1 Maccabees 1:39-43

Good News Translation

³⁹Her Temple was as empty as a wilderness;
her festivals were turned into days of mourning,
her Sabbath joy into shame.
Her honor became an object of ridicule.
⁴⁰Her shame was as great as her former glory,
and her pride was turned into deepest mourning.

^41-43Antiochus now issued a decree that all nations in his empire should abandon their own customs and become one people. All the Gentiles and even many of the Israelites submitted to this decree. They adopted the official pagan religion, offered sacrifices to idols, and no longer observed the Sabbath.

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