Simon Accuses Onias

¹But Simon (mentioned earlier as the one who informed Apollonius about the money and brought trouble on the nation) also lied about Onias, claiming that he was responsible for the attack on Heliodorus and for the difficulties that followed.

²He dared to accuse Onias of plotting against the government—Onias who not only had made donations to Jerusalem and had protected the Temple, but who was eager to see that all our laws were obeyed.

^3-4Apollonius son of Menestheus, the governor of Greater Syria, encouraged Simon in every evil thing he did, and Simon's opposition finally grew so strong that one of his trusted followers committed several murders. Onias realized how dangerous the situation had become,

⁵so he went to the king, not for the purpose of making accusations against his own people, but for the common good of all Jews, both in their private and public lives.

⁶He realized that without the king's cooperation there was no hope for peace, and Simon would keep on with his foolishness.

Jason Introduces Greek Customs

⁷Later, when King Seleucus died and Antiochus (known as Epiphanes) became king, Jason the brother of Onias became High Priest by corrupt means.

⁸He went to see the king and offered him 27,000 pounds of silver with 6,000 more pounds to be paid later.

⁹Jason also offered him an additional 11,250 pounds of silver for the authority to establish a stadium where young men could train and to enroll the people of Jerusalem as citizens of Antioch.

¹⁰The king gave his approval, and just as soon as Jason took over the office of High Priest, he made the people of Jerusalem change to the Greek way of life.

¹¹He began by abolishing the favors that John had secured for the Jews from previous Syrian kings. (John was the father of the Eupolemus who later went to Rome to make an alliance and to establish ties of friendship.) Jason also did away with our Jewish customs and introduced new customs that were contrary to our Law.

¹²With great enthusiasm he built a stadium near the Temple hill and led our finest young men to adopt the Greek custom of participating in athletic events.

¹³Because of the unrivaled wickedness of Jason, that ungodly and illegitimate High Priest, the craze for the Greek way of life and for foreign customs reached such a point

¹⁴that even the priests lost all interest in their sacred duties. They lost interest in the Temple services and neglected the sacrifices. Just as soon as the signal was given, they would rush off to take part in the games that were forbidden by our Law.

¹⁵They did not care about anything their ancestors had valued; they prized only Greek honors.

¹⁶And this turned out to be the source of all their troubles, for the very people whose ways they admired and whose customs they tried to imitate became their enemies and oppressed them.

¹⁷It is a serious thing to disregard God's Law, as you will see from the following events.

Jerusalem under Syrian Influence

¹⁸Once when the king was present for the athletic games that were held every five years in the city of Tyre,

¹⁹that worthless Jason sent some men there from Jerusalem, who were also enrolled as citizens of Antioch, to take 22,500 pounds of silver to pay for a sacrifice to the god Hercules. But even these men did not think it was fitting to use such a large sum of money for a sacrifice, and

²⁰so the money originally intended as a sacrifice to Hercules was used for the construction of warships.

²¹When Apollonius son of Menestheus was sent to Egypt to attend the crowning of Philometor as king, Antiochus learned that Philometor was opposed to his policies. Antiochus became concerned about the security of his own kingdom, so he went to Joppa and then on to Jerusalem.

²²There he was welcomed with great splendor by Jason and the people of the city who went out to greet him, shouting and carrying torches. From Jerusalem Antiochus led his army to Phoenicia.

Menelaus Becomes High Priest

²³Three years later, Jason sent Menelaus (brother of the Simon mentioned earlier) to take some money to the king and to get his decision on several important matters.

²⁴But when he stood before the king, Menelaus impressed him with his show of authority and offered 22,500 pounds of silver more than Jason had offered for his appointment to the office of High Priest.

²⁵As a result Menelaus returned to Jerusalem with papers from the king, confirming him as High Priest. But he possessed no other qualifications; he had the temper of a cruel tyrant and could be as fierce as a wild animal.

²⁶So Jason, who had cheated his own brother out of the office of High Priest, was now forced to flee to the land of Ammon.

²⁷Menelaus continued to be High Priest, but he never paid any of the money he had promised the king.

²⁸However, Sostratus, the captain of the fort in Jerusalem, kept demanding the money, since it was his responsibility to collect it. So finally, the two men were summoned to appear before the king concerning the matter.

²⁹Menelaus left his brother Lysimachus as acting High Priest, while Sostratus left the fort under the command of Crates, the commander of the mercenary troops from Cyprus.

The Murder of Onias

³⁰Meanwhile, there was a revolt in the Cilician cities of Tarsus and Mallus, because the king had given those cities to Antiochis, his mistress.

³¹So the king left Andronicus, one of his high officials, in command, while he hurried off to Cilicia to restore order.

³²Menelaus took advantage of this opportunity and presented Andronicus with some of the gold objects he had removed from the Temple in Jerusalem. He had already sold some of them to the city of Tyre and to other nearby cities.

³³When Onias heard about this, he fled for safety to a temple at Daphne near the city of Antioch and openly accused Menelaus.

³⁴Then Menelaus secretly persuaded Andronicus to kill Onias. So Andronicus went to Onias and deceived him with a friendly greeting and with promises of safety. Although Onias was suspicious, Andronicus finally lured him away from the safety of the temple and immediately murdered him in cold blood.

Andronicus Is Punished

³⁵The Jews and Gentiles were very angry because Onias had been murdered.

³⁶So when the king returned from the territory of Cilicia, the Jews of Antioch went to him and protested against this senseless killing. Many Gentiles felt the same way about the crime.

³⁷King Antiochus was deeply grieved and was so filled with sorrow that he was moved to tears when he recalled the wisdom and self-control that Onias had shown throughout his life.

³⁸Antiochus became so angry that he tore off Andronicus' royal robe, stripped him naked, and marched him around the city to the very spot where Onias had been murdered. Then Antiochus had this bloodthirsty murderer put to death. This was how the Lord gave him the punishment he deserved.

Lysimachus Is Killed

³⁹Meanwhile, with the support of his brother Menelaus, Lysimachus had on numerous occasions robbed the Jerusalem Temple and had taken many of its gold objects. When word of this spread around, crowds began to gather in protest against Lysimachus.

⁴⁰Finally, the crowds were becoming dangerous and were beginning to get out of control, so Lysimachus sent 3,000 armed men to attack them. They were led by Auranus, a man as stupid as he was old.

⁴¹When the Jews in the Temple courtyard realized what was happening, they picked up rocks, pieces of wood, or simply handfuls of ashes from the altar and threw them at Lysimachus and his men in the confusion.

⁴²They killed a few of Lysimachus' men, wounded many of them, and all the rest ran for their lives. Lysimachus himself, that temple robber, was killed near the Temple treasury.

Menelaus Is Brought to Trial

⁴³Because of this incident Menelaus was brought to trial.

⁴⁴When the king came to the city of Tyre, the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem sent three men to bring charges against Menelaus.

⁴⁵When Menelaus saw that he was losing the case, he offered Ptolemy son of Dorymenes a large bribe to persuade the king to decide in his favor.

⁴⁶Ptolemy then asked the king to go outside the courtroom with him, as though to get some fresh air, and there he persuaded him to change his mind

⁴⁷and declare Menelaus innocent of the charges against him. So Menelaus was set free, although he had caused the trouble; but the three men, whom even the cruel Scythians would have declared innocent, were sentenced to death.

⁴⁸The three men had spoken in defense of Jerusalem, its people, and the sacred objects stolen from the Temple, but they were quickly and unjustly executed.

⁴⁹Some of the people of Tyre, however, showed their disgust with this crime and their respect for these men by giving them a splendid funeral.

⁵⁰Menelaus stayed on in his position because of the greed of those in power. He grew more evil every day and became the worst enemy of his own people.

Nathan

¹After him came Nathan, who was a prophet at the time of David.

David

²As the choice fat portion of the fellowship offering is reserved for the Lord, so David was chosen from among the Israelites.

³He played with lions and bears as if they were lambs or little goats.

⁴When he was still a boy, he killed a giant to rescue his people. He put a stone in his sling, took aim, and put an end to Goliath's bragging.

⁵He prayed to the Lord, the Most High, and was given the strength to kill that famous soldier, so that the nations would have respect for the power of his people.

⁶The people honored him for killing his tens of thousands, and when he was crowned king, they praised him for being chosen by the Lord.

⁷He wiped out all his enemies and permanently crushed the Philistines, so that they never again became a threat.

⁸In everything David did, he gave thanks and praise to the Holy Lord, the Most High. He loved his Creator and sang praises to him with all his heart.

⁹He put singers at the altar to provide beautiful music.

¹⁰He set the times of the festivals throughout the year and made them splendid occasions; the Temple rang with the Lord's praises all day long.

¹¹The Lord forgave David's sin and established his power forever. He made a covenant with him that he and his descendants would reign in splendor over Israel.

Solomon

¹²David prepared the way well for his son, a wise man, to rule after him.

¹³There was no war while Solomon was king. God gave him peace on all his borders, so that he could build for the Lord a Temple which would stand forever.

¹⁴How wise you were, Solomon, when you were young! Your knowledge was like the Nile in flood.

¹⁵Your influence reached over all the world; your proverbs and riddles were known everywhere.

¹⁶You were famous everywhere, and people loved you for bringing peace.

¹⁷Nations around the world held you in admiration for your songs, proverbs, parables, and witty sayings.

¹⁸You gathered silver and gold as if it were tin or lead, all in the name of the Lord God of Israel.

¹⁹But your lust for women was your downfall.

²⁰You stained your reputation and that of your descendants. They suffered punishment for that foolishness of yours, which caused them so much grief.

²¹It divided the nation, and a rival kingdom arose in northern Israel.

²²But the Lord will always be merciful and keep all his promises. He will never destroy the descendants of David, whom he chose and who loved him. So for Israel's sake he allowed David's family to survive.

Rehoboam and Jeroboam

²³Solomon followed his ancestors in death and left one of his sons to rule after him. This was Rehoboam, a man of little intelligence and great foolishness, whose policies caused a rebellion. There was also the unspeakable Jeroboam, who led northern Israel in sinful ways.

²⁴His people became so sinful that they were exiled from their land.

²⁵They tried all kinds of wickedness until the Lord took vengeance on them.

Elijah

¹Then there arose the fiery prophet Elijah, whose words blazed like a torch.

²He brought a famine on the people, and many of them died because of his persistence.

³Speaking in the name of the Lord, he kept the rain from coming, and on three occasions he called down fire.

⁴Elijah, your miracles were marvelous! No one else can boast of such deeds!

⁵In the name of the Most High, you brought a dead man back to life.

⁶You brought a famous king down to sickness and death.

⁷At Sinai you heard the Lord rebuke you and declare his determination to punish his enemies.

⁸You anointed a king to be the instrument of that punishment, and a prophet to take your place.

⁹You were taken up to heaven in a fiery whirlwind, a chariot drawn by fiery horses.

¹⁰The scripture says that you are ready to appear at the designated time, to cool God's anger before it breaks out in fury; that you will bring parents and children together again, and restore the tribes of Israel.

¹¹Fortunate are those who live to see you come, as well as those who have already died in love, for we too shall live.

Elisha

¹²When Elijah was hidden by the whirlwind, Elisha was filled with his spirit. As long as he lived, he was not afraid of rulers, and they could not make him do as they wished.

¹³Nothing was too hard for him. Even when he was dead, his body worked a miracle.

¹⁴In life and in death he performed amazing miracles.

¹⁵But in spite of all this, the people did not abandon their sinful ways until they were taken from their land as prisoners and scattered all over the world. This left the nation few in number, but those who remained were still ruled by the descendants of David.

¹⁶Some of the people did what was pleasing to the Lord, but others committed sin after sin.

Hezekiah

¹⁷Hezekiah prepared his city to resist a siege and provided it with a water supply. He had a tunnel built through solid rock with iron tools and had cisterns built to hold the water.

¹⁸During his reign Sennacherib attacked the city and sent his chief official from Lachish. He challenged Jerusalem and boasted arrogantly.

¹⁹The people lost their courage and shook with fear; they were in pain, like a woman in labor.

²⁰But they prayed to the merciful Lord, the Holy One in heaven, who quickly answered their prayers and sent Isaiah to save them.

²¹The Lord struck the Assyrian camp; his angel wiped them out.

²²Yes, Hezekiah did what was pleasing to the Lord and firmly followed the example of his ancestor David. This was what was commanded by the great prophet Isaiah, whose visions were trusted.

²³He made the sun move backward and lengthened the king's life.

²⁴He comforted the mourners in Jerusalem. His powerful spirit looked into the future,

²⁵and he predicted what was to happen before the end of time, hidden things that had not yet occurred.

Josiah

¹The memory of Josiah is as sweet as the fragrance of expertly blended incense, sweet as honey to the taste, like music with wine at a banquet.

²He followed the correct policy of reforming the nation and removed the horrors of idolatry.

³He was completely loyal to the Lord and strengthened true religion in those wicked times.

Jeremiah

⁴All the kings, except David, Hezekiah, and Josiah, were terrible sinners, because they abandoned the Law of the Most High to the very end of the kingdom.

⁵They surrendered their power and honor to foreigners,

⁶who set fire to the holy city and left its streets deserted, just as Jeremiah had predicted.

⁷Jeremiah had been badly treated, even though he was chosen as a prophet before he was born, to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, but also to build and to plant.

Ezekiel

⁸It was Ezekiel who was shown the vision of the divine glory over the chariot and the living creatures.

⁹He also referred to the prophet Job, who always did the right thing.

The Twelve Prophets

¹⁰May the bones of the twelve prophets rise to new life, because these men encouraged the people of Israel and saved them with confident hope.

Zerubbabel and Joshua

¹¹How can we praise Zerubbabel? He was like a signet ring on the Lord's right hand,

¹²as was Joshua son of Jehozadak. They rebuilt the Lord's holy Temple, destined for eternal fame.

Nehemiah

¹³The memory of Nehemiah is also great. He rebuilt the ruined walls of Jerusalem, installing the gates and bars. He rebuilt our homes.

The Patriarchs

¹⁴No one else like Enoch has ever walked the face of the earth, for he was taken up from the earth.

¹⁵No one else like Joseph has ever been born; even his bones were honored.

¹⁶Shem, Seth, and Enosh were highly honored, but Adam's glory was above that of any other living being.

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¹³My child, eat honey; it is good. And just as honey from the comb is sweet on your tongue,

¹⁴you may be sure that wisdom is good for the soul. Get wisdom and you have a bright future.

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¹⁵Don't be like the wicked who scheme to rob honest people or to take away their homes.

¹⁶No matter how often honest people fall, they always get up again; but disaster destroys the wicked.