2 Maccabees 1

The brethren, the Jews that be at Jerusalem and in the land of Judea, wish unto the brethren, the Jews that are throughout Egypt, health and peace: ²God be gracious unto you, and ^aremember his covenant that he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, his faithful servants; ³and give you all a heart to serve him, and to do his will, with a good courage and a willing mind; ⁴and ^bopen your hearts in his law and commandments, and send you peace, ⁵and hear your prayers, and ^cbe at one with you, and never forsake you in time of trouble. ⁶And now we be here praying for you. ⁷What time as ^dDemetrius reigned, in the hundred threescore and ninth year, we the Jews wrote unto you in the extremity of trouble that came upon us in those years, from the time that ^eJason and his company revolted from the ^fholy land and kingdom, ⁸and burnt ^gthe porch, and shed innocent blood: then we prayed unto the Lord, and were heard; ^hwe offered also sacrifices and fine flour, and lighted the lamps, and ⁱset forth the loaves. ⁹And now see that ye ^ukeep ^jthe feast of tabernacles in the month ^kCasleu.

¹⁰In the hundred fourscore and eight year, the people that were at Jerusalem and in Judea, and ^lthe council, and Judas, sent greeting and health unto Aristobulus, king ^mPtolemeus’ ⁿmaster, who was of the stock of the ^oanointed priests, and to the Jews that were in Egypt: ¹¹Insomuch as God hath delivered us from great perils, we thank him highly, as having been in battle against ^sa king. ¹²For he ^pcast them out that fought within ^qthe holy city. ¹³For when the leader was come into ^rPersia, and the army with him that seemed invincible, they were slain in the temple of Nanea by the deceit of Nanea’s priests. ¹⁴For ^sAntiochus, as though he would marry her, came into the place, and his friends that were with him, to receive money in name of a dowry. ¹⁵Which when the priests of Nanea had ⁱset forth, and he was entered with a small company into the compass of the temple, they shut the temple as soon as Antiochus was come in: ¹⁶and opening a privy door of the roof, they threw ^tstones like thunderbolts, and stroke down the captain, hewed them in pieces, smote off their heads, and cast them to those that were without. ¹⁷Blessed be our God in all things, who hath delivered up the ungodly.

¹⁸Therefore whereas we are now purposed to ^ukeep ^vthe purification of the temple upon the five and twentieth day of the month ^kCasleu, we thought it necessary to ^wcertify you thereof, that ye also might ^ukeep it, as the feast ^xof the tabernacles, and of the fire, which was given us when ^yNeemias offered sacrifice, after that he had builded the temple and the altar. ¹⁹For when our fathers were led into ^rPersia, ^yythe priests that were then devout took the fire of the altar privily, and hid it in a hollow place of a pit without water, where they kept it sure, so that the place was unknown to all men. ²⁰Now after many years, when it pleased God, Neemias, ^zbeing sent from the king of ^rPersia, did send of the posterity of those priests that had hid it to the fire: but when they ^wtold us they found no fire, but thick water; ²¹then commanded he them to draw it up, and to bring it; and when the sacrifices were laid on, Neemias commanded the priests ^ato sprinkle the wood and the things laid thereupon with the water. ²²When this was done, and the time came that the sun shone, which afore was hid in the cloud, there was a great fire kindled, so that every man marvelled. ²³And the priests made a prayer whilst the sacrifice was consuming, I say, both the priests, and all the rest, ^bJonathan beginning, and the rest answering thereunto, as Neemias did. ²⁴And the prayer was after this manner;

O Lord, Lord God, ^bbCreator of all things, who art fearful and strong, and righteous, and merciful, and the only and gracious King, ²⁵the only giver of all things, the only just, ^cAlmighty, and everlasting, thou that deliverest Israel from all trouble, and didst choose the fathers, and sanctify them: ²⁶receive the sacrifice for thy whole people Israel, and preserve ^dthine own portion, and sanctify it. ²⁷Gather ^ethose together that are scattered from us, ^fdeliver them that serve among the heathen, look upon them that are despised and abhorred, and ^glet the heathen know that thou art our God. ²⁸Punish them that oppress us, and with pride do us wrong. ²⁹Plant thy people again in thy ^hholy place ⁱas Moses hath spoken.

³⁰And the priests sung psalms of thanksgiving. ³¹Now when the sacrifice was consumed, Neemias commanded the water that was left to be poured on the great stones. ³²When this was done, there was kindled a flame: but it was consumed by the light that shined from the altar. ³³So when this matter was known, it was told the king of ^kPersia, that in the place, where the priests that were led away had hid the fire, there appeared water, and that Neemias had purified the sacrifices therewith. ³⁴Then the king, inclosing the place, made it holy, after he had tried the matter. ³⁵And the king took many ^lgifts, and bestowed thereof on those whom he would gratify. ³⁶And Neemias called this thing Naphthar, which is as much as to say, a cleansing: but many men call it Nephi.

II.