Secondus Machabaeorum 2

VULGATA	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Invenitur autem in descriptionibus Jeremiæ prophetæ, quod jussit eos ignem accipere qui transmigrabant, ut significatum est, et ut mandavit transmigratis.	1 'It is on record that the prophet Jeremiah ordered the deportees to take the fire, as we have described,
2 Et dedit illis legem, ne obliviscerentur præcepta Domini, et non exerrarent mentibus, videntes simulacra aurea et argentea, et ornamenta eorum.	2 and how, having given them the Law, the prophet warned the deportees never to forget the Lord'sprecepts, nor to let their thoughts be tempted by the sight of gold and silver statues or the finery adorning them.
3 Et alia hujusmodi dicens, hortabatur ne legem amoverent a corde suo.	3 Among other similar admonitions, he urged them not to let the Law depart from their hearts.
4 Erat autem in ipsa scriptura, quomodo tabernaculum et arcam jussit propheta divino responso ad se facto comitari secum, usquequo exiit in montem in quo Moyses ascendit, et vidit Dei hæreditatem.	4 'The same document also describes how the prophet, warned by an oracle, gave orders for the tentand the ark to go with him, when he set out for the mountain which Moses had climbed to survey God's heritage.
5 Et veniens ibi Jeremias, invenit locum speluncæ : et tabernaculum, et arcam, et altare incensi intulit illuc, et ostium obstruxit.	5 On his arrival, Jeremiah found a cave-dwel ing, into which he put the tent, the ark and the altar ofincense, afterwards blocking up the entrance.
6 Et accesserunt quidam simul, qui sequebantur, ut notarent sibi locum : et non potuerunt invenire.	6 Some of his companions went back later to mark out the path but were unable to find it.
7 Ut autem cognovit Jeremias, culpans illos dixit : Quod ignotus erit locus donec congreget Deus congregationem populi, et propitius fiat :	7 When Jeremiah learned this, he reproached them, "The place is to remain unknown", he said, "untilGod gathers his people together again and shows them his mercy.
8 et tunc Dominus ostendet hæc, et apparebit majestas Domini, et nubes erit, sicut et Moysi manifestabatur, et sicut cum Salomon petiit ut locus sanctificaretur magno Deo, manifestabat hæc.	8 Then the Lord wil bring these things once more to light, and the glory of the Lord will be seen, and sowil the cloud, as it was revealed in the time of Moses and when Solomon prayed that the holy place might begloriously hal owed."
9 Magnifice etenim sapientiam tractabat : et ut sapientiam habens, obtulit sacrificium dedicationis et consummationis templi.	9 'It was also recorded how Solomon in his wisdom offered the sacrifice of the dedication and completionof the sanctuary.
10 Sicut et Moyses orabat ad Dominum, et descendit ignis de cælo et consumpsit holocaustum, sic et Salomon oravit, et descendit ignis de cælo et consumpsit holocaustum.	10 As Moses had prayed to the Lord and fire had come down from heaven and burned up the sacrifice,so Solomon also prayed, and the fire from above consumed the burnt offerings.
11 Et dixit Moyses : Eo quod non sit comestum quod erat pro peccato, consumptum est.	11 Moses had said, "Because the sacrifice for sin had not been eaten, it was burnt instead."
12 Similiter et Salomon octo diebus celebravit dedicationem.	12 Solomon similarly observed the eight-day festival.
13 Inferebantur autem in descriptionibus et commentariis Nehemiæ hæc eadem : et ut construens bibliothecam congregavit de regionibus libros et prophetarum et David, et epistolas regum, et de donariis.	13 'In addition to the above, it was also recorded, both in these writings and in the Memoirs of Nehemiah, how Nehemiah founded a library and made a col ection of the books dealing with the kings and the prophets, thewritings of David and the letters of the kings on the subject of offerings.
14 Similiter autem et Judas ea quæ deciderant per bellum quod nobis acciderat, congregavit omnia, et sunt apud nos.	14 Similarly, Judas made a complete col ection of the books dispersed in the late war, and these we stillhave.
15 Si ergo desideratis hæc, mittite qui perferant vobis.	15 If you need any of them, send someone to fetch them.
16 Acturi itaque purificationem scripsimus vobis : bene ergo facietis, si egeritis hos dies.	16 'Since we are about to celebrate the purification, we now write, requesting you to observe the samedays.
17 Deus autem, qui liberavit populum suum, et reddidit hæreditatem omnibus, et regnum, et sacerdotium, et sanctificationem,	17 God, who has saved his whole people, conferring heritage, kingdom, priesthood and sanctification onal of us,
18 sicut promisit in lege, speramus quod cito nostri miserebitur, et congregavit de sub cælo in locum sanctum.	18 as he has promised in the Law, will surely, as our hope is in him, be swift to show us mercy andgather us together from everywhere under heaven to the holy place, since he has rescued us from great evilsand has purified it.'
19 Eripuit enim nos de magnis periculis, et locum purgavit.	19 The story of Judas Maccabaeus and his brothers, the purification of the great Temple, the dedicationof the altar,
20 De Juda vero Machabæo, et fratribus ejus, et de templi magni purificatione, et de aræ dedicatione,	20 together with the wars against Antiochus Epiphanes and his son Eupator,
21 sed et de præliis quæ pertinent ad Antiochum Nobilem et filium ejus Eupatorem,	21 and the celestial manifestations that came to hearten the brave champions of Judaism, so that, fewthough they were, they pil aged the whole country, routed the barbarian hordes,
22 et de illuminationibus quæ de cælo factæ sunt ad eos qui pro Judæis fortiter fecerunt, ita ut universam regionem, cum pauci essent, vindicarent, et barbaram multitudinem fugarent,	22 recovered the sanctuary renowned the whole world over, liberated the city and re-established the lawsby then all but abolished, the Lord showing his favour by al his gracious help to them-
23 et famosissimum in toto orbe templum recuperarent, et civitatem liberarent, et leges quæ abolitæ erant, restituerentur, Domino cum omni tranquillitate propitio facto illis.	23 al this, already related in five books by Jason of Cyrene, we shall attempt to condense into a singlework.
24 Itemque ab Jasone Cyrenæo quinque libris comprehensa tentavimus nos uno volumine breviare.	24 Considering the spate of figures and the difficulty encountered, because of the mass of material, bythose who wish to immerse themselves in historical records,
25 Considerantes enim multitudinem librorum, et difficultatem volentibus aggredi narrationes historiarum propter multitudinem rerum,	25 we have aimed at providing diversion for those who merely want something to read, a saving of labourfor those who enjoy committing things to memory, and profit for each and al .
26 curavimus volentibus quidem legere, ut esset animi oblectatio : studiosis vero, ut facilius possint memoriæ commendare : omnibus autem legentibus utilitas conferatur.	26 For us who have undertaken the drudgery of this abridgement, it has been no easy task but a matterof sweat and midnight oil,
27 Et nobis quidem ipsis, qui hoc opus breviandi causa suscepimus, non facilem laborem, immo vero negotium plenum vigiliarum et sudoris assumpsimus.	27 comparable to the exacting task of someone organising a banquet, whose aim is to satisfy a variety oftastes. Nevertheless, for the sake of rendering a general service, we remain glad to endure this drudgery,
28 Sicut hi qui præparant convivium, et quærunt aliorum voluntati parere propter multorum gratiam, libenter laborem sustinemus.	28 leaving accuracy of detail to the historian, and concentrating our effort on tracing the outlines in thiscondensed version.
29 Veritatem quidem de singulis auctoribus concedentes, ipsi autem secundum datam formam brevitati studentes.	29 Just as the architect of a new house is responsible for the construction as a whole, while the manundertaking the ceramic painting has to take into consideration only the decorative requirements, so, I think, it iswith us.
30 Sicut enim novæ domus architecto de universa structura curandum est ; ei vero qui pingere curat, quæ apta sunt ad ornatum exquirenda sunt : ita æstimandum est et in nobis.	30 To make the subject his own, to explore its by-ways, to be meticulous about details, is the business ofthe original historian,
31 Etenim intellectum colligere, et ordinare sermonem, et curiosius partes singulas quasque disquirere, historiæ congruit auctori :	31 but the person making the adaptation must be al owed to aim at conciseness of expression and toforgo any exhaustive treatment of his subject.
32 brevitatem vero dictionis sectari, et executiones rerum vitare, brevianti concedendum est.	32 So now let us begin our narrative, without adding any more to what has been said above; there wouldbe no sense in expanding the preface to the history and curtailing the history itself.
33 Hinc ergo narrationem incipiemus : de præfatione tantum dixisse sufficiat. Stultum etenim est ante historiam effluere, in ipsa autem historia succingi.