2 Maccabees 5

About that same time, Antiochus got ready for his second military expedition into Egypt.

1About the same time Antiochus prepared his second voyage into Egypt:

NoteAntiochus is Antiochus IV, called Epiphanes, the Seleucid king who ruled Syria and Judea from 175 BC. His two campaigns into Egypt were in about 170 and 168 BC. A "voyage" in 1611 English meant any journey or expedition, not necessarily one by sea.

2And then it happened that all through the city, for almost forty days, horsemen were seen riding through the air. They wore cloth of gold and carried long spears, and they were equipped like a band of soldiers.

2And then it happened, that through all the city, for the space almost of forty days, there were seen horsemen running in the air, in cloth of gold, and armed with lances, like a band of soldiers,

NoteIn the ancient world an army seen fighting in the sky was taken as an omen, a sign of events about to come, which is why in the next verse everyone prays about what it might mean rather than doubting that it happened.

3There were companies of horsemen drawn up in battle order, charging and rushing against one another, with shaking of shields and crowds of long spears, with swords drawn and light spears thrown, with gold trappings flashing, and armor of every kind.

3And troops of horsemen in array, encountering and running one against another, with shaking of shields, and multitude of pikes, and drawing of swords, and casting of darts, and glittering of golden ornaments, and harness of all sorts.

NoteIn 1611 "harness" meant a soldier's body armor, not gear for a horse. "Lances" and "pikes" are long spears for thrusting; "darts" are lighter spears meant to be thrown.

4Because of this, every person prayed that the vision might turn out to mean something good.

4Wherefore every man prayed that that apparition might turn to good.

5Now when a false rumor went out that Antiochus had died, Jason took at least a thousand men and suddenly attacked the city. The men on the walls were driven back, and at last the city was being taken, and Menelaus fled into the fortress.

5Now when there was gone forth a false rumour, as though Antiochus had been dead, Jason took at the least a thousand men, and suddenly made an assault upon the city; and they that were upon the walls being put back, and the city at length taken, Menelaus fled into the castle:

NoteJason and Menelaus were rivals for the high priesthood in Jerusalem, the chief office of the Jewish nation. Chapter 4 tells how Jason bought the post from Antiochus, and was then outbid and driven out by Menelaus. The "castle" is the citadel, the fortified stronghold inside Jerusalem held by the king's garrison.

6But Jason killed his own fellow citizens without mercy. He did not consider that winning the day against people of his own nation would be the most miserable of days for him. He thought that those he defeated were enemies, not his own countrymen.

6But Jason slew his own citizens without mercy, not considering that to get the day of them of his own nation would be a most unhappy day for him; but thinking they had been his enemies, and not his countrymen, whom he conquered.

7Even so, for all this he did not get the rule. In the end he received shame as the payment for his treachery, and he fled again into the country of the Ammonites.

7Howbeit for all this he obtained not the principality, but at the last received shame for the reward of his treason, and fled again into the country of the Ammonites.

Note"The principality" is the chief office, here the high priesthood with the civil authority that went with it. The country of the Ammonites lay east of the Jordan, outside Seleucid Judea, a usual refuge for men fleeing Jerusalem.

8So at last he came to a miserable end. He was accused before Aretas, the king of the Arabians; he fled from city to city, hunted by everyone, hated as a man who had abandoned the laws, and loathed as an open enemy of his country and his countrymen. He was cast out into Egypt.

8In the end therefore he had an unhappy return, being accused before Aretas the king of the Arabians, fleeing from city to city, pursued of all men, hated as a forsaker of the laws, and being had in abomination as an open enemy of his country and countrymen, he was cast out into Egypt.

NoteAretas ruled the Nabateans, an Arab people whose territory lay east and south of Judea, with their center at Petra. Being "accused before" him means he was arrested and put on trial at the Nabatean court.

9So the man who had driven many out of their own country died in a foreign land. He had gone off to the Lacedemonians, expecting to find shelter there because he was related to them.

9Thus he that had driven many out of their country perished in a strange land, retiring to the Lacedemonians, and thinking there to find succour by reason of his kindred:

NoteThe Lacedemonians are the Spartans, in southern Greece. Jewish writing of this period claimed that Jews and Spartans were distant kin, descended from a common ancestor, and a letter making that claim is quoted in 1 Maccabees 12. Jason was counting on that claimed kinship to get him taken in.

10And the man who had thrown out many bodies without burial had no one to mourn for him. He had no proper funeral at all, and no grave among his ancestors.

10And he that had cast out many unburied had none to mourn for him, nor any solemn funerals at all, nor sepulchre with his fathers.

NoteTo be left unburied, with no mourning rites and no place in the family tomb, was the worst disgrace an ancient reader could imagine. The point is that Jason suffered exactly what he had inflicted on others.

11Now when news of what had been done reached the king, he thought that Judea had revolted. So he left Egypt in a rage and took the city by force of arms.

11Now when this that was done came to the king’s car, he thought that Judea had revolted: whereupon removing out of Egypt in a furious mind, he took the city by force of arms,

Note"The king's car" is a long standing misprint in many KJV printings for "the king's ear", that is, news reaching the king.

12He ordered his soldiers to spare no one they met, and to kill those who went up on the roofs of the houses.

12And commanded his men of war not to spare such as they met, and to slay such as went up upon the houses.

NoteHouse roofs were flat and were used as extra living space, and people fleeing an attack in the streets would climb up onto them. The order covers those who ran there to hide as well as those met in the open.

13So there was killing of young and old, doing away with men, women, and children, and the slaughter of virgins and infants.

13Thus there was killing of young and old, making away of men, women, and children, slaying of virgins and infants.

14Within the space of three whole days, eighty thousand were destroyed. Forty thousand of them were killed in the fighting, and the number sold into slavery was no smaller than the number killed.

14And there were destroyed within the space of three whole days fourscore thousand, whereof forty thousand were slain in the conflict; and no fewer sold than slain.

NoteFigures of this size are the conventional round numbers of ancient historical writing, meant to convey the scale of a catastrophe; eighty thousand is well beyond the likely population of Jerusalem at the time. "Fourscore" is simply eighty.

15He was still not satisfied with this. He dared to go into the holiest temple in all the world, with Menelaus as his guide, the man who had betrayed both the laws and his own country.

15Yet was he not content with this, but presumed to go into the most holy temple of all the world; Menelaus, that traitor to the laws, and to his own country, being his guide:

NoteThere was only one Jewish temple, in Jerusalem, and it was the only place where sacrifice was offered. Its inner rooms were open to priests alone, and non-Jews were barred from the inner courts altogether, so a foreign king walking in was an outrage in itself, quite apart from the looting that follows.

16He took the holy vessels with unclean hands, and with unholy hands he pulled down the gifts that other kings had set up to add to the splendor and glory and honor of the place, and he gave them away.

16And taking the holy vessels with polluted hands, and with profane hands pulling down the things that were dedicated by other kings to the augmentation and glory and honour of the place, he gave them away.

NoteThe "holy vessels" are the gold and silver utensils used in the temple service: lamps, bowls, incense pans, the table for the bread. Foreign kings commonly sent costly gifts to famous temples as a mark of respect, and earlier chapters of this book record Seleucid kings doing exactly that in Jerusalem.

17Antiochus was so proud in his mind that he did not consider that the Lord was angry for a short while because of the sins of the people who lived in the city, and that for this reason his eye was not on the place.

17And so haughty was Antiochus in mind, that he considered not that the Lord was angry for a while for the sins of them that dwelt in the city, and therefore his eye was not upon the place.

18For if they had not already been wrapped up in many sins, this man would have been whipped as soon as he came forward and turned back from his bold attempt, just as Heliodorus was, the man King Seleucus sent to inspect the treasury.

18For had they not been formerly wrapped in many sins, this man, as soon as he had come, had forthwith been scourged, and put back from his presumption, as Heliodorus was, whom Seleucus the king sent to view the treasury.

NoteChapter 3 of this book tells the story: Heliodorus, sent by King Seleucus IV (Antiochus's elder brother and predecessor) to seize the temple treasury, was struck down and whipped by figures that appeared to him, and left empty handed.

19Yet God did not choose the people for the sake of the place, but the place for the sake of the people.

19Nevertheless God did not choose the people for the place’s sake, but the place far the people’s sake.

20And so the place itself, which shared with them in the trouble that came upon the nation, later shared as well in the good things sent from the Lord. As it was abandoned when the Almighty was angry, so again, when the great Lord was reconciled, it was restored with full glory.

20And therefore the place itself, that was partaker with them of the adversity that happened to the nation, did afterward communicate in the benefits sent from the Lord: and as it was forsaken in the wrath of the Almighty, so again, the great Lord being reconciled, it was set up with all glory.

21So when Antiochus had carried eighteen hundred talents out of the temple, he hurried away to Antioch. In his pride he supposed he could sail across the land and walk across the sea. Such was the arrogance of his mind.

21So when Antiochus had carried out of the temple a thousand and eight hundred talents, he departed in all haste unto Antiochia, weening in his pride to make the land navigable, and the sea passable by foot: such was the haughtiness of his mind.

NoteA talent was a weight of roughly seventy five pounds of silver, so eighteen hundred talents was an immense fortune, a substantial share of a year's royal revenue. Antioch, in Syria, was the Seleucid capital. Sailing over land and walking on water was a proverbial way of describing a man whose pride had outrun reality, and it recalls Xerxes of Persia, who bridged the sea with boats and cut a canal through a headland.

22And he left governors behind to trouble the nation. At Jerusalem he left Philip, a Phrygian by birth, and in character more savage than the man who put him there;

22And he left governors to vex the nation: at Jerusalem, Philip, for his country a Phrygian, and for manners more barbarous than he that set him there;

NotePhrygia was a region in central Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey. To a Greek speaker a "barbarian" was simply anyone who did not speak Greek, and calling Philip more barbarous than the Greek king who appointed him is a deliberate insult.

23and at Garizim, Andronicus. Besides these there was Menelaus, who, worse than all the rest, laid a heavy hand on the citizens, with a spiteful mind toward his own countrymen, the Jews.

23And at Garizim, Andronicus; and besides, Menelaus, who worse than all the rest bare an heavy hand over the citizens, having a malicious mind against his countrymen the Jews.

NoteGarizim is Mount Gerizim, above Shechem, where the Samaritans had their own temple and their own rival worship. Appointing a governor there means Antiochus placed the Samaritans under the same regime as the Jews.

24He also sent that hateful leader Apollonius with an army of twenty-two thousand, ordering him to kill all the men who were in the prime of life, and to sell the women and the younger ones.

24He sent also that detestable ringleader Apollonius with an army of two and twenty thousand, commanding him to slay all those that were in their best age, and to sell the women and the younger sort:

NoteThe Greek title behind "detestable ringleader" is disputed. It may mean commander of the Mysians, mercenary troops from Asia Minor, or it may be a play on that word meaning something like "chief of the filth". "Those in their best age" are grown men of fighting age; "the younger sort" are the boys.

25Apollonius came to Jerusalem and pretended to come in peace. He held back until the holy day of the sabbath, and then, catching the Jews while they were keeping the holy day, he ordered his men to take up their weapons.

25Who coming to Jerusalem, and pretending peace, did forbear till the holy day of the sabbath, when taking the Jews keeping holy day, he commanded his men to arm themselves.

NoteOn the sabbath Jews rested from all work, and many at this period held that it was wrong even to fight on that day except in immediate self defense. Attackers repeatedly exploited this, and it is why the timing here is treated as treachery rather than mere tactics.

26And so he killed everyone who had gone out for the keeping of the sabbath. Then he ran through the city with armed men and killed great crowds of people.

26And so he slew all them that were gone to the celebrating of the sabbath, and running through the city with weapons slew great multitudes.

NoteThe Greek word can mean a show or spectacle, so some read it as those who came out to watch the parade of armed men, while the KJV takes it of those who had gone out to keep the sabbath. Both senses are possible in the text as it stands.

27But Judas Maccabeus, with about nine others, withdrew into the wilderness. He and his company lived in the mountains the way wild animals do, and they kept eating plants that grew wild, so that they would not share in the defilement.

27But Judas Maccabeus with nine others, or thereabout, withdrew himself into the wilderness, and lived in the mountains after the manner of beasts, with his company, who fed on herbs continually, lest they should be partakers of the pollution.

NoteThis is the first appearance of Judas, son of Mattathias, who leads the revolt through the rest of the book. "Maccabeus" is a nickname, most likely meaning "the hammer". Living on wild plants was a way of eating nothing that was forbidden by the Jewish food laws or that had been offered to idols, which is the "pollution" they were avoiding.