his days will be doubled.
Sir 26:2 A loyal wife rejoices her husband, and he will complete his years in peace.
Sir 26:3 A good wife is a great blessing; she will be granted among the blessings of the man who fears the Lord.
Sir 26:4 Whether rich or poor, his heart is glad, and at all times his face is cheerful.
Sir 26:5 Of three things my heart is afraid, and of a fourth I am frightened: The slander of a city, the gathering of a mob, and false accusation -- all these are worse than death.
Sir 26:6 There is grief of heart and sorrow when a wife is envious of a rival, and a tongue-lashing makes it known to all.
Sir 26:7 An evil wife is an ox yoke which chafes; taking hold of her is like grasping a scorpion.
Sir 26:8 There is great anger when a wife is drunken; she will not hide her shame.
Sir 26:9 A wife's harlotry shows in her lustful eyes, and she is known by her eyelids.
Sir 26:10 Keep strict watch over a headstrong daughter, lest, when she finds liberty, she use it to her hurt.
Sir 26:11 Be on guard against her impudent eye, and do not wonder if she sins against you.
Sir 26:12 As a thirsty wayfarer opens his mouth and drinks from any water near him, so will she sit in front of every post and open her quiver to the arrow.
Sir 26:13 A wife's charm delights her husband, and her skill puts fat on his bones.
Sir 26:14 A silent wife is a gift of the Lord, and there is nothing so precious as a disciplined soul.
Sir 26:15 A modest wife adds charm to charm, and no balance can weigh the value of a chaste soul.
Sir 26:16 Like the sun rising in the heights of the Lord, so is the beauty of a good wife in her well-ordered home.
Sir 26:17 Like the shining lamp on the holy lampstand, so is a beautiful face on a stately figure.
Sir 26:18 Like pillars of gold on a base of silver, so are beautiful feet with a steadfast heart.
Sir 26:28 At two things my heart is grieved, and because of a third anger comes over me: a warrior in want through poverty, and intelligent men who are treated contemptuously; a man who turns back from righteousness to sin -- the Lord will prepare him for the sword!
Sir 26:29 A merchant can hardly keep from wrongdoing, and a tradesman will not be declared innocent of sin.
~ Chapter 27 ~
Sir 27:1 Many have committed sin for a trifle, and whoever seeks to get rich will avert his eyes.
Sir 27:2 As a stake is driven firmly into a fissure between stones, so sin is wedged in between selling and buying.
Sir 27:3 If a man is not steadfast and zealous in the fear of the Lord, his house will be quickly overthrown.
Sir 27:4 When a sieve is shaken, the refuse remains; so a man's filth remains in his thoughts.
Sir 27:5 The kiln tests the potter's vessels; so the test of a man is in his reasoning.
Sir 27:6 The fruit discloses the cultivation of a tree; so the expression of a thought discloses the cultivation of a man's mind.
Sir 27:7 Do not praise a man before you hear him reason, for this is the test of men.
Sir 27:8 If you pursue justice, you will attain it and wear it as a glorious robe.
Sir 27:9 Birds flock with their kind; so truth returns to those who practice it.
Sir 27:10 A lion lies in wait for prey; so does sin for the workers of iniquity.
Sir 27:11 The talk of the godly man is always wise, but the fool changes like the moon.
Sir 27:12 Among stupid people watch for a chance to leave, but among thoughtful people stay on.
Sir 27:13 The talk of fools is offensive, and their laughter is wantonly sinful.
Sir 27:14 The talk of men given to swearing makes one's hair stand on end, and their quarrels make a man stop his ears.
Sir 27:15 The strife of the proud leads to bloodshed, and their abuse is grievous to hear.
Sir 27:16 Whoever betrays secrets destroys confidence, and he will never find a congenial friend.
Sir 27:17 Love your friend and keep faith with him; but if you betray his secrets, do not run after him.
Sir 27:18 For as a man destroys his enemy, so you have destroyed the friendship of your neighbor.
Sir 27:19 And as you allow a bird to escape from your hand, so you have let your neighbor go, and will not catch him again.
Sir 27:20 Do not go after him, for he is too far off, and has escaped like a gazelle from a snare.
Sir 27:21 For a wound may be bandaged, and there is reconciliation after abuse, but whoever has betrayed secrets is without hope.
Sir 27:22 Whoever winks his eye plans evil deeds, and no one can keep him from them.
Sir 27:23 In your presence his mouth is all sweetness, and he admires your words; but later he will twist his speech and with your own words he will give offense.
Sir 27:24 I have hated many things, but none to be compared to him; even the Lord will hate him.
Sir 27:25 Whoever throws a stone straight up throws it on his own head; and a treacherous blow opens up wounds.
Sir 27:26 He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who sets a snare will be caught in it.
Sir 27:27 If a man does evil, it will roll back upon him, and he will not know where it came from.
Sir 27:28 Mockery and abuse issue from the proud man, but vengeance lies in wait for him like a lion.
Sir 27:29 Those who rejoice in the fall of the godly will be caught in a snare, and pain will consume them before their death.
Sir 27:30 Anger and wrath, these also are abominations, and the sinful man will possess them.
~ Chapter 28 ~
Sir 28:1 He that takes vengeance will suffer vengeance from the Lord, and he will firmly establish his sins.
Sir 28:2 Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray.
Sir 28:3 Does a man harbor anger against another, and yet seek for healing from the Lord?
Sir 28:4 Does he have no mercy toward a man like himself, and yet pray for his own sins?
Sir 28:5 If he himself, being flesh, maintains wrath, who will make expiation for his sins?
Sir 28:6 Remember the end of your life, and cease from enmity, remember destruction and death, and be true to the commandments.
Sir 28:7 Remember the commandments, and do not be angry with your neighbor; remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook ignorance.
Sir 28:8 Refrain from strife, and you will lessen sins; for a man given to anger will kindle strife,
Sir 28:9 and a sinful man will disturb friends and inject enmity among those who are at peace.
Sir 28:10 In proportion to the fuel for the fire, so will be the burning, and in proportion to the obstinacy of strife will be the burning; in proportion to the strength of the man will be his anger, and in proportion to his wealth he will heighten his wrath.
Sir 28:11 A hasty quarrel kindles fire, and urgent strife sheds blood.
Sir 28:12 If you blow on a spark, it will glow; if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth.
Sir 28:13 Curse the whisperer and deceiver, for he has destroyed many who were at peace.
Sir 28:14 Slander has shaken many, and scattered them from nation to nation, and destroyed strong cities, and overturned the houses of great men.
Sir 28:15 Slander has driven away courageous women, and deprived them of the fruit of their toil.
Sir 28:16 Whoever pays heed to slander will not find rest, nor will he settle down in peace.
Sir 28:17 The blow of a whip raises a welt, but a blow of the tongue crushes the bones.
Sir 28:18 Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have fallen because of the tongue.
Sir 28:19 Happy is the man who is protected from it, who has not been exposed to its anger, who has not borne its yoke, and has not been bound with its fetters;
Sir 28:20 for its yoke is a yoke of iron, and its fetters are fetters of bronze;
Sir 28:21 its death is an evil death, and Hades is preferable to it.
Sir 28:22 It will not be master over the godly, and they will not be burned in its flame.
Sir 28:23 Those who forsake the Lord will fall into its power; it will burn among them and will not be put out. It will be sent out against them like a lion; like a leopard it will mangle them.
Sir 28:24 See that you fence in your property with thorns, lock up your silver and gold,
Sir 28:25 make balances and scales for your words, and make a door and a bolt for your mouth.
Sir 28:26 Beware lest you err with your tongue, lest you fall before him who lies in wait.
~ Chapter 29 ~
Sir 29:1 He that shows mercy will lend to his neighbor, and he that strengthens him with his hand keeps the commandments.
Sir 29:2 Lend to your neighbor in the time of his need; and in turn, repay your neighbor promptly.
Sir 29:3 Confirm your word and keep faith with him, and on every occasion you will find what you need.
Sir 29:4 Many persons regard a loan as a windfall, and cause trouble to those who help them.
Sir 29:5 A man will kiss another's hands until he gets a loan, and will lower his voice in speaking of his neighbor's money; but at the time for repayment he will delay, and will pay in words of unconcern, and will find fault with the time.
Sir 29:6 If the lender exert pressure, he will hardly get back half, and will regard that as a windfall. If he does not, the borrower has robbed him of his money, and he has needlessly made him his enemy; he will repay him with curses and reproaches, and instead of glory will repay him with dishonor.
Sir 29:7 Because of such wickedness, therefore, many have refused to lend; they have been afraid of being defrauded needlessly.
Sir 29:8 Nevertheless, be patient with a man in humble circumstances, and do not make him wait for your alms.
Sir 29:9 Help a poor man for the commandment's sake, and because of his need do not send him away empty.
Sir 29:10 Lose your silver for the sake of a brother or a friend, and do not let it rust under a stone and be lost.
Sir 29:11 Lay up your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High, and it will profit you more than gold.
Sir 29:12 Store up almsgiving in your treasury, and it will rescue you from all affliction;
Sir 29:13 more than a mighty shield and more than a heavy spear, it will fight on your behalf against your enemy.
Sir 29:14 A good man will be surety for his neighbor, but a man who has lost his sense of shame will fail him.
Sir 29:15 Do not forget all the kindness of your surety, for he has given his life for you.
Sir 29:16 A sinner will overthrow the prosperity of his surety,
Sir 29:17 and one who does not feel grateful will abandon his rescuer.
Sir 29:18 Being surety has ruined many men who were prosperous, and has shaken them like a wave of the sea; it has driven men of power into exile, and they have wandered among foreign nations.
Sir 29:19 The sinner who has fallen into suretyship and pursues gain will fall into lawsuits.
Sir 29:20 Assist your neighbor according to your ability, but take heed to yourself lest you fall.
Sir 29:21 The essentials for life are water and bread and clothing and a house to cover one's nakedness.
Sir 29:22 Better is the life of a poor man under the shelter of his roof than sumptuous food in another man's house.
Sir 29:23 Be content with little or much.
Sir 29:24 It is a miserable life to go from house to house, and where you are a stranger you may not open your mouth;
Sir 29:25 you will play the host and provide drink without being thanked, and besides this you will hear bitter words:
Sir 29:26 "Come here, stranger, prepare the table, and if you have anything at hand, let me have it to eat."
Sir 29:27 "Give place, stranger, to an honored person; my brother has come to stay with me; I need my house."
Sir 29:28 These things are hard to bear for a man who has feeling: scolding about lodging and the reproach of the moneylender.
~ Chapter 30 ~
Sir 30:1 He who loves his son will whip him often, in order that he may rejoice at the way he turns out.
Sir 30:2 He who disciplines his son will profit by him, and will boast of him among acquaintances.
Sir 30:3 He who teaches his son will make his enemies envious, and will glory in him in the presence of friends.
Sir 30:4 The father may die, and yet he is not dead, for he has left behind him one like himself;
Sir 30:5 while alive he saw and rejoiced, and when he died he was not grieved;
Sir 30:6 he has left behind him an avenger against his enemies, and one to repay the kindness of his friends.
Sir 30:7 He who spoils his son will bind up his wounds, and his feelings will be troubled at every cry.
Sir 30:8 A horse that is untamed turns out to be stubborn, and a son unrestrained turns out to be wilful.
Sir 30:9 Pamper a child, and he will frighten you; play with him, and he will give you grief.
Sir 30:10 Do not laugh with him, lest you have sorrow with him, and in the end you will gnash your teeth.
Sir 30:11 Give him no authority in his youth, and do not ignore his errors.
Sir 30:12 Bow down his neck in his youth, and beat his sides while he is young, lest he become stubborn and disobey you, and you have sorrow of soul from him.
Sir 30:13 Discipline your son and take pains with him, that you may not be offended by his shamelessness.
Sir 30:14 Better off is a poor man who is well and strong in constitution than a rich man who is severely afflicted in body.
Sir 30:15 Health and soundness are better than all gold, and a robust body than countless riches.
Sir 30:16 There is no wealth better than health of body, and there is no gladness above joy of heart.
Sir 30:17 Death is better than a miserable life, and eternal rest than chronic sickness.
Sir 30:18 Good things poured out upon a mouth that is closed are like offerings of food placed upon a grave.
Sir 30:19 Of what use to an idol is an offering of fruit? For it can neither eat nor smell. So is he who is afflicted by the Lord;
Sir 30:20 he sees with his eyes and groans, like a eunuch who embraces a maiden and groans.
Sir 30:21 Do not give yourself over to sorrow, and do not afflict yourself deliberately.
Sir 30:22 Gladness of heart is the life of man, and the rejoicing of a man is length of days.
Sir 30:23 Delight your soul and comfort your heart, and remove sorrow far from you, for sorrow has destroyed many, and there is no profit in it.
Sir 30:24 Jealousy and anger shorten life, and anxiety brings on old age too soon.
Sir 30:25 A man of cheerful and good heart will give heed to the food he eats.
~ Chapter 31 ~
Sir 31:1 Wakefulness over wealth wastes away one's flesh, and anxiety about it removes sleep.
Sir 31:2 Wakeful anxiety prevents slumber, and a severe illness carries off sleep.
Sir 31:3 The rich man toils as his wealth accumulates, and when he rests he fills himself with his dainties.
Sir 31:4 The poor man toils as his livelihood diminishes, and when he rests he becomes needy.
Sir 31:5 He who loves gold will not be justified, and he who pursues money will be led astray by it.
Sir 31:6 Many have come to ruin because of gold, and their destruction has met them face to face.
Sir 31:7 It is a stumbling block to those who are devoted to it, and every fool will be taken captive by it.
Sir 31:8 Blessed is the rich man who is found blameless, and who does not go after gold.
Sir 31:9 Who is he? And we will call him blessed, for he has done wonderful things among his people.
Sir 31:10 Who has been tested by it and been found perfect? Let it be for him a ground for boasting. Who has had the power to transgress and did not transgress, and to do evil and did not do it?
Sir 31:11 His prosperity will be established, and the assembly will relate his acts of charity.
Sir 31:12 Are you seated at the table of a great man? Do not be greedy at it, and do not say, "There is certainly much upon it!"
Sir 31:13 Remember that a greedy eye is a bad thing. What has been created more greedy than the eye? Therefore it sheds tears from every face.
Sir 31:14 Do not reach out your hand for everything you see, and do not crowd your neighbor at the dish.
Sir 31:15 Judge your neighbor's feelings by your own, and in every matter be thoughtful.
Sir 31:16 Eat like a human being what is set before you, and do not chew greedily, lest you be hated.
Sir 31:17 Be the first to stop eating, for the sake of good manners, and do not be insatiable, lest you give offense.
Sir 31:18 If you are seated among many persons, do not reach out your hand before they do.
Sir 31:19 How ample a little is for a well-disciplined man! He does not breathe heavily upon his bed.
Sir 31:20 Healthy sleep depends on moderate eating; he rises early, and feels fit. The distress of sleeplessness and of nausea and colic are with the glutton.
Sir 31:21 If you are overstuffed with food, get up in the middle of the meal, and you will have relief.
Sir 31:22 Listen to me, my son, and do not disregard me, and in the end you will appreciate my words. In all your work be industrious, and no sickness will overtake you.
Sir 31:23 Men will praise the one who is liberal with food, and their testimony to his excellence is trustworthy.
Sir 31:24 The city will complain of the one who is niggardly with food, and their testimony to his niggardliness is accurate.
Sir 31:25 Do not aim to be valiant over wine, for wine has destroyed many.
Sir 31:26 Fire and water prove the temper of steel, so wine tests hearts in the strife of the proud.
Sir 31:27 Wine is like life to men, if you drink it in moderation. What is life to a man who is without wine? It has been created to make men glad.
Sir 31:28 Wine drunk in season and temperately is rejoicing of heart and gladness of soul.
Sir 31:29 Wine drunk to excess is bitterness of soul, with provocation and stumbling.
Sir 31:30 Drunkenness increases the anger of a fool to his injury, reducing his strength and adding wounds.
Sir 31:31 Do not reprove your neighbor at a banquet of wine, and do not despise him in his merrymaking; speak no word of reproach to him, and do not afflict him by making demands of him.
~ Chapter 32 ~
Sir 32:1 If they make you master of the feast, do not exalt yourself; be among them as one of them; take good care of them and then be seated;
Sir 32:2 when you have fulfilled your duties, take your place, that you may be merry on their account and receive a wreath for your excellent leadership.
Sir 32:3 Speak, you who are older, for it is fitting that you should, but with accurate knowledge, and do not interrupt the music.
Sir 32:4 Where there is entertainment, do not pour out talk; do not display your cleverness out of season.
Sir 32:5 A ruby seal in a setting of gold is a concert of music at a banquet of wine.
Sir 32:6 A seal of emerald in a rich setting of gold is the melody of music with good wine.
Sir 32:7 Speak, young man, if there is need of you, but no more than twice, and only if asked.
Sir 32:8 Speak concisely, say much in few words; be as one who knows and yet holds his tongue.
Sir 32:9 Among the great do not act as their equal; and when another is speaking, do not babble.
Sir 32:10 Lightning speeds before the thunder, and approval precedes a modest man.
Sir 32:11 Leave in good time and do not be the last; go home quickly and do not linger.
Sir 32:12 Amuse yourself there, and do what you have in mind, but do not sin through proud speech.
Sir 32:13 And for these things bless him who made you and satisfies you with his good gifts.
Sir 32:14 He who fears the Lord will accept his discipline, and those who rise early to seek him will find favor.
Sir 32:15 He who seeks the law will be filled with it, but the hypocrite will stumble at it.
Sir 32:16 Those who fear the Lord will form true judgments, and like a light they will kindle righteous deeds.
Sir 32:17 A sinful man will shun reproof, and will find a decision according to his liking.
Sir 32:18 A man of judgment will not overlook an idea, and an insolent and proud man will not cower in fear.
Sir 32:19 Do nothing without deliberation; and when you have acted, do not regret it.
Sir 32:20 Do not go on a path full of hazards, and do not stumble over stony ground.
Sir 32:21 Do not be overconfident on a smooth way,
Sir 32:22 and give good heed to your paths.
Sir 32:23 Guard yourself in every act, for this is the keeping of the commandments.
Sir 32:24 He who believes the law gives heed to the commandments, and he who trusts the Lord will not suffer loss.
~ Chapter 33 ~
Sir 33:1 No evil will befall the man who fears the Lord, but in trial he will deliver him again and again.
Sir 33:2 A wise man will not hate the law, but he who is hypocritical about it is like a boat in a storm.
Sir 33:3 A man of understanding will trust in the law; for him the law is as dependable as an inquiry by means of Urim.
Sir 33:4 Prepare what to say, and thus you will be heard; bind together your instruction, and make your answer.
Sir 33:5 The heart of a fool is like a cart wheel, and his thoughts like a turning axle.
Sir 33:6 A stallion is like a mocking friend; he neighs under every one who sits on him.
Sir 33:7 Why is any day better than another, when all the daylight in the year is from the sun?
Sir 33:8 By the Lord's decision they were distinguished, and he appointed the different seasons and feasts;
Sir 33:9 some of them he exalted and hallowed, and some of them he made ordinary days.
Sir 33:10 All men are from the ground, and Adam was created of the dust.
Sir 33:11 In the fulness of his knowledge the Lord distinguished them and appointed their different ways;
Sir 33:12 some of them he blessed and exalted, and some of them he made holy and brought near to himself; but some of them he cursed and brought low, and he turned them out of their place.
Sir 33:13 As clay in the hand of the potter -- for all his ways are as he pleases -- so men are in the hand of him who made them, to give them as he decides.
Sir 33:14 Good is the opposite of evil, and life the opposite of death; so the sinner is the opposite of the godly.
Sir 33:15 Look upon all the works of the Most High; they likewise are in pairs, one the opposite of the other.
Sir 33:16 I was the last on watch; I was like one who gleans after the grape-gatherers; by the blessing of the Lord I excelled, and like a grape-gatherer I filled my wine press.
Sir 33:17 Consider that I have not labored for myself alone, but for all who seek instruction.
Sir 33:18 Hear me, you who are great among the people, and you leaders of the congregation, hearken.
Sir 33:19 To son or wife, to brother or friend, do not give power over yourself, as long as you live; and do not give your property to another, lest you change your mind and must ask for it.
Sir 33:20 While you are still alive and have breath in you, do not let any one take your place.
Sir 33:21 For it is better that your children should ask from you than that you should look to the hand of you sons.
Sir 33:22 Excel in all that you do; bring no stain upon your honor.
Sir 33:23 At the time when you end the days of your life, in the hour of death, distribute your inheritance.
Sir 33:24 Fodder and a stick and burdens for an ass; bread and discipline and work for a servant.
Sir 33:25 Set your slave to work, and you will find rest; leave his hands idle, and he will seek liberty.
Sir 33:26 Yoke and thong will bow the neck, and for a wicked servant there are racks and tortures.
Sir 33:27 Put him to work, that he may not be idle, for idleness teaches much evil.
Sir 33:28 Set him to work, as is fitting for him, and if he does not obey, make his fetters heavy.
Sir 33:29 Do not act immoderately toward anybody, and do nothing without discretion.
Sir 33:30 If you have a servant, let him be as yourself, because you have bought him with blood.
Sir 33:31 If you have a servant, treat him as a brother, for as your own soul you will need him. If you ill-treat him, and he leaves and runs away, which way will you go to seek him?
~ Chapter 34 ~
Sir 34:1 A man of no understanding has vain and false hopes, and dreams give wings to fools.
Sir 34:2 As one who catches at a shadow and pursues the wind, so is he who gives heed to dreams.
Sir 34:3 The vision of dreams is this against that, the likeness of a face confronting a face.
Sir 34:4 From an unclean thing what will be made clean? And from something false what will be true?
Sir 34:5 Divinations and omens and dreams are folly, and like a woman in travail the mind has fancies.
Sir 34:6 Unless they are sent from the Most High as a visitation, do not give your mind to them.
Sir 34:7 For dreams have deceived many, and those who put their hope in them have failed.
Sir 34:8 Without such deceptions the law will be fulfilled, and wisdom is made perfect in truthful lips.
Sir 34:9 An educated man knows many things, and one with much experience will speak with understanding.
Sir 34:10 He that is inexperienced knows few things, but he that has traveled acquires much cleverness.
Sir 34:11 I have seen many things in my travels, and I understand more than I can express.
Sir 34:12 I have often been in danger of death, but have escaped because of these experiences.
Sir 34:13 The spirit of those who fear the Lord will live, for their hope is in him who saves them.
Sir 34:14 He who fears the Lord will not be timid, nor play the coward, for he is his hope.
Sir 34:15 Blessed is the soul of the man who fears the Lord! To whom does he look? And who is his support?
Sir 34:16 The eyes of the Lord are upon those who love him, a mighty protection and strong support, a shelter from the hot wind and a shade from noonday sun, a guard against stumbling and a defense against falling.
Sir 34:17 He lifts up the soul and gives light to the eyes; he grants healing, life, and blessing.
Sir 34:18 If one sacrifices from what has been wrongfully obtained, the offering is blemished; the gifts of the lawless are not acceptable.
Sir 34:19 The Most High is not pleased with the offerings of the ungodly; and he is not propitiated for sins by a multitude of sacrifices.
Sir 34:20 Like one who kills a son before his father's eyes is the man who offers a sacrifice from the property of the poor.
Sir 34:21 The bread of the needy is the life of the poor; whoever deprives them of it is a man of blood.
Sir 34:22 To take away a neighbor's living is to murder him; to deprive an employee of his wages is to shed blood.
Sir 34:23 When one builds and another tears down, what do they gain but toil?
Sir 34:24 When one prays and another curses, to whose voice will the Lord listen?
Sir 34:25 If a man washes after touching a dead body, and touches it again, what has he gained by his washing?
Sir 34:26 So if a man fasts for his sins, and goes again and does the same things, who will listen to his prayer? And what has he gained by humbling himself?
~ Chapter 35 ~
Sir 35:1 He who keeps the law makes many offerings; he who heeds the commandments sacrifices a peace offering.
Sir 35:2 He who returns a kindness offers fine flour, and he who gives alms sacrifices a thank offering.
Sir 35:3 To keep from wickedness is pleasing to the Lord, and to forsake unrighteousness is atonement.
Sir 35:4 Do not appear before the Lord empty-handed,
Sir 35:5 for all these things are to be done because of the commandment.
Sir 35:6 The offering of a righteous man anoints the altar, and its pleasing odor rises before the Most High.
Sir 35:7 The sacrifice of a righteous man is acceptable, and the memory of it will not be forgotten.
Sir 35:8 Glorify the Lord generously, and do not stint the first fruits of your hands.
Sir 35:9 With every gift show a cheerful face, and dedicate your tithe with gladness.
Sir 35:10 Give to the Most High as he has given, and as generously as your hand has found.
Sir 35:11 For the Lord is the one who repays, and he will repay you sevenfold.
Sir 35:12 Do not offer him a bribe, for he will not accept it; and do not trust to an unrighteous sacrifice; for the Lord is the judge, and with him is no partiality.
Sir 35:13 He will not show partiality in the case of a poor man; and he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged.
Sir 35:14 He will not ignore the supplication of the fatherless, nor the widow when she pours out her story.
Sir 35:15 Do not the tears of the widow run down her cheek as she cries out against him who has caused them to fall?
Sir 35:16 He whose service is pleasing to the Lord will be accepted, and his prayer will reach to the clouds.
Sir 35:17 The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds, and he will not be consoled until it reaches the Lord; he will not desist until the Most High visits him, and does justice for the righteous, and executes judgment.
Sir 35:18 And the Lord will not delay, neither will he be patient with them, till he crushes the loins of the unmerciful and repays vengeance on the nations; till he takes away the multitude of the insolent, and breaks the scepters of the unrighteous;
Sir 35:19 till he repays the man according to his deeds, and the works of men according to their devices; till he judges the case of his people and makes them rejoice in his mercy.
Sir 35:20 Mercy is as welcome when he afflicts them as clouds of rain in the time of drought.
~ Chapter 36 ~
Sir 36:1 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, the God of all, and look upon us,
Sir 36:2 and cause the fear of thee to fall upon all the nations.
Sir 36:3 Lift up thy hand against foreign nations and let them see thy might.
Sir 36:4 As in us thou hast been sanctified before them, so in them be thou magnified before us;
Sir 36:5 and let them know thee, as we have known that there is not God but thee, O Lord.
Sir 36:6 Show signs anew, and work further wonders; make thy hand and thy right arm glorious.
Sir 36:7 Rouse thy anger and pour out thy wrath; destroy the adversary and wipe out the enemy.
Sir 36:8 Hasten the day, and remember the appointed time, and let people recount thy mighty deeds.
Sir 36:9 Let him who survives be consumed in the fiery wrath,
and may those who harm thy people meet destruction.
Sir 36:10 Crush the heads of the rulers of the enemy, who say, "There is no one but ourselves."
Sir 36:11 Gather all the tribes of Jacob, and give them their inheritance, as at the beginning.
Sir 36:12 Have mercy, O Lord, upon the people called by thy name, upon Israel, whom thou hast likened to a first-born son.
Sir 36:13 Have pity on the city of thy sanctuary, Jerusalem, the place of thy rest.
Sir 36:14 Fill Zion with the celebration of thy wondrous deeds, and thy temple with thy glory.
Sir 36:15 Bear witness to those whom thou didst create in the beginning, and fulfil the prophecies spoken in thy name.
Sir 36:16 Reward those who wait for thee, and let thy prophets be found trustworthy.
Sir 36:17 Hearken, O Lord, to the prayer of thy servants, according to the blessing of Aaron for thy people, and all who are on the earth will know that thou art the Lord, the God of the ages.
Sir 36:18 The stomach will take any food, yet one food is better than another.
Sir 36:19 As the palate tastes the kinds of game, so an intelligent mind detects false words.
Sir 36:20 A perverse mind will cause grief, but a man of experience will pay him back.
Sir 36:21 A woman will accept any man, but one daughter is better than another.
Sir 36:22 A woman's beauty gladdens the countenance, and surpasses every human desire.
Sir 36:23 If kindness and humility mark her speech, her husband is not like other men.
Sir 36:24 He who acquires a wife gets his best possession, a helper fit for him and a pillar of support.
Sir 36:25 Where there is no fence, the property will be plundered; and where there is no wife, a man will wander about and sigh.
Sir 36:26 For who will trust a nimble robber that skips from city to city? So who will trust a man that has no home, and lodges wherever night finds him?
~ Chapter 37 ~
Sir 37:1 Every friend will say, "I too am a friend"; but some friends are friends only in name.
Sir 37:2 Is it not a grief to the death when a companion and friend turns to enmity?
Sir 37:3 O evil imagination, why were you formed to cover the land with deceit?
Sir 37:4 Some companions rejoice in the happiness of a friend, but in time of trouble are against him.
Sir 37:5 Some companions help a friend for their stomach's sake, and in the face of battle take up the shield.
Sir 37:6 Do not forget a friend in your heart, and be not unmindful of him in your wealth.
Sir 37:7 Every counselor praises counsel, but some give counsel in their own interest.
Sir 37:8 Be wary of a counselor, and learn first what is his interest -- for he will take thought for himself -- lest he cast the lot against you
Sir 37:9 and tell you, "Your way is good," and then stand aloof to see what will happen to you.
Sir 37:10 Do not consult the one who looks at you suspiciously; hide your counsel from those who are jealous of you.
Sir 37:11 Do not consult with a woman about her rival or with a coward about war, with a merchant about barter or with a buyer about selling, with a grudging man about gratitude or with a merciless man about kindness, with an idler about any work or with a man hired for a year about completing his work, with a lazy servant about a big task -- pay no attention to these in any matter of counsel.
Sir 37:12 But stay constantly with a godly man whom you know to be a keeper of the commandments, whose soul is in accord with your soul, and who will sorrow with you if you fail.
Sir 37:13 And establish the counsel of your own heart, for no one is more faithful to you than it is.
Sir 37:14 For a man's soul sometimes keeps him better informed than seven watchmen sitting high on a watchtower.
Sir 37:15 And besides all this pray to the Most High that he may direct your way in truth.
Sir 37:16 Reason is the beginning of every work, and counsel precedes every undertaking.
Sir 37:17 As a clue to changes of heart
Sir 37:18 four turns of fortune appear, good and evil, life and death; and it is the tongue that continually rules them.
Sir 37:19 A man may be shrewd and the teacher of many, and yet be unprofitable to himself.
Sir 37:20 A man skilled in words may be hated; he will be destitute of all food,
Sir 37:21 for grace was not given him by the Lord, since he is lacking in all wisdom.
Sir 37:22 A man may be wise to his own advantage, and the fruits of his understanding may be trustworthy on his lips.
Sir 37:23 A wise man will instruct his own people, and the fruits of his understanding will be trustworthy.
Sir 37:24 A wise man will have praise heaped upon him, and all who see him will call him happy.
Sir 37:25 The life of a man is numbered by days, but the days of Israel are without number.
Sir 37:26 He who is wise among his people will inherit confidence, and his name will live for ever.
Sir 37:27 My son, test your soul while you live; see what is bad for it and do not give it that.
Sir 37:28 For not everything is good for every one, and not every person enjoys everything.
Sir 37:29 Do not have an insatiable appetite for any luxury, and do not give yourself up to food;
Sir 37:30 for overeating brings sickness, and gluttony leads to nausea.
Sir 37:31 Many have died of gluttony, but he who is careful to avoid it prolongs his life.
~ Chapter 38 ~
Sir 38:1 Honor the physician with the honor due him, according to your need of him, for the Lord created him;
Sir 38:2 for healing comes from the Most High, and he will receive a gift from the king.
Sir 38:3 The skill of the physician lifts up his head, and in the presence of great men he is admired.
Sir 38:4 The Lord created medicines from the earth, and a sensible man will not despise them.
Sir 38:5 Was not water made sweet with a tree in order that his power might be known?
Sir 38:6 And he gave skill to men that he might be glorified in his marvelous works.
Sir 38:7 By them he heals and takes away pain;
Sir 38:8 the pharmacist makes of them a compound. His works will never be finished; and from him health is upon the face of the earth.
Sir 38:9 My son, when you are sick do not be negligent, but pray to the Lord, and he will heal you.
Sir 38:10 Give up your faults and direct your hands aright, and cleanse your heart from all sin.
Sir 38:11 Offer a sweet-smelling sacrifice, and a memorial portion of fine flour, and pour oil on your offering, as much as you can afford.
Sir 38:12 And give the physician his place, for the Lord created him; let him not leave you, for there is need of him.
Sir 38:13 There is a time when success lies in the hands of physicians,
Sir 38:14 for they too will pray to the Lord that he should grant them success in diagnosis and in healing, for the sake of preserving life.
Sir 38:15 He who sins before his Maker, may he fall into the care of a physician.
Sir 38:16 My son, let your tears fall for the dead, and as one who is suffering grievously begin the lament. Lay out his body with the honor due him, and do not neglect his burial.
Sir 38:17 Let your weeping be bitter and your wailing fervent; observe the mourning according to his merit, for one day, or two, to avoid criticism; then be comforted for your sorrow.
Sir 38:18 For sorrow results in death, and sorrow of heart saps one's strength.
Sir 38:19 In calamity sorrow continues, and the life of the poor man weighs down his heart.
Sir 38:20 Do not give your heart to sorrow; drive it away, remembering the end of life.
Sir 38:21 Do not forget, there is no coming back; you do the dead no good, and you injure yourself.
Sir 38:22 "Remember my doom, for yours is like it: yesterday it was mine, and today it is yours."
Sir 38:23 When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance cease, and be comforted for him when his spirit is departed.
Sir 38:24 The wisdom of the scribe depends on the opportunity of leisure; and he who has little business may become wise.
Sir 38:25 How can he become wise who handles the plow, and who glories in the shaft of a goad, who drives oxen and is occupied with their work, and whose talk is about bulls?
Sir 38:26 He sets his heart on plowing furrows, and he is careful about fodder for the heifers.
Sir 38:27 So too is every craftsman and master workman who labors by night as well as by day; those who cut the signets of seals, each is diligent in making a great variety; he sets his heart on painting a lifelike image, and he is careful to finish his work.
Sir 38:28 So too is the smith sitting by the anvil, intent upon his handiwork in iron; the breath of the fire melts his flesh, and he wastes away in the heat of the furnace; he inclines his ear to the sound of the hammer, and his eyes are on the pattern of the object. He sets his heart on finishing his handiwork, and he is careful to complete its decoration.
Sir 38:29 So too is the potter sitting at his work and turning the wheel with his feet; he is always deeply concerned over his work, and all his output is by number.
Sir 38:30 He moulds the clay with his arm and makes it pliable with his feet; he sets his heart to finish the glazing, and he is careful to clean the furnace.
Sir 38:31 All these rely upon their hands, and each is skilful in his own work.
Sir 38:32 Without them a city cannot be established, and men can neither sojourn nor live there.
Sir 38:33 Yet they are not sought out for the council of the people, nor do they attain eminence in the public assembly. They do not sit in the judge's seat, nor do they understand the sentence of judgment; they cannot expound discipline or judgment, and they are not found using proverbs.
Sir 38:34 But they keep stable the fabric of the world, and their prayer is in the practice of their trade.
~ Chapter 39 ~
Sir 39:1 On the other hand he who devotes himself to the study of the law of the Most High will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, and will be concerned with prophecies;
Sir 39:2 he will preserve the discourse of notable men and penetrate the subtleties of parables;
Sir 39:3 he will seek out the hidden meanings of proverbs and be at home with the obscurities of parables.
Sir 39:4 He will serve among great men and appear before rulers; he will travel through the lands of foreign nations, for he tests the good and the evil among men.
Sir 39:5 He will set his heart to rise early to seek the Lord who made him, and will make supplication before the Most High; he will open his mouth in prayer and make supplication for his sins.
Sir 39:6 If the great Lord is willing, he will be filled with the spirit of understanding; he will pour forth words of wisdom and give thanks to the Lord in prayer.
Sir 39:7 He will direct his counsel and knowledge aright, and meditate on his secrets.
Sir 39:8 He will reveal instruction in his teaching, and will glory in the law of the Lord's covenant.
Sir 39:9 Many will praise his understanding, and it will never be blotted out; his memory will not disappear, and his name will live through all generations.
Sir 39:10 Nations will declare his wisdom, and the congregation will proclaim his praise;
Sir 39:11 if he lives long, he will leave a name greater than a thousand, and if he goes to rest, it is enough for him.
Sir 39:12 I have yet more to say, which I have thought upon, and I am filled, like the moon at the full.
Sir 39:13 Listen to me, O you holy sons, and bud like a rose growing by a stream of water;
Sir 39:14 send forth fragrance like frankincense, and put forth blossoms like a lily. Scatter the fragrance, and sing a hymn of praise; bless the Lord for all his works;
Sir 39:15 ascribe majesty to his name and give thanks to him with praise, with songs on your lips, and with lyres; and this you shall say in thanksgiving:
Sir 39:16 "All things are the works of the Lord, for they are very good, and whatever he commands will be done in his time."
Sir 39:17 No one can say, "What is this?" "Why is that?" for in God's time all things will be sought after. At his word the waters stood in a heap, and the reservoirs of water at the word of his mouth.
Sir 39:18 At his command whatever pleases him is done, and none can limit his saving power.
Sir 39:19 The works of all flesh are before him, and nothing can be hid from his eyes.
Sir 39:20 From everlasting to everlasting he beholds them, and nothing is marvelous to him.
Sir 39:21 No one can say, "What is this?" "Why is that?" for everything has been created for its use.
Sir 39:22 His blessing covers the dry land like a river, and drenches it like a flood.
Sir 39:23 The nations will incur his wrath, just as he turns fresh water into salt.
Sir 39:24 To the holy his ways are straight, just as they are obstacles to the wicked.
Sir 39:25 From the beginning good things were created for good people, just as evil things for sinners.
Sir 39:26 Basic to all the needs of man's life are water and fire and iron and salt and wheat flour and milk and honey, the blood of the grape, and oil and clothing.
Sir 39:27 All these are for good to the godly, just as they turn into evils for sinners.
Sir 39:28 There are winds that have been created for vengeance, and in their anger they scourge heavily; in the time of consummation they will pour out their strength and calm the anger of their Maker.
Sir 39:29 Fire and hail and famine and pestilence, all these have been created for vengeance;
Sir 39:30 the teeth of wild beasts, and scorpions and vipers, and the sword that punishes the ungodly with destruction;
Sir 39:31 they will rejoice in his commands, and be made ready on earth for their service, and when their times come they will not transgress his word.
Sir 39:32 Therefore from the beginning I have been convinced, and have thought this out and left it in writing:
Sir 39:33 The works of the Lord are all good, and he will supply every need in its hour.
Sir 39:34 And no one can say, "This is worse than that," for all things will prove good in their season.
Sir 39:35 So now sing praise with all your heart and voice, and bless the name of the Lord.
~ Chapter 40 ~
Sir 40:1 Much labor was created for every man, and a heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam, from the day they come forth from their mother's womb till the day they return to the mother of all.
Sir 40:2 Their perplexities and fear of heart -- their anxious thought is the day of death,
Sir 40:3 from the man who sits on a splendid throne to the one who is humbled in dust and ashes,
Sir 40:4 from the man who wears purple and a crown to the one who is clothed in burlap;
Sir 40:5 there is anger and envy and trouble and unrest, and fear of death, and fury and strife. And when one rests upon his bed, his sleep at night confuses his mind.
Sir 40:6 He gets little or no rest, and afterward in his sleep, as though he were on watch, he is troubled by the visions of his mind like one who has escaped from the battle-front;
Sir 40:7 at the moment of his rescue he wakes up, and wonders that his fear came to nothing.
Sir 40:8 With all flesh, both man and beast, and upon sinners seven times more,
Sir 40:9 are death and bloodshed and strife and sword, calamities, famine and affliction and plague.
Sir 40:10 All these were created for the wicked, and on their account the flood came.
Sir 40:11 All things that are from the earth turn back to the earth, and what is from the waters returns to the sea.
Sir 40:12 All bribery and injustice will be blotted out, but good faith will stand for ever.
Sir 40:13 The wealth of the unjust will dry up like a torrent, and crash like a loud clap of thunder in a rain.
Sir 40:14 A generous man will be made glad; likewise transgressors will utterly fail.
Sir 40:15 The children of the ungodly will not put forth many branches; they are unhealthy roots upon sheer rock.
Sir 40:16 The reeds by any water or river bank will be plucked up before any grass.
Sir 40:17 Kindness is like a garden of blessings, and almsgiving endures for ever.
Sir 40:18 Life is sweet for the self-reliant and the worker, but he who finds treasure is better off than both.
Sir 40:19 Children and the building of a city establish a man's name, but a blameless wife is accounted better than both.
Sir 40:20 Wine and music gladden the heart, but the love of wisdom is better than both.
Sir 40:21 The flute and the harp make pleasant melody, but a pleasant voice is better than both.
Sir 40:22 The eye desires grace and beauty, but the green shoots of grain more than both.
Sir 40:23 A friend or a companion never meets one amiss, but a wife with her husband is better than both.
Sir 40:24 Brothers and help are for a time of trouble, but almsgiving rescues better than both.
Sir 40:25 Gold and silver make the foot stand sure, but good counsel is esteemed more than both.
Sir 40:26 Riches and strength lift up the heart, but the fear of the Lord is better than both. There is no loss in the fear of the Lord, and with it there is no need to seek for help.
Sir 40:27 The fear of the Lord is like a garden of blessing, and covers a man better than any glory.
Sir 40:28 My son, do not lead the life of a beggar; it is better to die than to beg.
Sir 40:29 When a man looks to the table of another, his existence cannot be considered as life. He pollutes himself with another man's food, but a man who is intelligent and well instructed guards against that.
Sir 40:30 In the mouth of the shameless begging is sweet, but in his stomach a fire is kindled.
~ Chapter 41 ~
Sir 41:1 O death, how bitter is the reminder of you to one who lives at peace among his possessions, to a man without distractions, who is prosperous in everything, and who still has the vigor to enjoy his food!
Sir 41:2 O death, how welcome is your sentence to one who is in need and is failing in strength, very old and distracted over everything; to one who is contrary, and has lost his patience!
Sir 41:3 Do not fear the sentence of death; remember your former days and the end of life; this is the decree from the Lord for all flesh,
Sir 41:4 and how can you reject the good pleasure of the Most High? Whether life is for ten or a hundred or a thousand years, there is no inquiry about it in Hades.
Sir 41:5 The children of sinners are abominable children, and they frequent the haunts of the ungodly.
Sir 41:6 The inheritance of the children of sinners will perish, and on their posterity will be a perpetual reproach.
Sir 41:7 Children will blame an ungodly father, for they suffer reproach because of him.
Sir 41:8 Woe to you, ungodly men, who have forsaken the law of the Most High God!
Sir 41:9 When you are born, you are born to a curse; and when you die, a curse is your lot.
Sir 41:10 Whatever is from the dust returns to dust; so the ungodly go from curse to destruction.
Sir 41:11 The mourning of men is about their bodies, but the evil name of sinners will be blotted out.
Sir 41:12 Have regard for your name, since it will remain for you longer than a thousand great stores of gold.
Sir 41:13 The days of a good life are numbered, but a good name endures for ever.
Sir 41:14 My children, observe instruction and be at peace; hidden wisdom and unseen treasure, what advantage is there in either of them?
Sir 41:15 Better is the man who hides his folly than the man who hides his wisdom.
Sir 41:16 Therefore show respect for my words: For it is good to retain every kind of shame, and not everything is confidently esteemed by every one.
Sir 41:17 Be ashamed of immorality, before your father or mother; and of a lie, before a prince or a ruler;
Sir 41:18 of a transgression, before a judge or magistrate; and of iniquity, before a congregation or the people; of unjust dealing, before your partner or friend;
Sir 41:19 and of theft, in the place where you live. Be ashamed before the truth of God and his covenant. Be ashamed of selfish behavior at meals, of surliness in receiving and giving,
Sir 41:20 and of silence, before those who greet you; of looking at a woman who is a harlot,
Sir 41:21 and of rejecting the appeal of a kinsman; of taking away some one's portion or gift, and of gazing at another man's wife;
Sir 41:22 of meddling with his maidservant -- and do not approach her bed; of abusive words, before friends -- and do not upbraid after making a gift;
Sir 41:23 of repeating and telling what you hear, and of revealing secrets. Then you will show proper shame, and will find favor with every man.
~ Chapter 42 ~
Sir 42:1 Of the following things do not be ashamed, and do not let partiality lead you to sin:
Sir 42:2 of the law of the Most High and his covenant, and of rendering judgment to acquit the ungodly;
Sir 42:3 of keeping accounts with a partner or with traveling companions, and of dividing the inheritance of friends;
Sir 42:4 of accuracy with scales and weights, and of acquiring much or little;
Sir 42:5 of profit from dealing with merchants, and of much discipline of children, and of whipping a wicked servant severely.
Sir 42:6 Where there is an evil wife, a seal is a good thing; and where there are many hands, lock things up.
Sir 42:7 Whatever you deal out, let it be by number and weight, and make a record of all that you give out or take in.
Sir 42:8 Do not be ashamed to instruct the stupid or foolish or the aged man who quarrels with the young. Then you will be truly instructed, and will be approved before all men.
Sir 42:9 A daughter keeps her father secretly wakeful, and worry over her robs him of sleep; when she is young, lest she do not marry, or if married, lest she be hated;
Sir 42:10 while a virgin, lest she be defiled or become pregnant in her father's house; or having a husband, lest she prove unfaithful, or, though married, lest she be barren.
Sir 42:11 Keep strict watch over a headstrong daughter, lest she make you a laughingstock to your enemies, a byword in the city and notorious among the people, and put you to shame before the great multitude.
Sir 42:12 Do not look upon any one for beauty, and do not sit in the midst of women;
Sir 42:13 for from garments comes the moth, and from a woman comes woman's wickedness.
Sir 42:14 Better is the wickedness of a man than a woman who does good; and it is a woman who brings shame and disgrace.
Sir 42:15 I will now call to mind the works of the Lord, and will declare what I have seen. By the words of the Lord his works are done.
Sir 42:16 The sun looks down on everything with its light, and the work of the Lord is full of his glory.
Sir 42:17 The Lord has not enabled his holy ones to recount all his marvelous works, which the Lord the Almighty has established that the universe may stand firm in his glory.
Sir 42:18 He searches out the abyss, and the hearts of men, and considers their crafty devices. For the Most High knows all that may be known, and he looks into the signs of the age.
Sir 42:19 He declares what has been and what is to be, and he reveals the tracks of hidden things.
Sir 42:20 No thought escapes him, and not one word is hidden from him.
Sir 42:21 He has ordained the splendors of his wisdom, and he is from everlasting and to everlasting. Nothing can be added or taken away, and he needs no one to be his counselor.
Sir 42:22 How greatly to be desired are all his works, and how sparkling they are to see!
Sir 42:23 All these things live and remain for ever for every need, and are all obedient.
Sir 42:24 All things are twofold, one opposite the other, and he has made nothing incomplete.
Sir 42:25 One confirms the good things of the other, and who can have enough of beholding his glory?
~ Chapter 43 ~
Sir 43:1 The pride of the heavenly heights is the clear firmament, the appearance of heaven in a spectacle of glory.
Sir 43:2 The sun, when it appears, making proclamation as it goes forth, is a marvelous instrument, the work of the Most High.
Sir 43:3 At noon it parches the land; and who can withstand its burning heat?
Sir 43:4 A man tending a furnace works in burning heat, but the sun burns the mountains three times as much; it breathes out fiery vapors, and with bright beams it blinds the eyes.
Sir 43:5 Great is the Lord who made it; and at his command it hastens on its course.
Sir 43:6 He made the moon also, to serve in its season to mark the times and to be an everlasting sign.
Sir 43:7 From the moon comes the sign for feast days, a light that wanes when it has reached the full.
Sir 43:8 The month is named for the moon, increasing marvelously in its phases, an instrument of the hosts on high shining forth in the firmament of heaven.
Sir 43:9 The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven, a gleaming array in the heights of the Lord.
Sir 43:10 At the command of the Holy One they stand as ordered, they never relax in their watches.
Sir 43:11 Look upon the rainbow, and praise him who made it, exceedingly beautiful in its brightness.
Sir 43:12 It encircles the heaven with its glorious arc; the hands of the Most High have stretched it out.
Sir 43:13 By his command he sends the driving snow and speeds the lightnings of his judgment.
Sir 43:14 Therefore the storehouses are opened, and the clouds fly forth like birds.
Sir 43:15 In his majesty he amasses the clouds, and the hailstones are broken in pieces.
Sir 43:16 At his appearing the mountains are shaken; at his will the south wind blows.
Sir 43:17 The voice of his thunder rebukes the earth; so do the tempest from the north and the whirlwind. He scatters the snow like birds flying down, and its descent is like locusts alighting.
Sir 43:18 The eye marvels at the beauty of its whiteness, and the mind is amazed at its falling.
Sir 43:19 He pours the hoarfrost upon the earth like salt, and when it freezes, it becomes pointed thorns.
Sir 43:20 The cold north wind blows, and ice freezes over the water; it rests upon every pool of water, and the water puts it on like a breastplate.
Sir 43:21 He consumes the mountains and burns up the wilderness, and withers the tender grass like fire.
Sir 43:22 A mist quickly heals all things; when the dew appears, it refreshes from the heat.
Sir 43:23 By his counsel he stilled the great deep and planted islands in it.
Sir 43:24 Those who sail the sea tell of its dangers, and we marvel at what we hear.
Sir 43:25 for in it are strange and marvelous works, all kinds of living things, and huge creatures of the sea.
Sir 43:26 Because of him his messenger finds the way, and by his word all things hold together.
Sir 43:27 Though we speak much we cannot reach the end, and the sum of our words is: "He is the all."
Sir 43:28 Where shall we find strength to praise him? For he is greater than all his works.
Sir 43:29 Terrible is the Lord and very great, and marvelous is his power.
Sir 43:30 When you praise the Lord, exalt him as much as you can; for he will surpass even that. When you exalt him, put forth all your strength, and do not grow weary, for you cannot praise him enough.
Sir 43:31 Who has seen him and can describe him? Or who can extol him as he is?
Sir 43:32 Many things greater than these lie hidden, for we have seen but few of his works.
Sir 43:33 For the Lord has made all things, and to the godly he has granted wisdom.
~ Chapter 44 ~
Sir 44:1 Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers in their generations.
Sir 44:2 The Lord apportioned to them great glory, his majesty from the beginning.
Sir 44:3 There were those who ruled in their kingdoms, and were men renowned for their power, giving counsel by their understanding, and proclaiming prophecies;
Sir 44:4 leaders of the people in their deliberations and in understanding of learning for the people, wise in their words of instruction;
Sir 44:5 those who composed musical tunes, and set forth verses in writing;
Sir 44:6 rich men furnished with resources, living peaceably in their habitations --
Sir 44:7 all these were honored in their generations, and were the glory of their times.
Sir 44:8 There are some of them who have left a name, so that men declare their praise.
Sir 44:9 And there are some who have no memorial, who have perished as though they had not lived; they have become as though they had not been born, and so have their children after them.
Sir 44:10 But these were men of mercy, whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;
Sir 44:11 their prosperity will remain with their descendants, and their inheritance to their children's children.
Sir 44:12 Their descendants stand by the covenants; their children also, for their sake.
Sir 44:13 Their posterity will continue for ever, and their glory will not be blotted out.
Sir 44:14 Their bodies were buried in peace, and their name lives to all generations.
Sir 44:15 Peoples will declare their wisdom, and the congregation proclaims their praise.
Sir 44:16 Enoch pleased the Lord, and was taken up; he was an example of repentance to all generations.
Sir 44:17 Noah was found perfect and righteous; in the time of wrath he was taken in exchange; therefore a remnant was left to the earth when the flood came.
Sir 44:18 Everlasting covenants were made with him that all flesh should not be blotted out by a flood.
Sir 44:19 Abraham was the great father of a multitude of nations, and no one has been found like him in glory;
Sir 44:20 he kept the law of the Most High, and was taken into covenant with him; he established the covenant in his flesh, and when he was tested he was found faithful.
Sir 44:21 Therefore the Lord assured him by an oath that the nations would be blessed through his posterity; that he would multiply him like the dust of the earth, and exalt his posterity like the stars, and cause them to inherit from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Sir 44:22 To Isaac also he gave the same assurance for the sake of Abraham his father.
Sir 44:23 The blessing of all men and the covenant he made to rest upon the head of Jacob; he acknowledged him with his blessings, and gave him his inheritance; he determined his portions, and distributed them among twelve tribes.
~ Chapter 45 ~
Sir 45:1 From his descendants the Lord brought forth a man of mercy, who found favor in the sight of all flesh and was beloved by God and man, Moses, whose memory is blessed.
Sir 45:2 He made him equal in glory to the holy ones, and made him great in the fears of his enemies.
Sir 45:3 By his words he caused signs to cease; the Lord glorified him in the presence of kings. He gave him commands for his people, and showed him part of his glory.
Sir 45:4 He sanctified him through faithfulness and meekness; he chose him out of all mankind.
Sir 45:5 He made him hear his voice, and led him into the thick darkness, and gave him the commandments face to face, the law of life and knowledge, to teach Jacob the covenant, and Israel his judgments.
Sir 45:6 He exalted Aaron, the brother of Moses, a holy man like him, of the tribe of Levi.
Sir 45:7 He made an everlasting covenant with him, and gave him the priesthood of the people. He blessed him with splendid vestments, and put a glorious robe upon him.
Sir 45:8 He clothed him with superb perfection, and strengthened him with the symbols of authority, the linen breeches, the long robe, and the ephod.
Sir 45:9 And he encircled him with pomegranates, with very many golden bells round about, to send forth a sound as he walked, to make their ringing heard in the temple as a reminder to the sons of his people;
Sir 45:10 with a holy garment, of gold and blue and purple, the work of an embroiderer; with the oracle of judgment, Urim and Thummim;
Sir 45:11 with twisted scarlet, the work of a craftsman; with precious stones engraved like signets, in a setting of gold, the work of a jeweler, for a reminder, in engraved letters, according to the number of the tribes of Israel;
Sir 45:12 with a gold crown upon his turban, inscribed like a signet with "Holiness," a distinction to be prized, the work of an expert, the delight of the eyes, richly adorned.
Sir 45:13 Before his time there never were such beautiful things. No outsider ever put them on, but only his sons and his descendants perpetually.
Sir 45:14 His sacrifices shall be wholly burned twice every day continually.
Sir 45:15 Moses ordained him, and anointed him with holy oil; it was an everlasting covenant for him and for his descendants all the days of heaven, to minister to the Lord and serve as priest and bless his people in his name.
Sir 45:16 He chose him out of all the living to offer sacrifice to the Lord, incense and a pleasing odor as a memorial portion, to make atonement for the people.
Sir 45:17 In his commandments he gave him authority and statutes and judgments, to teach Jacob the testimonies, and to enlighten Israel with his law.
Sir 45:18 Outsiders conspired against him, and envied him in the wilderness, Dathan and Abiram and their men and the company of Korah, in wrath and anger.
Sir 45:19 The Lord saw it and was not pleased, and in the wrath of his anger they were destroyed; he wrought wonders against them to consume them in flaming fire.
Sir 45:20 He added glory to Aaron and gave him a heritage; he allotted to him the first of the first fruits, he prepared bread of first fruits in abundance;
Sir 45:21 for they eat the sacrifices to the Lord, which he gave to him and his descendants.
Sir 45:22 But in the land of the people he has no inheritance, and he has no portion among the people; for the Lord himself is his portion and inheritance.
Sir 45:23 Phinehas the son of Eleazar is the third in glory, for he was zealous in the fear of the Lord, and stood fast, when the people turned away, in the ready goodness of his soul, and made atonement for Israel.
Sir 45:24 Therefore a covenant of peace was established with him, that he should be leader of the sanctuary and of his people, that he and his descendants should have the dignity of the priesthood for ever.
Sir 45:25 A covenant was also established with David, the son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah: the heritage of the king is from son to son only; so the heritage of Aaron is for his descendants.
Sir 45:26 May the Lord grant you wisdom in your heart to judge his people in righteousness, so that their prosperity may not vanish, and that their glory may endure throughout their generations.
~ Chapter 46 ~
Sir 46:1 Joshua the son of Nun was mighty in war, and was the successor of Moses in prophesying. He became, in accordance with his name, a great savior of God's elect, to take
vengeance on the enemies that rose against them, so that he might give Israel its inheritance.
Sir 46:2 How glorious he was when he lifted his hands and stretched out his sword against the cities!
Sir 46:3 Who before him ever stood so firm? For he waged the wars of the Lord.
Sir 46:4 Was not the sun held back by his hand? And did not one day become as long as two?
Sir 46:5 He called upon the Most High, the Mighty One, when enemies pressed him on every side,
Sir 46:6 and the great Lord answered him with hailstones of mighty power. He hurled down war upon that nation, and at the descent of Beth-horon he destroyed those who resisted, so that the nations might know his armament, that he was fighting in the sight of the Lord; for he wholly followed the Mighty One.
Sir 46:7 And in the days of Moses he did a loyal deed, he and Caleb the son of Jephunneh: they withstood the congregation, restrained the people from sin, and stilled their wicked murmuring.
Sir 46:8 And these two alone were preserved out of six hundred thousand people on foot, to bring them into their inheritance, into a land flowing with milk and honey.
Sir 46:9 And the Lord gave Caleb strength, which remained with him to old age, so that he went up to the hill country, and his children obtained it for an inheritance;
Sir 46:10 so that all the sons of Israel might see that it is good to follow the Lord.
Sir 46:11 The judges also, with their respective names, those whose hearts did not fall into idolatry and who did not turn away from the Lord -- may their memory be blessed!
Sir 46:12 May their bones revive from where they lie, and may the name of those who have been honored live again in their sons!
Sir 46:13 Samuel, beloved by his Lord, a prophet of the Lord, established the kingdom and anointed rulers over his people.
Sir 46:14 By the law of the Lord he judged the congregation, and the Lord watched over Jacob.
Sir 46:15 By his faithfulness he was proved to be a prophet, and by his words he became known as a trustworthy seer.
Sir 46:16 He called upon the Lord, the Mighty One, when his enemies pressed him on every side, and he offered in sacrifice a sucking lamb.
Sir 46:17 Then the Lord thundered from heaven, and made his voice heard with a mighty sound;
Sir 46:18 and he wiped out the leaders of the people of Tyre and all the rulers of the Philistines.
Sir 46:19 Before the time of his eternal sleep, Samuel called men to witness before the Lord and his anointed: "I have not taken any one's property, not so much as a pair of shoes." And no man accused him.
Sir 46:20 Even after he had fallen asleep he prophesied and revealed to the king his death, and lifted up his voice out of the earth in prophecy, to blot out the wickedness of the people.
~ Chapter 47 ~
Sir 47:1 And after him Nathan rose up to prophesy in the days of David.
Sir 47:2 As the fat is selected from the peace offering, so David was selected from the sons of Israel.
Sir 47:3 He played with lions as with young goats, and with bears as with lambs of the flock.
Sir 47:4 In his youth did he not kill a giant, and take away reproach from the people, when he lifted his hand with a stone in the sling and struck down the boasting of Goliath?
Sir 47:5 For he appealed to the Lord, the Most High, and he gave him strength in his right hand to slay a man mighty in war, to exalt the power of his people.
Sir 47:6 So they glorified him for his ten thousands, and praised him for the blessings of the Lord, when the glorious diadem was bestowed upon him.
Sir 47:7 For he wiped out his enemies on every side, and annihilated his adversaries the Philistines; he crushed their power even to this day.
Sir 47:8 In all that he did he gave thanks to the Holy One, the Most High, with ascriptions of glory; he sang praise with all his heart, and he loved his Maker.
Sir 47:9 He placed singers before the altar, to make sweet melody with their voices.
Sir 47:10 He gave beauty to the feasts, and arranged their times throughout the year, while they praised God's holy name, and the sanctuary resounded from early morning.
Sir 47:11 The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his power for ever; he gave him the covenant of kings and a throne of glory in Israel.
Sir 47:12 After him rose up a wise son who fared amply because of him;
Sir 47:13 Solomon reigned in days of peace, and God gave him rest on every side, that he might build a house for his name and prepare a sanctuary to stand for ever.
Sir 47:14 How wise you became in your youth! You overflowed like a river with understanding.
Sir 47:15 Your soul covered the earth, and you filled it with parables and riddles.
Sir 47:16 Your name reached to far-off islands, and you were loved for your peace.
Sir 47:17 For your songs and proverbs and parables, and for your interpretations, the countries marveled at you.
Sir 47:18 In the name of the Lord God, who is called the God of Israel, you gathered gold like tin and amassed silver like lead.
Sir 47:19 But you laid your loins beside women, and through your body you were brought into subjection.
Sir 47:20 You put stain upon your honor, and defiled your posterity, so that you brought wrath upon your children and they were grieved at your folly,
Sir 47:21 so that the sovereignty was divided and a disobedient kingdom arose out of Ephraim.
Sir 47:22 But the Lord will never give up his mercy, nor cause any of his works to perish; he will never blot out the descendants of his chosen one, nor destroy the posterity of him who loved him; so he gave a remnant to Jacob, and to David a root of his stock.
Sir 47:23 Solomon rested with his fathers, and left behind him one of his sons, ample in folly and lacking in understanding, Rehoboam, whose policy caused the people to revolt. Also Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin and gave to Ephraim a sinful way.
Sir 47:24 Their sins became exceedingly many, so as to remove them from their land.
Sir 47:25 For they sought out every sort of wickedness, till vengeance came upon them.
~ Chapter 48 ~
Sir 48:1 Then the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like a torch.
Sir 48:2 He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made them few in number.
Sir 48:3 By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, and also three times brought down fire.
Sir 48:4 How glorious you were, O Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! And who has the right to boast which you have?
Sir 48:5 You who raised a corpse from death and from Hades, by the word of the Most High;
Sir 48:6 who brought kings down to destruction, and famous men from their beds;
Sir 48:7 who heard rebuke at Sinai and judgments of vengeance at Horeb;
Sir 48:8 who anointed kings to inflict retribution, and prophets to succeed you.
Sir 48:9 You who were taken up by a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with horses of fire;
Sir 48:10 you who are ready at the appointed time, it is written, to calm the wrath of God before it breaks out in fury, to turn the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.
Sir 48:11 Blessed are those who saw you, and those who have been adorned in love; for we also shall surely live.
Sir 48:12 It was Elijah who was covered by the whirlwind, and Elisha was filled with his spirit; in all his days he did not tremble before any ruler, and no one brought him into subjection.
Sir 48:13 Nothing was too hard for him, and when he was dead his body prophesied.
Sir 48:14 As in his life he did wonders, so in death his deeds were marvelous.
Sir 48:15 For all this the people did not repent, and they did not forsake their sins, till they were carried away captive from their land and were scattered over all the earth; the people were left very few in number, but with rulers from the house of David.
Sir 48:16 Some of them did what was pleasing to God, but others multiplied sins.
Sir 48:17 Hezekiah fortified his city, and brought water into the midst of it; he tunneled the sheer rock with iron and built pools for water.
Sir 48:18 In his days Sennacherib came up, and sent the Rabshakeh; he lifted up his hand against Zion and made great boasts in his arrogance.
Sir 48:19 Then their hearts were shaken and their hands trembled, and they were in anguish, like women in travail.
Sir 48:20 But they called upon the Lord who is merciful, spreading forth their hands toward him; and the Holy One quickly heard them from heaven, and delivered them by the hand of Isaiah.
Sir 48:21 The Lord smote the camp of the Assyrians, and his angel wiped them out.
Sir 48:22 For Hezekiah did what was pleasing to the Lord, and he held strongly to the ways of David his father, which Isaiah the prophet commanded, who was great and faithful in his vision.
Sir 48:23 In his days the sun went backward, and he lengthened the life of the king.
Sir 48:24 By the spirit of might he saw the last things, and comforted those who mourned in Zion.
Sir 48:25 He revealed what was to occur to the end of time, and the hidden things before they came to pass.
~ Chapter 49 ~
Sir 49:1 The memory of Josiah is like a blending of incense prepared by the art of the perfumer; it is sweet as honey to every mouth, and like music at a banquet of wine.
Sir 49:2 He was led aright in converting the people, and took away the abominations of iniquity.
Sir 49:3 He set his heart upon the Lord; in the days of wicked men he strengthened godliness.
Sir 49:4 Except David and Hezekiah and Josiah they all sinned greatly, for they forsook the law of the Most High; the kings of Judah came to an end;
Sir 49:5 for they gave their power to others, and their glory to a foreign nation,
Sir 49:6 who set fire to the chosen city of the sanctuary, and made her streets desolate, according to the word of Jeremiah.
Sir 49:7 For they had afflicted him; yet he had been consecrated in the womb as prophet, to pluck up and afflict and destroy, and likewise to build and to plant.
Sir 49:8 It was Ezekiel who saw the vision of glory which God showed him above the chariot of the cherubim.
Sir 49:9 For God remembered his enemies with storm, and did good to those who directed their ways aright.
Sir 49:10 May the bones of the twelve prophets revive from where they lie, for they comforted the people of Jacob and delivered them with confident hope.
Sir 49:11 How shall we magnify Zerubbabel? He was like a signet on the right hand,
Sir 49:12 and so was Jeshua the son of Jozadak; in their days they built the house and raised a temple holy to the Lord, prepared for everlasting glory.
Sir 49:13 The memory of Nehemiah also is lasting; he raised for us the walls that had fallen, and set up the gates and bars and rebuilt our ruined houses.
Sir 49:14 No one like Enoch has been created on earth, for he was taken up from the earth.
Sir 49:15 And no man like Joseph has been born, and his bones are cared for.
Sir 49:16 Shem and Seth were honored among men, and Adam above every living being in the creation.
~ Chapter 50 ~
Sir 50:1 The leader of his brethren and the pride of his people was Simon the high priest, son of Onias, who in his life repaired the house, and in his time fortified the temple.
Sir 50:2 He laid the foundations for the high double walls, the high retaining walls for the temple enclosure.
Sir 50:3 In his days a cistern for water was quarried out, a reservoir like the sea in circumference.
Sir 50:4 He considered how to save his people from ruin, and fortified the city to withstand a seige.
Sir 50:5 How glorious he was when the people gathered round him as he came out of the inner sanctuary!
Sir 50:6 Like the morning star among the clouds, like the moon when it is full;
Sir 50:7 like the sun shining upon the temple of the Most High, and like the rainbow gleaming in glorious clouds;
Sir 50:8 like roses in the days of the first fruits, like lilies by a spring of water, like a green shoot on Lebanon on a summer day;
Sir 50:9 like fire and incense in the censer, like a vessel of hammered gold adorned with all kinds of precious stones;
Sir 50:10 like an olive tree putting forth its fruit, and like a cypress towering in the clouds.
Sir 50:11 When he put on his glorious robe and clothed himself with superb perfection and went up to the holy altar, he made the court of the sanctuary glorious.
Sir 50:12 And when he received the portions from the hands of the priests, as he stood by the hearth of the altar with a garland of brethren around him, he was like a young cedar on Lebanon; and they surrounded him like the trunks of palm trees,
Sir 50:13 all the sons of Aaron in their splendor with the Lord's offering in their hands, before the whole congregation of Israel.
Sir 50:14 Finishing the service at the altars, and arranging the offering to the Most High, the Almighty,
Sir 50:15 he reached out his hand to the cup and poured a libation of the blood of the grape; he poured it out at the foot of the altar, a pleasing odor to the Most High, the King of all.
Sir 50:16 Then the sons of Aaron shouted, they sounded the trumpets of hammered work, they made a great noise to be heard for remembrance before the Most High.
Sir 50:17 Then all the people together made haste and fell to the ground upon their faces to worship their Lord, the Almighty, God Most High.
Sir 50:18 And the singers praised him with their voices in sweet and full-toned melody.
Sir 50:19 And the people besought the Lord Most High in prayer before him who is merciful, till the order of worship of the Lord was ended; so they completed his service.
Sir 50:20 Then Simon came down, and lifted up his hands over the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, to pronounce the blessing of the Lord with his lips, and to glory in his name;
Sir 50:21 and they bowed down in worship a second time, to receive the blessing from the Most High.
Sir 50:22 And now bless the God of all, who in every way does great things; who exalts our days from birth, and deals with us according to his mercy.
Sir 50:23 May he give us gladness of heart, and grant that peace may be in our days in Israel, as in the days of old.
Sir 50:24 May he entrust to us his mercy! And let him deliver us in our days!
Sir 50:25 With two nations my soul is vexed, and the third is no nation:
Sir 50:26 Those who live on Mount Seir, and the Philistines, and the foolish people that dwell in Shechem.
Sir 50:27 Instruction in understanding and knowledge I have written in this book, Jesus the son of Sirach, son of Eleazar, of Jerusalem, who out of his heart poured forth wisdom.
Sir 50:28 Blessed is he who concerns himself with these things, and he who lays them to heart will become wise.
Sir 50:29 For if he does them, he will be strong for all things, for the light of the Lord is his path.
~ Chapter 51 ~
Sir 51:1 I will give thanks to thee, O Lord and King, and will praise thee as God my Savior. I give thanks to thy name,
Sir 51:2 for thou hast been my protector and helper and hast delivered my body from destruction and from the snare of a slanderous tongue, from lips that utter lies. Before those who stood by thou wast my helper,
Sir 51:3 and didst deliver me, in the greatness of thy mercy and of thy name, from the gnashings of teeth about to devour me, from the hand of those who sought my life, from the many afflictions that I endured,
Sir 51:4 from choking fire on every side and from the midst of fire which I did not kindle,
Sir 51:5 from the depths of the belly of Hades, from an unclean tongue and lying words --
Sir 51:6 the slander of an unrighteous tongue to the king. My soul drew near to death, and my life was very near to Hades beneath.
Sir 51:7 They surrounded me on every side, and there was no one to help me; I looked for the assistance of men, and there was none.
Sir 51:8 Then I remembered thy mercy, O Lord, and thy work from of old, that thou dost deliver those who wait for thee and dost save them from the hand of their enemies.
Sir 51:9 And I sent up my supplication from the earth, and prayed for deliverance from death.
Sir 51:10 I appealed to the Lord, the Father of my lord, not to forsake me in the days of affliction, at the time when there is no help against the proud.
Sir 51:11 I will praise thy name continually, and will sing praise with thanksgiving. My prayer was heard,
Sir 51:12 for thou didst save me from destruction and rescue me from an evil plight. Therefore I will give thanks to thee and praise thee, and I will bless the name of the Lord.
Sir 51:13 While I was still young, before I went on my travels, I sought wisdom openly in my prayer.
Sir 51:14 Before the temple I asked for her, and I will search for her to the last.
Sir 51:15 From blossom to ripening grape my heart delighted in her; my foot entered upon the straight path; from my youth I followed her steps.
Sir 51:16 I inclined my ear a little and received her, and I found for myself much instruction.
Sir 51:17 I made progress therein; to him who gives wisdom I will give glory.
Sir 51:18 For I resolved to live according to wisdom, and I was zealous for the good; and I shall never be put to shame.
Sir 51:19 My soul grappled with wisdom, and in my conduct I was strict; I spread out my hands to the heavens, and lamented my ignorance of her.
Sir 51:20 I directed my soul to her, and through purification I found her. I gained understanding with her from the first, therefore I will not be forsaken.
Sir 51:21 My heart was stirred to seek her, therefore I have gained a good possession.
Sir 51:22 The Lord gave me a tongue as my reward, and I will praise him with it.
Sir 51:23 Draw near to me, you who are untaught, and lodge in my school.
Sir 51:24 Why do you say you are lacking in these things, and why are your souls very thirsty?
Sir 51:25 I opened my mouth and said, Get these things for yourselves without money.
Sir 51:26 Put your neck under the yoke, and let your souls receive instruction; it is to be found close by.
Sir 51:27 See with your eyes that I have labored little and found myself much rest.
Sir 51:28 Get instruction with a large sum of silver, and you will gain by it much gold.
Sir 51:29 May your soul rejoice in his mercy, and may you not be put to shame when you praise him.
Sir 51:30 Do your work before the appointed time, and in God's time he will give you your reward.
Baruch
~ Chapter 1 ~
Bar 1:1 These are the words of the book which Baruch the son of Neraiah, son of Mahseiah, son of Zedekiah, son of Hasadiah, son of Hilkiah, wrote in Babylon,
Bar 1:2 in the fifth year, on the seventh day of the month, at the time when the Chaldeans took Jerusalem and burned it with fire.
Bar 1:3 And Baruch read the words of this book in the hearing of Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and in the hearing of all the people who came to hear the book,
Bar 1:4 and in the hearing of the mighty men and the princes, and in the hearing of the elders, and in the hearing of all the people, small and great, all who dwelt in Babylon by the river Sud.
Bar 1:5 Then they wept, and fasted, and prayed before the Lord;
Bar 1:6 and they collected money, each giving what he could;
Bar 1:7 and they sent it to Jerusalem to Jehoiakim the high priest, the son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, and to the priests, and to all the people who were present with him in Jerusalem.
Bar 1:8 At the same time, on the tenth day of Sivan, Baruch took the vessels of the house of the Lord, which had been carried away from the temple, to return them to the land of Judah -- the silver vessels which Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, had made,
Bar 1:9 after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away from Jerusalem Jeconiah and the princes and the prisoners and the mighty men and the people of the land, and brought them to Babylon.
Bar 1:10 And they said: "Herewith we send you money; so buy with the money burnt offerings and sin offerings and incense, and prepare a cereal offering, and offer them upon the altar of the Lord our God;
Bar 1:11 and pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and for the life of Belshazzar his son, that their days on earth may be like the days of heaven.
Bar 1:12 And the Lord will give us strength, and he will give light to our eyes, and we shall live under the protection of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and under the protection of Belshazzar his son, and we shall serve them many days and find favor in their sight.
Bar 1:13 And pray for us to the Lord our God, for we have sinned against the Lord our God, and to this day the anger of the Lord and his wrath have not turned away from us.
Bar 1:14 And you shall read this book which we are sending you, to make your confession in the house of the Lord on the days of the feasts and at appointed seasons.
Bar 1:15 "And you shall say: `Righteousness belongs to the Lord our God, but confusion of face, as at this day, to us, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Bar 1:16 and to our kings and our princes and our priests and our prophets and our fathers,
Bar 1:17 because we have sinned before the Lord,
Bar 1:18 and have disobeyed him, and have not heeded the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in the statutes of the Lord which he set before us.
Bar 1:19 From the day when the Lord brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt until today, we have been disobedient to the Lord our God, and we have been negligent, in not heeding his voice.
Bar 1:20 So to this day there have clung to us the calamities and the curse which the Lord declared through Moses his servant at the time when he brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt to give to us a land flowing with milk and honey.
Bar 1:21 We did not heed the voice of the Lord our God in all the words of the prophets whom he sent to us, but we each followed the intent of his own wicked heart by serving other gods and doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God.
~ Chapter 2 ~
Bar 2:1 "`So the Lord confirmed his word, which he spoke against us, and against our judges who judged Israel, and against our kings and against our princes and against the men of Israel and Judah.
Bar 2:2 Under the whole heaven there has not been done the like of what he has done in Jerusalem, in accordance with what is written in the law of Moses,
Bar 2:3 that we should eat, one the flesh of his son and another the flesh of his daughter.
Bar 2:4 And he gave them into subjection to all the kingdoms around us, to be a reproach and a desolation among all the surrounding peoples, where the Lord has scattered them.
Bar 2:5 They were brought low and not raised up, because we sinned against the Lord our God, in not heeding his voice.
Bar 2:6 "`Righteousness belongs to the Lord our God, but confusion of face to us and our fathers, as at this day.
Bar 2:7 All those calamities with which the Lord threatened us have come upon us.
Bar 2:8 Yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord by turning away, each of us, from the thoughts of his wicked heart.
Bar 2:9 And the Lord has kept the calamities ready, and the Lord has brought them upon us, for the Lord is righteous in all his works which he has commanded us to do.
Bar 2:10 Yet we have not obeyed his voice, to walk in the statutes of the Lord which he set before us.
Bar 2:11 "`And now, O Lord God of Israel, who didst bring thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and with signs and wonders and with great power and outstretched arm, and hast made thee a name, as at this day,
Bar 2:12 we have sinned, we have been ungodly, we have done wrong, O Lord our God, against all thy ordinances.
Bar 2:13 Let thy anger turn away from us, for we are left, few in number, among the nations where thou hast scattered us.
Bar 2:14 Hear, O Lord, our prayer and our supplication, and for thy own sake deliver us, and grant us favor in the sight of those who have carried us into exile;
Bar 2:15 that all the earth may know that thou art the Lord our God, for Israel and his descendants are called by thy name.
Bar 2:16 O Lord, look down from thy holy habitation, and consider us. Incline thy ear, O Lord, and hear;
Bar 2:17 open thy eyes, O Lord, and see; for the dead who are in Hades, whose spirit has been taken from their bodies, will not ascribe glory or justice to the Lord,
Bar 2:18 but the person that is greatly distressed, that goes about bent over and feeble, and the eyes that are failing, and the person that hungers, will ascribe to thee glory and righteousness, O Lord.
Bar 2:19 For it is not because of any righteous deeds of our fathers or our kings that we bring before thee our prayer for mercy, O Lord our God.
Bar 2:20 For thou hast sent thy anger and thy wrath upon us, as thou didst declare by thy servants the prophets, saying:
Bar 2:21 "Thus says the Lord: Bend your shoulders and serve the king of Babylon, and you will remain in the land which I gave to your fathers.
Bar 2:22 But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord and will not serve the king of Babylon,
Bar 2:23 I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the region about Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, and the whole land will be a desolation without inhabitants."
Bar 2:24 "`But we did not obey thy voice, to serve the king of Babylon; and thou hast confirmed thy words, which thou didst speak by thy servants the prophets, that the bones of our kings and the bones of our fathers would be brought out of their graves;
Bar 2:25 and behold, they have been cast out to the heat of day and the frost of night. They perished in great misery, by famine and sword and pestilence.
Bar 2:26 And the house which is called by thy name thou hast made as it is today, because of the wickedness of the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
Bar 2:27 "`Yet thou hast dealt with us, O Lord our God, in all thy kindness and in all thy great compassion,
Bar 2:28 as thou didst speak by thy servant Moses on the day when thou didst command him to write thy law in the presence of the people of Israel, saying,
Bar 2:29 "If you will not obey my voice, this very great multitude will surely turn into a small number among the nations, where I will scatter them.
Bar 2:30 For I know that they will not obey me, for they are a stiff-necked people. But in the land of their exile they will come to themselves,
Bar 2:31 and they will know that I am the Lord their God. I will give them a heart that obeys and ears that hear;
Bar 2:32 and they will praise me in the land of their exile, and will remember my name,
Bar 2:33 and will turn from their stubbornness and their wicked deeds; for they will remember the ways of their fathers, who sinned before the Lord.
Bar 2:34 I will bring them again into the land which I swore to give to their fathers, to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, and they will rule over it; and I will increase them, and they will not be diminished.
Bar 2:35 I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God and they shall be my people; and I will never again remove my people Israel from the land which I have given them."
~ Chapter 3 ~
Bar 3:1 "`O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, the soul in anguish and the wearied spirit cry out to thee.
Bar 3:2 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned before thee.
Bar 3:3 For thou art enthroned for ever, and we are perishing for ever.
Bar 3:4 O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, hear now the prayer of the dead of Israel and of the sons of those who sinned before thee, who did not heed the voice of the Lord their God, so that calamities have clung to us.
Bar 3:5 Remember not the iniquities of our fathers, but in this crisis remember thy power and thy name.
Bar 3:6 For thou art the Lord our God, and thee, O Lord, will we praise.
Bar 3:7 For thou hast put the fear of thee in our hearts in order that we should call upon thy name; and we will praise thee in our exile, for we have put away from our hearts all the iniquity of our fathers who sinned before thee.
Bar 3:8 Behold, we are today in our exile where thou hast scattered us, to be reproached and cursed and punished for all the iniquities of our fathers who forsook the Lord our God.'"
Bar 3:9 Hear the commandments of life, O Israel; give ear, and learn wisdom!
Bar 3:10 Why is it, O Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies, that you are growing old in a foreign country, that you are defiled with the dead,
Bar 3:11 that you are counted among those in Hades?
Bar 3:12 You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom.
Bar 3:13 If you had walked in the way of God, you would be dwelling in peace for ever.
Bar 3:14 Learn where there is wisdom, where there is strength, where there is understanding, that you may at the same time discern where there is length of days, and life, where there is light for the eyes, and peace.
Bar 3:15 Who has found her place? And who has entered her storehouses?
Bar 3:16 Where are the princes of the nations, and those who rule over the beasts on earth;
Bar 3:17 those who have sport with the birds of the air, and who hoard up silver and gold, in which men trust, and there is no end to their getting;
Bar 3:18 those who scheme to get silver, and are anxious, whose labors are beyond measure?
Bar 3:19 They have vanished and gone down to Hades, and others have arisen in their place.
Bar 3:20 Young men have seen the light of day, and have dwelt upon the earth; but they have not learned the way to knowledge, nor understood her paths, nor laid hold of her.
Bar 3:21 Their sons have strayed far from her way.
Bar 3:22 She has not been heard of in Canaan, nor seen in Teman;
Bar 3:23 the sons of Hagar, who seek for understanding on the earth, the merchants of Merran and Teman, the story-tellers and the seekers for understanding, have not learned the way to wisdom, nor given thought to her paths.
Bar 3:24 O Israel, how great is the house of God! And how vast the territory that he possesses!
Bar 3:25 It is great and has no bounds; it is high and immeasurable.
Bar 3:26 The giants were born there, who were famous of old, great in stature, expert in war.
Bar 3:27 God did not choose them, nor give them the way to knowledge;
Bar 3:28 so they perished because they had no wisdom, they perished through their folly.
Bar 3:29 Who has gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down from the clouds?
Bar 3:30 Who has gone over the sea, and found her, and will buy her for pure gold?
Bar 3:31 No one knows the way to her, or is concerned about the path to her.
Bar 3:32 But he who knows all things knows her, he found her by his understanding. He who prepared the earth for all time filled it with four-footed creatures;
Bar 3:33 he who sends forth the light, and it goes, called it, and it obeyed him in fear;
Bar 3:34 the stars shone in their watches, and were glad; he called them, and they said, "Here we are!" They shone with gladness for him who made them.
Bar 3:35 This is our God; no other can be compared to him!
Bar 3:36 He found the whole way to knowledge, and gave her to Jacob his servant and to Israel whom he loved.
Bar 3:37 Afterward she appeared upon earth and lived among men.
~ Chapter 4 ~
Bar 4:1 She is the book of the commandments of God, and the law that endures for ever. All who hold her fast will live, and those who forsake her will die.
Bar 4:2 Turn, O Jacob, and take her; walk toward the shining of her light.
Bar 4:3 Do not give your glory to another, or your advantages to an alien people.
Bar 4:4 Happy are we, O Israel, for we know what is pleasing to God.
Bar 4:5 Take courage, my people, O memorial of Israel!
Bar 4:6 It was not for destruction that you were sold to the nations, but you were handed over to your enemies because you angered God.
Bar 4:7 For you provoked him who made you, by sacrificing to demons and not to God.
Bar 4:8 You forgot the everlasting God, who brought you up, and you grieved Jerusalem, who reared you.
Bar 4:9 For she saw the wrath that came upon you from God, and she said: "Hearken, you neighbors of Zion, God has brought great sorrow upon me;
Bar 4:10 for I have seen the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting brought upon them.
Bar 4:11 With joy I nurtured them, but I sent them away with weeping and sorrow.
Bar 4:12 Let no one rejoice over me, a widow and bereaved of many; I was left desolate because of the sins of my children, because they turned away from the law of God.
Bar 4:13 They had no regard for his statutes; they did not walk in the ways of God's commandments, nor tread the paths of discipline in his righteousness.
Bar 4:14 Let the neighbors of Zion come; remember the capture of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting brought upon them.
Bar 4:15 For he brought against them a nation from afar, a shameless nation, of a strange language, who had no respect for an old man, and had no pity for a child.
Bar 4:16 They led away the widow's beloved sons, and bereaved the lonely woman of her daughters.
Bar 4:17 "But I, how can I help you?
Bar 4:18 For he who brought these calamities upon you will deliver you from the hand of your enemies.
Bar 4:19 Go, my children, go; for I have been left desolate.
Bar 4:20 I have taken off the robe of peace and put on the sackcloth of my supplication; I will cry to the Everlasting all my days.
Bar 4:21 "Take courage, my children, cry to God, and he will deliver you from the power and hand of the enemy.
Bar 4:22 For I have put my hope in the Everlasting to save you, and joy has come to me from the Holy One, because of the mercy which soon will come to you from your everlasting Savior.
Bar 4:23 For I sent you out with sorrow and weeping, but God will give you back to me with joy and gladness for ever.
Bar 4:24 For as the neighbors of Zion have now seen your capture, so they soon will see your salvation by God, which will come to you with great glory and with the splendor of the Everlasting.
Bar 4:25 My children, endure with patience the wrath that has come upon you from God. Your enemy has overtaken you, but you will soon see their destruction and will tread upon their necks.
Bar 4:26 My tender sons have traveled rough roads; they were taken away like a flock carried off by the enemy.
Bar 4:27 "Take courage, my children, and cry to God, for you will be remembered by him who brought this upon you.
Bar 4:28 For just as you purposed to go astray from God, return with tenfold zeal to seek him.
Bar 4:29 For he who brought these calamities upon you will bring you everlasting joy with your salvation."
Bar 4:30 Take courage, O Jerusalem, for he who named you will comfort you.
Bar 4:31 Wretched will be those who afflicted you and rejoiced at your fall.
Bar 4:32 Wretched will be the cities which your children served as slaves; wretched will be the city which received your sons.
Bar 4:33 For just as she rejoiced at your fall and was glad for your ruin, so she will be grieved at her own desolation.
Bar 4:34 And I will take away her pride in her great population, and her insolence will be turned to grief.
Bar 4:35 For fire will come upon her from the Everlasting for many days, and for a long time she will be inhabited by demons.
Bar 4:36 Look toward the east, O Jerusalem, and see the joy that is coming to you from God!
Bar 4:37 Behold, your sons are coming, whom you sent away; they are coming, gathered from east and west, at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the glory of God.
~ Chapter 5 ~
Bar 5:1 Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem, and put on for ever the beauty of the glory from God.
Bar 5:2 Put on the robe of the righteousness from God; put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting.
Bar 5:3 For God will show your splendor everywhere under heaven.
Bar 5:4 For your name will for ever be called by God, "Peace of righteousness and glory of godliness."
Bar 5:5 Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height and look toward the east, and see your children gathered from west and east, at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that God has remembered them.
Bar 5:6 For they went forth from you on foot, led away by their enemies; but God will bring them back to you, carried in glory, as on a royal throne.
Bar 5:7 For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low and the valleys filled up, to make level ground, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.
Bar 5:8 The woods and every fragrant tree have shaded Israel at God's command.
Bar 5:9 For God will lead Israel with joy, in the light of his glory, with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.
Letter of Jeremiah
~ Chapter 6 ~
EpJer. 6:1 A copy of a letter which Jeremiah sent to those who were to be taken to Babylon as captives by the king of the Babylonians, to give them the message which God had commanded him.
EpJer. 6:2 Because of the sins which you have committed before God, you will be taken to Babylon as captives by Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians.
EpJer. 6:3 Therefore when you have come to Babylon you will remain there for many years, for a long time, up to seven generations; after that I will bring you away from there in peace.
EpJer. 6:4 Now in Babylon you will see gods made of silver and gold and wood, which are carried on men's shoulders and inspire fear in the heathen.
EpJer. 6:5 So take care not to become at all like the foreigners or to let fear for these gods possess you, when you see the multitude before and behind them worshiping them.
EpJer. 6:6 But say in your heart, "It is thou, O Lord, whom we must worship."
EpJer. 6:7 For my angel is with you, and he is watching your lives.
EpJer. 6:8 Their tongues are smoothed by the craftsman, and they themselves are overlaid with gold and silver; but they are false and cannot speak.
EpJer. 6:9 People take gold and make crowns for the heads of their gods, as they would for a girl who loves ornaments;
EpJer. 6:10 and sometimes the priests secretly take gold and silver from their gods and spend it upon themselves,
EpJer. 6:11 and even give some of it to the harlots in the brothel. They deck their gods out with garments like men -- these gods of silver and gold and wood,
EpJer. 6:12 which cannot save themselves from rust and corrosion. When they have been dressed in purple robes,
EpJer. 6:13 their faces are wiped because of the dust from the temple, which is thick upon them.
EpJer. 6:14 Like a local ruler the god holds a scepter, though unable to destroy any one who offends it.
EpJer. 6:15 It has a dagger in its right hand, and has an axe; but it cannot save itself from war and robbers.
EpJer. 6:16 Therefore they evidently are not gods; so do not fear them.
EpJer. 6:17 For just as one's dish is useless when it is broken, so are the gods of the heathen, when they have been set up in the temples. Their eyes are full of the dust raised by the feet of those who enter.
EpJer. 6:18 And just as the gates are shut on every side upon a man who has offended a king, as though he were sentenced to death, so the priests make their temples secure with doors and locks and bars, in order that they may not be plundered by robbers.
EpJer. 6:19 They light lamps, even more than they light for themselves, though their gods can see none of them.
EpJer. 6:20 They are just like a beam of the temple, but men say their hearts have melted, when worms from the earth devour them and their robes. They do not notice
EpJer. 6:21 when their faces have been blackened by the smoke of the temple.
EpJer. 6:22 Bats, swallows, and birds light on their bodies and heads; and so do cats.
EpJer. 6:23 From this you will know that they are not gods; so do not fear them.
EpJer. 6:24 As for the gold which they wear for beauty -- they will not shine unless some one wipes off the rust; for even when they were being cast, they had no feeling.
EpJer. 6:25 They are bought at any cost, but there is no breath in them.
EpJer. 6:26 Having no feet, they are carried on men's shoulders, revealing to mankind their worthlessness.
EpJer. 6:27 And those who serve them are ashamed because through them these gods are made to stand, lest they fall to the ground. If any one sets one of them upright, it cannot move itself; and if it is tipped over, it cannot straighten itself; but gifts are placed before them just as before the dead.
EpJer. 6:28 The priests sell the sacrifices that are offered to these gods and use the money; and likewise their wives preserve some with salt, but give none to the poor or helpless.
EpJer. 6:29 Sacrifices to them may be touched by women in menstruation or at childbirth. Since you know by these things that they are not gods, do not fear them.
EpJer. 6:30 For why should they be called gods? Women serve meals for gods of silver and gold and wood;
EpJer. 6:31 and in their temples the priests sit with their clothes rent, their heads and beards shaved, and their heads uncovered.
EpJer. 6:32 They howl and shout before their gods as some do at a funeral feast for a man who has died.
EpJer. 6:33 The priests take some of the clothing of their gods to clothe their wives and children.
EpJer. 6:34 Whether one does evil to them or good, they will not be able to repay it. They cannot set up a king or depose one.
EpJer. 6:35 Likewise they are not able to give either wealth or money; if one makes a vow to them and does not keep it, they will not require it.
EpJer. 6:36 They cannot save a man from death or rescue the weak from the strong.
EpJer. 6:37 They cannot restore sight to a blind man; they cannot rescue a man who is in distress.
EpJer. 6:38 They cannot take pity on a widow or do good to an orphan.
EpJer. 6:39 These things that are made of wood and overlaid with gold and silver are like stones from the mountain, and those who serve them will be put to shame.
EpJer. 6:40 Why then must any one think that they are gods, or call them gods? Besides, even the Chaldeans themselves dishonor them;
EpJer. 6:41 for when they see a dumb man, who cannot speak, they bring him and pray Bel that the man may speak, as though Bel were able to understand.
EpJer. 6:42 Yet they themselves cannot perceive this and abandon them, for they have no sense.
EpJer. 6:43 And the women, with cords about them, sit along the passageways, burning bran for incense; and when one of them is led off by one of the passers-by and is lain with, she derides the woman next to her, because she was not as attractive as herself and her cord was not broken.
EpJer. 6:44 Whatever is done for them is false. Why then must any one think that they are gods, or call them gods?
EpJer. 6:45 They are made by carpenters and goldsmiths; they can be nothing but what the craftsmen wish them to be.
EpJer. 6:46 The men that make them will certainly not live very long themselves; how then can the things that are made by them be gods?
EpJer. 6:47 They have left only lies and reproach for those who come after.
EpJer. 6:48 For when war or calamity comes upon them, the priests consult together as to where they can hide themselves and their gods.
EpJer. 6:49 How then can one fail to see that these are not gods, for they cannot save themselves from war or calamity?
EpJer. 6:50 Since they are made of wood and overlaid with gold and silver, it will afterward be known that they are false.
EpJer. 6:51 It will be manifest to all the nations and kings that they are not gods but the work of men's hands, and that there is no work of God in them.
EpJer. 6:52 Who then can fail to know that they are not gods?
EpJer. 6:53 For they cannot set up a king over a country or give rain to men.
EpJer. 6:54 They cannot judge their own cause or deliver one who is wronged, for they have no power; they are like crows between heaven and earth.
EpJer. 6:55 When fire breaks out in a temple of wooden gods overlaid with gold or silver, their priests will flee and escape, but the gods will be burnt in two like beams.
EpJer. 6:56 Besides, they can offer no resistance to a king or any enemies. Why then must any one admit or think that they are gods?
EpJer. 6:57 Gods made of wood and overlaid with silver and gold are not able to save themselves from thieves and robbers.
EpJer. 6:58 Strong men will strip them of their gold and silver and of the robes they wear, and go off with this booty, and they will not be able to help themselves.
EpJer. 6:59 So it is better to be a king who shows his courage, or a household utensil that serves its owner's need, than to be these false gods; better even the door of a house that protects its contents, than these false gods; better also a wooden pillar in a palace, than these false gods.
EpJer. 6:60 For sun and moon and stars, shining and sent forth for service, are obedient.
EpJer. 6:61 So also the lightning, when it flashes, is widely seen; and the wind likewise blows in every land.
EpJer. 6:62 When God commands the clouds to go over the whole world, they carry out his command.
EpJer. 6:63 And the fire sent from above to consume mountains and woods does what it is ordered. But these idols are not to be compared with them in appearance or power.
EpJer. 6:64 Therefore one must not think that they are gods nor call them gods, for they are not able either to decide a case or to do good to men.
EpJer. 6:65 Since you know then that they are not gods, do not fear them.
EpJer. 6:66 For they can neither curse nor bless kings;
EpJer. 6:67 they cannot show signs in the heavens and among the nations, or shine like the sun or give light like the moon.
EpJer. 6:68 The wild beasts are better than they are, for they can flee to cover and help themselves.
EpJer. 6:69 So we have no evidence whatever that they are gods; therefore do not fear them.
EpJer. 6:70 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber bed, that guards nothing, so are their gods of wood, overlaid with gold and silver.
EpJer. 6:71 In the same way, their gods of wood, overlaid with gold and silver, and like a thorn bush in a garden, on which every bird sits; or like a dead body cast out in the darkness.
EpJer. 6:72 By the purple and linen that rot upon them you will know that they are not gods; and they will finally themselves be consumed, and be a reproach in the land.
EpJer. 6:73 Better therefore is a just man who has no idols, for he will be far from reproach.
Susanna
~ Chapter 1 ~
Sus 1:1 There dwelt a man in Babylon, called Joacim:
Sus 1:2 And he took a wife named Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah, a very beautiful woman and one who feared the Lord.
Sus 1:3 Her parents were righteous, and had taught their daughter according to the law of Moses.
Sus 1:4 Joakim was very rich, and had a spacious garden adjoining his house; and the Jews used to come to him because he was the most honored of them all.
Sus 1:5 In that year two elders from the people were appointed as judges. Concerning them the Lord had said: "Iniquity came forth from Babylon, from elders who were judges, who were supposed to govern the people."
Sus 1:6 These men were frequently at Joakim's house, and all who had suits at law came to them.
Sus 1:7 When the people departed at noon, Susanna would go into her husband's garden to walk.
Sus 1:8 The two elders used to see her every day, going in and walking about, and they began to desire her.
Sus 1:9 And they perverted their minds and turned away their eyes from looking to Heaven or remembering righteous judgments.
Sus 1:10 Both were overwhelmed with passion for her, but they did not tell each other of their distress,
Sus 1:11 for they were ashamed to disclose their lustful desire to possess her.
Sus 1:12 And they watched eagerly, day after day, to see her.
Sus 1:13 They said to each other, "Let us go home, for it is mealtime."
Sus 1:14 And when they went out, they parted from each other. But turning back, they met again; and when each pressed the other for the reason, they confessed their lust. And then together they arranged for a time when they could find her alone.
Sus 1:15 Once, while they were watching for an opportune day, she went in as before with only two maids, and wished to bathe in the garden, for it was very hot.
Sus 1:16 And no one was there except the two elders, who had hid themselves and were watching her.
Sus 1:17 She said to her maids, "Bring me oil and ointments, and shut the garden doors so that I may bathe."
Sus 1:18 They did as she said, shut the garden doors, and went out by the side doors to bring what they had been commanded; and they did not see the elders, because they were hidden.
Sus 1:19 When the maids had gone out, the two elders rose and ran to her, and said:
Sus 1:20 "Look, the garden doors are shut, no one sees us, and we are in love with you; so give your consent, and lie with us.
Sus 1:21 If you refuse, we will testify against you that a young man was with you, and this was why you sent your maids away."
Sus 1:22 Susanna sighed deeply, and said, "I am hemmed in on every side. For if I do this thing, it is death for me; and if I do not, I shall not escape your hands.
Sus 1:23 I choose not to do it and to fall into your hands, rather than to sin in the sight of the Lord."
Sus 1:24 Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and the two elders shouted against her.
Sus 1:25 And one of them ran and opened the garden doors.
Sus 1:26 When the household servants heard the shouting in the garden, they rushed in at the side door to see what had happened to her.
Sus 1:27 And when the elders told their tale, the servants were greatly ashamed, for nothing like this had ever been said about Susanna.
Sus 1:28 The next day, when the people gathered at the house of her husband Joakim, the two elders came, full of their wicked plot to have Susanna put to death.
Sus 1:29 They said before the people, "Send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah, who is the wife of Joakim."
Sus 1:30 So they sent for her. And she came, with her parents, her children, and all her kindred.
Sus 1:31 Now Susanna was a woman of great refinement, and beautiful in appearance.
Sus 1:32 As she was veiled, the wicked men ordered her to be unveiled, that they might feed upon her beauty.
Sus 1:33 But her family and friends and all who saw her wept.
Sus 1:34 Then the two elders stood up in the midst of the people, and laid their hands upon her head.
Sus 1:35 And she, weeping, looked up toward heaven, for her heart trusted in the Lord.
Sus 1:36 The elders said, "As we were walking in the garden alone, this woman came in with two maids, shut the garden doors, and dismissed the maids.
Sus 1:37 Then a young man, who had been hidden, came to her and lay with her.
Sus 1:38 We were in a corner of the garden, and when we saw this wickedness we ran to them.
Sus 1:39 We saw them embracing, but we could not hold the man, for he was too strong for us, and he opened the doors and dashed out.
Sus 1:40 So we seized this woman and asked her who the young man was, but she would not tell us. These things we testify."
Sus 1:41 The assembly believed them, because they were elders of the people and judges; and they condemned her to death.
Sus 1:42 Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said, "O eternal God, who dost discern what is secret, who art aware of all things before they come to be,
Sus 1:43 thou knowest that these men have borne false witness against me. And now I am to die! Yet I have done none of the things that they have wickedly invented against me!"
Sus 1:44 The Lord heard her cry.
Sus 1:45 And as she was being led away to be put to death, God aroused the holy spirit of a young lad named Daniel;
Sus 1:46 and he cried with a loud voice, "I am innocent of the blood of this woman."
Sus 1:47 All the people turned to him, and said, "What is this that you have said?"
Sus 1:48 Taking his stand in the midst of them, he said, "Are you such fools, you sons of Israel? Have you condemned a daughter of Israel without examination and without learning the facts?
Sus 1:49 Return to the place of judgment. For these men have borne false witness against her."
Sus 1:50 Then all the people returned in haste. And the elders said to him, "Come, sit among us and inform us, for God has given you that right."
Sus 1:51 And Daniel said to them, "Separate them far from each other, and I will examine them."
Sus 1:52 When they were separated from each other, he summoned one of them and said to him, "You old relic of wicked days, your sins have now come home, which you have committed in the past,
Sus 1:53 pronouncing unjust judgments, condemning the innocent and letting the guilty go free, though the Lord said, `Do not put to death an innocent and righteous person.'
Sus 1:54 Now then, if you really saw her, tell me this: Under what tree did you see them being intimate with each other?" He answered, "Under a mastic tree."
Sus 1:55 And Daniel said, "Very well! You have lied against your own head, for the angel of God has received the sentence from God and will immediately cut you in two."
Sus 1:56 Then he put him aside, and commanded them to bring the other. And he said to him, "You offspring of Canaan and not of Judah, beauty has deceived you and lust has perverted your heart.
Sus 1:57 This is how you both have been dealing with the daughters of Israel, and they were intimate with you through fear; but a daughter of Judah would not endure your wickedness.
Sus 1:58 Now then, tell me: Under what tree did you catch them being intimate with each other?" He answered, "Under an evergreen oak."
Sus 1:59 And Daniel said to him, "Very well! You also have lied against your own head, for the angel of God is waiting with his sword to saw you in two, that he may destroy you both."
Sus 1:60 Then all the assembly shouted loudly and blessed God, who saves those who hope in him.
Sus 1:61 And they rose against the two elders, for out of their own mouths Daniel had convicted them of bearing false witness;
Sus 1:62 and they did to them as they had wickedly planned to do to their neighbor; acting in accordance with the law of Moses, they put them to death. Thus innocent blood was saved that day.
Sus 1:63 And Hilkiah and his wife praised God for their daughter Susanna, and so did Joakim her husband and all her kindred, because nothing shameful was found in her.
Sus 1:64 And from that day onward Daniel had a great reputation among the people.
Prayer of Azariah
~ Chapter 1 ~
PrAzar 1:2 Then Azariah stood and offered this prayer; in the midst of the fire he opened his mouth and said:
PrAzar 1:3 "Blessed art thou, O Lord, God of our fathers, and worthy of praise; and thy name is glorified for ever.
PrAzar 1:4 For thou art just in all that thou hast done to us, and all thy works are true and thy ways right, and all thy judgments are truth.
PrAzar 1:5 Thou hast executed true judgments in all that thou hast brought upon us and upon Jerusalem, the holy city of our fathers, for in truth and justice thou hast brought all this upon us because of our sins.
PrAzar 1:6 For we have sinfully and lawlessly departed from thee, and have sinned in all things and have not obeyed thy commandments;
PrAzar 1:7 we have not observed them or done them, as thou hast commanded us that it might go well with us.
PrAzar 1:8 So all that thou hast brought upon us, and all that thou hast done to us, thou hast done in true judgment.
PrAzar 1:9 Thou hast given us into the hands of lawless enemies, most hateful rebels, and to an unjust king, the most wicked in all the world.
PrAzar 1:10 And now we cannot open our mouths; shame and disgrace have befallen thy servants and worshipers.
PrAzar 1:11 For thy name's sake do not give us up utterly, and do not break thy covenant,
PrAzar 1:12 and do not withdraw thy mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham thy beloved and for the sake of Isaac thy servant and Israel thy holy one,
PrAzar 1:13 to whom thou didst promise to make their descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the shore of the sea.
PrAzar 1:14 For we, O Lord, have become fewer than any nation, and are brought low this day in all the world because of our sins.
PrAzar 1:15 And at this time there is no prince, or prophet, or leader, no burnt offering, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, no place to make an offering before thee or to find mercy.
PrAzar 1:16 Yet with a contrite heart and a humble spirit may we be accepted, as though it were with burnt offerings of rams and bulls, and with tens of thousands of fat lambs;
PrAzar 1:17 such may our sacrifice be in thy sight this day, and may we wholly follow thee, for there will be no shame for those who trust in thee.
PrAzar 1:18 And now with all our heart we follow thee, we fear thee and seek thy face.
PrAzar 1:19 Do not put us to shame, but deal with us in thy forbearance and in thy abundant mercy.
PrAzar 1:20 Deliver us in accordance with thy marvelous works, and give glory to thy name, O Lord! Let all who do harm to thy servants be put to shame;
PrAzar 1:21 let them be disgraced and deprived of all power and dominion, and let their strength be broken.
PrAzar 1:22 Let them know that thou art the Lord, the only God, glorious over the whole world."
PrAzar 1:23 Now the king's servants who threw them in did not cease feeding the furnace fires with naphtha, pitch, tow, and brush.
PrAzar 1:24 And the flame streamed out above the furnace forty-nine cubits,
PrAzar 1:25 and it broke through and burned those of the Chaldeans whom it caught about the furnace.
PrAzar 1:26 But the angel of the Lord came down into the furnace to be with Azariah and his companions, and drove the fiery flame out of the furnace,
PrAzar 1:27 and made the midst of the furnace like a moist whistling wind, so that the fire did not touch them at all or hurt or trouble them.
PrAzar 1:28 Then the three, as with one mouth, praised and glorified and blessed God in the furnace, saying:
PrAzar 1:29 "Blessed art thou, O Lord, God of our fathers, and to be praised and highly exalted for ever;
PrAzar 1:30 And blessed is thy glorious, holy name and to be highly praised and highly exalted for ever;
PrAzar 1:31 Blessed art thou in the temple of thy holy glory and to be extolled and highly glorified for ever.
PrAzar 1:32 Blessed art thou, who sittest upon cherubim and lookest upon the deeps, and to be praised and highly exalted for ever.
PrAzar 1:33 Blessed art thou upon the throne of thy kingdom and to be extolled and highly exalted for ever.
PrAzar 1:34 Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven and to be sung and glorified for ever.
PrAzar 1:35 "Bless the Lord, all works of the Lord, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:36 Bless the Lord, you heavens, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:37 Bless the Lord, you angels of the Lord, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:38 Bless the Lord, all waters above the heaven, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:39 Bless the Lord, all powers, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:40 Bless the Lord, sun and moon, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:41 Bless the Lord, stars of heaven, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:42 Bless the Lord, all rain and dew, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:43 Bless the Lord, all winds, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:44 Bless the Lord, fire and heat, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:45 Bless the Lord, winter cold and summer heat, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:46 Bless the Lord, dews and snows, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:47 Bless the Lord, nights and days, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:48 Bless the Lord, light and darkness, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:49 Bless the Lord, ice and cold, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:50 Bless the Lord, frosts and snows, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:51 Bless the Lord, lightnings and clouds, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:52 Let the earth bless the Lord; let it sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:53 Bless the Lord, mountains and hills, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:54 Bless the Lord, all things that grow on the earth, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:55 Bless the Lord, you springs, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:56 Bless the Lord, seas and rivers, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:57 Bless the Lord, you whales and all creatures that move in the waters, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:58 Bless the Lord, all birds of the air, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:59 Bless the Lord, all beasts and cattle, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:60 Bless the Lord, you sons of men, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:61 Bless the Lord, O Israel, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:62 Bless the Lord, you priests of the Lord, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:63 Bless the Lord, you servants of the Lord, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:64 Bless the Lord, spirits and souls of the righteous, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:65 Bless the Lord, you who are holy and humble in heart, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
PrAzar 1:66 Bless the Lord, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever; for he has rescued us from Hades and saved us from the hand of death, and delivered us from the midst of the burning fiery furnace; from the midst of the fire he has delivered us.
PrAzar 1:67 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever.
PrAzar 1:68 Bless him, all who worship the Lord, the God of gods, sing praise to him and give thanks to him, for his mercy endures for ever."
The Prayer of Manasseh
~ Chapter 1 ~
PrMan 1:2 thou who hast made heaven and earth with all their order;
PrMan 1:3 who hast shackled the sea by thy word of command, who hast confined the deep and sealed it with thy terrible and glorious name;
PrMan 1:4 at whom all things shudder, and tremble before thy power,
PrMan 1:5 for thy glorious splendor cannot be borne, and the wrath of thy threat to sinners is irresistible;
PrMan 1:6 yet immeasurable and unsearchable is thy promised mercy,
PrMan 1:7 for thou art the Lord Most High, of great compassion, long-suffering, and very merciful, and repentest over the evils of men. Thou, O Lord, according to thy great goodness hast promised repentance and forgiveness to those who have sinned against thee; and in the multitude of thy mercies thou hast appointed repentance for sinners, that they may be saved.
PrMan 1:8 Therefore thou, O Lord, God of the righteous, hast not appointed repentance for the righteous, for Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, who did not sin against thee, but thou hast appointed repentance for me, who am a sinner.
PrMan 1:9 For the sins I have committed are more in number than the sand of the sea; my transgressions are multiplied, O Lord, they are multiplied! I am unworthy to look up and see the height of heaven because of the multitude of my iniquities.
PrMan 1:10 I am weighted down with many an iron fetter, so that I am rejected because of my sins, and I have no relief; for I have provoked thy wrath and have done what is evil in thy sight, setting up abominations and multiplying offenses.
PrMan 1:11 And now I bend the knee of my heart, beseeching thee for thy kindness.
PrMan 1:12 I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I know my transgressions.
PrMan 1:13 I earnestly beseech thee, forgive me, O Lord, forgive me! Do not destroy me with my transgressions! Do not be angry with me for ever or lay up evil for me; do not condemn me to the depths of the earth. For thou, O Lord, art the God of those who repent,
PrMan 1:14 and in me thou wilt manifest thy goodness; for, unworthy as I am, thou wilt save me in thy great mercy,
PrMan 1:15 and I will praise thee continually all the days of my life. For all the host of heaven sings thy praise, and thine is the glory for ever. Amen.
Bel and the Dragon
~ Chapter 1 ~
Bel 1:1 When King Astyages was laid with his fathers, Cyrus the Persian received his kingdom.
Bel 1:2 And Daniel was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of his friends.
Bel 1:3 Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they spent on it twelve bushels of fine flour and forty sheep and fifty gallons of wine.
Bel 1:4 The king revered it and went every day to worship it. But Daniel worshiped his own God.
Bel 1:5 And the king said to him, "Why do you not worship Bel?" He answered, "Because I do not revere man-made idols, but the living God, who created heaven and earth and has dominion over all flesh."
Bel 1:6 The king said to him, "Do you not think that Bel is a living God? Do you not see how much he eats and drinks every day?"
Bel 1:7 Then Daniel laughed, and said, "Do not be deceived, O king; for this is but clay inside and brass outside, and it never ate or drank anything."
Bel 1:8 Then the king was angry, and he called his priests and said to them, "If you do not tell me who is eating these provisions, you shall die.
Bel 1:9 But if you prove that Bel is eating them, Daniel shall die, because he blasphemed against Bel." And Daniel said to the king, "Let it be done as you have said."
Bel 1:10 Now there were seventy priests of Bel, besides their wives and children. And the king went with Daniel into the temple of Bel.
Bel 1:11 And the priests of Bel said, "Behold, we are going outside; you yourself, O king, shall set forth the food and mix and place the wine, and shut the door and seal it with your signet.
Bel 1:12 And when you return in the morning, if you do not find that Bel has eaten it all, we will die; or else Daniel will, who is telling lies about us."
Bel 1:13 They were unconcerned, for beneath the table they had made a hidden entrance, through which they used to go in regularly and consume the provisions.
Bel 1:14 When they had gone out, the king set forth the food for Bel. Then Daniel ordered his servants to bring ashes and they sifted them throughout the whole temple in the presence of the king alone. Then they went out, shut the door and sealed it with the king's signet, and departed.
Bel 1:15 In the night the priests came with their wives and children, as they were accustomed to do, and ate and drank everything.
Bel 1:16 Early in the morning the king rose and came, and Daniel with him.
Bel 1:17 And the king said, "Are the seals unbroken, Daniel?" He answered, "They are unbroken, O king."
Bel 1:18 As soon as the doors were opened, the king looked at the table, and shouted in a loud voice, "You are great, O Bel; and with you there is no deceit, none at all."
Bel 1:19 Then Daniel laughed, and restrained the king from going in, and said, "Look at the floor, and notice whose footsteps these are."
Bel 1:20 The king said, "I see the footsteps of men and women and children."
Bel 1:21 Then the king was enraged, and he seized the priests and their wives and children; and they showed him the secret doors through which they were accustomed to enter and devour what was on the table.
Bel 1:22 Therefore the king put them to death, and gave Bel over to Daniel, who destroyed it and its temple.
Bel 1:23 There was also a great dragon, which the Babylonians revered.
Bel 1:24 And the king said to Daniel, "You cannot deny that this is a living god; so worship him."
Bel 1:25 Daniel said, "I will worship the Lord my God, for he is the living God.
Bel 1:26 But if you, O king, will give me permission, I will slay the dragon without sword or club." The king said, "I give you permission."
Bel 1:27 Then Daniel took pitch, fat, and hair, and boiled them together and made cakes, which he fed to the dragon. The dragon ate them, and burst open. And Daniel said, "See what you have been worshiping!"
Bel 1:28 When the Babylonians heard it, they were very indignant and conspired against the king, saying, "The king has become a Jew; he has destroyed Bel, and slain the dragon, and slaughtered the priests."
Bel 1:29 Going to the king, they said, "Hand Daniel over to us, or else we will kill you and your household."
Bel 1:30 The king saw that they were pressing him hard, and under compulsion he handed Daniel over to them.
Bel 1:31 They threw Daniel into the lions' den, and he was there for six days.
Bel 1:32 There were seven lions in the den, and every day they had been given two human bodies and two sheep; but these were not given to them now, so that they might devour Daniel.
Bel 1:33 Now the prophet Habakkuk was in Judea. He had boiled pottage and had broken bread into a bowl, and was going into the field to take it to the reapers.
Bel 1:34 But the angel of the Lord said to Habakkuk, "Take the dinner which you have to Babylon, to Daniel, in the lions' den."
Bel 1:35 Habakkuk said, "Sir, I have never seen Babylon, and I know nothing about the den."
Bel 1:36 Then the angel of the Lord took him by the crown of his head, and lifted him by his hair and set him down in Babylon, right over the den, with the rushing sound of the wind itself.
Bel 1:37 Then Habakkuk shouted, "Daniel, Daniel! Take the dinner which God has sent you."
Bel 1:38 And Daniel said, "Thou hast remembered me, O God, and hast not forsaken those who love thee."
Bel 1:39 So Daniel arose and ate. And the angel of God immediately returned Habakkuk to his own place.
Bel 1:40 On the seventh day the king came to mourn for Daniel. When he came to the den he looked in, and there sat Daniel.
Bel 1:41 And the king shouted with a loud voice, "Thou art great, O Lord God of Daniel, and there is no other besides thee."
Bel 1:42 And he pulled Daniel out, and threw into the den the men who had attempted his destruction, and they were devoured immediately before his eyes.
The Life and Teachings of Jesus
A Restatement of the Gospels
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