1 Maccabees 6:1-16
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 6
Defeat and Death of Antiochus IV.[a] 1 As King Antiochus was going through the upper provinces, he heard that Elymais,[b] a city in Persia, was renowned for its wealth in silver and gold, 2 and that its temple was very rich, containing gold shields, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander, the son of Philip, the king of Macedon and the first to reign over the Greeks. 3 Therefore, he journeyed there in an attempt to capture and plunder the city, but he was unsuccessful because the people of the city had become aware of his designs 4 and rose up in battle against him. He was put to flight and had to withdraw in great disappointment and retreat toward Babylon.
5 While he was still in Persia, a messenger brought him the news that the armies that had invaded the land of Judah had been routed, 6 that Lysias—who had advanced with a massive force—had been put to flight by the Israelites, that the Israelites had grown increasingly strong as a result of the weapons, equipment, and abundant spoils they had captured from the armies they had destroyed, 7 that they had pulled down the Abomination he had built upon the altar in Jerusalem, and that they had surrounded the sanctuary with high walls as they had done in the past and had fortified his city of Beth-zur.
8 When the king heard this report, he was distraught and deeply shaken. Sick with grief because his plans had failed, he retreated to his bed. 9 He lay there for many days, overwhelmed repeatedly with disappointment,[c] and he realized that he was at the point of death.
10 Therefore, he summoned all his Friends and said to them: “Sleep is gone from my eyes, and my heart is overwhelmed with anxiety. 11 I have asked myself: ‘Why have I been brought to these depths of despair, inasmuch as during my reign I was always kind and greatly beloved?’ 12 But now I recall the evil deeds I perpetrated in Jerusalem in seizing all its vessels of silver and gold and unjustifiably ordering the extermination of the inhabitants of Judah. 13 I am certain that this is the reason why these misfortunes have afflicted me, and why I am dying here of bitter grief in a strange land.”
14 Then he summoned Philip, one of his Friends, and appointed him ruler over his entire kingdom. 15 He gave him his crown, his robe, and his signet ring, entrusting him with the authority to educate his son Antiochus and train him to be king. 16 King Antiochus died in Persia, in the year one hundred and forty-nine.[d]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Maccabees 6:1 The author portrays the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes as happening after the purification of the temple and as the result of God’s justice. In reality, it appears that the persecutor died in the autumn of 164 B.C., before the purification of the temple (1 Mac 4:36f). See note on v. 16.
- 1 Maccabees 6:1 Elymais: a city by this name is unknown; the name seems to refer to a mountainous chain of Persia, in ancient times more often known by the name Elam.
- 1 Maccabees 6:9 Overwhelmed repeatedly with disappointment: perhaps a type of insanity. According to 2 Mac 9:5-12, the king was afflicted with a repugnant physical illness.
- 1 Maccabees 6:16 The year one hundred and forty-nine: this date technically encompasses September 164 to October 163 B.C. According to a Seleucid list of kings, Antiochus died in November or December of 164 B.C.; the author of 2 Maccabees also implies that Antiochus died before the restoration of the temple at Jerusalem.
