2 Maccabees 8
GNV1560Tap a verse number to view it individually, or to play chapter audio from that verse when it’s loaded. Tap any word for its 1828 dictionary definition.
1THen Iudas Maccabeus, and they that were with him, went priuely into the townes, & called their kinsfolkes & friends together, & toke vnto them all suche as continued in the Iewes religion, and assembled six thousand men. 2So they called vpon the Lord, that he wolde haue an eye vnto his people, which was vexed of euerie man, & haue pitie vpon the Temple that was defiled by wicked men, 3And that he wolde haue compassion vpon the citie that was destroyed, & almost broght to the grounde, & that he wolde heare the voyce of the blood that cryed vnto him, 4And that he wolde remember the wicked slaughter of the innocent children, & the blasphemies committed against his Name, & that he wolde shewe this hatred against the wicked. 5Now when Maccabeus had gathered this multitude, he colde not be withstand by the heathen: for the wrath of the Lord was turned into mercie. 6Therefore he came at vnwares, & burnt vp the townes and cities: yet he toke the moste commodious places, and slewe many of the enemies. 7But specially he vsed the nightes to make suche assalts, in so muche that the brute of his manlines was spred euerie where. 8¶So when Philippe sawe that this man increased by litle and litle, and that things prospered with him for the moste parte, he wrote vnto Ptolemeus the gouernour of Coelosyria and Phenice, to helpe him in the Kings busines. 9Then sent he spedely Nicanor the sonne of Patroclus, a special friend of his, & gaue him of all nacions of the heathen no lesse then twentie thousand men, to rote out the whole generacion of the Iewes, & ioyned with him Gorgias a captaine, which in matters of warre had great experience. 10Nicanor ordeined also a tribute for the King of two thousand talents, which the Romaines shulde haue, to be taken of the Iewes that were taken prisoners. 11Therefore immediatly he sent to the cities on the seacoast, prouoking them to bye Iewes to be their seruants, promising to sel fourescore & ten for one talent: but he considered not the vengeance of almightie God, that shulde come vpon him. 12When Iudas then knewe of Nicanors coming, he tolde them that were with him, of the coming of the armie. 13Now were there some of them fearful, which trusted not vnto the righteousnes of God, but fled away, & abode, not in that place. 14But the other solde all that they had left, and besoght the Lord together, to deliuer them from that wicked Nicanor, which had solde them, or euer he came nere them. 15And thogh he wolde not do it for their sakes, yet for the couenant made with their fathers, and because they called vpon his holie and glorious Name. 16And so Maccabeus called his men together, about six thousand, exhorting them not to be afraied of their enemies, nether to feare the great multitude of the Gentiles, which came against them vnrighteously, but to fight manly, 17Setting before their eyes the iniurie that they had vniustly done to the holy place, and the crueltie done to the citie by derision, and the destruction of the orders established by their fathers. 18For they, said he, trust in their weapons & boldenes: but our confidence is in the almightie God, which at a becke can bothe destroy them that come against vs, and all the worlde. 19Moreouer he admonished them of the helpe that God shewed vnto their fathers, as when there perished an hundreth and foure score, and fiue thousand vnder*Sennacherib, 20And of the battel that they had in Babylon against the Galacians, how they came in all to the battel eight thousand, with foure thousand Macedonians: and when the Macedonians were astonished, the eight thousand slewe an hundreth & twentie thousand through the helpe that was giuen them from heauen, whereby they had receiued many benefites. 21Thus when he had made them bolde with these wordes, & readie to dye for the Lawes and the countrey, he deuided his armie into foure partes, 22And made his owne brethren captaines ouer the armie, to wit, Simon, & Ioseph & Ionathan, giuing eche one fiftene hundreth men. 23And when Eleazarus had red the holie boke, & giuen them a token of the helpe of God, Iudas which led the forewarde, ioyned with Nicanor, 24And because the Almightie helped them, they slewe aboue nine thousand men, and wounded and maimed the moste parte of Nicanors hoste, and so put all to flight, 25And toke the money from those that came to bye them, and pursued them farre: but lacking time they returned. 26For it was the day before the Sabbath, & therefore they wolde no longer pursue them. 27So they toke their weapons, & spoiled the enemies, & kept the Sabbath, giuing thankes and praising the Lord wonderfully, which had deliuered them that day, and powred vpon them the beginning of his mercie. 28And after the Sabbath, * they distributed the spoiles to the sicke, & to the fatherles, & to the widdowes, & deuided the residue among them selues and their children. 29When this was done, & they all had made a general prayer, they besoght the merciful Lord to be reconciled at the length with his seruants. 30Afterwarde with one consent they fel vpon Timotheus and Bacchides, & slewe aboue twentie thousand, & wanne hie & strong holdes, & deuided great spoiles, & gaue an equal porcion vnto the sicke, & to the fatherles, & to the widdowes, & to aged persones also. 31Moreouer they gathered their weapons together, and layed them vp diligently in conuenient places, and broght the remnant of the spoyles to Ierusalem. 32They slewe also Philarches a moste wicked persone, which was with Timotheus, and had vexed the Iewes manie wayes. 33And when they kept the feast of victorie in their countrey, they burnt Callisthenes that had set fyre vpon the holie gates, which was fled into a litle house: so he receiued a rewarde mete for his wickednes. 34And that moste wicked Nicanor, which had broght a thousand marchants to bye the Iewes, 35He was through the helpe of the Lord broght downe of them whome he thoght as nothing, in so muche that he put of his glorious raiment, and fled ouerthwart the countrey like a fugitiue seruant, and came alone to Antiochia, with great dishonour through the destruction of his hoste. 36Thus he that promised to pay tribute to the Romaines, by meanes of the prisoners of Ierusalem, broght newes, that the Iewes had a "defender, and for this cause none colde hurt the Iewes, because they followed the Lawes appointed by him.