2 Maccabees 8

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	SAGRADA BIBLIA
1 Judas Maccabeus and his companions entered the villages, secretly, summoned their kinsmen, and by also enlisting others who remained faithful to Judaism, assembled about six thousand men.	1 Judas, apelidado Macabeu, e seus companheiros penetravam secretamente nas aldeias e convocavam seus parentes: arrastando consigo todos os que se haviam mantido fiéis ao judaísmo, formaram um grupo de aproximadamente seis mil homens.
2 They implored the Lord to look kindly upon his people, who were being oppressed on all sides; to have pity on the temple, which was profaned by godless men;	2 Suplicavam ao Senhor que olhasse para o povo desdenhado por todos, que se compadecesse do templo profanado pelos ímpios;
3 to have mercy on the city, which was being destroyed and about to be leveled to the ground; to hearken to the blood that cried out to him;	3 que tivesse compaixão da cidade devastada, perto de ser reduzida ao nível do solo; que escutasse a voz do sangue derramado que a ele clamava;
4 to remember the criminal slaughter of innocent children and the blasphemies uttered against his name; and to manifest his hatred of evil.	4 que se lembrasse da desumana carnificina de meninos inocentes e que vingasse também as blasfêmias proferidas contra seu nome.
5 Once Maccabeus got his men organized, the Gentiles could not withstand him, for the Lord's wrath had now changed to mercy.	5 Judas tornou-se o chefe da tropa e os gentios viram-se incapazes de resistir-lhe porque a cólera de Deus tinha-se convertido em misericórdia.
6 Coming unexpectedly upon towns and villages, he would set them on fire. He captured strategic positions, and put to flight a large number of the enemy.	6 Atacava de improviso as cidades e aldeias e as incendiava; ocupava as posições favoráveis, de onde afugentava não poucos de seus inimigos.
7 He preferred the nights as being especially helpful for such attacks. Soon the fame of his valor spread everywhere.	7 Era principalmente à noite que ele empreendia essas expedições, e a fama de seu valor espalhava-se por toda parte.
8 When Philip saw that Judas was gaining ground little by little and that his successful advances were becoming more frequent, he wrote to Ptolemy, governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, to come to the aid of the king's government.	8 Vendo Judas progredir dia a dia e alcançar sempre freqüentes vitórias, Filipe escreveu ao governador da Celesíria e da Fenícia, Ptolomeu, e pediu-lhe auxílio para defender os interesses do rei.
9 Ptolemy promptly selected Nicanor, son of Patroclus, one of the Chief Friends, and sent him at the head of at least twenty thousand armed men of various nations to wipe out the entire Jewish race. With him he associated Gorgias, a professional military commander, well-versed in the art of war.	9 Imediatamente, este designou Nicanor, um dos primeiros amigos do rei e filho de Pátroclo, e o enviou à frente de uns vinte mil homens de todas as nações para exterminar toda a raça judia. Agregou a ele Górgias, general perito em assuntos de guerra.
10 Nicanor planned to raise the two thousand talents of tribute owed by the king to the Romans by selling captured Jews into slavery.	10 Nicanor esperava obter, com a venda dos judeus que fossem aprisionados, os dois mil talentos que o rei devia como tributo aos romanos.
11 So he immediately sent word to the coastal cities, inviting them to buy Jewish slaves and promising to deliver ninety slaves for a talent--little did he dream of the punishment that was to fall upon him from the Almighty.	11 Enviou sem perda de tempo, às cidades da costa, o convite para que viessem comprar judeus, prometendo entregar noventa escravos por um talento. Mas não suspeitava então de que o castigo do Todo poderoso iria cair sobre ele.
12 When Judas learned of Nicanor's advance and informed his companions about the approach of the army,	12 A notícia do avanço de Nicanor chegou a Judas, o qual informou aos seus da chegada dos inimigos.
13 the cowardly and those who lacked faith in God's justice deserted and got away.	13 Num relance, os que tinham medo ou não tinham confiança na justiça de Deus, fugiram e dispersaram-se; 14. outros venderam seus pertences, suplicando ao Senhor que os livrasse do ímpio Nicanor, que os havia vendido antes mesmo de tê-los em mãos.
14 But the others sold everything they had left, and at the same time besought the Lord to deliver those whom the ungodly Nicanor had sold before even meeting them.
15 They begged the Lord to do this, if not for their sake, at least for the sake of the covenants made with their forefathers, and because they themselves bore his holy, glorious name.	15 Se não por eles, que o fizesse ao menos em consideração às alianças estabelecidas com seus pais e porque seu santo e sublime nome tinha sido invocado sobre eles.
16 Maccabeus assembled his men, six thousand strong, and exhorted them not to be panic-stricken before the enemy, nor to fear the large number of the Gentiles attacking them unjustly, but to fight courageously,	16 Macabeu reuniu então ao redor de si seus homens, em número de seis mil, exortou-os a não se deixarem intimidar pelos inimigos, nem temerem essa massa de gentios que vinha injustamente contra eles, e que combatessem com valentia;
17 keeping before their eyes the lawless outrage perpetrated by the Gentiles against the holy Place and the affliction of the humiliated city, as well as the subversion of their ancestral way of life.	17 que pensassem na indigna profanação infligida por eles ao templo, na humilhação imposta à cidade devastada e na ruína das tradições de seus antepassados.
18 "They trust in weapons and acts of daring," he said, "but we trust in almighty God, who can by a mere nod destroy not only those who attack us, but the whole world."	18 Eles confiam, dizia ele, nas suas armas e na sua audácia, mas nós colocamos nossa segurança no Deus todo-poderoso, que pode, com um só leve aceno, desbaratar tanto os que nos atacam como o universo inteiro.
19 He went on to tell them of the times when help had been given their ancestors: both the time of Sennacherib, when a hundred and eighty-five thousand of his men were destroyed,	19 Lembrou-lhes no passado o caso da proteção divina: como, por exemplo, do exército de Senaquerib, haviam perecido cento e oitenta mil homens;
20 and the time of the battle in Babylonia against the Galatians, when only eight thousand Jews fought along with four thousand Macedonians; yet when the Macedonians were hard pressed, the eight thousand routed one hundred and twenty thousand and took a great quantity of booty, because of the help they received from Heaven.	20 e, na batalha contra os gálatas em Babilônia, oito mil judeus tiveram de lutar ao lado de quatro mil macedônios; como estes se achavam numa situação crítica, os oito mil judeus massacraram cento e vinte mil inimigos, por causa do socorro que lhes foi dado do céu, e alcançaram um vasto despojo.
21 With such words he encouraged them and made them ready to die for their laws and their country. Then Judas divided his army into four,	21 Após ter reconfortado seus companheiros e tê-los preparado a morrer pelas leis e pela pátria, dividiu o exército um quatro corpos
22 placing his brothers, Simon, Joseph, and Jonathan, each over a division, assigning to each fifteen hundred men.	22 colocando à frente destes seus irmãos Simão, José e Jônatas, como também Eleazar, cada qual chefiando mil e quinhentos homens.
23 (There was also Eleazar.) After reading to them from the holy book and giving them the watchword, "The Help of God," he himself took charge of the first division and joined in battle with Nicanor.	23 Apenas terminada a leitura do livro santo e dada a senha: Socorro de Deus, ele mesmo pôs-se à frente do primeiro corpo e travou a batalha contra Nicanor.
24 With the Almighty as their ally, they killed more than nine thousand of the enemy, wounded and disabled the greater part of Nicanor's army, and put all of them to flight.	24 O Todo-poderoso combatia com eles: massacraram mais de nove mil inimigos, feriram e mutilaram a maior parte dos soldados de Nicanor, e os puseram em fuga.
25 They also seized the money of those who had come to buy them as slaves. When they had pursued the enemy for some time,	25 Apoderaram-se também do dinheiro dos que tinham vindo para comprá-los, e perseguiram por muito tempo os vencidos, mas tiveram que desistir, impedidos pelo tempo,
26 they were obliged to return by reason of the late hour, it was the day before the sabbath, and for that reason they could not continue the pursuit.	26 porque era véspera de sábado, e isso os impedia de prosseguir.
27 They collected the enemy's arms and stripped them of their spoils, and then observed the sabbath with fervent praise and thanks to the Lord who kept them safe for that day on which he let descend on them the first dew of his mercy.	27 Recolheram as armas, arrebataram os despojos dos inimigos e chegaram assim ao sábado, bendizendo o Senhor à porfia, e glorificando-o por havê-los livrado nesse dia, prenunciando a alvorada de sua misericórdia.
28 After the sabbath, they gave a share of the booty to the persecuted and to widows and orphans; the rest they divided among themselves and their children.	28 Passado o sábado, eles reservaram uma parte dos espólios para os que haviam sofrido com a perseguição, as viúvas e os órfãos, e dividiram o resto entre eles e seus filhos.
29 When this was done, they made supplication in common, imploring the merciful Lord to be completely reconciled with his servants.	29 Feito isto, rezaram ao Senhor em comum, suplicando misericórdia e reconciliação completa com seus servos.
30 They also challenged the forces of Timothy and Bacchides, killed more than twenty thousand of them, and captured some very high fortresses. They divided the enormous plunder, allotting half to themselves and the rest to the persecuted, to orphans, widows, and the aged.	30 Nos diferentes combates com os soldados de Timóteo e de Báquides, eles mataram mais de vinte mil e tornaram-se senhores absolutos de várias praças fortes. A abundante presa dividiram-na em duas partes iguais: uma para si mesmos, outra para os perseguidos, as mulheres, os órfãos e mesmo os anciãos.
31 They collected the enemies' weapons and carefully stored them in suitable places; the rest of the spoils they carried to Jerusalem.	31 As armas que eles haviam recolhido foram colocadas diligentemente em lugares seguros e levaram a Jerusalém os demais despojos.
32 They also killed the commander of Timothy's forces, a most wicked man, who had done great harm to the Jews.	32 Mataram o chefe dos guardas de Timóteo, um dos homens mais perversos, que havia feito muito mal aos judeus.
33 While celebrating the victory in their ancestral city, they burned both those who had set fire to the sacred gates and Callisthenes, who had taken refuge in a little house; so he received the reward his wicked deeds deserved.	33 Quando celebraram a festa da vitória em Jerusalém, queimaram, dentro de uma pequena casa onde se haviam refugiado, Calístenes e os que haviam incendiado as portas do templo, infligindo-lhes assim o justo castigo de seu sacrilégio.
34 The accursed Nicanor, who had brought the thousand slave dealers to buy the Jews,	34 O tríplice celerado Nicanor - que fizera vir mil negociantes, para vender-lhes os judeus -
35 after being humbled through the Lord's help by those whom he had thought of no account, laid aside his fine clothes and fled alone across country like a runaway slave, until he reached Antioch. He was eminently successful in destroying his own army.	35 humilhado, graças a Deus, por aqueles que ele desprezava profundamente, despojou-se da vestidura de honra, e, atravessando o interior do país sozinho, como um fugitivo, chegou a Antioquia, feliz por ainda ter podido escapar ao desastre de seu exército.
36 So he who had promised to provide tribute for the Romans by the capture of the people of Jerusalem testified that the Jews had a champion, and that they were invulnerable for the very reason that they followed the laws laid down by him. Death of Antiochus	36 E ele, que tinha prometido pagar o tributo aos romanos com o dinheiro que tiraria da venda dos cativos de Jerusalém, publicou que os judeus possuíam um protetor e que se tornavam invulneráveis quando observavam as leis estabelecidas por ele.