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1 In the hundred and fifty-first year
Demetrius the son of Seleucus departed from the
city of Rome, and came up with a few men into a city of the sea coast, and
reigned there.
2 And it came to pass, as he entered into the
house of the kingdom of his fathers, that the army seized upon Antiochus, and
Lysias, to bring them unto him.
3 And when he knew it, he said: Let me not
see their face.
4 So the army slew them. And Demetrius sat
upon the throne of his kingdom:
5 And there came to him the wicked and
ungodly men of Israel: And Alcimus was at the head
of them, who desired to be made high priest.
6 And they accused the people to the king,
saying: Judas and his brethren have destroyed all thy friends, and he hath
driven us out of our land.
7 Now therefore send some man whom thou trustest, and let him go, and see all the havock he hath made amongst us, and in the king's lands:
and let him punish all his friends and their helpers.
8 Then the king chose Bacchides,
one of his friends that ruled beyond the great river in the kingdom, and was
faithful to the king: and he sent him,
9 To see the havock
that Judas had made: and the wicked Alcimus he made
high priest, and commanded him to take revenge upon the children of Israel.
10 And they arose, and came with a great army
into the land of Juda: and they sent messengers,
and spoke to Judas and his brethren with peaceable words deceitfully.
11 But they gave no heed to their words: for
they saw that they were come with a great army.
12 Then there assembled to Alcimus
and Bacchides a company of the scribes to require things
that are just:
13 And first the Assideans
that were among the children of Israel, and they sought peace of them.
14 For they said: One that is a priest of the
seed of Aaron is come, he will not deceive us.
15 And he spoke to them peaceably: and he
swore to them, saying: We will do you no harm nor your friends.
16 And they believed him. And he took
threescore of them, and slew them in one day, according to the word that is
written:
17 The flesh of thy saints, and the blood of
them they have shed round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them.
18 Then fear and trembling fell upon all the
people: for they said: There is no truth, nor justice among them: for they
have broken the covenant, and the oath which they made.
19 And Bacchides
removed the camp from Jerusalem, and pitched in Bethzecha:
and he sent, and took many of them that were fled away from him, and some of
the people he killed, and threw them into a great pit.
20 Then he committed the country to Alcimus, and left with him troops to help him. So Bacchides went away to the king:
21 But Alcimus did
what he could to maintain his chief priesthood.
22 And they that disturbed the people resorted
to him, and they got the land of Juda into their
power, and did much hurt in Israel.
23 And Judas saw all the evils that Alcimus, and they that were with him, did to the children
of Israel, much more than the Gentiles.
24 And he went out into all the coasts of Juda round about, and took vengeance upon the men that
had revolted, and they ceased to go forth any more into the country.
25 And Alcimus saw
that Judas, and they that were with him prevailed: and he knew that he could
not stand against them, and he went back to the king, and accused them of
many crimes.
26 And the king sent Nicanor
one of his principal lords, who was a great enemy to Israel: and he commanded
him to destroy the people.
27 And Nicanor came
to Jerusalem with a great army, and he sent to Judas and to his brethren
deceitfully with friendly words,
28 Saying: Let there be no fighting between
me and you: I will come with a few men to see your faces with peace.
29 And he came to Judas, and they saluted one
another peaceably: and the enemies were prepared to take away Judas by force.
30 And the thing was known to Judas that he
was come to him with deceit: and he was much afraid of him, and would not see
his face any more.
31 And Nicanor knew
that his counsel was discovered: and he went out to fight against Judas near Capharsalama.
32 And there fell of Nicanor's
army almost five thousand men, and they fled into the city of David.
33 And after this Nicanor
went up into mount Sion: and some of the priests
and the people came out to salute him peaceably, and to shew
him the holocausts that were offered for the king.
34 But he mocked them and despised them,
and abused them: and he spoke proudly,
35 And swore in anger, saying: Unless Judas
and his army be delivered into my hands, as soon as ever I return in peace, I
will burn this house. And he went out in a great rage.
36 And the priests went in, and stood
before the face of the altar and the temple: and weeping, they said:
37 Thou, O Lord, hast chosen this house for
thy name to be called upon therein, that it might be a house of prayer and
supplication for thy people.
38 Be avenged of this man, and his army, and
let them fall by the sword: remember their blasphemies, and suffer them not
to continue any longer.
39 Then Nicanor went
out from Jerusalem, and encamped near to Bethoron:
and an army of Syria joined him.
40 But Judas pitched in Adarsa
with three thousand men: and Judas prayed, and said:
41 O Lord, when they that were sent by king
Sennacherib blasphemed thee, an angel went out, and slew of them a hundred
and eighty-five thousand:
42 Even so destroy this army in our sight
to day, and let the rest know that he hath spoken ill against thy sanctuary:
and judge thou him according to his wickedness.
43 And the armies joined battle on the
thirteenth day of the month Adar: and the army of Nicanor
was defeated, and he himself was first slain in the battle.
44 And when his army saw that Nicanor was slain, they threw away their weapons, and
fled:
45 And they pursued after them one day's
journey from Adazer, even till ye come to Gazara, and they sounded the trumpets after them with
signals.
46 And they went forth out of all the towns
of Judea round about, and they pushed them with the horns, and they turned
again to them, and they were all slain with the sword, and there was not left
of them so much as one.
47 And they took the spoils of them for a
booty, and they cut off Nicanor's head, and his
right hand, which he had proudly stretched out, and they brought it, and hung
it up over against Jerusalem.
48 And the people rejoiced exceedingly, and
they spent that day with great joy.
49 And he ordained that this day should be
kept every year, being the thirteenth of the month of Adar.
50 And the land of Juda
was quiet for a short time.
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1- و في السنة المئة و الحادية و
الخمسين خرج ديمتريوس بن سلوقس من رومية و صعد في نفر يسير الى مدينة بالساحل و
ملك هناك.
2- و لما دخل دار ملك ابائه قبضت
الجيوش على انطيوكس و ليسياس لتاتيه بهما.
3- فلما علم بذلك قال لا تروني
اوجههما.
4- فقتلتهما الجيوش و جلس
ديمتريوس على عرش ملكه.
5- فاتاه جميع رجال النفاق و
الكفر من اسرائيل و في مقدمتهم الكيمس و هو يطمع ان يصير كاهنا اعظم.
6- و وشوا على الشعب عند الملك
قائلين ان يهوذا و اخوته قد اهلكوا اصحابك و طردونا عن ارضنا.
7- فالان ارسل رجلا تثق به يذهب
و يفحص عن جميع ما انزله بنا و ببلاد الملك من الدمار و يعاقبهم مع جميع
اعوانهم.
8- فاختار الملك بكيديس احد
اصحاب الملك امير عبر النهر و كان عظيما في المملكة و امينا للملك و ارسله.
9- هو و الكيمس الكافر و قد قلده
الكهنوت و امره ان ينتقم من بني اسرائيل.
10- فسارا و قدما ارض يهوذا في
جيش كثيف و انفذا رسلا الى يهوذا و اخوته يخاطبونهم بالسلام مكرا.
11- فلم يلتفتوا الى كلامهما
لانهم راوهما قادمين في جيش كثيف.
12- و اجتمعت الى الكيمس و
بكيديس جماعة الكتبة يسالون حقوقا.
13- و وافى الحسيديون و هم المقدمون
في بني اسرائيل يسالونهما السلم.
14- لانهم قالوا ان مع جيوشه
كاهنا من نسل هرون فلا يظلمنا.
15- فخاطبهم خطاب سلام و حلف لهم
قائلا انا لا نريد بكم و لا باصحابكم سوءا.
16- فصدقوه فقبض على ستين رجلا
منهم و قتلهم في يوم واحد كما هو مكتوب.
17- جعلوا لحوم اصفيائك و سفكوا
دماءهم حول اورشليم و لم يكن لهم من دافن.
18- فوقع خوفهم و رعبهم على جميع
الشعب لانهم قالوا ليس فيهم شيء من الحق و العدل اذ نكثوا العهد و الحلف الذي
حلفوه.
19- و ارتحل بكيديس عن اورشليم و
نزل ببيت زيت و ارسل و قبض على كثيرين من الذين كانوا قد خذلوه و على بعض من
الشعب و ذبحهم على الجب العظيم.
20- ثم سلم البلاد الى الكيمس و
ابقى معه جيشا يؤازره و انصرف بكيديس الى الملك.
21- و كان الكيمس يجهد في تولى
الكهنوت الاعظم.
22- و اجتمع اليه جميع المفسدين
في الشعب و استولوا على ارض يهوذا و ضربوا اسرائيل ضربة عظيمة.
23- و راى يهوذا جميع الشر الذي
صنعه الكيمس و من معه في بني اسرائيل و كان فوق ما صنعت الامم.
24- فخرج الى جميع حدود اليهودية
مما حولها و انزل نقمته بالقوم الذين خذلوه فكفوا عن مهاجمة البلاد.
25- فلما راى الكيمس ان قد تقوى
يهوذا و من معه و علم انه لا يستطيع الثبات امامهم رجع الى الملك و وشى عليهم
بجرائم.
26- فارسل الملك نكانور احد
رؤسائه المشهورين و كان عدوا مبغضا لاسرائيل و امره بابادة الشعب.
27- فوفد نكانور على اورشليم في
جيش كثير و ارسل الى يهوذا و اخوته يخاطبهم بالسلام مكرا.
28- قائلا لا يكن قتال بيني و
بينكم فانني قادم في نفر قليل لاواجهكم بسلام.
29- و جاء الى يهوذا و حيا
بعضهما بعضا تحية السلم و كان الاعداء مستعدين لاختطاف يهوذا.
30- و علم يهوذا ان مواجهته كانت
مكرا فاجفل منه و ابي ان يعود الى مواجهته.
31- فلما راى نكانور ان مشورته
قد كشفت خرج لملاقاة يهوذا بالقتال عند كفر سلامة.
32- فسقط من جيش نكانور نحو خمسة
الاف رجل و فر الباقون الى مدينة داود.
33- و بعد هذه الامور صعد نكانور
الى جبل صهيون فخرج بعض الكهنة من المقادس و بعض شيوخ الشعب يحيونه تحية السلم و
يرونه المحرقات المقربة عن الملك.
34- فاستهزا بهم و سخر منهم و
تقذرهم و كلمهم بتجبر.
35- و اقسم بغضب قائلا ان لم
يسلم يهوذا و جيشه الى يدي اليوم فسيكون متى عدت بسلام اني احرق هذا البيت و خرج
بحنق شديد.
36- فدخل الكهنة و وقفوا امام
المذبح و الهيكل و بكوا و قالوا.
37- انك يا رب قد اخترت هذا
البيت ليدعى فيه باسمك و يكون بيت صلاة و تضرع لشعبك.
38- فانزل النقمة بهذا الرجل و
جيشه و ليسقطوا بالسيف و اذكر تجاديفهم و لا تبق عليهم.
39- ثم خرج نكانور من اورشليم و نزل ببيت حورون فانحاز اليه جيش سورية.
40- و نزل يهوذا باداسة في ثلاثة
الاف رجل و صلى يهوذا و قال.
41- انه لما جدف الذين كانوا مع
ملك اشور خرج ملاكك يا رب و ضرب مئة الف و خمسة و ثمانين الفا منهم.
42- هكذا فاحطم هذا الجيش امامنا
اليوم فيعلم الباقون انهم تكلموا على اقداسك سوءا و اقض عليه بحسب خبثه.
43- ثم الحم الجيشان القتال في
اليوم الثالث عشر من شهر اذار فانكسر جيش نكانور و كان هو اول من سقط في القتال.
44- فلما راى جيش نكانور انه قد
سقط القوا اسلحتهم و هربوا.
45- فتعقبوهم مسيرة يوم من اداسة
الى مدخل جازر و نفخوا وراءهم في ابواق الاشارة.
46- فخرج الناس من جميع قرى
اليهودية من كل جانب و صدموهم فارتدوا الى جهة الذين يتعقبونهم فسقطوا جميعهم
بالسيف و لم يبق منهم احد.
47- فاخذوا الغنائم و الاسلاب و قطعوا
راس نكانور و يمينه التي مدها بتجبر و اتوا بهما و علقوهما قبالة اورشليم.
48- ففرح الشعب جدا و قضوا ذلك
النهار بمسرة عظيمة.
49- و رسموا ان يعيد ذلك اليوم
الثالث عشر من اذار كل سنة.
50- و هدات ارض يهوذا اياما
يسيرة
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