Secondus Machabaeorum 13

VULGATA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Anno centesimo quadragesimo nono, cognovit Judas Antiochum Eupatorem venire cum multitudine adversus Judæam,	1 In the year one hundred and forty-nine, Judas and his men learned that Antiochus Eupator was invading Judea with a large force,
2 et cum eo Lysiam procuratorem et præpositum negotiorum, secum habentem peditum centum decem millia, et equitum quinque millia, et elephantos viginti duos, currus cum falcibus trecentos.	2 and that with him was Lysias, his guardian, who was in charge of the government. They led a Greek army of one hundred and ten thousand foot soldiers, fifty-three hundred horsemen, twenty-two elephants, and three hundred chariots armed with scythes.
3 Commiscuit autem se illis et Menelaus : et cum multa fallacia deprecabatur Antiochum, non pro patriæ salute, sed sperans se constitui in principatum.	3 Menelaus also joined them, and with great duplicity kept urging Antiochus on, not for the welfare of his country, but in the hope of being established in office.
4 Sed Rex regum suscitavit animos Antiochi in peccatorem : et suggerente Lysia hunc esse causam omnium malorum, jussit (ut eis est consuetudo) apprehensum in eodem loco necari.	4 But the King of kings aroused the anger of Antiochus against the scoundrel. When the king was shown by Lysias that Menelaus was to blame for all the trouble, he ordered him to be taken to Beroea and executed there in the customary local method.
5 Erat autem in eodem loco turris quinquaginta cubitorum, aggestum undique habens cineris : hæc prospectum habebat in præceps.	5 There is at that place a tower seventy-five feet high, full of ashes, with a circular rim sloping down steeply on all sides toward the ashes.
6 Inde in cinerem dejici jussit sacrilegum, omnibus eum propellentibus ad interitum.	6 A man guilty of sacrilege or notorious for certain other crimes is brought up there and then hurled down to destruction.
7 Et tali lege prævaricatorem legis contigit mori, nec terræ dari Menelaum.	7 In such a manner was Menelaus, the transgressor of the law, fated to die; he was deprived even of decent burial.
8 Et quidem satis juste : nam quia multa erga aram Dei delicta commisit, cujus ignis et cinis erat sanctus : ipse in cineris morte damnatus est.	8 It was altogether just that he who had committed so many sins against the altar with its pure fire and ashes should meet his death in ashes.
9 Sed rex mente effrenatus veniebat, nequiorem se patre suo Judæis ostensurus.	9 The king was advancing, his mind full of savage plans for inflicting on the Jews worse things than those they suffered in his father's time.
10 Quibus Judas cognitis, præcepit populo ut die ac nocte Dominum invocarent, quo, sicut semper, et nunc adjuvaret eos,	10 When Judas learned of this, he urged the people to call upon the LORD night and day, to help them now, if ever,
11 quippe qui lege, et patria, sanctoque templo privari vererentur : ac populum, qui nuper paululum respirasset, ne sineret blasphemis rursus nationibus subdi.	11 when they were about to be deprived of their law, their country, and their holy temple; and not to allow this nation, which had just begun to revive, to be subjected again to blasphemous Gentiles.
12 Omnibus itaque simul id facientibus, et petentibus a Domino misericordiam cum fletu et jejuniis, per triduum continuum prostratis, hortatus est eos Judas ut se præpararent.	12 When they had all joined in doing this, and had implored the merciful LORD continuously with weeping and fasting and prostrations for three days, Judas encouraged them and told them to stand ready.
13 Ipse vero cum senioribus cogitavit priusquam rex admoveret exercitum ad Judæam et obtineret civitatem, exire, et Domini judicio committere exitum rei.	13 After a private meeting with the elders, he decided that, before the king's army could invade Judea and take possession of the city, the Jews should march out and settle the matter with God's help.
14 Dans itaque potestatem omnium Deo mundi creatori, et exhortatus suos ut fortiter dimicarent, et usque ad mortem pro legibus, templo, civitate, patria, et civibus starent, circa Modin exercitum constituit.	14 Leaving the outcome to the Creator of the world, and exhorting his followers to fight nobly to death for the laws, the temple, the city, the country, and the government, he pitched his camp near Modein.
15 Et dato signo suis Dei victoriæ, juvenibus fortissimis electis nocte aggressus aulam regiam, in castris interfecit viros quatuor millia, et maximum elephantorum cum his qui superpositi fuerant :	15 Giving his men the battle cry "God's Victory," he made a night attack on the king's pavilion with a picked force of the bravest young men and killed about two thousand in the camp. They also slew the lead elephant and its rider.
16 summoque metu ac perturbatione hostium castra replentes, rebus prospere gestis, abierunt.	16 Finally they withdrew in triumph, having filled the camp with terror and confusion.
17 Hoc autem factum est die illucescente, adjuvante eum Domini protectione.	17 Day was just breaking when this was accomplished with the help and protection of the LORD.
18 Sed rex, accepto gustu audaciæ Judæorum, arte difficultatem locorum tentabat :	18 The king, having had a taste of the Jews' daring, tried to take their positions by a stratagem.
19 et Bethsuræ, quæ erat Judæorum præsidium munitum, castra admovebat : sed fugabatur, impingebat, minorabatur.	19 So he marched against Beth-zur, a strong fortress of the Jews; but he was driven back, checked, and defeated.
20 His autem qui intus erant, Judas necessaria mittebat.	20 Judas then sent supplies to the men inside,
21 Enuntiavit autem mysteria hostibus Rhodocus quidam de judaico exercitu, qui requisitus comprehensus est, et conclusus.	21 but Rhodocus, of the Jewish army, betrayed military secrets to the enemy. He was found out, arrested, and imprisoned.
22 Iterum rex sermonem habuit ad eos qui erant in Bethsuris : dextram dedit, accepit, abiit :	22 The king made a second attempt by negotiating with the men of Beth-zur. After giving them his pledge and receiving theirs, he withdrew
23 commisit cum Juda, superatus est. Ut autem cognovit rebellasse Philippum Antiochiæ, qui relictus erat super negotia, mente consternatus, Judæos deprecans, subditusque eis, jurat de omnibus quibus justum visum est : et reconciliatus obtulit sacrificium, honoravit templum, et munera posuit.	23 and attacked Judas and his men. But he was defeated. Next he heard that Philip, who was left in charge of the government in Antioch had rebelled. Dismayed, he parleyed with the Jews, submitted to their terms, and swore to observe their rights. Having come to this agreement, he offered a sacrifice, and honored the temple with a generous donation.
24 Machabæum amplexatus est, et fecit eum a Ptolemaide usque ad Gerrenos ducem et principem.	24 He approved of Maccabeus and left him as military and civil governor of the territory from Ptolemais to the region of the Gerrenes.
25 Ut autem venit Ptolemaidam, graviter ferebant Ptolemenses amicitiæ conventionem, indignantes ne forte fœdus irrumperent.	25 When he came to Ptolemais, the people of that city were angered by the peace treaty; in fact they were so indignant that they wanted to annul its provisions.
26 Tunc ascendit Lysias tribunal, et exposuit rationem, et populum sedavit, regressusque est Antiochiam : et hoc modo regis profectio et reditus processit.	26 But Lysias took the platform, defended the treaty as well as he could and won them over by persuasion. After calming them and gaining their good will, he returned to Antioch. That is how the king's attack and withdrawal went.