Secondus Machabaeorum 12

VULGATA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 His factis pactionibus, Lysias pergebat ad regem, Judæi autem agriculturæ operam dabant.	1 After these agreements were made, Lysias returned to the king, and the Jews went about their farming.
2 Sed hi qui resederant, Timotheus, et Apollonius Gennæi filius, sed et Hieronymus, et Demophon super hos, et Nicanor Cypriarches, non sinebant eos in silentio agere et quiete.	2 But some of the local governors, Timothy and Apollonius, son of Gennaeus, as also Hieronymus and Demophon, to say nothing of Nicanor, the commander of the Cyprians, would not allow them to live in peace.
3 Joppitæ vero tale quoddam flagitium perpetrarunt : rogaverunt Judæos cum quibus habitabant, ascendere scaphas quas paraverant, cum uxoribus et filiis, quasi nullis inimicitiis inter eos subjacentibus.	3 Some people of Joppa also committed this outrage: they invited the Jews who lived among them, together with their wives and children, to embark on boats which they had provided. There was no hint of enmity toward them;
4 Secundum commune itaque decretum civitatis, et ipsis acquiescentibus, pacisque causa nihil suspectum habentibus : cum in altum processissent, submerserunt non minus ducentos.	4 this was done by public vote of the city. When the Jews, not suspecting treachery and wishing to live on friendly terms, accepted the invitation, the people of Joppa took them out to sea and drowned at least two hundred of them.
5 Quam crudelitatem Judas in suæ gentis homines factam ut cognovit, præcepit viris qui erant cum ipso : et invocato justo judice Deo,	5 As soon as Judas heard of the barbarous deed perpetrated against his countrymen, he summoned his men;
6 venit adversus interfectores fratrum, et portum quidem noctu succendit, scaphas exussit, eos autem qui ab igne refugerant, gladio peremit.	6 and after calling upon God, the just judge, he marched against the murderers of his kinsmen. In a night attack he set the harbor on fire, burnt the boats, and put to the sword those who had taken refuge there.
7 Et cum hæc ita egisset, discessit quasi iterum reversurus, et universos Joppitas eradicaturus.	7 When the gates of the town were shut, he withdrew, intending to come back later and wipe out the entire population of Joppa.
8 Sed cum cognovisset et eos qui erant Jamniæ, velle pari modo facere habitantibus secum Judæis,	8 On hearing that the men of Jamnia planned to give like treatment to the Jews who lived among them,
9 Jamnitis quoque nocte supervenit, et portum cum navibus succendit : ita ut lumen ignis appareret Jerosolymis a stadiis ducentis quadraginta.	9 he attacked the Jamnian populace by night, setting fire to the harbor and the fleet, so that the glow of the flames was visible as far as Jerusalem, thirty miles away.
10 Inde cum jam abiissent novem stadiis, et iter facerent ad Timotheum, commiserunt cum eo Arabes quinque millia viri, et equites quingenti.	10 When the Jews had gone about a mile from there in the campaign against Timothy, they were attacked by Arabs numbering at least five thousand foot soldiers, and five hundred horsemen.
11 Cumque pugna valida fieret, et auxilio Dei prospere cessisset, residui Arabes victi petebant a Juda dextram sibi dari, promittentes se pascua daturos, et in ceteris profuturos.	11 After a hard fight, Judas and his companions, with God's help, were victorious. The defeated nomads begged Judas to make friends with them and promised to supply the Jews with cattle and to help them in every other way.
12 Judas autem arbitratus vere in multis eos utiles, promisit pacem : dextrisque acceptis, discessere ad tabernacula sua.	12 Realizing that they could indeed be useful in many respects, Judas agreed to make peace with them. After the pledge of friendship had been exchanged, the Arabs withdrew to their tents.
13 Aggressus est autem et civitatem quamdam firmam pontibus murisque circumseptam, quæ a turbis habitabatur gentium promiscuarum : cui nomen Casphin.	13 He also attacked a certain city called Caspin, fortified with earthworks and ramparts and inhabited by a mixed population of Gentiles.
14 Hi vero qui intus erant, confidentes in stabilitate murorum et apparatu alimoniarum, remissius agebant, maledictis lacessentes Judam et blasphemantes, ac loquentes quæ fas non est.	14 Relying on the strength of their walls and their supply of provisions, the besieged treated Judas and his men with contempt, insulting them and even uttering blasphemies and profanity.
15 Machabæus autem, invocato magno mundi Principe, qui sine arietibus et machinis temporibus Jesu præcipitavit Jericho, irruit ferociter muris :	15 But Judas and his men invoked the aid of the great Sovereign of the world, who, in the day of Joshua, overthrew Jericho without battering-ram or siege machine; then they furiously stormed the ramparts.
16 et capta civitate per Domini voluntatem, innumerabiles cædes fecit, ita ut adjacens stagnum stadiorum duorum latitudinis sanguine interfectorum fluere videretur.	16 Capturing the city by the will of God, they inflicted such indescribable slaughter on it that the adjacent pool, which was about a quarter of a mile wide, seemed to be filled with the blood that flowed into it.
17 Inde discesserunt stadia septingenta quinquaginta, et venerunt in Characa ad eos, qui dicuntur Tubianæi, Judæos :	17 When they had gone on some ninety miles, they reached Charax, where there were certain Jews known as Toubiani.
18 et Timotheum quidem in illis locis non comprehenderunt, nulloque negotio perfecto regressus est, relicto in quodam loco firmissimo præsidio.	18 But they did not find Timothy in that region, for he had already departed from there without having done anything except to leave behind in one place a very strong garrison.
19 Dositheus autem et Sosipater, qui erant duces cum Machabæo, peremerunt a Timotheo relictos in præsidio, decem millia viros.	19 But Dositheus and Sosipater, two of Maccabeus' captains, marched out and destroyed the force of more than ten thousand men that Timothy had left in the stronghold.
20 At Machabæus, ordinatis circum se sex millibus, et constitutis per cohortes, adversus Timotheum processit, habentem secum centum viginti millia peditum, equitumque duo millia quingentos.	20 Meanwhile, Maccabeus divided his army into cohorts, with a commander over each cohort, and went in pursuit of Timothy, who had a force of a hundred and twenty thousand foot soldiers and twenty-five hundred horsemen.
21 Cognito autem Judæ adventu, Timotheus præmisit mulieres et filios, et reliquum apparatum, in præsidium quod Carnion dicitur : erat enim inexpugnabile, et accessu difficile propter locorum angustias.	21 When Timothy learned of the approach of Judas, he sent on ahead of him the women and children, as well as the baggage, to a place called Karnion, which was hard to besiege and even hard to reach because of the difficult terrain of that region.
22 Cumque cohors Judæ prima apparuisset, timor hostibus incussus est ex præsentia Dei, qui universa conspicit : et in fugam versi sunt alius ab alio, ita ut magis a suis dejicerentur, et gladiorum suorum ictibus debilitarentur.	22 But when Judas' first cohort appeared, the enemy was overwhelmed with fear and terror at the manifestation of the All-seeing. Scattering in every direction, they rushed away in such headlong flight that in many cases they wounded one another, pierced by the swords of their own men.
23 Judas autem vehementer instabat puniens profanos, et prostravit ex eis triginta millia virorum.	23 Judas pressed the pursuit vigorously, putting the sinners to the sword and destroying as many as thirty thousand men.
24 Ipse vero Timotheus incidit in partes Dosithei et Sosipatris : et multis precibus postulabat ut vivus dimitteretur, eo quod multorum ex Judæis parentes haberet ac fratres, quos morte ejus decipi eveniret.	24 Timothy himself fell into the hands of the men under Dositheus and Sosipater; but with great cunning, he asked them to spare his life and let him go, because he had in his power the parents and relatives of many of them, and could make these suffer.
25 Et cum fidem dedisset restituturum se eos secundum constitutum, illæsum eum dimiserunt propter fratrum salutem.	25 When he had fully confirmed his solemn pledge to restore them unharmed, they let him go for the sake of saving their brethren.
26 Judas autem egressus est ad Carnion, interfectis viginti quinque millibus.	26 Judas then marched to Karnion and the shrine of Atargatis, where he killed twenty-five thousand people.
27 Post horum fugam et necem, movit exercitum ad Ephron civitatem munitam, in qua multitudo diversarum gentium habitabat : et robusti juvenes pro muris consistentes fortiter repugnabant : in hac autem machinæ multæ et telorum erat apparatus.	27 After the defeat and destruction of these, he moved his army to Ephron, a fortified city inhabited by people of many nationalities. Robust young men took up their posts in defense of the walls, from which they fought valiantly; inside were large supplies of machines and missiles.
28 Sed cum Omnipotentem invocassent, qui potestate sua vires hostium confringit, ceperunt civitatem : et ex eis qui intus erant, viginti quinque millia prostraverunt.	28 But the Jews, invoking the Sovereign who forcibly shatters the might of his enemies, got possession of the city and slaughtered twenty-five thousand of the people in it.
29 Inde ad civitatem Scytharum abierunt, quæ ab Jerosolymis sexcentis stadiis aberat.	29 Then they set out from there and hastened on to Scythopolis, seventy-five miles from Jerusalem.
30 Contestantibus autem his, qui apud Scythopolitas erant, Judæis, quod benigne ab eis haberentur, etiam temporibus infelicitatis quod modeste secum egerint :	30 But when the Jews who lived there testified to the good will shown by the Scythopolitans and to their kind treatment even in times of adversity,
31 gratias agentes eis, et exhortati etiam de cetero erga genus suum benignos esse, venerunt Jerosolymam die solemni septimanarum instante.	31 Judas and his men thanked them and exhorted them to be well disposed to their race in the future also. Finally they arrived in Jerusalem, shortly before the feast of Weeks.
32 Et post Pentecosten abierunt contra Gorgiam præpositum Idumææ.	32 After this feast called Pentecost, they lost no time in marching against Gorgias, governor of Idumea,
33 Exivit autem cum peditibus tribus millibus, et equitibus quadringentis.	33 who opposed them with three thousand foot soldiers and four hundred horsemen.
34 Quibus congressis, contigit paucos ruere Judæorum.	34 In the ensuing battle, a few of the Jews were slain.
35 Dositheus vero quidam de Bacenoris eques, vir fortis, Gorgiam tenebat : et, cum vellet illum capere vivum, eques quidam de Thracibus irruit in eum, humerumque ejus amputavit : atque ita Gorgias effugit in Maresa.	35 A man called Dositheus, a powerful horseman and one of Bacenor's men, caught hold of Gorgias, grasped his military cloak and dragged him along by main strength, intending to capture the vile wretch alive, when a Thracian horseman attacked Dositheus and cut off his arm at the shoulder. Then Gorgias fled to Marisa.
36 At illis qui cum Esdrim erant diutius pugnantibus et fatigatis, invocavit Judas Dominum adjutorem et ducem belli fieri :	36 After Esdris and his men had been fighting for a long time and were weary, Judas called upon the Lord to show himself their ally and leader in the battle.
37 incipiens voce patria, et cum hymnis clamorem extollens, fugam Gorgiæ militibus incussit.	37 Then, raising a battle cry in his ancestral language, and with songs, he charged Gorgias' men when they were not expecting it and put them to flight.
38 Judas autem collecto exercitu venit in civitatem Odollam : et cum septima dies superveniret, secundum consuetudinem purificati, in eodem loco sabbatum egerunt.	38 Judas rallied his army and went to the city of Adullam. As the week was ending, they purified themselves according to custom and kept the sabbath there.
39 Et sequenti die venit cum suis Judas, ut corpora prostratorum tolleret, et cum parentibus poneret in sepulchris paternis.	39 On the following day, since the task had now become urgent, Judas and his men went to gather up the bodies of the slain and bury them with their kinsmen in their ancestral tombs.
40 Invenerunt autem sub tunicis interfectorum de donariis idolorum quæ apud Jamniam fuerunt, a quibus lex prohibet Judæos : omnibus ergo manifestum factum est, ob hanc causam eos corruisse.	40 But under the tunic of each of the dead they found amulets sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. So it was clear to all that this was why these men had been slain.
41 Omnes itaque benedixerunt justum judicium Domini, qui occulta fecerat manifesta :	41 They all therefore praised the ways of the Lord, the just judge who brings to light the things that are hidden.
42 atque ita ad preces conversi, rogaverunt ut id quod factum erat delictum oblivioni traderetur. At vero fortissimus Judas hortabatur populum conservare se sine peccato, sub oculis videntes quæ facta sunt pro peccatis eorum qui prostrati sunt.	42 Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas warned the soldiers to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen.
43 Et facta collatione, duodecim millia drachmas argenti misit Jerosolymam offerri pro peccatis mortuorum sacrificium, bene et religiose de resurrectione cogitans	43 He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view;
44 (nisi enim eos qui ceciderant resurrecturos speraret, superfluum videretur et vanum orare pro mortuis),	44 for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death.
45 et quia considerabat quod hi qui cum pietate dormitionem acceperant, optimam haberent repositam gratiam.	45 But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.
46 Sancta ergo et salubris est cogitatio pro defunctis exorare, ut a peccatis solvantur.	46 Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.