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2 Maccabees 6:7-9
New Catholic Bible
2 Maccabees 6:7-9
New Catholic Bible
7 Furthermore, on the monthly celebration of the king’s birthday, the Jews were forcibly compelled to partake of the sacrificial victims, and when the festival of Dionysus[a] was celebrated, they were forced to wear wreaths of ivy and to take part in the procession honoring him.
8 At the suggestion of the citizens of Ptolemais, a decree was issued to the neighboring Greek cities[b] ordering them to adopt the same policies toward the Jews, compel them to partake of the sacrifices, 9 and put to death those who refused to conform to Greek customs. Thus it was clear that disaster was imminent.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Maccabees 6:7 The festival of Dionysus: Dionysian festivals were celebrated in Greece on four occasions between December and March.
- 2 Maccabees 6:8 Greek cities: the cities that had adopted the Greek customs were numerous in the neighboring regions of Judea, among which were Ptolemais, Tyre, Joppa, Ashkelon, Gaza, Samaria, and Scythopolis. They contained numerous colonies of Jews who had to endure violent persecutions until the period when they were liberated by the Maccabees.
