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| | Old Testament in Greek (Septuagint) |
: | The Septuagint in English (Brenton) |
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Τὰ δὲ κατὰ τὸν Ιουδαν τὸν Μακκαβαῖον καὶ τοὺς τούτου ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τὸν τοῦ ἱεροῦ τοῦ μεγίστου καθαρισμὸν καὶ τὸν τοῦ βωμοῦ ἐγκαινισμὸν | Author's Preface. 2Mace.2.19-32Author's Preface. 2Mace.2.19-32 | The story of Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, and the purification of the great temple, and the dedication of the altar, |
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ἔτι τε τοὺς πρὸς Ἀντίοχον τὸν Ἑπιφανῆ καὶ τὸν τούτου υἱὸν Εὐπάτορα πολέμους | | and further the wars against Antiochus Epiphanes and his son Eupator, |
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καὶ τὰς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ γενομένας ἐπιφανείας τοῖς ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ιουδαισμοῦ φιλοτίμως ἀνδραγαθήσασιν, ὥστε τὴν ὅλην χώραν ὀλίγους ὄντας λεηλατεῖν καὶ τὰ βάρβαρα πλήθη διώκειν, | | and the appearances which came from heaven to those who strove zealously on behalf of Judaism, so that though few in number they seized the whole land and pursued the barbarian hordes, |
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καὶ τὸ περιβόητον καθ' ὅλην τὴν οἰκουμένην ἱερὸν ἀνακομίσασθαι καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐλευθερῶσαι καὶ τοὺς μέλλοντας καταλύεσθαι νόμους ἐπανορθῶσαι, τοῦ κυρίου μετὰ πάσης ἐπιεικείας ἵλεω γενομένου αὐτοῖς, | | and recovered the temple famous throughout the world and freed the city and restored the laws that were about to be abolished, while the Lord with great kindness became gracious to them - |
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ὑπὸ Ἰάσωνος τοῦ Κυρηναίου δεδηλωμένα διὰ πέντε βιβλίων πειρασόμεθα δι' ἑνὸς συντάγματος ἐπιτεμεῖν. | | all this, which has been set forth by Jason of Cyrene in five volumes, we shall attempt to condense into a single book. |
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συνορῶντες γὰρ τὸ χύμα τῶν ἀριθμῶν καὶ τὴν οὖσαν δυσχέρειαν τοῖς θέλουσιν εἰσκυκλεῖσθαι τοῖς τῆς ἱστορίας διηγήμασιν διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς ὕλης | | For considering the flood of numbers involved and the difficulty there is for those who wish to enter upon the narratives of history because of the mass of material, |
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ἐφροντίσαμεν τοῖς μὲν βουλομένοις ἀναγινώσκειν ψυχαγωγίαν, τοῖς δὲ φιλοφρονοῦσιν εἰς τὸ διὰ μνήμης ἀναλαβεῖν εὐκοπίαν, πᾶσιν δὲ τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσιν ὠφέλειαν. | | we have aimed to please those who wish to read, to make it easy for those who are inclined to memorize, and to profit all readers. |
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καὶ ἡμῖν μὲν τοῖς τὴν κακοπάθειαν ἐπιδεδεγμένοις τῆς ἐπιτομῆς οὐ ῥᾴδιον, ἱδρῶτος δὲ καὶ ἀγρυπνίας τὸ πρᾶγμα, | | For us who have undertaken the toil of abbreviating, it is no light matter but calls for sweat and loss of sleep, |
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καθάπερ τῷ παρασκευάζοντι συμπόσιον καὶ ζητοῦντι τὴν ἑτέρων λυσιτέλειαν οὐκ εὐχερές, ὅμως διὰ τὴν τῶν πολλῶν εὐχαριστίαν ἡδέως τὴν κακοπάθειαν ὑποίσομεν | | just as it is not easy for one who prepares a banquet and seeks the benefit of others. However, to secure the gratitude of many we will gladly endure the uncomfortable toil, |
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τὸ μὲν διακριβοῦν περὶ ἑκάστων τῷ συγγραφεῖ παραχωρήσαντες, τὸ δὲ ἐπιπορεύεσθαι τοῖς ὑπογραμμοῖς τῆς ἐπιτομῆς διαπονοῦντες. | | leaving the responsibility for exact details to the compiler, while devoting our effort to arriving at the outlines of the condensation. |
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καθάπερ γὰρ τῆς καινῆς οἰκίας ἀρχιτέκτονι τῆς ὅλης καταβολῆς φροντιστέον, τῷ δὲ ἐγκαίειν καὶ Ζωγραφεῖν ἐπιχειροῦντι τὰ ἐπιτήδεια πρὸς διακόσμησιν ἐξεταστέον, οὕτως δοκῶ καὶ ἐπὶ ἡμῶν. | | For as the master builder of a new house must be concerned with the whole construction, while the one who undertakes its painting and decoration has to consider only what is suitable for its adornment, such in my judgment is the case with us. |
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τὸ μὲν ἐμβατεύειν καὶ περίπατον ποιεῖσθαι λόγων καὶ πολυπραγμονεῖν ἐν τοῖς κατὰ μέρος τῷ τῆς ἱστορίας ἀρχηγέτῃ καθήκει· | | It is the duty of the original historian to occupy the ground and to discuss matters from every side and to take trouble with details, |
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τὸ δὲ σύντομον τῆς λέξεως μεταδιώκειν καὶ τὸ ἐξεργαστικὸν τῆς πραγματείας παραιτεῖσθαι τῷ τὴν μετάφρασιν ποιουμένῳ συγχωρητέον. | | but the one who recasts the narrative should be allowed to strive for brevity of expression and to forego exhaustive treatment. |
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ἐντεῦθεν οὖν ἀρξώμεθα τῆς διηγήσεως τοῖς προειρημένοις τοσοῦτον ἐπιζεύξαντες· εὔηθες γὰρ τὸ μὲν πρὸ τῆς ἱστορίας πλεονάζειν, τὴν δὲ ἱστορίαν ἐπιτεμεῖν. | | At this point therefore let us begin our narrative, adding only so much to what has already been said; for it is foolish to lengthen the preface while cutting short the history itself. |
