2 Maccabees 2 - New Catholic Bible (NCB)

Chapter 2

Jeremiah Hides the Sacred Objects for Worship.^{[a] 1} According to the official records, Jeremiah the prophet ordered those who were being deported to take some of the fire with them, in the way previously described. ² Then, after having given them the law, the prophet cautioned them not to forget the commandments of the Lord or to let their thoughts be led astray by the sight of the gold and silver statues and their ornamentation. ³ And with other similar admonitions he urged them never to allow the law to depart from their hearts.

⁴ That same document also records that the prophet, in obedience to a divine revelation, issued orders that the tent and the Ark should accompany him, and that he went off to the mountain^[b] that Moses had ascended to view God’s inheritance. ⁵ Upon arriving there, Jeremiah found a cave-dwelling where he placed the tent, the Ark, and the altar of incense, after which he blocked off the entrance. ⁶ Some of his companions came up later with the intention of marking out the path, but they were unable to find it. ⁷ When Jeremiah learned of this, he rebuked them. “This place shall remain unknown,” he declared, “until God gathers his people together again and shows them his mercy. ⁸ Then the Lord will once again disclose these things, and the glory^[c] of the Lord will appear together with the cloud, as it was revealed in the time of Moses and when Solomon prayed that the place might be solemnly consecrated.”

⁹ It is further related how Solomon in his wisdom offered a sacrifice to mark the dedication and completion of the temple. ¹⁰ Just as Moses had prayed to the Lord and fire had come down from heaven and consumed the sacrificial offerings, so also did Solomon pray, and the fire came down and consumed the burnt offerings. ¹¹ Moses had said, “The sin offering was consumed in the fire because it had not been eaten.” ¹² Solomon celebrated the feast in the same way for a period of eight days.

¹³ Judas Reconstructs the Library of Israel. In addition to these things, it is also set forth in the records and in the memoirs of Nehemiah^[d] how he founded a library to house the chronicles of the kings, the writings of the prophets and David, and the letters of the kings in regard to sacred offerings. ¹⁴ Similarly, Judas^[e] has also collected for us all of the books that had been scattered during the recent war, and these are now in our possession. ¹⁵ If you ever have need of any of them, send messengers to bring them to you.

¹⁶ All the Jews Celebrate the Dedication. Since we are about to celebrate the feast of the purification of the temple, we are writing to you with the request that you also observe this feast. ¹⁷ God has saved his entire people and has restored to all of us our heritage, the kingdom, the priesthood, and the consecration, ¹⁸ as he promised through the law. We have complete trust that he will soon have mercy on us and gather us together from everywhere under heaven into his holy place, for he has rescued us from great evils and has purified that place.

Author’s Preface^[f]

¹⁹ This is the story dealing with Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, the purification of the great temple, and the dedication of the altar, ²⁰ as well as the wars against Antiochus Epiphanes^[g] and his son Eupator, ²¹ and the heavenly apparitions^[h] that were seen by those who showed their heroism in fighting bravely for the cause of Judaism. Despite being severely outnumbered, they seized the entire land and put to flight the barbarian hordes, ²² regaining possession of the temple renowned throughout the world and liberating the city and reestablishing the laws that were in danger of being abolished, as the Lord bestowed his mercy and favor on them. ²³ All this, which has been set forth in detail by Jason of Cyrene in five volumes, we shall attempt to condense into a single book.^[i]

²⁴ Considering the flood of statistics and the difficulty likely to be encountered by those who begin to wade through the immense amount of material involved in these historical narratives, ²⁵ we have aimed to please those who desire easy reading, to make it uncomplicated for those who wish to commit facts to memory, and to turn out a product that will be of profit to all. ²⁶ For those of us who have undertaken the labor of such abridging, the task has been far from easy but in truth one that involves sweat and sleepless nights, ²⁷ as would also be true of someone who would find it no simple affair to prepare a banquet that his guests will find completely satisfying. Nevertheless, in our desire to win the gratitude of many, we will gladly endure the drudgery involved in this project, ²⁸ leaving the responsibility as regards the accuracy of details to the original author and confining our efforts to producing a summary outline.

²⁹ Just as the architect of a new house must be concerned with the construction as a whole, while the one who undertakes its painting and decoration has to consider only what is needed for its adornment, so, I believe, it is the case with us. ³⁰ It is the duty of the original historian to examine the entire subject at hand and judge the accuracy of the details. ³¹ The person who makes an adaptation must have the freedom to aim at conciseness of expression and to reject any exhaustive treatment of the subject matter. ³² Therefore, without any further comment, we shall here begin our narrative, inasmuch as it would be absurd to offer a lengthy preface to the history and cut short the history itself.

Footnotes

1. 2 Maccabees 2:1 This legend about Jeremiah has very little connection with the prophet known for his diatribes against those who placed their hopes in the temple instead of changing their ways. But tradition attributed to him various letters and recommendations for the time of the captivity. The legend is retold here to show why the temple was the legitimate place of worship even though it lacked the sacred tent, Ark, and altar.
2. 2 Maccabees 2:4 The mountain: Nebo (see Deut 34:1).
3. 2 Maccabees 2:8 The glory and the cloud symbolize the direct presence of God (Ex 16:10; Mk 9:2-8). The place is the temple of Jerusalem.
4. 2 Maccabees 2:13 Memoirs of Nehemiah: these are not contained in the biblical Book of Nehemiah and are regarded as a lost apocryphal work. Although there is no record that Nehemiah founded a library, the Pentateuch was canonized in his time, and he may have collected the Books of Kings.
5. 2 Maccabees 2:14 Judas Maccabeus may have collected . . . all of the books remaining after the destruction during the reign of Antiochus IV (see 1 Mac 1:56f).
6. 2 Maccabees 2:19 This surprising preface demonstrates quite well to what extent the word of God yields to the personality of the inspired authors. From the vast history at his disposal, the author records above all what gravitates around two events: the reestablishment of the cult by Judas Maccabeus and the victory over Nicanor; these two events have given rise to a feast.
7. 2 Maccabees 2:20 Wars against Antiochus Epiphanes: see 2 Mac 4:7—10:9; his son Eupator: see 2 Mac 10:10—13:26.
8. 2 Maccabees 2:21 Apparitions: authentic divine manifestations in contrast to Antiochus’s vain title of “god manifest” (Epiphanes). Judaism: first known usage of this term, which sums up in itself all that characterized the Jews as a nation and as a religion (see 2 Mac 8:1; 14:38) and is here used in contrast with Hellenism (see 2 Mac 4:13).
9. 2 Maccabees 2:23 Cyrene possessed a flourishing Jewish colony that was, however, under the influence of the more important colony at Alexandria. Jason of Cyrene is not mentioned in any ancient sources, and no work of his is extant. The author of Second Maccabees may have had an actual source or he may have used the literary tradition of antiquity of resting one’s work on the authority of a purported source.