A Letter to the Jews in Egypt

1 The Jewish brethren in Jerusalem and those in the land of Judea,

To their Jewish brethren in Egypt,

Greeting, and good peace.

² May God do good to you, and may he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants. ³ May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his will with a strong heart and a willing spirit. ⁴ May he open your heart to his law and his commandments, and may he bring peace. ⁵ May he hear your prayers and be reconciled to you, and may he not forsake you in time of evil. ⁶ We are now praying for you here.

⁷ In the reign of Deme′trius, in the one hundred and sixty-ninth year,^[a] 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 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. ⁹ And now see that you keep the feast of booths in the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and eighty-eighth year.^[b]

A Letter to Aristobulus

¹⁰ Those in Jerusalem and those in Judea and the senate and Judas,

To Aristobu′lus, who is of the family of the anointed priests, teacher of Ptol′emy the king, and to the Jews in Egypt,

Greeting, and good health.

¹¹ Having been saved by God out of grave dangers we thank him greatly for taking our side against the king.^{[c] 12} For he drove out those who fought against the holy city. ¹³ For when the leader reached Persia with a force that seemed irresistible, they were cut to pieces in the temple of Nane′a by a deception employed by the priests of Nane′a. ¹⁴ For under pretext of intending to marry her, Anti′ochus came to the place together with his friends, to secure most of its treasures as a dowry. ¹⁵ When the priests of the temple of Nane′a had set out the treasures and Anti′ochus had come with a few men inside the wall of the sacred precinct, they closed the temple as soon as he entered it. 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. ¹⁷ Blessed in every way be our God, who has brought judgment upon those who have behaved impiously.

Fire Consumes Nehemiah’s Sacrifice

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 Nehemi′ah, who built the temple and altar, offered sacrifices.

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. ²⁰ But after many years had passed, when it pleased God, Nehemi′ah, 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. ²¹ And when the materials for the sacrifices were presented, Nehemi′ah ordered the priests to sprinkle the liquid on the wood and what was laid upon it. 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. 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 Nehemi′ah. 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, 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, ²⁶ accept this sacrifice on behalf of all thy people Israel and preserve thy portion and make it holy. 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. ²⁸ Afflict those who oppress and are insolent with pride. ²⁹ Plant thy people in thy holy place, as Moses said.”

³⁰ Then the priests sang the hymns. ³¹ And when the materials of the sacrifice were consumed, Nehemi′ah ordered that the liquid that was left should be poured upon large stones. ³² When this was done, a flame blazed up; but when the light from the altar shone back, it went out. 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 Nehemi′ah and his associates had burned the materials of the sacrifice, ³⁴ the king investigated the matter, and enclosed the place and made it sacred. ³⁵ And with those persons whom the king favored he exchanged many excellent gifts. ³⁶ Nehemi′ah and his associates called this “nephthar,” which means purification, but by most people it is called naphtha.^[d]

Jeremiah Hides the Tent, Ark, and Altar

2 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, 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. ³ And with other similar words he exhorted them that the law should not depart from their hearts.

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. 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. ⁶ Some of those who followed him came up to mark the way, but could not find it. 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. 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.”

⁹ It was also made clear that being possessed of wisdom Solomon^[e] offered sacrifice for the dedication and completion of the temple. 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. ¹¹ And Moses said, “They were consumed because the sin offering had not been eaten.” ¹² Likewise Solomon also kept the eight days.

¹³ The same things are reported in the records and in the memoirs of Nehemi′ah, 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. 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. ¹⁵ So if you have need of them, send people to get them for you.

¹⁶ Since, therefore, we are about to celebrate the purification, we write to you. Will you therefore please keep the days? ¹⁷ It is God who has saved all his people, and has returned the inheritance to all, and the kingship and priesthood and consecration, 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.

The Compiler’s Preface

¹⁹ The story of Judas Maccabe′us and his brothers, and the purification of the great temple, and the dedication of the altar, ²⁰ and further the wars against Anti′ochus Epiph′anes and his son Eu′pator, 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, 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— ²³ all this, which has been set forth by Jason of Cyre′ne in five volumes, we shall attempt to condense into a single book. 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, 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. ²⁶ For us who have undertaken the toil of abbreviating, it is no light matter but calls for sweat and loss of sleep, 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, ²⁸ leaving the responsibility for exact details to the compiler, while devoting our effort to arriving at the outlines of the condensation. 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. 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, ³¹ but the one who recasts the narrative should be allowed to strive for brevity of expression and to forego exhaustive treatment. 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.

A Warning against Hypocrisy

12 In the meantime, when so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they trod upon one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ² Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ³ Whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

Exhortation to Fearless Confession

⁴ “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell;^[a] yes, I tell you, fear him! ⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷ Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

⁸ “And I tell you, every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; ⁹ but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And every one who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ¹¹ And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say; ¹² for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³ One of the multitude said to him, “Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?” ¹⁵ And he said to them, “Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Worry

²² And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his span of life?^{[b] 26} If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin;^[c] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O men of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind. ³⁰ For all the nations of the world seek these things; and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, seek his^[d] kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well.