Chapter Six

The prayer of Eleazar the priest (3 Macc 6:1-14). The deliverance of the Jews (3 Macc 6:15-37).

3 Maccabees 6:1. Meanwhile a certain Eleazar, a man held in honor, from among the priests of the land, already having reached old age and adorned throughout his life with every virtue, called upon the elders who stood around him to invoke the holy God, and prayed thus: “From among the priests of the land...” Among the Jews of the diaspora there were many from the priestly class who, even in a foreign land, continued to be called by their title — in Greek, ιερείς — and if they were also from leading families, then αρχιερείς as well. The elders (πρεσβύτεροι) mentioned alongside them administered the affairs of the synagogue together with the head of the synagogue. These were like the gerontes and archons of the Alexandrian Jewish community.

3 Maccabees 6:2. “King most mighty, most high, God Almighty, who governs all creation with mercy! Look down, O Father, upon the seed of Abraham, upon the children of the sanctified Jacob, upon the people of your holy inheritance, who are wandering in a foreign land and being unjustly destroyed. On the various names of God — see 2 Macc 1:24 ff. — “Who governs all creation with mercy...” τήv πασαν διακυβερναν οικτιρμοίς κτίσιν ..., Slavonic: “who orders all creation in tender mercies...” If God governs all creation with mercy, then given his special relationship to Israel, this gave particular grounds in such extraordinary circumstances to hope that he would not refuse his mercy. — “The people of your holy inheritance...” — the people who constitute your sacred possession, consecrated by you as your own. On the name “Father” — see note to V: 4.

3 Maccabees 6:3. You destroyed Pharaoh, the former ruler of Egypt, who had a multitude of chariots, who had exalted himself in lawless insolence and arrogant words, along with his proud army, drowning them in the sea, while you showed the light of mercy to the race of Israel. Cf. Exod 14:26-28.

3 Maccabees 6:4. You brought down the cruel king of Assyria, Sennacherib, who boasted of his countless armies, who had conquered all the land by the sword and risen against your holy city, and who in his pride and insolence uttered blasphemies — you brought him down, manifestly showing your power to many nations. Cf. 1 Macc 7:41; 2 Macc 8:19. — “Your holy city” — 1 Macc 2:7; 2 Macc 1:12. Before “brought down,” the Russian translation has omitted “O Lord” (δέσποτα, Slavonic: “O Master”).

3 Maccabees 6:5. You kept the three young men in Babylon unharmed — not a hair of them — who had willingly given their lives to the fire rather than serve vain idols, cooling the blazing furnace with dew, and you turned the flame upon all their enemies. Cf. Dan 1:6 ff.; vv. 23 and 24. — “Vain idols...” κενοίς ..., Slavonic: “vile.” The neuter of the Greek κενός in the sense of — vain, futile, empty, nonexistent — hence “idols.” A similar meaning in verse 9 is carried by μεταίοις (cf. Amos 2:4: τά μάταια αυτών), literally their deception, lie; Slavonic: guile, deceit. — “Cooling the blazing furnace...” — cf. Dan 3:50. — “Kept unharmed — not a hair of them...” — cf. Dan 3:94. — “Turned the flame upon all their enemies...” — cf. Dan 3:22.

3 Maccabees 6:6. You brought Daniel up to the light unharmed — he who had been cast into a pit on account of slanderous envy to be torn apart by lions; and you, O Father, also showed Jonah unharmed to all his kin when he was hopelessly wasting away in the belly of the whale that dwells in the depths of the sea. Cf. Dan 6:2-28. On Jonah — cf. Jonah 2 ch. — “Jonah, when he was hopelessly wasting away in the belly of the whale that dwells in the depths of the sea...” Greek: τόν τε βυθοτρεφούς έν γαστρί κήτους ᾿Ιωναν τηκόμενον άφειδώς ..., more precisely Slavonic: “Jonah, wasting away without mercy in the belly of the sea-whale...” — “Showed unharmed to all his kin.” The Book of the Prophet and the Old Testament in general record nothing about this.

3 Maccabees 6:7. And now, O Avenger of wrongs, O greatly merciful One, Protector of all, appear quickly to those who are of the race of Israel, wronged by abominable lawless pagans. “Appear...” — that is, with your saving power for Israel, and with punishing power — for the pagans.

3 Maccabees 6:8. But if our life in this place of exile has been filled with wickedness, then, delivering us from the hand of the enemies, destroy us, O Lord, with whatever death you see fit, “In this place of exile...” κατά τήν αποικίαν — properly, during the time of sojourn in a foreign land, and precisely as a result of this sojourn. The one praying allows that despite all precautions, the Jews could not have avoided many impure influences from the surrounding paganism. In that case, the desire is expressed to suffer from the hand of God any punishment whatsoever — up to and including death — rather than suffer such punishment from the hand of the pagans, who could attribute it to the power of their gods (v. 9).

3 Maccabees 6:9–11. so that the superstitious may not glorify their vain idols over the destruction of your beloved ones, saying: “their God did not deliver them.” But you, O Eternal One, who have all power and every authority, look down now: have mercy on us, who are being deprived of life like criminals through the senseless violence of the lawless. 3 Maccabees 6:12–14. Let the pagans now stand in awe before your invincible might, O Most Glorious One, who have the power to save the race of Jacob. All the multitude of little children and their parents implore you with tears: let it be made manifest to all the pagans that you are with us, O Lord, and have not turned your face away from us; bring it about as you yourself said, O Lord, that even in the land of their enemies you will not despise them. “As you yourself said...” — cf. Lev 26:44: “and even when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not despise them and will not abhor them so as to destroy them...” Something similar — see Deut 30:2-4.

3 Maccabees 6:15. Just as Eleazar finished his prayer, the king arrived at the racing track with the beasts and with all his fearful army. “With all his fearful army...” Greek: σύν παντί τω τής δυνάμεως φρυάγματι ..., Slavonic more precisely: “with... all the pride of his force...”

3 Maccabees 6:16–17. When the Jews saw him, they raised a loud cry to heaven, so that even the nearby valleys resounded with the echo, and stirred up irresistible compassion in all the army. Then the greatly glorious Almighty and true God, displaying his holy face, opened the heavenly gates, from which two glorious and fearful angels descended, visible to all except the Jews. “Displaying his holy face...” — that is, “looking with joy and mercy,” cf. Num 6:25; Ps XXX: 17; LXXIX: 4, 8, 20.

3 Maccabees 6:18. They stood in front of the army and filled the enemies with confusion and fear, and bound them with motionless bonds; likewise the king’s body was seized with trembling, and forgetfulness overtook his inflamed insolence. “Bound them with motionless bonds...” — that is, brought them into such a state that they could not move their feet and take a single step.

3 Maccabees 6:19–22. Then the elephants turned upon the armed troops that accompanied them and trampled them and destroyed them. The king’s wrath turned to pity and tears over what he had previously schemed to carry out. For when he heard the cries of the Jews and saw them all prostrated for destruction, he wept and angrily threatened his friends, saying: you are abusing your authority and have surpassed in cruelty even tyrants and me, your benefactor, and are attempting to deprive me of power and life by secretly plotting what is harmful to the kingdom. “Plotting what is harmful to the kingdom, attempting to deprive me of power and life...” The king places the welfare of the kingdom and its head in an inseparable connection here.

3 Maccabees 6:23–24. Who madly gathered here those who so faithfully guarded the fortifications of our land, removing each from his home? Who subjected those who from ancient times have surpassed all nations in their loyalty to us in everything, and who have often suffered the most severe oppression at the hands of men — who subjected these people to such undeserved disgrace? On the faithfulness of the Jews to their kings, Josephus speaks at particular length, Arch. XII, 1.

3 Maccabees 6:25. Release, release the unjust bonds, send them away in peace to their homes, asking forgiveness for what has been done before; release the sons of the heavenly Almighty, the living God, who from the time of our ancestors until now has given uninterrupted prosperity and glory to our kingdom. “To their homes...” είς τα ίδια ..., Slavonic more precisely: “to their own...”

3 Maccabees 6:26. This is what the king said. At that very moment the Jews, released and delivered from death, glorified their holy Savior God. “Released at that very moment...” If one considers the multitude of those in chains, how many executors of the royal command to release the chained “at that very moment” one must suppose! From this too it is clear that the number of Jews condemned to death must be greatly exaggerated.

3 Maccabees 6:27–28. After that the king, returning to the city and summoning the overseer of the expenditures, ordered that for seven days wine and everything else needed for feasting be given to the Jews, having decreed that they should celebrate their salvation with full merriment on the very same place where they had awaited their destruction. Then those who had previously been in disgrace and had stood near the underworld — or rather had been descending into it — instead of a bitter and mournful death arranged a feast of salvation and, filled with joy, divided among themselves for reclining the place that had been prepared for their destruction and burial. “Had been descending into the underworld...” βεβηκότες ..., Slavonic more correctly: “having descended...” — that is, as if they had already descended into the underworld. — “A feast of salvation...” — that is, a feast celebrating their deliverance.

3 Maccabees 6:29–30. Abandoning their most pitiful song of lamentation, they took up the song of their fathers, praising the Savior of Israel and God the Worker of wonders, and casting aside all mourning and weeping, they formed choirs as a sign of peaceful rejoicing. Likewise the king, having arranged on this occasion a grand feast with many guests, expressed his gratitude to heaven for the glorious and triumphantly bestowed deliverance. “Expressed his gratitude to heaven...” είς ουρανόν ανθωμολογείτο ..., Slavonic: “he gave thanks toward heaven...” — that is, looking toward heaven, he acknowledged the beneficence of God, glorifying God for the deliverance (cf. Luke 2:38). — “For the deliverance...” The king’s deliverance consisted in the fact that he, in the commotion that occurred with the elephants, had not perished like many of the troops accompanying him, and also in the fact that his unjust deed was stopped in time and did not bring upon him the full righteous wrath of the Most High God.

3 Maccabees 6:31–33. Those who had consigned them to destruction and to be food for birds of prey, and who had joyfully made a register of them, now, seized with shame, groaned aloud, and their boldness that had breathed fire was extinguished in disgrace. The Jews, as we have said, having formed the aforementioned choir, celebrated the feast with joyful hymns and psalms. They even passed a public resolution that throughout all their communities, generation after generation, they should joyfully observe these appointed days — not for drinking and overindulgence, but in memory of the deliverance that God had granted them. “Throughout all their communities, generation after generation...” επί πάσαν τήν παροικίαν αύτων εις γενεάς ..., Slavonic more precisely: “throughout all their sojourning, for generations...” — that is, for the entire time of their dwelling in a foreign land.

3 Maccabees 6:34–35. Then they came before the king and asked to be sent home. Their registration had been carried out from the twenty-fifth day of the month Pachon to the fourth day of the month Epiphi, a period of forty days; their destruction had been set from the fifth day of the month Epiphi to the seventh, a period of three days, during which the Master of all manifestly showed his mercy and saved them unharmed and completely. Pachon was the ninth and Epiphi the eleventh month of the Egyptian-Alexandrian year. The beginning of the first fell on the 26th of April, and of the second on the 25th of June in the Julian calendar. The number of days in an Egyptian month is 30; from the 25th of Pachon to the 4th of Epiphi is exactly 40 days, during which the registration of the Jews took place.

3 Maccabees 6:36–37. They celebrated, being supplied with everything by the king, until the fourteenth day, on which they also presented their petition for dismissal. The king, granting their request, generously wrote in their favor the following letter with his own signature to the city commanders: Our Telegram channel