Liber II Maccabaeorum, 4

1. Simon autem praedictus, qui pecuniarum et patriae delator exstitit, male loquebatur de Onia, tamquam ipse Heliodorum instigasset et malorum auctor fuisset;

1. The previously mentioned Simon, who had informed about the money against his own country, slandered Onias, saying that it was he who had incited Heliodorus and had been the real cause of the misfortune.

2. benefactoremque civitatis et curatorem gentis suae et aemulatorem legum audebat insidiatorem rerum dicere.

2. He dared to designate as a plotter against the government the man who was the benefactor of the city, the protector of his fellow countrymen, and a zealot for the laws.

3. Sed cum inimicitia in tantum procederet, ut etiam per quendam eorum, qui a Simone probati essent, homicidia fierent,

3. When his hatred progressed to such a degree that even murders were committed by one of Simon's approved agents,

4. considerans Onias periculum contentionis et Apollonium Menesthei, ducem Coelesyriae et Phoenicis, augentem malitiam Simonis,

4. Onias recognized that the rivalry was serious and that Apollonius, the son of Menestheus and governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, was intensifying the malice of Simon.

5. ad regem se contulit, non ut civium accusator, sed quod utile esset in commune et singulariter universae multitudinis prospiciens.

5. So he betook himself to the king, not accusing his fellow citizens but having in view the welfare, both public and private, of all the people.

6. Videbat enim sine regali providentia impossibile esse pacem adhuc rebus obtingere, nec Simonem cessaturum a stultitia.

6. For he saw that without the king's attention public affairs could not again reach a peaceful settlement, and that Simon would not stop his folly.

7. Sed post Seleuci vitae excessum, cum suscepisset regnum Antiochus, qui Epiphanes appellabatur, ambiebat Iason frater Oniae summum sacerdotium,

7. When Seleucus died and Antiochus who was called Epiphanes succeeded to the kingdom, Jason the brother of Onias obtained the high priesthood by corruption,

8. promittens regi per interpellationem argenti talenta trecenta sexaginta et ex reditu quodam alio talenta octoginta;

8. promising the king at an interview three hundred and sixty talents of silver and, from another source of revenue, eighty talents.

9. super haec autem promittebat et alia centum quinquaginta se perscripturum, si concederetur per potestatem eius gymnasium et ephebiam sibi constituere et eos, qui in Hierosolymis erant, Antiochenos scribere.

9. In addition to this he promised to pay one hundred and fifty more if permission were given to establish by his authority a gymnasium and a body of youth for it, and to enrol the men of Jerusalem as citizens of Antioch.

10. Quod cum rex annuisset, et obtinuisset principatum, statim ad Graecam consuetudinem contribules suos transferre coepit.

10. When the king assented and Jason came to office, he at once shifted his countrymen over to the Greek way of life.

11. Et, amotis his, quae humanitatis causa Iudaeis a regibus fuerant constituta per Ioannem patrem Eupolemi, qui apud Romanos de amicitia et societate functus est legatione, et legitima civium iura destituens, pravos mores innovabat.

11. He set aside the existing royal concessions to the Jews, secured through John the father of Eupolemus, who went on the mission to establish friendship and alliance with the Romans; and he destroyed the lawful ways of living and introduced new customs contrary to the law.

12. Prompte enim sub ipsa arce gymnasium constituit et optimos quosque epheborum subigens sub petasum ducebat.

12. For with alacrity he founded a gymnasium right under the citadel, and he induced the noblest of the young men to wear the Greek hat.

13. Erat autem sic culmen quoddam Graecae conversationis et profectus alienigenarum moris, propter impii et non summi sacerdotis Iasonis inauditam contaminationem,

13. There was such an extreme of Hellenization and increase in the adoption of foreign ways because of the surpassing wickedness of Jason, who was ungodly and no high priest,

14. ita ut sacerdotes iam non circa altaris officia dediti essent, sed contempto templo et sacrificiis neglectis, festinarent participes fieri iniquae in palaestra praebitionis post disci provocationem

14. that the priests were no longer intent upon their service at the altar. Despising the sanctuary and neglecting the sacrifices, they hastened to take part in the unlawful proceedings in the wrestling arena after the call to the discus,

15. et patrios quidem honores nihil habentes, Graecas autem glorias optimas aestimantes.

15. disdaining the honors prized by their fathers and putting the highest value upon Greek forms of prestige.

16. Quarum gratia periculosa eos contentio habebat, et quorum instituta aemulabantur ac per omnia consimiles esse cupiebant, hos hostes et ultores habuerunt.

16. For this reason heavy disaster overtook them, and those whose ways of living they admired and wished to imitate completely became their enemies and punished them.

17. In leges enim divinas impie agere non est facile, sed haec tempus sequens declarabit.

17. For it is no light thing to show irreverence to the divine laws -- a fact which later events will make clear.

18. Cum autem quinquennalis agon Tyri celebraretur, et rex praesens esset,

18. When the quadrennial games were being held at Tyre and the king was present,

19. misit Iason facinorosus ab Hierosolymis spectatores Antiochenses portantes argenti drachmas trecentas in sacrificium Herculis; quas etiam postulaverunt hi, qui asportaverant, ne in sacrificium erogarentur, quia non oporteret, sed in alium sumptum eas deputari.

19. the vile Jason sent envoys, chosen as being Antiochian citizens from Jerusalem, to carry three hundred silver drachmas for the sacrifice to Hercules. Those who carried the money, however, thought best not to use it for sacrifice, because that was inappropriate, but to expend it for another purpose.

20. Sed haec ceciderunt: propter illum quidem, qui miserat, in sacrificium Herculis; propter eos autem, qui afferebant, in fabricam triremium.

20. So this money was intended by the sender for the sacrifice to Hercules, but by the decision of its carriers it was applied to the construction of triremes.

21. Misso autem in Aegyptum Apollonio Menesthei filio propter ascensum ad solium Philometoris regis, cum cognovisset Antiochus alienum se ab illius negotiis effectum, propriae securitati consuluit; inde cum Ioppen venisset, se contulit Hierosolymam.

21. When Apollonius the son of Menestheus was sent to Egypt for the coronation of Philometor as king, Antiochus learned that Philometor had become hostile to his government, and he took measures for his own security. Therefore upon arriving at Joppa he proceeded to Jerusalem.

22. Et magnifice ab Iasone et civitate susceptus, cum facularum luminibus et acclamationibus introductus est; deinde sic in Phoenicen exercitum convertit.

22. He was welcomed magnificently by Jason and the city, and ushered in with a blaze of torches and with shouts. Then he marched into Phoenicia.

23. Et post triennii tempus misit Iason Menelaum supradicti Simonis fratrem portantem pecunias regi et de negotiis necessariis commonitiones perlaturum.

23. After a period of three years Jason sent Menelaus, the brother of the previously mentioned Simon, to carry the money to the king and to complete the records of essential business.

24. At ille commendatus regi, cum se magnificasset facie potestatis, in semetipsum contulit summum sacerdotium superponens Iasoni talenta argenti trecenta;

24. But he, when presented to the king, extolled him with an air of authority, and secured the high priesthood for himself, outbidding Jason by three hundred talents of silver.

25. acceptisque regiis mandatis, venit nihil quidem gerens dignum sacerdotio, animos vero crudelis tyranni et ferae barbarae iram habens.

25. After receiving the king's orders he returned, possessing no qualification for the high priesthood, but having the hot temper of a cruel tyrant and the rage of a savage wild beast.

26. Et Iason quidem, qui proprium fratrem circumvenerat, ipse circumventus ab alio profugus in Ammanitem expulsus est regionem.

26. So Jason, who after supplanting his own brother was supplanted by another man, was driven as a fugitive into the land of Ammon.

27. Menelaus autem principatum quidem obtinuit; de pecuniis vero regi promissis nihil debite agebat,

27. And Menelaus held the office, but he did not pay regularly any of the money promised to the king.

28. cum vero exactionem faceret Sostratus, qui arci erat praepositus, nam ad hunc exactio vectigalium pertinebat. Quam ob causam utrique a rege sunt advocati;

28. When Sostratus the captain of the citadel kept requesting payment, for the collection of the revenue was his responsibility, the two of them were summoned by the king on account of this issue.

29. et Menelaus quidem reliquit summi sacerdotii successorem Lysimachum fratrem suum, Sostratus autem Cratetem, qui praeerat Cypriis.

29. Menelaus left his own brother Lysimachus as deputy in the high priesthood, while Sostratus left Crates, the commander of the Cyprian troops.

30. Talibus autem constitutis, contigit Tarsenses et Mallotas seditionem movere, eo quod Antiochidi, regis concubinae, dono essent dati.

30. While such was the state of affairs, it happened that the people of Tarsus and of Mallus revolted because their cities had been given as a present to Antiochis, the king's concubine.

31. Festinanter itaque rex venit sedare illos, relicto suffecto uno ex iis in dignitate constitutis Andronico.

31. So the king went hastily to settle the trouble, leaving Andronicus, a man of high rank, to act as his deputy.

32. Ratus autem Menelaus accepisse se tempus opportunum, aurea quaedam vasa e templo furatus donavit Andronico; et alia vendiderat Tyri et per vicinas civitates.

32. But Menelaus, thinking he had obtained a suitable opportunity, stole some of the gold vessels of the temple and gave them to Andronicus; other vessels, as it happened, he had sold to Tyre and the neighboring cities.

33. Quod cum certissime cognovisset Onias, arguebat eum, ipse in loco tuto se continens in Daphne secus Antiochiam.

33. When Onias became fully aware of these acts he publicly exposed them, having first withdrawn to a place of sanctuary at Daphne near Antioch.

34. Unde Menelaus seorsum apprehendens Andronicum rogabat, ut Oniam interficeret. At vero ille, cum venisset ad Oniam et cum fidem dolo dedisset ac dexteram accepisset dedissetque cum iureiurando, quamvis esset ei suspectus, suasit de asylo procedere, quem statim peremit, non veritus iustitiam.

34. Therefore Menelaus, taking Andronicus aside, urged him to kill Onias. Andronicus came to Onias, and resorting to treachery offered him sworn pledges and gave him his right hand, and in spite of his suspicion persuaded Onias to come out from the place of sanctuary; then, with no regard for justice, he immediately put him out of the way.

35. Ob quam causam non solum Iudaei, sed multi quoque ex aliis nationibus indignabantur et moleste ferebant de nece viri iniusta.

35. For this reason not only Jews, but many also of other nations, were grieved and displeased at the unjust murder of the man.

36. Sed regressum regem de Ciliciae locis interpellabant, qui erant per civitatem Iudaei, simul et Graecis scelus conquerentibus, de eo quod sine ratione Onias interfectus esset.

36. When the king returned from the region of Cilicia, the Jews in the city appealed to him with regard to the unreasonable murder of Onias, and the Greeks shared their hatred of the crime.

37. Contristatus itaque animo Antiochus et flexus ad misericordiam lacrimas fudit, propter defuncti sobrietatem et multam modestiam;

37. Therefore Antiochus was grieved at heart and filled with pity, and wept because of the moderation and good conduct of the deceased;

38. accensusque animis, confestim ablata Andronici purpura ac tunicis eius discissis, circumduxit per totam civitatem usque ad eundem locum, in quo in Oniam impietatem commiserat, atque illic sacrilegum interfectorem e mundo sustulit, Domino illi condignam retribuente poenam.

38. and inflamed with anger, he immediately stripped off the purple robe from Andronicus, tore off his garments, and led him about the whole city to that very place where he had committed the outrage against Onias, and there he dispatched the bloodthirsty fellow. The Lord thus repaid him with the punishment he deserved.

39. Multis autem sacrilegiis per civitatem a Lysimacho commissis Menelai consilio, et divulgata foris fama, congregata est multitudo adversum Lysimachum, vasis aureis iam multis dissipatis.

39. When many acts of sacrilege had been committed in the city by Lysimachus with the connivance of Menelaus, and when report of them had spread abroad, the populace gathered against Lysimachus, because many of the gold vessels had already been stolen.

40. Turbis autem insurgentibus et ira repletis, Lysimachus, armatis fere tribus milibus, iniquis manibus coepit, duce quodam Aurano, aetate non minus ac dementia provecto.

40. And since the crowds were becoming aroused and filled with anger, Lysimachus armed about three thousand men and launched an unjust attack, under the leadership of a certain Auranus, a man advanced in years and no less advanced in folly.

41. Sed ut intellexerunt conatum Lymachi, alii lapides, alii fustes validos arripuere, quidam vero ex adiacente cinere manu apprehenderunt et mixtim iecerunt in eos, qui circa Lysimachum erant.

41. But when the Jews became aware of Lysimachus' attack, some picked up stones, some blocks of wood, and others took handfuls of the ashes that were lying about, and threw them in wild confusion at Lysimachus and his men.

42. Quam ob causam multos quidem vulneraverunt, quosdam autem et prostraverunt, omnes vero in fugam compulerunt; ipsum vero sacrilegum secus aerarium interfecerunt.

42. As a result, they wounded many of them, and killed some, and put them all to flight; and the temple robber himself they killed close by the treasury.

43. De his ergo coepit iudicium adversus Menelaum agitari.

43. Charges were brought against Menelaus about this incident.

44. Et cum venisset rex Tyrum, apud ipsum causam egerunt missi tres viri a senatu.

44. When the king came to Tyre, three men sent by the senate presented the case before him.

45. Et cum iam superaretur Menelaus, promisit Ptolemaeo Dorymenis multas pecunias ad suadendum regi.

45. But Menelaus, already as good as beaten, promised a substantial bribe to Ptolemy son of Dorymenes to win over the king.

46. Unde Ptolemaeus, excipiens seorsum in quoddam atrium columnatum quasi refrigerandi gratia regem, deduxit a sententia.

46. Therefore Ptolemy, taking the king aside into a colonnade as if for refreshment, induced the king to change his mind.

47. Et Menelaum quidem universae malitiae reum criminibus absolvit; miseros autem, qui etiam si apud Scythas causam dixissent, innocentes iudicarentur, hos morte damnavit.

47. Menelaus, the cause of all the evil, he acquitted of the charges against him, while he sentenced to death those unfortunate men, who would have been freed uncondemned if they had pleaded even before Scythians.

48. Cito ergo iniustam poenam dederunt, qui pro civitate et populo et sacris vasis causam prosecuti sunt.

48. And so those who had spoken for the city and the villages and the holy vessels quickly suffered the unjust penalty.

49. Quam ob rem Tyrii quoque in malefactum indignati, quaeque ad sepulturam eorum necessaria essent, magno sumptu praestiterunt.

49. Therefore even the Tyrians, showing their hatred of the crime, provided magnificently for their funeral.

50. Menelaus autem propter eorum, qui in potentia erant, avaritiam permanebat in potestate, crescens in malitia magnus civium insidiator constitutus.

50. But Menelaus, because of the cupidity of those in power, remained in office, growing in wickedness, having become the chief plotter against his fellow citizens.