Bible in a Year.

On day 296, 1 ​​Maccabees 15 recounts moments of steadfast faith and courage. Sirach 36-37 teaches us to guide our hearts and cultivate virtues, and Proverbs 23:26-28 emphasizes sincere surrender of the heart to God and the practice of daily wisdom.

1. And king Antiochus the son of Demetrius sent letters from the isles of the sea to Simon the priest, and prince of the nation of the Jews, and to all the people:

2. And the contents were these: King Antiochus to Simon the high priest, and to the nation of the Jews, greeting.

3. Forasmuch as certain pestilent men have usurped the kingdom of our fathers, and my purpose is to challenge the kingdom, and to restore it to its former estate: and I have chosen a great army, and have built ships of war.

4. And I design to go through the country that I may take revenge of them that have destroyed our country, and that have made many cities desolate in my realm.

5. Now therefore I confirm unto thee all the oblations which all the kings before me remitted to thee, and what other gifts soever they remitted to thee:

6. And I give thee leave to coin thy own money in thy country:

7. And let Jerusalem be holy and free, and all the armour that hath been made, and the fortresses which thou hast built, and which thou keepest in thy hands, let them remain to thee.

8. And all that is due to the king, and what should be the king's hereafter, from this present and for ever, is forgiven thee.

9. And when we shall have recovered our kingdom, we will glorify thee, and thy nation, and the temple with great glory, so that your glory shall be made manifest in all the earth.

10. In the year one hundred and seventy-four Antiochus entered into the land of this fathers, and all the forces assembled to him, so that few were left with Tryphon.

11. And king Antiochus pursued after him, and he fled along by the sea coast and came to Dora.

12. For he perceived that evils were gathered together upon him, and his troops had forsaken him.

13. And Antiochus camped above Dora with a hundred and twenty thousand men of war, and eight thousand horsemen:

14. And he invested the city, and the ships drew near by sea: and they annoyed the city by land, and by sea, and suffered none to come in, or to go out.

15. And Numenius, and they that had been with him, came from the city of Rome, having letters written to the kings, and countries, the contents whereof were these:

16. Lucius the consul of the Romans, to king Ptolemee, greeting.

17. The ambassadors of the Jews our friends came to us, to renew the former friendship and alliance, being sent from Simon the high priest, and the people of the Jews.

18. And they brought also a shield of gold of a thousand pounds.

19. It hath seemed good therefore to us to write to the kings, and countries, that they should do them no harm, nor fight against them, their cities, or countries: and that they should give no aid to them that fight against them.

20. And it hath seemed good to us to received the shield of them.

21. If therefore any pestilent men are fled out of their country to you, deliver them to Simon the high priest, that he may punish them according to their law.

22. These same things were written to king Demetrius, and to Attalus, and to Ariarathes, and to Arsaces,

23. And to all the countries; and to Lampsacus, and to the Spartans, and to Delus, and Myndus, and Sicyon, and Caria, and Samus, and Pamphylia, and Lycia, and Alicarnassus, and Cos, and Side, and Aradus, and Rhodes, and Phaselis, and Gortyna, and Gnidus, and Cyprus, and Cyrene.

24. And they wrote a copy thereof to Simon the high priest, and to the people of the Jews.

25. But king Antiochus moved his camp to Dora the second time, assaulting it continually, and making engines: and shut up Tryphon, that he could not go out.

26. And Simon sent to him two thousand chosen men to aid him, silver also, and gold, and abundance of furniture.

27. And he would not receive them, but broke all the covenant that he had made with him before, and alienated himself from him.

28. And he sent to him Athenobius one of his friends, to treat with him, saying: You hold Joppe, and Gazara, and the castle that is in Jerusalem, which are cities of my kingdom:

29. Their borders you have wasted, and you have made great havock in the land, and have got the dominion of many places in my kingdom.

30. Now therefore deliver up the cities that you have taken, and the tributes of the places whereof you have gotten the dominion without the borders of Judea.

31. But if not, give me for them five hundred talents of silver, and for the havock that you have made, and the tributes of the cities other five hundred talents: or else we will come and fight against you.

32. So Athenobius the king's friend came to Jerusalem, and saw the glory of Simon and his magnificence in gold, and silver, and his great equipage, and he was astonished, and told him the king's words.

33. And Simon answered him, and said to him: We have neither taken other men's land, neither do we hold that which is other men's: but the inheritance of our fathers, which was for some time unjustly possessed by our enemies.

34. But we having opportunity claim the inheritance of our fathers.

35. And as to thy complaints concerning Joppe and Gazara, they did great harm to the people, and to our country: yet for these we will give a hundred talents. And Athenobius answered him not a word:

36. But returning in a rage to the king, made report to him of these words, and of the glory of Simon, and of all that he had seen, and the king was exceeding angry.

37. And Tryphon fled away by ship to Orthosias.

38. And the king appointed Cendebeus captain of the sea coast, and gave him an army of footmen and horsemen.

39. And he commanded him to march with his army towards Judea: and he commanded him to build up Gedor, and to fortify the gates of the city, and to war against the people. But the king himself pursued after Tryphon.

40. And Cendebeus came to Jamnia, and began to provoke the people, and to ravage Judea, and to take the people prisoners, and to kill, and to build Gedor.

41. And he placed there horsemen, and an army: that they might issue forth, and make incursions upon the ways of Judea, as the king had commanded him.

Chapter 36

1. Have mercy upon us, O God of all, and behold us, and shew us the light of thy mercies:

2. And send thy fear upon the nations, that have not sought after thee: that they may know that there is no God beside thee, and that they may shew forth thy wonders.

3. Lift up thy hand over the strange nations, that they may see thy power.

4. For as thou hast been sanctified in us in their sight, so thou shalt be magnified among them in our presence,

5. That they may know thee, as we also have known thee, that there is no God beside thee, O Lord.

6. Renew thy signs, and work new miracles.

7. Glorify thy hand, and thy right arm.

8. Raise up indignation, and pour out wrath.

9. Take away the adversary, and crush the enemy.

10. Hasten the time, and remember the end, that they may declare thy wonderful works.

11. 11Let him that escapeth be consumed by the rage of the fire: and let them perish that oppress thy people.

12. Crush the head of the princes of the enemies that say: There is no other beside us.

13. Gather together all the tribes of Jacob: that they may know that there is no God besides thee, and may declare thy great works: and thou shalt inherit them as from the beginning.

14. Have mercy on thy people, upon whom thy name is invoked: and upon Israel, m whom thou hast raised up to be thy firstborn.

15. Have mercy on Jerusalem, the city which thou hast sanctified, the city of thy rest.

16. Fill Sion with thy unspeakable words, and thy people with thy glory.

17. Give testimony to them that are thy creatures from the beginning, and raise up the prophecies which the former prophets spoke in thy name.

18. Reward them that patiently wait for thee, that thy prophets may be found faithful: and hear the prayers of thy servants,

19. According to the blessing of Aaron over thy people, and direct us into the way of justice, and let all know that dwell upon the earth, that thou art God the beholder of all ages.

20. The belly will devour all meat, yet one is better than another.

21. 21The palate tasteth venison and the wise heart false speeches.

22. A perverse heart will cause grief, and a man of experience will resist it.

23. A woman will receive every man: yet one daughter is better than an- other.

24. The beauty of a woman cheereth the countenance of her husband, and a man desireth nothing more.

25. If she have a tongue that can cure, and likewise mitigate and shew mercy: her husband is not like other men.

26. He that possesseth a good wife, beginneth a possession: she is a help like to himself, and a pillar of rest.

27. Where there is no hedge, the possession shall be spoiled: and where there is no wife, he mourneth that is in want.

28. Who will trust him that hath no rest, and that lodgeth wheresoever the night taketh him, as a robber well appointed, that skippeth from city to city.

Chapter 37

1. Every friend will say: I also am his friend: but there is a friend, that is only a friend in name. Is not this a grief even to death?

2. But a companion and a friend shall be turned to an enemy.

3. O wicked presumption, whence camest thou to cover the earth with thy malice, and deceitfulness?

4. There is a companion who rejoiceth with his friend in his joys, but in the time of trouble, he will be against him.

5. There is a companion who condoleth with his friend for his belly's sake, and he will take up a shield against enemy.

6. Forget not thy friend in thy mind, and be not unmindful of him in thy riches.

7. Consult not with him that layeth a snare for thee, and hide thy counsel from them that envy thee.

8. Every counsellor giveth out counsel, but there is one that is a counsellor for himself.

9. Beware of a counsellor. And know before what need he hath: for he will devise to his own mind:

10. Lest he thrust a stake into the ground, and say to thee:

11. Thy way is good; and then stand on the other side to see what shall befall thee.

12. Treat not with a man without religion concerning holiness, nor with an unjust man concerning justice, nor with a woman touching her of whom she is jealous, nor with a coward concerning war, nor with a merchant about traffic, nor with a buyer of selling, nor with an envious man of giving thanks,

13. Nor with the ungodly of piety, nor with the dishonest of honesty, nor with the held labourer of every work

14. Nor with him that worketh by the year of the finishing of the year, nor with an idle servant of much business: give no heed to these in any matter of counsel.

15. But be continually with a holy man, whomsoever thou shalt know to observe the fear of God,

16. Whose soul is according to thy own soul: and who, when thou shalt stumble in the dark, will be sorry for thee.

17. And establish within thyself a heart of good counsel: for there is no other thing of more worth to thee than it.

18. The soul of a holy man discovereth sometimes true things, more than seven watchmen that sit in a high piece to watch.

19. But above all these things pray to the most High, that he may direct thy way in truth.

20. In all thy works let the true word go before thee, and steady counsel before every action.

21. A wicked word shall change the beast: out of which four manner of things arise, good and evil, life and death: and the tongue is continually the ruler of them. There is a man that is subtle and a teacher of many, and yet is unprofitable to his own soul.

22. A skilful man hath taught many, and is sweet to his own soul.

23. He that speaketh sophistically, is hateful: he shall be destitute of every thing.

24. Grace is not given him from the Lord: for he is deprived of all wisdom.

25. There is a wise man that is wise to his own soul: and the fruit of his understanding is commendable.

26. A wise man instructeth his own people, and the fruits of his understanding are faithful.

27. A wise man shall be filled with blessings, and they that see shall praise him.

28. The life of a man is in the number of his days: but the days of Israel are innumerable.

29. A wise man shall inherit honour among his people, and his name shall live for ever.

30. My son, prove thy soul in thy life: and if it be wicked, give it no power:

31. For all things are not expedient for all, and every kind pleaseth not every soul.

32. Be not greedy in any feasting, and pour not out thyself upon any meat:

33. For in many meats there will be sickness, and greediness will turn to choler.

34. By surfeiting many have perished: but he that is temperate, shall prolong life.

26. My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.

27. For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

28. She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.