The Bible, Douay Rheims, Book 45: 1 Machabees

U >> Unknown >> The Bible, Douay Rheims, Book 45: 1 Machabees

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

14:35. And the people seeing the acts of Simon, and to what glory he
meant to bring his nation, made him their prince and high priest,
because he had done all these things, and for the justice and faith
which he kept to his nation, and for that he sought by all means to
advance his people.

14:36. And in his days things prospered in his hands, so that the
heathens were taken away out of their country, and they also that were
in the city of David, in Jerusalem, in the castle, out of which they
issued forth, and profaned all places round about the sanctuary, and did
much evil to purity.

14:37. And he placed therein Jews for the defence of the country, and of
the city, and he raised up the walls of Jerusalem.

14:38. And king Demetrius confirmed him in the high priesthood.

14:39. According to these things he made him his friend, and glorified
him with great glory.

14:40. For he had heard that the Romans had called the Jews their
friends, and confederates, and brethren, and that they had received
Simon's ambassadors with honour:

14:41. And that the Jews, and their priests, had consented that he
should be their prince and high priest for ever, till there should arise
a faithful prophet:

14:42. And that he should be chief over them, and that he should have
the charge of the sanctuary, and that he should appoint rulers over
their works, and over the country, and over the armour, and over the
strong holds;

14:43. And that he should have care of the holy places; and that he
should be obeyed by all, and that all the writings in the country should
be made in his name; and that he should be clothed with purple and gold:

14:44. And that it should not be lawful for any of the people, or of the
priests, to disannul any of these things, or to gainsay his words, or to
call together an assembly in the country without him: or to be clothed
with purple, or to wear a buckle of gold.

14:45. And whosoever shall do otherwise, or shall make void any of these
things, shall be punished.

14:46. And it pleased all the people to establish Simon, and to do
according to these words.

14:47. And Simon accepted thereof, and was well pleased to execute the
office of the high priesthood, and to be captain, and prince of the
nation of the Jews, and of the priests, and to be chief over all.

14:48. And they commanded that this writing should be put in tables of
brass, and that they should be set up within the compass of the
sanctuary, in a conspicuous place:

14:49. And that a copy thereof should be put in the treasury, that
Simon, and his sons, may have it.

1 Machabees Chapter 15

Antiochus son of Demetrius honours Simon. The Romans write to divers
nations in favour of the Jews. Antiochus quarrels with Simon, and sends
troops to annoy him.

15:1. And king Antiochus, the son of Demetrius, sent letters from the
isles of the sea to Simon, the priest, and prince of the nation of the
Jews, and to all the people:

15:2. And the contents were these: King Antiochus to Simon, the high
priest, and to the nation of the Jews, greeting.

15:3. Forasmuch as certain pestilent men have usurped the kingdom of our
fathers, and my purpose is to challenge the kingdom, and to restore it
to its former estate; and I have chosen a great army, and have built
ships of war.

15:4. And I design to go through the country, that I may take revenge of
them that have destroyed our country, and that have made many cities
desolate in my realm.

15:5. Now, therefore, I confirm unto thee all the oblations which all
the kings before me remitted to thee, and what other gifts soever they
remitted to thee:

15:6. And I give thee leave to coin thy own money in thy country:

15:7. And let Jerusalem be holy and free, and all the armour that hath
been made, and the fortresses which thou hast built, and which thou
keepest in thy hands, let them remain to thee.

15:8. And all that is due to the king, and what should be the king's
hereafter, from this present and for ever, is forgiven thee.

15:9. And when we shall have recovered our kingdom, we will glorify
thee, and thy nation, and the temple, with great glory, so that your
glory shall be made manifest in all the earth.

15:10. In the year one hundred and seventy-four, Antiochus entered into
the land of his fathers, and all the forces assembled to him, so that
few were left with Tryphon.

15:11. And king Antiochus pursued after him, and he fled along by the
sea coast and came to Dora.

15:12. For he perceived that evils were gathered together upon him, and
his troops had forsaken him.

15:13. And Antiochus camped above Dora with a hundred and twenty
thousand men of war, and eight thousand horsemen:

15:14. And he invested the city, and the ships drew near by sea: and
they annoyed the city by land, and by sea, and suffered none to come in,
or to go out.

15:15. And Numenius, and they that had been with him, came from the city
of Rome, having letters written to the kings, and countries, the
contents whereof were these:

15:16. Lucius, the consul of the Romans, to king Ptolemee, greeting.

Ptolemee... Surnamed Physeon, brother and successor to Philometer.

15:17. The ambassadors of the Jews, our friends, came to us, to renew
the former friendship and alliance, being sent from Simon, the high
priest, and the people of the Jews.

15:18. And they brought also a shield of gold of a thousand pounds.

15:19. It hath seemed good therefore to us, to write to the kings and
countries, that they should do them no harm, nor fight against them,
their cities, or countries: and that they should give no aid to them
that fight against them.

15:20. And it hath seemed good to us to receive the shield of them.

15:21. If, therefore, any pestilent men are fled out of their country to
you, deliver them to Simon, the high priest, that he may punish them
according to their law.

15:22. These same things were written to king Demetrius, and to Attalus,
and to Ariarathes, and to Arsaces,

Attalus, etc... Attalus was king of Pergamus; Ariarathes was king of
Cappadocia; and Arsaces was king of the Parthians.

15:23. And to all the countries: and to Lampsacus and to the Spartans,
and to Delus, and Myndus, and Sicyon, and Caria, and Samus, and
Pamphylia, and Lycia, and Alicarnassus, and Cos, and Side, and Aradus,
and Rhodes, and Phaselis, and Gortyna, and Gnidus, and Cyprus, and
Cyrene.

15:24. And they wrote a copy thereof to Simon, the high priest, and to
the people of the Jews.

15:25. But king Antiochus moved his camp to Dora the second time,
assaulting it continually, and making engines: and he shut up Tryphon,
that he could not go out.

15:26. And Simon sent to him two thousand chosen men to aid him, silver
also, and gold, and abundance of furniture.

15:27. And he would not receive them, but broke all the covenant that he
had made with him before, and alienated himself from him.

15:28. And he sent to him Athenobius, one of his friends, to treat with
him, saying: You hold Joppe and Gazara, and the castle that is in
Jerusalem, which are cities of my kingdom:

15:29. Their borders you have wasted, and you have made great havoc in
the land, and have got the dominion of many places in my kingdom.

15:30. Now, therefore, deliver up the cities that you have taken, and
the tributes of the places whereof you have gotten the dominion without
the borders of Judea.

15:31. But if not, give me for them five hundred talents of silver, and
for the havoc that you have made, and the tributes of the cities, other
five hundred talents: or else we will come and fight against you.

15:32. So Athenobius, the king's friend came to Jerusalem, and saw the
glory of Simon and his magnificence in gold, and silver, and his great
equipage, and he was astonished, and told him the king's words.

15:33. And Simon answered him, and said to him: We have neither taken
other men's land, neither do we hold that which is other men's, but the
inheritance of our fathers, which was for some time unjustly possessed
by our enemies.

15:34. But we having opportunity, claim the inheritance of our fathers.

15:35. And as to thy complaints concerning Joppe and Gazara, they did
great harm to the people, and to our country: yet for these we will give
a hundred talents. And Athenobius answered him not a word.

15:36. But returning in a rage to the king, made report to him of these
words, and of the glory of Simon, and of all that he had seen, and the
king was exceeding angry.

15:37. And Tryphon fled away by ship to Orthosias.

15:38. And the king appointed Cendebeus captain of the sea coast, and
gave him an army of footmen and horsemen.

15:39. And he commanded him to march with his army towards Judea: and he
commanded him to build up Gedor, and to fortify the gates of the city,
and to war against the people. But the king himself pursued after
Tryphon.

15:40. And Cendebeus came to Jamnia, and began to provoke the people,
and to ravage Judea, and to take the people prisoners, and to kill, and
to build Gedor.

15:41. And he placed there horsemen, and an army: that they might issue
forth, and make incursions upon the ways of Judea, as the king had
commanded him.

1 Machabees Chapter 16

The sons of Simon defeat the troops of Antiochus. Simon with two of his
sons are treacherously murdered by Ptolemee his son in law.

16:1. Then John came up from Gazara, and told Simon, his father, what
Cendebeus had done against their people.

John... He was afterwards surnamed Hircanus, and succeeded his father in
both his dignities of high priest and prince. He conquered the Edomites,
and obliged them to a conformity with the Jews in religion; and
destroyed the schismatical temple of the Samaritans.

16:2. And Simon called his two eldest sons, Judas and John, and said to
them: I and my brethren, and my father's house, have fought against the
enemies of Israel from our youth even to this day: and things have
prospered so well in our hands, that we have delivered Israel
oftentimes.

16:3. And now I am old, but be you instead of me, and my brethren, and
go out, and fight for our nation: and the help from heaven be with you.

16:4. Then he chose out of the country twenty thousand fighting men, and
horsemen, and they went forth against Cendebeus: and they rested in
Modin.

16:5. And they arose in the morning, and went into the plain: and behold
a very great army of footmen and horsemen came against them, and there
was a running river between them.

16:6. And he and his people pitched their camp over against them, and he
saw that the people were afraid to go over the river, so he went over
first: then the men seeing him, passed over after him.

He... Viz., John.

16:7. And he divided the people, and set the horsemen in the midst of
the footmen: but the horsemen of the enemies were very numerous.

16:8. And they sounded the holy trumpets: and Cendebeus and his army
were put to flight: and there fell many of them wounded, and the rest
fled into the strong hold.

16:9. At that time, Judas, John's brother, was wounded: but John pursued
after them, till he came to Cedron, which he had built:

Cedron... Otherwise called Gedon, the city that Cendebeus was
fortifying.

16:10. And they fled even to the towers that were in the fields of
Azotus, and he burnt them with fire. And there fell of them two thousand
men, and he returned into Judea in peace.

16:11. Now Ptolemee, the son of Abobus, was appointed captain in the
plain of Jericho, and he had abundance of silver and gold.

16:12. For he was son in law of the high priest.

16:13. And his heart was lifted up, and he designed to make himself
master of the country, and he purposed treachery against Simon and his
sons, to destroy them.

16:14. Now Simon, as he was going through the cities that were in the
country of Judea, and taking care for the good ordering of them, went
down to Jericho, he and Mathathias and Judas, his sons, in the year one
hundred and seventy-seven, the eleventh month: the same is the month
Sabath.

16:15. And the son of Abobus received them deceitfully into a little
fortress, that is called Doch, which he had built: and he made them a
great feast, and hid men there.

16:16. And when Simon and his sons had drunk plentifully, Ptolemee and
his men rose up, and took their weapons, and entered into the banqueting
place, and slew him, and his two sons, and some of his servants.

16:17. And he committed a great treachery in Israel, and rendered evil
for good.

16:18. And Ptolemee wrote these things, and sent to the king that he
should send him an army to aid him, and he would deliver him the
country, and their cities, and tributes.

16:19. And he sent others to Gazara to kill John: and to the tribunes he
sent letters to come to him, and that he would give them silver, and
gold, and gifts.

16:20. And he sent others to take Jerusalem, and the mountain of the
temple.

16:21. Now one running before, told John in Gazara, that his father and
his brethren were slain, and that he hath sent men to kill thee also.

16:22. But when he heard it, he was exceedingly afraid: and he
apprehended the men that came to kill him, and he put them to death: for
he knew that they sought to make him away.

16:23. And as concerning the rest of the acts of John, and his wars, and
the worthy deeds, which he bravely achieved, and the building of the
walls, which he made, and the things that he did:

16:24. Behold, these are written in the book of the days of his
priesthood, from the time that he was made high priest after his father.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6