2 Maccabees 8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Revolt of Judas Maccabeus
8 Meanwhile Judas, who was also called Maccabeus, and his companions secretly entered the villages and summoned their kindred and enlisted those who had continued in the Jewish faith, and so they gathered about six thousand.(A) 2 They implored the Lord to look upon the people who were oppressed by all and to have pity on the temple that had been profaned by the godless,(B) 3 to have mercy on the city that was being destroyed and about to be leveled to the ground, to hearken to the blood that cried out to him,(C) 4 to remember also the lawless destruction of the innocent babies and the blasphemies committed against his name, and to show his hatred of evil.
5 As soon as Maccabeus got his army organized, the nations could not withstand him, for the wrath of the Lord had turned to mercy. 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.(D) 7 He found the nights most advantageous for such attacks. And talk of his valor spread everywhere.(E)
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, to come to the aid of the king’s government.(F) 9 Then Ptolemy[a] promptly appointed Nicanor son of Patroclus, one of the king’s First[b] Friends, and sent him, in command of no fewer than twenty thousand men of various nations, to wipe out the entire people of Judea. He associated with him Gorgias, a general and a man of experience in military service.(G) 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.(H) 11 So he immediately sent to the towns 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.(I)
Preparation for Battle
12 Word came to Judas concerning Nicanor’s invasion, and when he told his companions of the arrival of the army,(J) 13 those who were cowardly and distrustful of God’s justice ran off and got away.(K) 14 Others sold all their remaining property and at the same time implored the Lord to rescue those who had been sold by the ungodly Nicanor before he ever met them, 15 if not for their own sake, then for the sake of the covenants made with their ancestors and because he had called them by his holy and glorious name.(L) 16 But Maccabeus gathered his forces together, to the number six thousand, and exhorted them not to be frightened by the enemy and not to fear the great multitude of nations who were wickedly coming against them but to fight nobly,(M) 17 keeping before their eyes the lawless outrage that the nations[c] had committed against the holy place and the torture of the derided city, as well as the overthrow of their ancestral way of life.(N) 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, if necessary, the whole world.”(O)
19 Moreover, he told them of the occasions when help came to their ancestors, how, in the time of Sennacherib, when one hundred eighty-five thousand perished,(P) 20 and the time of the battle against the Galatians that took place in Babylonia, when eight thousand Jews[d] fought along with four thousand Macedonians; yet when the Macedonians were hard pressed, the eight thousand, by the help that came to them from heaven, destroyed one hundred twenty thousand Galatians[e] and took a great amount of plunder.
Judas Defeats Nicanor
21 With these words he filled them with courage and made them ready to die for their laws and their country; then he divided his army into four parts.(Q) 22 He appointed his brothers also, Simon and Joseph and Jonathan, each to command a division, putting fifteen hundred men under each.(R) 23 Besides, he appointed Eleazar to read aloud[f] from the holy book and gave the watchword, “The help of God”; then, leading the first division himself, he joined battle with Nicanor.(S)
24 With the Almighty as their ally, they killed more than nine thousand of the enemy and wounded and disabled most of Nicanor’s army and forced them all to flee. 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.(T) 26 It was the day before the Sabbath, and for that reason they did not continue their pursuit. 27 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.(U) 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.(V) 29 When they had done this, they made common supplication and implored the merciful Lord to be wholly reconciled with his servants.(W)
Judas Defeats Timothy and Bacchides
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 a very large amount of plunder, giving to those who had been tortured and to the orphans and widows and also to the aged, shares equal to their own.(X) 31 They collected the arms of the enemy[g] and carefully stored all of them in strategic places; the rest of the spoils they carried to Jerusalem.(Y) 32 They killed the commander of Timothy’s forces, a most wicked man, and one who had greatly troubled the Jews. 33 While they were celebrating the victory in the city of their ancestors, 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 reward for their impiety.[h](Z)
34 The thrice-accursed Nicanor, who had brought the thousand merchants to buy the Jews,(AA) 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 until he reached Antioch, having succeeded chiefly in the destruction of his own army! 36 So 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.(AB)
2 Maccabees 8
Common English Bible
Judas the Maccabee revolts
8 Judas, also named the Maccabee, and his companions went secretly into the villages and called together their relatives and those who continued to follow Judaism, enlisting a force of about six thousand soldiers. 2 They called on the Lord to look on the people who were oppressed by all, to take pity on the temple that was degraded by ungodly people, 3 and to have mercy on the city that was being destroyed and about to be leveled. They called on the Lord to listen to the shed blood of those who had appealed to God for help, 4 to remember the needless massacre of innocent infants, and to show his hatred of the evil things said against his name. 5 Once he organized his army, the Maccabee couldn’t be stopped by the Gentiles, because the Lord’s wrath had turned into mercy. 6 He would come suddenly into towns and villages, set them ablaze, capture a number of the strategically important places, and put many of the enemy to flight. 7 He especially found the night advantageous for such attacks. Talk of his good courage spread everywhere.
8 Philip saw how Judas was progressing little by little and gaining ground with each success, so he wrote to Ptolemy the governor of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia to come to the aid of the royal government. 9 Nicanor, Patroclus’ son, one of the king’s most important political advisors,[a] was immediately chosen and sent with a military unit of no fewer than twenty thousand men of various nationalities to eliminate Judea’s entire population. He also sent with him Gorgias, a general experienced in military affairs. 10 Nicanor agreed to raise the payment that the king owed the Romans—114,000 pounds of silver—by selling the Jewish prisoners of war. 11 Immediately, he sent a message into the coastal cities, summoning them to purchase Jews as slaves, setting the price at fifty-seven pounds of silver for every ninety persons. But he didn’t anticipate the judgment that was coming from the almighty.
12 When news of Nicanor’s plan reached Judas, he told those with him about the imminent appearance of the military force. 13 The cowardly and those who didn’t trust God’s judgment ran away and hid themselves. 14 Some were selling all they possessed while at the same time calling on the Lord to rescue those whom Nicanor had sold even before they met. 15 They asked that God do this, if not for their sake then for the sake of the covenants with their ancestors, and because he had called them by his revered and glorious name.
16 The Maccabee gathered around him approximately six thousand men. He encouraged them not to be terrified by their enemies nor to fear the great number of Gentiles coming at them unjustly. Rather, they were to fight honorably 17 and keep before their eyes the outrage committed unlawfully in the holy place, the torture of the scorned city, and the overthrow of their ancestral way of life. 18 “They rely on weapons and daring,” he said, “but we trust in the almighty God, who is able to strike down with a single nod those coming against us—and even the whole world.” 19 He also gave them examples of when God helped their ancestors, such as when one hundred eighty-five thousand of the enemy died during the time of Sennacherib, 20 or the battle with the Galatians in Babylonia. A total of eight thousand Jewish troops went into action along with four thousand Macedonians, who got into severe difficulty, yet the eight thousand Jewish forces, with the assistance they received from heaven, killed one hundred twenty thousand of the enemy and took the spoils of war.
21 With such words he so encouraged them that they were prepared to die for their laws and homeland. He divided the army into four parts and 22 appointed his brothers as commanders of each unit. Simon, Joseph, and Jonathan each commanded fifteen hundred men, 23 while Eleazar was publicly to read aloud the holy scroll.
Giving the watchword of “God’s help,” Judas took command of the first military unit and attacked Nicanor. 24 With the almighty as their ally, they slaughtered more than nine thousand of the enemy, wounding and disabling many of Nicanor’s army and driving them all to flight. 25 They seized the funds of those who came to buy them. After pursuing them a long way, they returned while there was still time 26 because it was the day before the Sabbath. For that reason they didn’t continue to pursue them. 27 After collecting the arms of the enemy and stripping them of their spoils, they kept the Sabbath, praising and giving thanks to the Lord for saving them that day and for giving them this initial sign of mercy. 28 When the Sabbath had ended, they shared the loot with those who had suffered torture, with the widows, and with the orphans. They divided up the rest with their children. 29 When they had completed these final tasks, they made a common appeal and prayed for the merciful Lord to be reconciled finally with his servants.
30 In close combat with the supporters of Timothy and Bacchides, they killed more than twenty thousand men and easily took control over some high fortresses. The war spoils that they took they divided equally between themselves and those suffering torture: the orphans, the widows, and also the elderly. 31 They carefully placed the captured armor all together in strategic places, but the rest of the spoils they carried into Jerusalem. 32 They killed the commander of Timothy’s troops, a most ungodly man who had caused grief to many Jews. 33 While celebrating victory in their homeland, they burned alive those who had set on fire the sacred gates, including Callisthenes, who had fled into a small house, so that he received the just reward for his sin.[b] 34 But the utterly corrupt Nicanor, who had invited one thousand merchants for the sale of the Jews, 35 was humiliated with the Lord’s help by those he despised the most. He stripped off his stately uniform and traveled into Antioch by the inland road like a lone fugitive, having succeeded only in destroying his own army. 36 The one who accepted the mission to collect the tribute for the Romans from the Jerusalem prisoners of war announced publicly that the Jews had a defender and that, as a result, the Jews couldn’t be defeated because they followed God’s ordained laws.
Footnotes
- 2 Maccabees 8:9 Or Friends
- 2 Maccabees 8:33 Correction; Gk uncertain
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible