1 Maccabees 2:1-28
New Catholic Bible
The Great Days of the Resistance[a]
Resistance Begins: Mattathias (167–166 B.C.)
Chapter 2
Mattathias and His Sons. 1 In those days Mattathias,[b] son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the family of Joarib, departed from Jerusalem and settled in Modein. 2 He had five sons: John, who was called Gaddi; 3 Simon, who was called Thassi; 4 Judas, who was called Maccabeus;[c] 5 Eleazar, who was called Avaran; and Jonathan, who was called Apphus. 6 When he observed the sacrilegious acts that were being committed in Judah and Jerusalem, 7 [d]he said: “Alas! Why was I born to witness the ruin of my people and the ruin of the holy city, and to sit by idly while she has been delivered over to her enemies, and the sanctuary given into the hands of foreigners?
8 “Her temple has become like a prison without honor,
9 her glorious vessels have been carried off as booty.
Her infants have been slaughtered in the streets,
her young men slain by the sword of the enemy.
10 What nation has not usurped a share of her sovereignty
and carried off her possessions as plunder?
11 All her adornment has been stripped from her;
she who enjoyed freedom has now become a slave.
12 We see our sanctuary, and our beauty,
and our glory now laid waste.
The Gentiles have defiled them.
13 What now do we have to live for?”
14 Then Mattathias and his sons tore their garments, put on sackcloth, and engaged in great mourning.
15 A Righteous Anger. The officers of the king who had been commissioned to enforce the apostasy came to the town of Modein to ensure that the sacrifices were being offered. 16 Many Israelites assembled around them, but Mattathias and his sons stood apart. 17 Then the officers of the king addressed Mattathias in these words: “You are a leader in this town, respected and influential, and you have the support of your sons and brothers. 18 Now be the first to come forward and obey the decree of the king, as all the Gentiles have done, as well as the citizens of Judah and the people who remain in Jerusalem. Then you and your sons will be counted among the Friends of the King,[e] and you and your sons will be honored with gold and silver and many other gifts.”
19 However, Mattathias responded in a loud voice: “Even if every nation in the king’s dominions obeys him, each one forsaking the religion of its fathers and agreeing to submit to the king’s commands, 20 I and my sons and my brothers will continue to observe the covenant of our fathers. 21 God forbid that we should ever forsake the law and its statutes. 22 We will not obey the king’s commands or deviate from our religion to the right hand or to the left.”
23 As he finished speaking, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice on the altar in Modein, in accordance with the royal decree. 24 When Mattathias observed this, he became inflamed with zeal. His righteous anger aroused, he sprang forward and slaughtered him on the altar. 25 At the same time he also killed the officer of the king who was present to enforce the sacrifice, and he destroyed the altar. 26 In this way he demonstrated his zeal for the law, just as Phinehas had done with Zimri, the son of Salu.
27 Then Mattathias advanced through the town, shouting: “Let everyone who is zealous for the law and who stands by the covenant come with me!” 28 Then he and his sons fled to the hills, leaving behind in the town everything that they possessed.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Maccabees 2:1 Many Jews, above all the rich, collaborated with the established power. A family of priests (called the Hasmoneans after the name of their forefather) takes to the woods and soon gathers together a group of resisters.
- 1 Maccabees 2:1 Mattathias signifies “gift of Yahweh.” Joarib was the head of the first priestly division (see 1 Chr 24:7). Modein was seventeen miles west of Jerusalem.
- 1 Maccabees 2:4 Maccabeus is thought to derive from a Hebrew word meaning “hammer.”
- 1 Maccabees 2:7 Mattathias’s lament takes its inspiration from ancient texts (Lam 2:11-21).
- 1 Maccabees 2:18 Friends of the King: an official court title; others were “Chief Friends and King’s Kinsmen.”
