Day 138:1 Maccabaeus 1 - 2

Chapter 1



1 After Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came from the land of Kittim, had defeated King Darius of the Persians and the Medes, he succeeded him as king. (He had previously become king of Greece.)
2 He fought many battles, conquered strongholds, and put to death the kings of the earth.
3 He advanced to the ends of the earth, and plundered many nations. When the earth became quiet before him, he was exalted, and his heart was lifted up.
4 He gathered a very strong army and ruled over countries, nations, and princes, and they became tributary to him.
5 After this he fell sick and perceived that he was dying.
6 So he summoned his most honored officers, who had been brought up with him from youth, and divided his kingdom among them while he was still alive.
7 And after Alexander had reigned twelve years, he died.
8 Then his officers began to rule, each in his own place.
9 They all put on crowns after his death, and so did their descendants after them for many years; and they caused many evils on the earth.
10 From them came forth a sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus; he had been a hostage in Rome. He began to reign in the one hundred thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.
11 In those days certain renegades came out from Israel and misled many, saying, "Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles around us, for since we separated from them many disasters have come upon us."
12 This proposal pleased them,
13 and some of the people eagerly went to the king, who authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles.
14 So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom,
15 and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.
16 When Antiochus saw that his kingdom was established, he determined to become king of the land of Egypt, in order that he might reign over both kingdoms.
17 So he invaded Egypt with a strong force, with chariots and elephants and cavalry and with a large fleet.
18 He engaged King Ptolemy of Egypt in battle, and Ptolemy turned and fled before him, and many were wounded and fell.
19 They captured the fortified cities in the land of Egypt, and he plundered the land of Egypt.
20 After subduing Egypt, Antiochus returned in the one hundred forty-third year. He went up against Israel and came to Jerusalem with a strong force.
21 He arrogantly entered the sanctuary and took the golden altar, the lampstand for the light, and all its utensils.
22 He took also the table for the bread of the Presence, the cups for drink offerings, the bowls, the golden censers, the curtain, the crowns, and the gold decoration on the front of the temple; he stripped it all off.
23 He took the silver and the gold, and the costly vessels; he took also the hidden treasures that he found.
24 Taking them all, he went into his own land. He shed much blood, and spoke with great arrogance.
25 Israel mourned deeply in every community,
26 rulers and elders groaned, young women and young men became faint, the beauty of the women faded.
27 Every bridegroom took up the lament; she who sat in the bridal chamber was mourning.
28 Even the land trembled for its inhabitants, and all the house of Jacob was clothed with shame.
29 Two years later the king sent to the cities of Judah a chief collector of tribute, and he came to Jerusalem with a large force.
30 Deceitfully he spoke peaceable words to them, and they believed him; but he suddenly fell upon the city, dealt it a severe blow, and destroyed many people of Israel.
31 He plundered the city, burned it with fire, and tore down its houses and its surrounding walls.
32 They took captive the women and children, and seized the livestock.
33 Then they fortified the city of David with a great strong wall and strong towers, and it became their citadel.
34 They stationed there a sinful people, men who were renegades. These strengthened their position;
35 they stored up arms and food, and collecting the spoils of Jerusalem they stored them there, and became a great menace,
36 for the citadel became an ambush against the sanctuary, an evil adversary of Israel at all times.
37 On every side of the sanctuary they shed innocent blood; they even defiled the sanctuary.
38 Because of them the residents of Jerusalem fled; she became a dwelling of strangers; she became strange to her offspring, and her children forsook her.
39 Her sanctuary became desolate like a desert; her feasts were turned into mourning, her sabbaths into a reproach, her honor into contempt.
40 Her dishonor now grew as great as her glory; her exaltation was turned into mourning.
41 Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people,
42 and that all should give up their particular customs.
43 All the Gentiles accepted the command of the king. Many even from Israel gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath.
44 And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah; he directed them to follow customs strange to the land,
45 to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary, to profane sabbaths and festivals,
46 to defile the sanctuary and the priests,
47 to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine and other unclean animals,
48 and to leave their sons uncircumcised. They were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane,
49 so that they would forget the law and change all the ordinances.
50 He added, "And whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die."
51 In such words he wrote to his whole kingdom. He appointed inspectors over all the people and commanded the towns of Judah to offer sacrifice, town by town.
52 Many of the people, everyone who forsook the law, joined them, and they did evil in the land;
53 they drove Israel into hiding in every place of refuge they had.
54 Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the one hundred forty-fifth year, they erected a desolating sacrilege on the altar of burnt offering. They also built altars in the surrounding towns of Judah,
55 and offered incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets.
56 The books of the law that they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire.
57 Anyone found possessing the book of the covenant, or anyone who adhered to the law, was condemned to death by decree of the king.
58 They kept using violence against Israel, against those who were found month after month in the towns.
59 On the twenty-fifth day of the month they offered sacrifice on the altar that was on top of the altar of burnt offering.
60 According to the decree, they put to death the women who had their children circumcised,
61 and their families and those who circumcised them; and they hung the infants from their mothers' necks.
62 But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food.
63 They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die.
64: Very great wrath came upon Israel.

Chapter 2



1: In those days Mattathias son of John son of Simeon, a priest of the family of Joarib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein.
2: He had five sons, John surnamed Gaddi,
3: Simon called Thassi,
4: Judas called Maccabeus,
5: Eleazar called Avaran, and Jonathan called Apphus.
6: He saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem,
7: and said, "Alas! Why was I born to see this, the ruin of my people, the ruin of the holy city, and to live there when it was given over to the enemy, the sanctuary given over to aliens?
8: Her temple has become like a person without honor;
9: her glorious vessels have been carried into exile. Her infants have been killed in her streets, her youths by the sword of the foe.
10: What nation has not inherited her palaces and has not seized her spoils?
11: All her adornment has been taken away; no longer free, she has become a slave.
12: And see, our holy place, our beauty, and our glory have been laid waste; the Gentiles have profaned them.
13: Why should we live any longer?"
14: Then Mattathias and his sons tore their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned greatly.
15: The king's officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the town of Modein to make them offer sacrifice.
16 Many from Israel came to them; and Mattathias and his sons were assembled.
17 Then the king's officers spoke to Mattathias as follows: "You are a leader, honored and great in this town, and supported by sons and brothers.
18 Now be the first to come and do what the king commands, as all the Gentiles and the people of Judah and those that are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons will be numbered among the Friends of the king, and you and your sons will be honored with silver and gold and many gifts."
19 But Mattathias answered and said in a loud voice: "Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to obey his commandments, everyone of them abandoning the religion of their ancestors,
20 I and my sons and my brothers will continue to live by the covenant of our ancestors.
21 Far be it from us to desert the law and the ordinances.
22 We will not obey the king's words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left."
23 When he had finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice on the altar in Modein, according to the king's command.
24 When Mattathias saw it, he burned with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger; he ran and killed him on the altar.
25 At the same time he killed the king's officer who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar.
26 Thus he burned with zeal for the law, just as Phinehas did against Zimri son of Salu.
27 Then Mattathias cried out in the town with a loud voice, saying: "Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!"
28 Then he and his sons fled to the hills and left all that they had in the town.
29 At that time many who were seeking righteousness and justice went down to the wilderness to live there,
30 they, their sons, their wives, and their livestock, because troubles pressed heavily upon them.
31 And it was reported to the king's officers, and to the troops in Jerusalem the city of David, that those who had rejected the king's command had gone down to the hiding places in the wilderness.
32 Many pursued them, and overtook them; they encamped opposite them and prepared for battle against them on the sabbath day.
33 They said to them, "Enough of this! Come out and do what the king commands, and you will live."
34 But they said, "We will not come out, nor will we do what the king commands and so profane the sabbath day."
35 Then the enemy quickly attacked them.
36 But they did not answer them or hurl a stone at them or block up their hiding places,
37 for they said, "Let us all die in our innocence; heaven and earth testify for us that you are killing us unjustly."
38 So they attacked them on the sabbath, and they died, with their wives and children and livestock, to the number of a thousand persons.
39 When Mattathias and his friends learned of it, they mourned for them deeply.
40 And all said to their neighbors: "If we all do as our kindred have done and refuse to fight with the Gentiles for our lives and for our ordinances, they will quickly destroy us from the earth."
41 So they made this decision that day: "Let us fight against anyone who comes to attack us on the sabbath day; let us not all die as our kindred died in their hiding places."
42 Then there united with them a company of Hasideans, mighty warriors of Israel, all who offered themselves willingly for the law.
43 And all who became fugitives to escape their troubles joined them and reinforced them.
44 They organized an army, and struck down sinners in their anger and renegades in their wrath; the survivors fled to the Gentiles for safety.
45 And Mattathias and his friends went around and tore down the altars;
46 they forcibly circumcised all the uncircumcised boys that they found within the borders of Israel.
47 They hunted down the arrogant, and the work prospered in their hands.
48 They rescued the law out of the hands of the Gentiles and kings, and they never let the sinner gain the upper hand.
49 Now the days drew near for Mattathias to die, and he said to his sons: "Arrogance and scorn have now become strong; it is a time of ruin and furious anger.
50 Now, my children, show zeal for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of our ancestors.
51 "Remember the deeds of the ancestors, which they did in their generations; and you will receive great honor and an everlasting name.
52 Was not Abraham found faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness?
53 Joseph in the time of his distress kept the commandment, and became lord of Egypt.
54 Phinehas our ancestor, because he was deeply zealous, received the covenant of everlasting priesthood.
55 Joshua, because he fulfilled the command, became a judge in Israel.
56 Caleb, because he testified in the assembly, received an inheritance in the land.
57 David, because he was merciful, inherited the throne of the kingdom forever.
58 Elijah, because of great zeal for the law, was taken up into heaven.
59 Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael believed and were saved from the flame.
60 Daniel, because of his innocence, was delivered from the mouth of the lions.
61 "And so observe, from generation to generation, that none of those who put their trust in him will lack strength.
62 Do not fear the words of sinners, for their splendor will turn into dung and worms.
63 Today they will be exalted, but tomorrow they will not be found, because they will have returned to the dust, and their plans will have perished.
64 My children, be courageous and grow strong in the law, for by it you will gain honor.
65 "Here is your brother Simeon who, I know, is wise in counsel; always listen to him; he shall be your father.
66 Judas Maccabeus has been a mighty warrior from his youth; he shall command the army for you and fight the battle against the peoples.
67 You shall rally around you all who observe the law, and avenge the wrong done to your people.
68 Pay back the Gentiles in full, and obey the commands of the law."
69 Then he blessed them, and was gathered to his ancestors.
70 He died in the one hundred forty-sixth year and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors at Modein. And all Israel mourned for him with great lamentation.

Day 137: Esther - Part 3

Chapter 8



1 On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her.
2 Then the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. So Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3 Then Esther spoke again to the king; she fell at his feet, weeping and pleading with him to avert the evil design of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews.
4 The king held out the golden scepter to Esther,
5and Esther rose and stood before the king. She said, "If it pleases the king, and if I have won his favor, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I have his approval, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote giving orders to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king.
6 For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming on my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?"
7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to the Jew Mordecai, "See, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he plotted to lay hands on the Jews.
8 You may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king's ring; for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked."
9 The king's secretaries were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language.
10 He wrote letters in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed them with the king's ring, and sent them by mounted couriers riding on fast steeds bred from the royal herd.
11 By these letters the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, with their children and women, and to plunder their goods
12 on a single day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

ADDITION E

Chapter 16



1 The following is a copy of this letter: "The Great King, Artaxerxes, to the governors of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, and to those who are loyal to our government, greetings.
2 Many people, the more they are honored with the most generous kindness of their benefactors, the more proud do they become,
3 and not only seek to injure our subjects, but in their inability to stand prosperity, they even undertake to scheme against their own benefactors.
4 They not only take away thankfulness from others, but, carried away by the boasts of those who know nothing of goodness, they even assume that they will escape the evil-hating justice of God, who always sees everything.
5 And often many of those who are set in places of authority have been made in part responsible for the shedding of innocent blood, and have been involved in irremediable calamities, by the persuasion of friends who have been entrusted with the administration of public affairs,
6 when these persons by the false trickery of their evil natures beguile the sincere goodwill of their sovereigns.
7 "What has been wickedly accomplished through the pestilent behavior of those who exercise authority unworthily can be seen, not so much from the more ancient records that we hand on, as from investigation of matters close at hand.
8 In the future we will take care to render our kingdom quiet and peaceable for all,
9 by changing our methods and always judging what comes before our eyes with more equitable consideration.
10 For Haman son of Hammedatha, a Macedonian (really an alien to the Persian blood, and quite devoid of our kindliness), having become our guest,
11 enjoyed so fully the goodwill that we have for every nation that he was called our father and was continually bowed down to by all as the person second to the royal throne.
12 But, unable to restrain his arrogance, he undertook to deprive us of our kingdom and our life,
13 and with intricate craft and deceit asked for the destruction of Mordecai, our savior and perpetual benefactor, and of Esther, the blameless partner of our kingdom, together with their whole nation.
14 He thought that by these methods he would catch us undefended and would transfer the kingdom of the Persians to the Macedonians.
15 "But we find that the Jews, who were consigned to annihilation by this thrice-accursed man, are not evildoers, but are governed by most righteous laws
16 and are children of the living God, most high, most mighty, who has directed the kingdom both for us and for our ancestors in the most excellent order.
17 "You will therefore do well not to put in execution the letters sent by Haman son of Hammedatha,
18 since he, the one who did these things, has been hanged at the gate of Susa with all his household—for God, who rules over all things, has speedily inflicted on him the punishment that he deserved.
19 "Therefore post a copy of this letter publicly in every place, and permit the Jews to live under their own laws.
20 And give them reinforcements, so that on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, on that very day, they may defend themselves against those who attack them at the time of oppression.
21 For God, who rules over all things, has made this day to be a joy for his chosen people instead of a day of destruction for them.
22 "Therefore you shall observe this with all good cheer as a notable day among your commemorative festivals,
23 so that both now and hereafter it may represent deliverance for you and the loyal Persians, but that it may be a reminder of destruction for those who plot against us.
24 "Every city and country, without exception, that does not act accordingly shall be destroyed in wrath with spear and fire. It shall be made not only impassable for human beings, but also most hateful to wild animals and birds for all time.
END OF ADDITION E

Chapter 8

13 A copy of the writ was to be issued as a decree in every province and published to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take revenge on their enemies.
14 So the couriers, mounted on their swift royal steeds, hurried out, urged by the king's command. The decree was issued in the citadel of Susa.
15 Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king, wearing royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a mantle of fine linen and purple, while the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.
16 For the Jews there was light and gladness, joy and honor.
17 In every province and in every city, wherever the king's command and his edict came, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a festival and a holiday. Furthermore, many of the peoples of the country professed to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.

Chapter 9



1 Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, when the king's command and edict were about to be executed, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain power over them, but which had been changed to a day when the Jews would gain power over their foes,
2 the Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who had sought their ruin; and no one could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples.
3 All the officials of the provinces, the satraps and the governors, and the royal officials were supporting the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them.
4For Mordecai was powerful in the king's house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces as the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful.
5 So the Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, slaughtering, and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them.
6 In the citadel of Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred people.
7They killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,
9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, Vaizatha,
10the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews; but they did not touch the plunder.
11 That very day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king.
12 The king said to Queen Esther, "In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed five hundred people and also the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your petition? It shall be granted you. And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled."
13 Esther said, "If it pleases the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day's edict, and let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows."
14 So the king commanded this to be done; a decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged.
15 The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and they killed three hundred persons in Susa; but they did not touch the plunder.
16 Now the other Jews who were in the king's provinces also gathered to defend their lives, and gained relief from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they laid no hands on the plunder.
17 This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness.
18 But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the thirteenth day and on the fourteenth, and rested on the fifteenth day, making that a day of feasting and gladness.
19Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the open towns, hold the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting, a holiday on which they send gifts of food to one another.
20 Mordecai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
21 enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month, year by year,
22 as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor.
23 So the Jews adopted as a custom what they had begun to do, as Mordecai had written to them.
24 Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur—that is "the lot"—to crush and destroy them;
25 but when Esther came before the king, he gave orders in writing that the wicked plot that he had devised against the Jews should come upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
26 Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Thus because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them,
27 the Jews established and accepted as a custom for themselves and their descendants and all who joined them, that without fail they would continue to observe these two days every year, as it was written and at the time appointed.
28 These days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every family, province, and city; and these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.
29 Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with the Jew Mordecai, gave full written authority, confirming this second letter about Purim.
30 Letters were sent wishing peace and security to all the Jews, to the one hundred twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus,
31 and giving orders that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as the Jew Mordecai and Queen Esther enjoined on the Jews, just as they had laid down for themselves and for their descendants regulations concerning their fasts and their lamentations.
32 The command of Queen Esther fixed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing.

Chapter 10



1 King Ahasuerus laid tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea.
2 All the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the annals of the kings of Media and Persia?
3 For Mordecai the Jew was next in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was powerful among the Jews and popular with his many kindred, for he sought the good of his people and interceded for the welfare of all his descendants.

ADDITION F

4 And Mordecai said, “These things have come from God;
5 for I remember the dream that I had concerning these matters, and none of them has failed to be fulfilled.
6 There was the little spring that became a river, and there was light and sun and abundant water—the river is Esther, whom the king married and made queen.
7 The two dragons are Haman and myself.
8 The nations are those that gathered to destroy the name of the Jews.
9 And my nation, this is Israel, who cried out to God and was saved. The Lord has saved his people; the Lord has rescued us from all these evils; God has done great signs and wonders, wonders that have never happened among the nations.
10 For this purpose he made two lots, one for the people of God and one for all the nations,
11 and these two lots came to the hour and moment and day of decision before God and among all the nations.
12 And God remembered his people and vindicated his inheritance.
13 So they will observe these days in the month of Adar, on the fourteenth and fifteenth[b] of that month, with an assembly and joy and gladness before God, from generation to generation forever among his people Israel.”

Chapter 11

13 In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said that he was a priest and a Levite, and his son Ptolemy brought to Egypt the preceding Letter about Purim, which they said was authentic and had been translated by Lysimachus son of Ptolemy, one of the residents of Jerusalem.

END OF ADDITION F