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Venerdi, 29 marzo 2024 - Santi Simplicio e Costantino ( Letture di oggi)

1 Maccabees 7


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1In the year one hundred and fifty-one, Demetrius, son of Seleucus, set out from Rome, arrived with a few men in a city on the seacoast, and began to rule there.2As he was preparing to enter the royal palace of his ancestors, the soldiers seized Antiochus and Lysias to bring them to him.3When he was informed of this, he said, "Do not show me their faces."4So the soldiers killed them, and Demetrius sat on the royal throne.5Then all the lawless and impious men of Israel came to him. They were led by Alcimus, who desired to be high priest.6They made this accusation to the king against the people: "Judas and his brothers have destroyed all your friends and have driven us out of our country.7So now, send a man whom you trust to go and see all the havoc Judas has done to us and to the king's land, and let him punish them and all their supporters."8Then the king chose Bacchides, one of the King's Friends, governor of West-of-Euphrates, a great man in the kingdom, and faithful to the king.9He sent him and the impious Alcimus, to whom he granted the high priesthood, with orders to take revenge on the Israelites.10They set out and, on arriving in the land of Judah with a great army, sent messengers who spoke deceitfully to Judas and his brothers in peaceful terms.11But these paid no attention to their words, seeing that they had come with a great army.12A group of scribes, however, gathered about Alcimus and Bacchides to ask for a just agreement.13The Hasideans were the first among the Israelites to seek peace with them,14for they said, "A priest of the line of Aaron has come with the army, and he will not do us any wrong."15He spoke with them peacefully and swore to them, "We will not try to injure you or your friends."16So they trusted him. But he arrested sixty of them and killed them in one day, according to the text of Scripture:17"The flesh of your saints they have strewn, and their blood they have shed round about Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them."18Then fear and dread of them came upon all the people, who said: "There is no truth or justice among them; they violated the agreement and the oath that they swore."19Bacchides withdrew from Jerusalem and pitched his camp in Beth-zaith. He had many of the men arrested who deserted to him, throwing them into the great pit.20He handed the province over to Alcimus, leaving troops to help him, while he himself returned to the king.21Alcimus spared no pains to maintain his high priesthood,22and all those who were disturbing their people gathered about him. They took possession of the land of Judah and caused great distress in Israel.23When Judas saw all the evils that Alcimus and his men were bringing upon the Israelites, more than even the Gentiles had done,24he went about all the borders of Judea and took revenge on the men who had deserted, preventing them from going out into the country.25But when Alcimus saw that Judas and his followers were gaining strength and realized that he could not oppose them, he returned to the king and accused them of grave crimes.26Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his famous officers, who was a bitter enemy of Israel, with orders to destroy the people.27Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a large force and deceitfully sent to Judas and his brothers this peaceable message:28"Let there be no fight between me and you. I will come with a few men to meet you peaceably."29So he came to Judas, and they greeted one another peaceably. But Judas' enemies were prepared to seize him.30When he became aware that Nicanor had come to him with treachery in mind, Judas was afraid and would not meet him again.31When Nicanor saw that his plan had been discovered, he went out to fight Judas near Capharsalama.32About five hundred men of Nicanor's army fell; the rest fled to the City of David.33After this, Nicanor went up to Mount Zion. Some of the priests from the sanctuary and some of the elders of the people came out to greet him peaceably and to show him the holocaust that was being offered for the king.34But he mocked and ridiculed them, defiled them, and spoke disdainfully.35In a rage he swore: "If Judas and his army are not delivered to me at once, when I return victorious I will burn this temple down." He went away in great anger.36The priests, however, went in and stood before the altar and the sanctuary. They wept and said:37"You have chosen this house to bear your name, to be a house of prayer and petition for your people.38Take revenge on this man and his army, and let them fall by the sword. Remember their blasphemies, and do not let them continue."39Nicanor left Jerusalem and pitched his camp at Beth-horon, where the Syrian army joined him.40But Judas camped in Adasa with three thousand men. Here Judas uttered this prayer:41"When they who were sent by the king blasphemed, your angel went out and killed a hundred and eighty-five thousand of them.42In the same way, crush this army before us today, and let the rest know that Nicanor spoke wickedly against your sanctuary; judge him according to his wickedness."43The armies met in battle on the thirteenth day of the month Adar. Nicanor's army was crushed, and he himself was the first to fall in the battle.44When his army saw that Nicanor was dead, they threw down their arms and fled.45The Jews pursued them a day's journey, from Adasa to near Gazara, blowing the trumpets behind them as signals.46From all the surrounding villages of Judea people came out and closed in on them. They hemmed them in, and all the enemies fell by the sword; not a single one escaped.47Then the Jews collected the spoils and the booty; they cut off Nicanor's head and his right arm, which he had lifted up so arrogantly. These they brought to Jerusalem and displayed there.48The people rejoiced greatly, and observed that day as a great festival.49They decreed that it should be observed every year on the thirteenth of Adar.50And for a short time the land of Judah was quiet.