1 Maccabees 1:29-40

Common English Bible

Occupation of Jerusalem

²⁹Two years later,^[a] to collect tribute from the Judean cities, King Antiochus sent his chief officer, who came to Jerusalem with a large army. ³⁰The agent spoke peaceably and the Jews believed him, but he was deceitful. Without warning, he attacked the city, dealt it a brutal blow, and killed many Israelites. ³¹He plundered the city. He set fires within it, destroyed its houses, and tore down its protective walls. ³²His forces took women and children as prisoners and seized livestock. ³³After all of this, the agent’s forces fortified David’s City with a very strong wall and powerful towers, and it became their fortress. ³⁴They stationed sinful, immoral people there, and these soldiers held down their position. ³⁵They stocked up with weapons and food, collected the spoils of Jerusalem, and stored them there. They were a great menace.

³⁶They^[b] ambushed the sanctuary.
    They were an evil opponent of Israel
    at all times.
³⁷Its inhabitants shed innocent blood
all around the sanctuary,
    and they even polluted
    the sanctuary itself.
³⁸Because of them,
those who lived in Jerusalem fled.
    The city became
    a dwelling place for strangers.
        She was like a stranger to her offspring,
            and her children abandoned her.
³⁹Her sanctuary was as barren as a desert.
    Her feasts turned into mourning,
        her sabbaths into shame,
        her honor into contempt.
⁴⁰Her dishonor became as great
as her glory had been.
    Her joy turned into sadness.