2 Maccabees 8

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition	Biblia Sagrada
1 But Judas, who was also called Maccabeus, and his companions secretly entered the villages and summoned their kinsmen and enlisted those who had continued in the Jewish faith, and so they gathered about six thousand men.	1 Judas, llamado también Macabeo, y sus compañeros entraban sigilosamente en las aldeas, llamaban a sus parientes y, acogiendo a los que permanecían fieles al judaísmo, llegaron a reunir seis mil hombres.
2 They besought the Lord to look upon the people who were oppressed by all, and to have pity on the temple which had been profaned by ungodly men,	2 Rogaban al Señor que mirase por aquel pueblo que todos pisoteaban; que tuviese piedad del santuario profanado por los hombres impíos;
3 and to have mercy on the city which was being destroyed and about to be leveled to the ground, and to hearken to the blood that cried out to him,	3 que se compadeciese de la ciudad destruida y a punto de ser arrasada, y que escuchase las voces de la sangre que clamaba a él;
4 and to remember also the lawless destruction of the innocent babies and the blasphemies committed against his name, and to show his hatred of evil.	4 que se acordase de la inicua matanza de niños inocentes y de las blasfemias proferidas contra su Nombre, y que mostrase su rigor contra el mal.
5 As soon as Maccabeus got his army organized, the Gentiles could not withstand him, for the wrath of the Lord had turned to mercy.	5 Cambiada en misericordia la cólera del Señor, Macabeo, con su tropa ya organizada, resultó invencible para los gentiles.
6 Coming without warning, he would set fire to towns and villages. He captured strategic positions and put to flight not a few of the enemy.	6 Llegando de improviso, incendiaba ciudades y aldeas; después de ocupar las posiciones estratégicas, ponía en fuga a numerosos enemigos.
7 He found the nights most advantageous for such attacks. And talk of his valor spread everywhere.	7 Para tales incursiones prefería como aliada la noche. La fama de su valor se extendía por todas partes.
8 When Philip saw that the man was gaining ground little by little, and that he was pushing ahead with more frequent successes, he wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, for aid to the king's government.	8 Al ver Filipo que este hombre se encumbraba paulatinamente y que sus éxitos eran cada vez más frecuentes, escribió a Tolomeo, gobernador de Celesiria y Fenicia para que viniese en ayuda de los intereses reales.
9 And Ptolemy promptly appointed Nicanor the son of Patroclus, one of the king's chief friends, and sent him, in command of no fewer than twenty thousand Gentiles of all nations, to wipe out the whole race of Judea. He associated with him Gorgias, a general and a man of experience in military service.	9 Este designó enseguida a Nicanor, hijo de Patroclo, uno de sus primeros Amigos, y lo envió al frente de por lo menos veinte mil hombres de todas las naciones para exterminar totalmente la raza judía. Puso a su lado a Gorgias, general con experiencia en lides uerreras.
10 Nicanor determined to make up for the king the tribute due to the Romans, two thousand talents, by selling the captured Jews into slavery.	10 Por su parte, Nicanor, vendiendo como esclavos a los prisioneros judíos, intentaba saldar el tributo de sesenta mil kilos de plata que el rey debía a los romanos.
11 And he immediately sent to the cities on the seacoast, inviting them to buy Jewish slaves and promising to hand over ninety slaves for a talent, not expecting the judgment from the Almighty that was about to overtake him.	11 Enseguida envió a las ciudades marítimas una invitación para que vinieran a comprar esclavos judíos, prometiendo entregar noventa esclavos por treinta kilos de plata, sin sospechar que el castigo del Todopoderoso estaba a punto de caer sobre él.
12 Word came to Judas concerning Nicanor's invasion; and when he told his companions of the arrival of the army,	12 Llegó a Judas la noticia de la expedición de Nicanor. Cuando comunicó a los que le acompañaban que el ejército se acercaba,
13 those who were cowardly and distrustful of God's justice ran off and got away.	13 los cobardes y los que no confiaban en la justicia de Dios comenzaron a desertar y a buscar refugio lejos de allí;
14 Others sold all their remaining property, and at the same time besought the Lord to rescue those who had been sold by the ungodly Nicanor before he ever met them,	14 los demás vendían todo lo que les quedaba y pedían al mismo tiempo al Señor que librara a los que el impío Nicanor ya había vendido como esclavos, aun antes de la batalla.
15 if not for their own sake, yet for the sake of the covenants made with their fathers, and because he had called them by his holy and glorious name.	15 Y lo pedían, no tanto por ellos, como por las alianzas con sus padres y porque invocaban en su favor el venerable y majestuoso Nombre.
16 But Maccabeus gathered his men together, to the number six thousand, and exhorted them not to be frightened by the enemy and not to fear the great multitude of Gentiles who were wickedly coming against them, but to fight nobly,	16 Después de reunir a los suyos, que ascendían a seis mil, Macabeo los exhortaba a no dejarse amedrentar por los enemigos ni a temer a la muchedumbre de gentiles que injustamente venían contra ellos. Al contrario, que combatiesen con valor,
17 keeping before their eyes the lawless outrage which the Gentiles had committed against the holy place, and the torture of the derided city, and besides, the overthrow of their ancestral way of life.	17 teniendo a la vista el ultraje que inicuamente habían inferido al lugar santo, los suplicios infligidos a la ciudad y la abolición de las instituciones ancestrales.
18 "For they trust to arms and acts of daring," he said, "but we trust in the Almighty God, who is able with a single nod to strike down those who are coming against us and even the whole world."	18 «Ellos —les dijo— confían en sus armas y en su audacia; pero nosotros confiamos en Dios todopoderoso, quien, con un gesto, puede abatir a nuestros atacantes y al mundo entero».
19 Moreover, he told them of the times when help came to their ancestors; both the time of Sennacherib, when one hundred and eighty-five thousand perished,	19 Les enumeró los auxilios dispensados a sus antecesores, especialmente frente a Senaquerib, cuando perecieron ciento ochenta y cinco mil;
20 and the time of the battle with the Galatians that took place in Babylonia, when eight thousand in all went into the affair, with four thousand Macedonians; and when the Macedonians were hard pressed, the eight thousand, by the help that came to them from heaven, destroyed one hundred and twenty thousand and took much booty.	20 y el recibido en Babilonia, en la batalla contra los gálatas, cuando entraron en acción los ocho mil judíos junto a los cuatro mil macedonios y, aunque los macedonios se hallaban en apuros, los ocho mil derrotaron a ciento veinte mil, gracias al auxilio que les llegó del Cielo, y se hicieron con un gran botín.
21 With these words he filled them with good courage and made them ready to die for their laws and their country; then he divided his army into four parts.	21 Después de enardecerlos con estas palabras y de disponerlos a morir por las leyes y por la patria, dividió el ejército en cuatro cuerpos.
22 He appointed his brothers also, Simon and Joseph and Jonathan, each to command a division, putting fifteen hundred men under each.	22 Puso a sus hermanos, Simón, José y Jonatán, al frente de cada cuerpo, dejando mil quinientos hombres a las órdenes de cada uno de ellos.
23 Besides, he appointed Eleazar to read aloud from the holy book, and gave the watchword, "God's help"; then, leading the first division himself, he joined battle with Nicanor.	23 Además mandó a Eleazar que leyera el libro sagrado; luego, dando como consigna «Dios nos ayuda», él mismo al frente del primer cuerpo trabó combate con Nicanor.
24 With the Almighty as their ally, they slew more than nine thousand of the enemy, and wounded and disabled most of Nicanor's army, and forced them all to flee.	24 Y con el Todopoderoso como aliado en la lucha, mataron a más de nueve mil enemigos, hirieron y mutilaron a la mayor parte del ejército de Nicanor, y a todos los demás los pusieron en fuga.
25 They captured the money of those who had come to buy them as slaves. After pursuing them for some distance, they were obliged to return because the hour was late.	25 Se apoderaron del dinero de los que habían venido a comprarlos. Después de haberlos perseguido bastante tiempo, se volvieron, obligados por la hora.
26 For it was the day before the sabbath, and for that reason they did not continue their pursuit.	26 Era víspera del sábado, y por ello no siguieron persiguiéndolos.
27 And when they had collected the arms of the enemy and stripped them of their spoils, they kept the sabbath, giving great praise and thanks to the Lord, who had preserved them for that day and allotted it to them as the beginning of mercy.	27 Una vez que hubieron amontonado las armas y recogido los despojos de los enemigos, comenzaron la celebración del sábado, desbordándose en bendiciones y alabanzas al Señor por haberlos conservado hasta aquel día señalado por Dios como comienzo de la misericordia.
28 After the sabbath they gave some of the spoils to those who had been tortured and to the widows and orphans, and distributed the rest among themselves and their children.	28 Al acabar el sábado, dieron una parte del botín a los damnificados, así como a las viudas y a los huérfanos; ellos y sus hijos se repartieron el resto.
29 When they had done this, they made common supplication and besought the merciful Lord to be wholly reconciled with his servants.	29 Hecho esto, suplicaron al Señor misericordioso, en rogativa pública, que se reconciliara del todo con sus siervos.
30 In encounters with the forces of Timothy and Bacchides they killed more than twenty thousand of them and got possession of some exceedingly high strongholds, and they divided very much plunder, giving to those who had been tortured and to the orphans and widows, and also to the aged, shares equal to their own.	30 En su combate con las tropas de Timoteo y Báquides, les mataron más de veinte mil hombres, se adueñaron por completo de altas fortalezas y dividieron el inmenso botín en partes iguales, una para ellos y otra para los damnificados, los huérfanos y las viudas, así como para los ancianos.
31 Collecting the arms of the enemy, they stored them all carefully in strategic places, and carried the rest of the spoils to Jerusalem.	31 Con todo cuidado reunieron las armas capturadas en lugares convenientes y llevaron a Jerusalén el resto de los despojos.
32 They killed the commander of Timothy's forces, a most unholy man, and one who had greatly troubled the Jews.	32 Mataron al comandante de la escolta de Timoteo, hombre de lo más impío, que había causado mucho pesar a los judíos.
33 While they were celebrating the victory in the city of their fathers, they burned those who had set fire to the sacred gates, Callisthenes and some others, who had fled into one little house; so these received the proper recompense for their impiety.	33 Mientras celebraban la victoria en su patria, quemaron a los que habían incendiado los portones sagrados, así como a Calístenes, que estaban refugiados en una misma casita, y que recibió así la merecida paga de su impiedad.
34 The thrice-accursed Nicanor, who had brought the thousand merchants to buy the Jews,	34 Nicanor, tres veces criminal, que había traído a los mil mercaderes para la venta de los judíos,
35 having been humbled with the help of the Lord by opponents whom he regarded as of the least account, took off his splendid uniform and made his way alone like a runaway slave across the country till he reached Antioch, having succeeded chiefly in the destruction of his own army!	35 quedó humillado, gracias al auxilio del Señor, por los mismos que él despreciaba como los más viles; despojándose de sus galas, como un fugitivo a campo través, en solitario, llegó a Antioquía con mucha mejor suerte que su derrotado ejército.
36 Thus he who had undertaken to secure tribute for the Romans by the capture of the people of Jerusalem proclaimed that the Jews had a Defender, and that therefore the Jews were invulnerable, because they followed the laws ordained by him.	36 El que había pretendido saldar el tributo debido a los romanos con la venta de los prisioneros de Jerusalén proclamaba que los judíos tenían a Alguien que los defendía y que eran invulnerables por el hecho de que seguían las leyes prescritas por Aquel.