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ΜΑΚΚΑΒΑΙΩΝ Β | 2 MACCABEES - Brenton|RSV | Reference |
| 1 | Περὶ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν ἐκεῖνον ἐτύγχανεν Ἀντίοχος ἀναλελυκὼς ἀκόσμως ἐκ τῶν περὶ τὴν Περσίδα τόπων. |
About that time, as it happened, Antiochus had retreated in disorder from the region of Persia. | The LORD punishes Antiochus. 2Mace.9.1-10 | 1Mace.6.1-7 | 2Mace.1.11-17 |
| 2 | εἰσεληλύθει γὰρ εἰς τὴν λεγομένην Περσέπολιν καὶ ἐπεχείρησεν ἱεροσυλεῖν καὶ τὴν πόλιν συνέχειν· διὸ δὴ τῶν πληθῶν ὁρμησάντων ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν ὅπλων βοήθειαν ἐτράπησαν, καὶ συνέβη τροπωθέντα τὸν Ἀντίοχον ὑπὸ τῶν ἐγχωρίων ἀσχήμονα τὴν ἀναζυγὴν ποιήσασθαι. |
For he had entered the city called Persepolis, and attempted to rob the temples and control the city. Therefore the people rushed to the rescue with arms, and Antiochus and his men were defeated, with the result that Antiochus was put to flight by the inhabitants and beat a shameful retreat. | |
| 3 | ὄντι δὲ αὐτῷ κατ' Ἑκβάτανα προσέπεσεν τὰ κατὰ Νικάνορα καὶ τοὺς περὶ Τιμόθεον γεγονότα. |
While he was in Ecbatana, news came to him of what had happened to Nicanor and the forces of Timothy. | |
| 4 | ἐπαρθεὶς δὲ τῷ θυμῷ ᾤετο καὶ τὴν τῶν πεφυγαδευκότων αὐτὸν κακίαν εἰς τοὺς Ιουδαίους ἐναπερείσασθαι, διὸ συνέταξεν τὸν ἁρματηλάτην ἀδιαλείπτως ἐλαύνοντα κατανύειν τὴν πορείαν τῆς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ δὴ κρίσεως συνούσης αὐτῷ· οὕτως γὰρ ὑπερηφάνως εἶπεν Πολυάνδριον Ιουδαίων Ιεροσόλυμα ποιήσω παραγενόμενος ἐκεῖ. |
Transported with rage, he conceived the idea of turning upon the Jews the injury done by those who had put him to flight; so he ordered his charioteer to drive without stopping until he completed the journey. But the judgment of heaven rode with him! For in his arrogance he said, "When I get there I will make Jerusalem a cemetery of Jews." | |
| 5 | ὁ δὲ παντεπόπτης κύριος ὁ θεὸς τοῦ Ισραηλ ἐπάταξεν αὐτὸν ἀνιάτῳ καὶ ἀοράτῳ πληγῇ· ἄρτι δὲ αὐτοῦ καταλήξαντος τὸν λόγον ἔλαβεν αὐτὸν ἀνήκεστος τῶν σπλάγχνων ἀλγηδὼν καὶ πικραὶ τῶν ἔνδον βάσανοι |
But the all-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him an incurable and unseen blow. As soon as he ceased speaking he was seized with a pain in his bowels for which there was no relief and with sharp internal tortures - | |
| 6 | πάνυ δικαίως τὸν πολλαῖς καὶ ξενιζούσαις συμφοραῖς ἑτέρων σπλάγχνα βασανίσαντα. |
and that very justly, for he had tortured the bowels of others with many and strange inflictions. | |
| 7 | ὁ δ' οὐδαμῶς τῆς ἀγερωχίας ἔληγεν, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας ἐπεπλήρωτο πῦρ πνέων τοῖς θυμοῖς ἐπὶ τοὺς Ιουδαίους καὶ κελεύων ἐποξύνειν τὴν πορείαν. συνέβη δὲ καὶ πεσεῖν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἅρματος φερομένου ῥοίζῳ καὶ δυσχερεῖ πτώματι περιπεσόντα πάντα τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος ἀποστρεβλοῦσθαι. |
Yet he did not in any way stop his insolence, but was even more filled with arrogance, breathing fire in his rage against the Jews, and giving orders to hasten the journey. And so it came about that he fell out of his chariot as it was rushing along, and the fall was so hard as to torture every limb of his body. | |
| 8 | ὁ δ' ἄρτι δοκῶν τοῖς τῆς θαλάσσης κύμασιν ἐπιτάσσειν διὰ τὴν ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον ἀλαζονείαν καὶ πλάστιγγι τὰ τῶν ὀρέων οἰόμενος ὕψη στήσειν κατὰ γῆν γενόμενος ἐν φορείῳ παρεκομίζετο φανερὰν τοῦ θεοῦ πᾶσιν τὴν δύναμιν ἐνδεικνύμενος, |
Thus he who had just been thinking that he could command the waves of the sea, in his superhuman arrogance, and imagining that he could weigh the high mountains in a balance, was brought down to earth and carried in a litter, making the power of God manifest to all. | |
| 9 | ὥστε καὶ ἐκ τοῦ σώματος τοῦ δυσσεβοῦς σκώληκας ἀναζεῖν, καὶ ζῶντος ἐν ὀδύναις καὶ ἀλγηδόσιν τὰς σάρκας αὐτοῦ διαπίπτειν, ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς ὀσμῆς αὐτοῦ πᾶν τὸ στρατόπεδον βαρύνεσθαι τὴν σαπρίαν. |
And so the ungodly man's body swarmed with worms, and while he was still living in anguish and pain, his flesh rotted away, and because of his stench the whole army felt revulsion at his decay. | |
| 10 | καὶ τὸν μικρῷ πρότερον τῶν οὐρανίων ἄστρων ἅπτεσθαι δοκοῦντα παρακομίζειν οὐδεὶς ἐδύνατο διὰ τὸ τῆς ὀσμῆς ἀφόρητον βάρος. |
Because of his intolerable stench no one was able to carry the man who a little while before had thought that he could touch the stars of heaven. | |
| 11 | ἐνταῦθα οὖν ἤρξατο τὸ πολὺ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας λήγειν τεθραυσμένος καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἔρχεσθαι θείᾳ μάστιγι κατὰ στιγμὴν ἐπιτεινόμενος ταῖς ἀλγηδόσιν. |
Then it was that, broken in spirit, he began to lose much of his arrogance and to come to his senses under the scourge of God, for he was tortured with pain every moment. | Antiochus makes a promis to God. 2Mace.9.11-17 |
| 12 | καὶ μηδὲ τῆς ὀσμῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμενος ἀνέχεσθαι ταῦτ ἔφη Δίκαιον ὑποτάσσεσθαι τῷ θεῷ καὶ μὴ θνητὸν ὄντα ἰσόθεα φρονεῖν. |
And when he could not endure his own stench, he uttered these words | |
| 13 | ηὔχετο δὲ ὁ μιαρὸς πρὸς τὸν οὐκέτι αὐτὸν ἐλεήσοντα δεσπότην οὕτως λέγων |
Then the abominable fellow made a vow to the Lord, who would no longer have mercy on him, stating | |
| 14 | τὴν μὲν ἁγίαν πόλιν, ἣν σπεύδων παρεγίνετο ἰσόπεδον ποιῆσαι καὶ πολυάνδριον οἰκοδομῆσαι, ἐλευθέραν ἀναδεῖξαι, |
that the holy city, which he was hastening to level to the ground and to make a cemetery, he was now declaring to be free; | |
| 15 | τοὺς δὲ Ιουδαίους, οὓς διεγνώκει μηδὲ ταφῆς ἀξιῶσαι, οἰωνοβρώτους δὲ σὺν τοῖς νηπίοις ἐκρίψειν θηρίοις, πάντας αὐτοὺς ἴσους Ἀθηναίοις ποιήσειν· |
and the Jews, whom he had not considered worth burying but had planned to throw out with their children to the beasts, for the birds to pick, he would make, all of them, equal to citizens of Athens; | |
| 16 | ὃν δὲ πρότερον ἐσκύλευσεν ἅγιον νεὼ καλλίστοις ἀναθήμασιν κοσμήσειν καὶ τὰ ἱερὰ σκεύη πολυπλάσια πάντα ἀποδώσειν, τὰς δὲ ἐπιβαλλούσας πρὸς τὰς θυσίας συντάξεις ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων προσόδων χορηγήσειν· |
and the holy sanctuary, which he had formerly plundered, he would adorn with the finest offerings; and the holy vessels he would give back, all of them, many times over; and the expenses incurred for the sacrifices he would provide from his own revenues; | |
| 17 | πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ Ιουδαῖον ἔσεσθαι καὶ πάντα τόπον οἰκητὸν ἐπελεύσεσθαι καταγγέλλοντα τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ κράτος. |
and in addition to all this he also would become a Jew and would visit every inhabited place to proclaim the power of God. | |
| 18 | οὐδαμῶς δὲ ληγόντων τῶν πόνων, ἐπεληλύθει γὰρ ἐπ' αὐτὸν δικαία ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ κρίσις, τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν ἀπελπίσας ἔγραψεν πρὸς τοὺς Ιουδαίους τὴν ὑπογεγραμμένην ἐπιστολὴν ἱκετηρίας τάξιν ἔχουσαν, περιέχουσαν δὲ οὕτως |
But when his sufferings did not in any way abate, for the judgment of God had justly come upon him, he gave up all hope for himself and wrote to the Jews the following letter, in the form of a supplication. This was its content | Antiochus' letter. 2Mace.9.18-29 |
| 19 | Τοῖς χρηστοῖς Ιουδαίοις τοῖς πολίταις πολλὰ χαίρειν καὶ ὑγιαίνειν καὶ εὖ πράττειν βασιλεὺς καὶ στρατηγὸς Ἀντίοχος. |
"To his worthy Jewish citizens, Antiochus their king and general sends hearty greetings and good wishes for their health and prosperity. | |
| 20 | εἰ ἔρρωσθε καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ τὰ ἴδια κατὰ γνώμην ἐστὶν ὑμῖν· εἰς οὐρανὸν τὴν ἐλπίδα ἔχων |
If you and your children are well and your affairs are as you wish, I am glad. As my hope is in heaven, | |
| 21 | ὑμῶν τὴν τιμὴν καὶ τὴν εὔνοιαν ἐμνημόνευον φιλοστόργως. ἐπανάγων ἐκ τῶν κατὰ τὴν Περσίδα τόπων καὶ περιπεσὼν ἀσθενείᾳ δυσχέρειαν ἐχούσῃ ἀναγκαῖον ἡγησάμην φροντίσαι τῆς κοινῆς πάντων ἀσφαλείας. |
I remember with affection your esteem and good will. On my way back from the region of Persia I suffered an annoying illness, and I have deemed it necessary to take thought for the general security of all. | |
| 22 | οὐκ ἀπογινώσκων τὰ κατ' ἐμαυτόν, ἀλλὰ ἔχων πολλὴν ἐλπίδα ἐκφεύξεσθαι τὴν ἀσθένειαν, |
I do not despair of my condition, for I have good hope of recovering from my illness, | |
| 23 | θεωρῶν δὲ ὅτι καὶ ὁ πατήρ, καθ' οὓς καιροὺς εἰς τοὺς ἄνω τόπους ἐστρατοπέδευσεν, ἀνέδειξεν τὸν διαδεξάμενον, |
but I observed that my father, on the occasions when he made expeditions into the upper country, appointed his successor, | |
| 24 | ὅπως, ἐάν τι παράδοξον ἀποβαίνῃ ἢ καὶ προσαγγελθῇ τι δυσχερές, εἰδότες οἱ κατὰ τὴν χώραν ᾧ καταλέλειπται τὰ πράγματα μὴ ἐπιταράσσωνται· |
so that, if anything unexpected happened or any unwelcome news came, the people throughout the realm would not be troubled, for they would know to whom the government was left. | |
| 25 | πρὸς δὲ τούτοις κατανοῶν τοὺς παρακειμένους δυνάστας καὶ γειτνιῶντας τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῖς καιροῖς ἐπέχοντας καὶ προσδοκῶντας τὸ ἀποβησόμενον, ἀναδέδειχα τὸν υἱὸν Ἀντίοχον βασιλέα, ὃν πολλάκις ἀνατρέχων εἰς τὰς ἐπάνω σατραπείας τοῖς πλείστοις ὑμῶν παρεκατετιθέμην καὶ συνίστων· γέγραφα δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν τὰ ὑπογεγραμμένα. |
Moreover, I understand how the princes along the borders and the neighbours to my kingdom keep watching for opportunities and waiting to see what will happen. So I have appointed my son Antiochus to be king, whom I have often entrusted and commended to most of you when I hastened off to the upper provinces; and I have written to him what is written here. | |
| 26 | παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς καὶ ἀξιῶ μεμνημένους τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν κοινῇ καὶ κατ' ἰδίαν ἕκαστον συντηρεῖν τὴν οὖσαν εὔνοιαν εἰς ἐμὲ καὶ τὸν υἱόν· |
I therefore urge and beseech you to remember the public and private services rendered to you and to maintain your present good will, each of you, toward me and my son. | |
| 27 | πέπεισμαι γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐπιεικῶς καὶ φιλανθρώπως παρακολουθοῦντα τῇ ἐμῇ προαιρέσει συμπεριενεχθήσεσθαι ὑμῖν. |
For I am sure that he will follow my policy and will treat you with moderation and kindness." | |
| 28 | Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἀνδροφόνος καὶ βλάσφημος τὰ χείριστα παθών, ὡς ἑτέρους διέθηκεν, ἐπὶ ξένης ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν οἰκτίστῳ μόρῳ κατέστρεψεν τὸν βίον. |
So the murderer and blasphemer, having endured the more intense suffering, such as he had inflicted on others, came to the end of his life by a most pitiable fate, among the mountains in a strange land. | |
| 29 | παρεκομίζετο δὲ τὸ σῶμα Φίλιππος ὁ σύντροφος αὐτοῦ, ὃς καὶ διευλαβηθεὶς τὸν υἱὸν Ἀντιόχου πρὸς Πτολεμαῖον τὸν Φιλομήτορα εἰς Αἴγυπτον διεκομίσθη. |
And Philip, one of his courtiers, took his body home; then, fearing the son of Antiochus, he betook himself to Ptolemy Philometor in Egypt. | |
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