ARKCODEX
2 Maccabees
Ch. 3
The Argument between Onias and Simon
1When Onias was High Priest in Jerusalem, the holy city enjoyed peace and prosperity, and its laws were strictly obeyed, because he was devout and hated evil.
2The kings of Syria and Egypt honored the Temple and presented it with expensive gifts,
3and King Seleucus, ruler of all Asia, even used to pay the costs of the Temple sacrifices from the revenues he collected.
4But a man by the name of Simon, of the tribe of Bilgah, the chief administrative official of the Temple, lost an argument he had with Onias over the regulations governing the city market.
5At this time Apollonius son of Thraseus was the governor of Greater Syria. Simon went to him
6and said that there was so much money in the Temple treasury that it could not be counted, and since the money was not needed for sacrifices, it might as well be placed under the king's control.
Heliodorus Is Sent to Jerusalem
7When Apollonius met with the king, he told him about the money, and the king ordered Heliodorus, his chief minister, to get it for him.
8Heliodorus set out at once on his mission, but he claimed that he was only making a tour of inspection of the cities of Greater Syria.
9After he had arrived in Jerusalem and had been warmly received by the High Priest, he explained the real reason for his visit and asked if what he had been told was true.
10-11The High Priest then stated that Simon, that devil of a man, had not been telling the truth. There was indeed some money in the Temple treasury, but part of it was set aside for widows and orphans and part of it belonged to Hyrcanus son of Tobias, a very important man. He also pointed out that the total amount was only 30,000 pounds of silver and 15,000 pounds of gold.
12He added that it was absolutely impossible that anyone should be permitted to take the money of those people who had placed their trust in the sanctity and safety of this world-famous Temple.
Heliodorus Plans to Enter the Temple
13But Heliodorus insisted that the money should be taken for the royal treasury, as the king had ordered.
14So he set a day and went into the Temple to supervise the counting of the money. This caused an uproar throughout the entire city.
15Priests, wearing their priestly robes, threw themselves face downward before the altar and begged God to keep the money safe, since he had given the laws designed to protect the money that people deposited in the Temple.
16It was heartbreaking to see the High Priest. His face turned pale, revealing the agony of his soul,
17and his body was trembling with fear, reflecting the pain in his heart.
18People ran from their houses to join together in prayer that the Temple might not be defiled.
19Women, wearing nothing but skirts of sackcloth, crowded the streets. Young girls whose parents had never allowed them to be seen in public ran to the gates or to the walls of the city, or just stared out of their windows.
20But wherever they went, they lifted their hands to God in prayer.
21What a pitiful sight it was to see the High Priest in such great agony and frustration and to see everyone in the city confused and lying face down on the ground.
The Lord Protects His Temple
22While everyone was begging the Lord Almighty to protect the money that had been entrusted to his care,
23Heliodorus went on with his plan.
24But at the very moment that he and his bodyguards arrived at the treasury, the Lord of all supernatural powers caused such a vision to appear that everyone who had dared to enter with Heliodorus was panic-stricken and weak with fear at this display of the Lord's power.
25In the vision they saw a horse and a rider. The horse had a richly decorated bridle, and its rider, dressed in gold armor, was frightening. Suddenly the horse rushed at Heliodorus, then reared up and struck at him with its hoofs.
26Heliodorus also saw two unusually strong and handsome young men, wearing very fine clothes. They stood on either side of him and beat him unmercifully.
27He immediately fell to the ground unconscious, and his men put him on a stretcher
28and carried him out. Only a moment earlier this man had entered the treasury with a large group of men, including all his bodyguards, but now he was being carried away helpless. So they all openly acknowledged the mighty power of God.
Onias Prays for Heliodorus' Recovery
29Heliodorus lay there unable to speak and without hope of recovery from this demonstration of God's power.
30But the Jews praised Almighty God because he had miraculously protected his Temple and had brought great happiness where only minutes before there had been fear and confusion.
31Some of Heliodorus' friends quickly asked Onias the High Priest to pray that the Most High would spare the life of this man who was at the point of death.
32So the High Priest offered a sacrifice in the hope that God would save Heliodorus, for he did not want the king to think that the Jews had done this to the man he had sent.
33While Onias was offering the sacrifice, the two young men, wearing the same clothes as before, again appeared to Heliodorus and said, Be grateful to the High Priest; the Lord has spared your life because of him.
34Remember that it was the Lord of heaven who punished you. Now go and tell everyone of his great power. When they had said this, they disappeared.
Heliodorus Praises God
35So Heliodorus offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made many promises, because the Lord had spared his life. Then he said good-bye to Onias and returned with his army to the king.
36There he told everyone what the Lord, the most powerful of all gods, had done.
37When the king asked Heliodorus who would be the best man to send on the next mission to Jerusalem, Heliodorus replied,
38If you have an enemy or know of someone plotting against your government, send him. He will come back badly beaten, if he comes back at all, for some strange power from God is at work there.
39The God of heaven watches over the Temple; he strikes down and destroys anyone who comes to harm it.
40That is the story of how the Temple treasury was protected from Heliodorus.
Sirach
Ch. 45–46
Moses
1From Jacob's descendants the Lord raised up a godly man who won the favor of everyone, loved by God and people alike. This man was Moses, whose very memory is a blessing.
2The Lord made him as glorious as the angels and made his enemies fear him.
3There in Egypt at his command the disaster struck. The Lord made kings hold him in respect. The Lord gave him his commands for his people and showed him the dazzling light of his presence.
4The Lord chose Moses out of the whole human race and consecrated him because of his loyalty and humility.
5He let him hear his voice and led him into the dark cloud, where, face-to-face, he gave him the commandments, the Law that gives life and knowledge, so that Moses might teach the covenant regulations to the Israelites.
Aaron
6The Lord raised up Aaron, a holy man like his brother Moses, of the tribe of Levi.
7He made an eternal covenant with him, giving him the privilege of serving as priest to the Lord's people. He honored him by clothing him with magnificent robes and fine ornaments,
8perfect in their splendor. He granted him the symbols of authority: the linen shorts, the shirt, and the robe with the pomegranates around the hem.
9Gold bells were also around its hem, so that when he walked, their ringing would be heard in the Temple, and the Lord would remember his people.
10The Lord gave Aaron the sacred robe with the gold, blue, and purple embroidery; the breastpiece with the Urim and Thummim;
11the red yarn, spun by an expert; the precious stones with names engraved on them, mounted in a gold setting by a jeweler, placed on the breastpiece to remind the Lord of the twelve tribes of Israel.
12He gave him the turban with the gold ornament engraved with the words Dedicated to the Lord. It was expertly crafted, a beautiful work of art, and it was a high honor to wear it.
13Before Aaron's time such beautiful things were never seen. No one but Aaron and his descendants ever wore them, or ever will.
14The grain offering is to be presented twice a day and burned completely.
15Moses ordained Aaron to office by pouring the sacred anointing oil over his head. An eternal covenant was made with him and his descendants, that they would serve the Lord as his priests and bless the people in the Lord's name.
16The Lord chose Aaron out of the whole human race to offer sacrifices, to burn fragrant incense to remind the Lord of his people, and to take away their sins.
17He entrusted the commandments to Aaron's keeping and gave him the authority to make legal decisions and to teach Israel the Law.
18Once, while the people were in the wilderness, an angry group of jealous outsiders conspired against Moses. These were Dathan, Abiram, and Korah with their supporters.
19The Lord saw what they were doing and became angry, so furious that he performed a miracle and destroyed them in a blazing fire.
20Then he rewarded Aaron again, giving him a special honor: the right to the offerings of the first produce, so that the priests should have enough to eat.
21Their food is the sacrifices offered to the Lord; the Lord gave this to Aaron and his descendants.
22But Aaron, unlike the rest of the people, was to inherit no land, no special portion of his own. The Lord himself would be all he needed.
Phinehas
23Only Moses and Aaron were more famous for their intense devotion to the Lord than Phinehas son of Eleazar. He brought about forgiveness for Israel's sin by standing firm in brave determination when everyone else was in rebellion.
24And so the Lord made a covenant with him, valid for all time to come, that he should be in charge of the sanctuary and of his people, that he and his descendants should hold the office of High Priest forever.
25Unlike the covenant made with David son of Jesse, from the tribe of Judah, where the kingship passed only from father to son, the priesthood was to pass from Aaron to all his descendants.
26Now praise the Lord, who is good, who has crowned you with glory! May he give you wisdom to judge his people fairly, so that their success and your authority may continue for all time to come.
Sirach 46
Joshua
1Joshua son of Nun was a great soldier and the next of the prophets after Moses. He lived up to the meaning of his name as the great deliverer of the Lord's chosen people. He defeated the enemies that attacked them, so that Israel could claim its land.
2How magnificent it was when he raised his arm and then led the attacks on the cities!
3No one could stand up to him; he was fighting a holy war for the Lord.
4Remember how he held back the sun and made one day as long as two?
5When his enemies were threatening him from every side, he prayed to the mighty Lord Most High, and his prayer was answered with a hailstorm of devastating force.
6The Lord hurled the hail down on the enemy and destroyed them at the pass at Beth Horon, so that the nations would realize how strong Joshua was, since he was fighting as a devoted follower of the Lord.
Caleb
7Joshua was loyal as long as Moses lived, both he and Caleb son of Jephunneh. They stood up to the whole community, made them stop their ungrateful complaining, and kept them from sinning.
8Out of the 600,000 Israelites who marched through the wilderness, these two were the only ones spared and allowed to enter the rich and fertile land that was to be theirs.
9The Lord made Caleb strong, and when he was an old man, he was still strong enough to go up into the hill country and capture it for himself and his descendants.
10Then all of Israel could see how good it is to follow the Lord.
The Judges
11Then there were the judges, each of them famous in their own right, who never fell into idolatry and never abandoned the Lord.
12May their memory be honored! May these whom we honor spring from the grave to new life in their descendants!
Samuel
13Samuel was loved by the Lord. As the Lord's prophet he established the kingdom and appointed rulers for the people.
14He judged the nation in accordance with the Law of the Lord, and the Lord protected Israel.
15Because Samuel was faithful, he was accepted as a true prophet. People trusted him as a seer because of his words.
16When his enemies were threatening him from every side, he called upon the mighty Lord and offered him a young lamb as a sacrifice.
17Then the Lord thundered from heaven with a mighty roar
18and destroyed all the enemy rulers of Philistia.
19When Samuel was about to die, he gave assurances before the Lord and the anointed king that he had never taken anyone's property, not even so much as a pair of shoes, and no one contradicted him.
20Even after he died, he prophesied to King Saul how he would die. Out of the grave he spoke as a prophet, to blot out his people's wickedness.
Proverbs
Ch. 24
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10If you are weak in a crisis, you are weak indeed.
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11Don't hesitate to rescue someone who is about to be executed unjustly.
12You may say that it is none of your business, but God knows and judges your motives. He keeps watch on you; he knows. And he will reward you according to what you do.