II Macabeus, 8

1. Judas, chamado Macabeu, e seus companheiros penetravam secreta­men­te nas aldeias e convocavam seus parentes. Arrastando consigo todos os que se haviam mantido fiéis ao judaísmo, formaram um grupo de aproximadamente seis mil homens.

1. But Judas, who was also called Maccabeus, and his companions secretly entered the villages and summoned their kinsmen and enlisted those who had continued in the Jewish faith, and so they gathered about six thousand men.

2. Suplicavam ao Senhor que olhasse para o povo, desdenhado por todos; que se compadecesse do templo profanado pelos ímpios;

2. They besought the Lord to look upon the people who were oppressed by all, and to have pity on the temple which had been profaned by ungodly men,

3. que tivesse compaixão da cidade devastada, perto de ser reduzida ao nível do solo; que escutasse a voz do sangue derramado que a ele clamava;

3. and to have mercy on the city which was being destroyed and about to be leveled to the ground, and to hearken to the blood that cried out to him,

4. que se lembrasse da desumana carnificina de crianças inocentes e que vingasse também as blasfêmias proferidas contra seu nome.

4. and to remember also the lawless destruction of the innocent babies and the blasphemies committed against his name, and to show his hatred of evil.

5. Judas tornou-se o chefe da tropa e os gentios viram-se incapazes de resistir-lhe porque a cólera de Deus tinha-se convertido em misericórdia.

5. As soon as Maccabeus got his army organized, the Gentiles could not withstand him, for the wrath of the Lord had turned to mercy.

6. Atacava de improviso as cidades e aldeias e as incendia­va. Ocupava as posições favoráveis, de onde afugentava não poucos de seus inimigos.

6. Coming without warning, he would set fire to towns and villages. He captured strategic positions and put to flight not a few of the enemy.

7. Era principalmente à noite que ele empreendia essas expedições. A fama de seu valor espalhava-se por toda a parte.

7. He found the nights most advantageous for such attacks. And talk of his valor spread everywhere.

8. Vendo Judas progredir dia a dia e alcançar sempre frequentes vitórias, Filipe escreveu ao governador da Celessíria e da Fenícia, Ptolomeu, e pediu-lhe auxílio para defender os interesses do rei.*

8. When Philip saw that the man was gaining ground little by little, and that he was pushing ahead with more frequent successes, he wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, for aid to the king's government.

9. Imediatamente, Ptolomeu designou Nicanor, um dos primeiros amigos do rei e filho de Pátroclo, e o enviou à frente de uns vinte mil homens de todas as nações, para exterminar toda a raça judia. Agregou a ele Górgias, general perito em assuntos de guerra.

9. And Ptolemy promptly appointed Nicanor the son of Patroclus, one of the king's chief friends, and sent him, in command of no fewer than twenty thousand Gentiles of all nations, to wipe out the whole race of Judea. He associated with him Gorgias, a general and a man of experience in military service.

10. Nicanor esperava obter, com a venda dos judeus que fossem aprisionados, os dois mil talentos que o rei devia como tributo aos romanos.

10. Nicanor determined to make up for the king the tribute due to the Romans, two thousand talents, by selling the captured Jews into slavery.

11. Enviou sem perda de tempo, às cidades da costa, o convite para que viessem comprar judeus, prometendo entregar noventa escravos por um talento. Mas não suspeitava então de que o castigo do Todo-poderoso iria cair sobre ele.

11. And he immediately sent to the cities on the seacoast, inviting them to buy Jewish slaves and promising to hand over ninety slaves for a talent, not expecting the judgment from the Almighty that was about to overtake him.

12. A notícia do avanço de Nicanor chegou a Judas, o qual informou aos seus da chegada dos inimigos.

12. Word came to Judas concerning Nicanor's invasion; and when he told his companions of the arrival of the army,

13. Num relance, os que tinham medo ou não tinham confiança na justiça de Deus, fugiram e dispersaram-se.

13. those who were cowardly and distrustful of God's justice ran off and got away.

14. Os outros venderam seus pertences, suplicando ao Senhor que os livrasse do ímpio Nicanor, que os havia vendido antes mesmo de tê-los em mãos.

14. Others sold all their remaining property, and at the same time besought the Lord to rescue those who had been sold by the ungodly Nicanor before he ever met them,

15. Se não por causa deles, que o fizesse ao menos em consideração às alianças estabelecidas com seus pais e porque seu santo e sublime nome tinha sido invocado sobre eles.

15. if not for their own sake, yet for the sake of the covenants made with their fathers, and because he had called them by his holy and glorious name.

16. Macabeu reuniu então ao redor de si seus homens, em número de seis mil, exortou-os a não se deixarem intimidar pelos inimigos, nem temerem essa massa de gentios que vinha injustamente contra eles, e que combatessem com valentia;

16. But Maccabeus gathered his men together, to the number six thousand, and exhorted them not to be frightened by the enemy and not to fear the great multitude of Gentiles who were wickedly coming against them, but to fight nobly,

17. que pensassem na indigna profanação infligida por eles ao templo, na humilhação imposta à cidade devastada e na ruína das tradições de seus antepassados.

17. keeping before their eyes the lawless outrage which the Gentiles had committed against the holy place, and the torture of the derided city, and besides, the overthrow of their ancestral way of life.

18. “Eles confiam – dizia ele – nas suas armas e na sua audácia, mas nós colocamos nossa segurança no Deus Todo-poderoso, que pode, com um só leve aceno, desbaratar tanto os que nos atacam como o universo inteiro!”

18. "For they trust to arms and acts of daring," he said, "but we trust in the Almighty God, who is able with a single nod to strike down those who are coming against us and even the whole world."

19. Lembrou-lhes no passado o caso da proteção divina como, por exemplo, do exército de Senaquerib, haviam perecido cento e oitenta mil homens.

19. Moreover, he told them of the times when help came to their ancestors; both the time of Sennacherib, when one hundred and eighty-five thousand perished,

20. E, na batalha contra os gálatas, na Babilônia, oito mil judeus tiveram de lutar ao lado de quatro mil macedônios. Como estes se achavam numa situação crítica, os oito mil judeus massacraram cento e vinte mil inimigos, por causa do socorro que lhes foi dado do céu, e ainda recolheram um vasto despojo.

20. and the time of the battle with the Galatians that took place in Babylonia, when eight thousand in all went into the affair, with four thousand Macedonians; and when the Macedonians were hard pressed, the eight thousand, by the help that came to them from heaven, destroyed one hundred and twenty thousand and took much booty.

21. Após ter reconfortado seus companheiros e tê-los incitado a morrer pelas leis e pela pátria, dividiu o exército em quatro divisões.

21. With these words he filled them with good courage and made them ready to die for their laws and their country; then he divided his army into four parts.

22. Pôs à frente destes seus irmãos Simão, José e Jônatas, como também Eleazar, cada qual chefiando mil e quinhentos homens.*

22. He appointed his brothers also, Simon and Joseph and Jonathan, each to command a division, putting fifteen hundred men under each.

23. Apenas terminada a leitura do Livro santo e dada a senha: “Socorro de Deus”, ele mesmo pôs-se à frente do primeiro corpo e travou a batalha contra Nicanor.

23. Besides, he appointed Eleazar to read aloud from the holy book, and gave the watchword, "God's help"; then, leading the first division himself, he joined battle with Nicanor.

24. O Todo-poderoso combateu ao lado deles. Massacraram mais de nove mil inimigos, feriram e mutilaram a maior parte dos soldados de Nicanor e os puseram em fuga.

24. With the Almighty as their ally, they slew more than nine thousand of the enemy, and wounded and disabled most of Nicanor's army, and forced them all to flee.

25. Apoderaram-se também do dinheiro dos que tinham vindo para comprá-los, e perseguiram por muito tempo os vencidos, mas tiveram que desistir, impedidos pelo tempo,

25. They captured the money of those who had come to buy them as slaves. After pursuing them for some distance, they were obliged to return because the hour was late.

26. porque era véspera de sábado, e isso os impedia de prosseguir.

26. For it was the day before the sabbath, and for that reason they did not continue their pursuit.

27. Ajuntaram as armas, recolheram os despojos dos inimigos e chegaram assim ao sábado, bendizendo o Senhor à porfia, e glorificando-o por havê-los livrado nesse dia, prenunciando a alvorada de sua misericórdia.

27. And when they had collected the arms of the enemy and stripped them of their spoils, they kept the sabbath, giving great praise and thanks to the Lord, who had preserved them for that day and allotted it to them as the beginning of mercy.

28. Passado o sábado, eles reservaram uma parte dos espólios para os que haviam sofrido com a perseguição, as viúvas e os órfãos. Dividiram o resto entre eles e seus filhos.

28. After the sabbath they gave some of the spoils to those who had been tortured and to the widows and orphans, and distributed the rest among themselves and their children.

29. Feito isso, rezaram ao Senhor em comum, suplicando misericórdia e reconciliação completa com seus servos.

29. When they had done this, they made common supplication and besought the merciful Lord to be wholly reconciled with his servants.

30. Nos diferentes combates com os soldados de Timóteo e de Báquides, eles mataram mais de vinte mil e tornaram-se senhores absolutos de algumas fortalezas em pontos elevados. A abundante presa dividiram-na em duas partes iguais: uma para si mesmos, outra para os perseguidos, as mulheres, os órfãos e também os anciãos.

30. In encounters with the forces of Timothy and Bacchides they killed more than twenty thousand of them and got possession of some exceedingly high strongholds, and they divided very much plunder, giving to those who had been tortured and to the orphans and widows, and also to the aged, shares equal to their own.

31. As armas que eles haviam recolhido foram colocadas diligentemente em lugares seguros e levaram a Jerusalém o resto dos despojos.

31. Collecting the arms of the enemy, they stored them all carefully in strategic places, and carried the rest of the spoils to Jerusalem.

32. Mataram o chefe dos guardas de Timóteo, um dos homens mais perversos, que havia feito muito mal aos judeus.

32. They killed the commander of Timothy's forces, a most unholy man, and one who had greatly troubled the Jews.

33. Quando celebraram a festa da vitória em Jerusalém, queimaram, dentro de uma pequena casa onde se haviam refugiado, Calístenes e os que haviam incendiado as portas do templo, infligindo-lhes assim o justo castigo de seu sacrilégio.

33. While they were celebrating the victory in the city of their fathers, they burned those who had set fire to the sacred gates, Callisthenes and some others, who had fled into one little house; so these received the proper recompense for their impiety.

34. O tríplice celerado Nicanor – que fizera vir mil negociantes, para vender-lhes os judeus –

34. The thrice-accursed Nicanor, who had brought the thousand merchants to buy the Jews,

35. humilhado, graças a Deus, por aqueles que ele desprezava profundamente, despojou-se da vestidura de honra, e, atravessando o interior do país sozinho, como um fugitivo, chegou a Antio­quia, feliz por ainda ter podido escapar ao desastre de seu exército.

35. having been humbled with the help of the Lord by opponents whom he regarded as of the least account, took off his splendid uniform and made his way alone like a runaway slave across the country till he reached Antioch, having succeeded chiefly in the destruction of his own army!

36. E ele, que tinha prometido pagar o tributo aos romanos com o dinheiro que tiraria da venda dos cativos de Jerusalém, publicou que os judeus possuíam um protetor e que se tornavam invulneráveis quando observavam as leis estabelecidas por esse defensor.

36. Thus he who had undertaken to secure tribute for the Romans by the capture of the people of Jerusalem proclaimed that the Jews had a Defender, and that therefore the Jews were invulnerable, because they followed the laws ordained by him.