Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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Alcimus Speaks against Judas
(1 Maccabees 7.1–21)
1 Three years later, Judas and
his men learned that Demetrius
son of Seleucus had sailed into
the port of Tripolis with a powerful
army and a fleet.
2 It was reported
that he had killed King Antiochus
and his guardian Lysias and had
taken over the country.
3 There was a man by the name of
Alcimus, who had formerly been
High Priest but who had gladly
adopted the Greek way of life during
the revolt. Realizing that he could
never again be High Priest and fearful
of what the Jews might do to
him,
4 he went to see King Demetrius
in the year 151. noteOn this occasion
he presented the king with a
gold crown and a palm branch, together
with some olive branches traditionally
presented to the Temple,
but he said nothing about his plans.
5 Later, however, he got the chance
to put his foolish plans into effect
when Demetrius summoned him to a
meeting of his advisers and asked
him what the Jews were intending to
do.
5 Alcimus said,
6 “The followers of
Judas Maccabeus think of themselves
as devout and patriotic; they
love war and are constantly inciting
the people to rebellion and will never
leave the nation in peace.
7 It is
their fault that I no longer hold the
glorious position of High Priest, to
which I am entitled by birth. And so
I have come here,
8 primarily out of a
genuine concern for your interests
as king, but also out of consideration
-- --
for my own countrymen, for the
foolish policies of Judas and his followers
have brought terrible suffering
on our entire nation.
9 When
Your Majesty has examined all the
details of these matters, please act in
your usual kind and generous manner
to relieve the oppression of our
nation and its people.
10 As long as
Judas is alive, it will be impossible
for our nation to enjoy peace.”
Demetrius Sends Nicanor
to Attack Judas
11 As soon as Alcimus had finished
his speech, the other advisers
quickly seized this opportunity to
arouse Demetrius' anger against Judas,
because they also hated him.
12 So King Demetrius immediately
appointed Nicanor, who was the
commander of his elephant forces,
to be governor of Judea, and sent
him there
13 with orders to kill Judas,
scatter his followers, and make Alcimus
High Priest of the greatest Temple
in all the world.
14 All the foreigners
in Judea, who had fled from
Judas' attacks, now rushed to join
forces with Nicanor, because they
thought that any defeat or trouble
that came to the Jews would be to
their own advantage.
15 The Jews heard that Nicanor
was attacking and that the foreigners
in their country were giving him
their support. So they threw dirt on
themselves and prayed to their God,
who had chosen their nation as his
possession forever and had never
failed to help them in time of need.
16 Then Judas, their leader, gave the
orders, and they immediately
marched out to engage the enemy in
battle near the village of Adasa. note
17 Judas' brother Simon was fighting
Nicanor but was gradually losing the
battle because of an unexpected
move on the part of the enemy.
18 However, when Nicanor heard
how bravely and courageously Judas
and his men were fighting for
their country, he decided not to settle
the matter in battle.
19 Instead, he
sent Posidonius, Theodotus, and
Mattathias to make a treaty with the
Jews.
20 After the terms of the treaty had
been workd out in detail, Nicanor informed
his troops, and they unanimously
agreed.
21 Then a day was set
on which the leaders would meet in
private. Ceremonial chairs were
brought out from each camp and set
up.
22 Judas had taken the precaution
of placing battle-ready troops in
strategic places, in case of sudden
treachery on the part of the enemy.
But the two leaders had a friendly
meeting.
23 Nicanor stayed on in Jerusalem
for some time after that. He
did not mistreat the Jews in any
way, and even sent away the people
who had come over to his side.
24 The two men became the best of
friends, and Judas was Nicanor's
constant companion.
25 Nicanor
urged him to marry and start a family.
So Judas did this and settled
down to a peaceful life. note
Nicanor Turns against Judas
26 When Alcimus noticed how well
Nicanor and Judas were getting
along, he obtained a copy of the
treaty and went to see King Demetrius.
He told the king that Nicanor
was disloyal to the government, because
he had appointed the traitor
Judas to be his successor.
27 These
false accusations infuriated the king,
and in his anger he wrote to Nicanor,
informing him that he was dissatisfied
with the treaty and ordering
him to arrest Judas Maccabeus
and send him to Antioch at once.
28 When this message reached Nicanor,
he was hurt and didn't know
what to do, because he did not like
having to break an agreement with a
man who had kept his part of the
bargain.
29 Yet it was impossible for
him to ignore the king's command,
so he began looking for a way to
trap Judas.
30 Judas, however, noticed
that Nicanor was becoming
hostile and rude toward him, and he
knew that this was a bad sign. So he
-- --
gathered a large number of his followers
and went into hiding.
31 When Nicanor realized that Judas
had outsmarted him, he went to
the great and holy Temple at the
time when the priests were offering
sacrifice and ordered them to surrender
Judas to him. note
32 But the
priests declared under oath that they
had no idea where Judas was hiding.
33 Then Nicanor raised his right arm
in the direction of the Temple and
made a solemn threat: “If you do not
hand Judas over to me as a prisoner,
I will level God's Temple to the
ground, demolish this altar, and on
this spot build a glorious temple to
Dionysus.”
34 Then he left, and immediately
the priests lifted their
arms toward heaven and prayed to
God, the faithful Defender of our nation:
35 “Lord, you are in need of
nothing, yet it has pleased you to
place your Temple here and to live
among us.
36 You alone are holy, and
your Temple has only recently been
purified, so now protect its holiness
forever.”
Razis Dies for His Country
37 One of the leaders in Jerusalem,
a man by the name of Razis, was denounced
to Nicanor. It was said that
he had helped his people in many
ways and was so highly respected by
them that he was known as “the Father
of the Jews.”
38 During the early
days of revolution he had risked his
life for Judaism and had been
brought to trial because of his loyality.
39 Wanting to show clearly how
much he disliked the Jews, Nicanor
sent more than 500 soldiers to arrest
Razis,
40 because he thought his arrest
would be a crippling blow to the
Jews.
41 The soldiers were about to
capture the tower where Razis had
gone. They were forcing open the
gates to the courtyard, and the order
had been given to set the door on
fire. Razis realized there was no escape,
so he tried to committ suicide
with his sword,
42 preferring to die
with honor rather than suffer humiliation
at the hands of evil men.
43 Under the pressure of the moment,
Razis misjudged the thrust of
the sword, and it did not kill him. So,
while the soldiers were swarming
into the room, he rushed to the wall
and jumped off like a brave hero into
the crowd below.
44 The crowd
quickly moved back, and he fell in
the space they left.
45 Still alive, and
burning with courage, he got up, and
with blood gushing from his
wounds, he ran through the crowd
and finally climbed a steep rock.
46 Now completely drained of blood,
he tore out his intestines with both
hands and threw them at the crowd,
and as he did so, he prayed for the
Lord of life and breath to give them
back to him. That was how he died.
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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