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1 Maccabees 3:40-42
New Catholic Bible
1 Maccabees 3:40-42
New Catholic Bible
40 Setting out with all their forces, they reached the plain in the region of Emmaus,[a] where they pitched camp. 41 When the local merchants heard the news of this army, they came to the camp with a large amount of silver and gold as well as fetters, seeking to purchase the Israelites for slaves. In addition, forces from Idumea and Philistia joined with them.
42 The Triumph of Judas.[b] Judas and his brothers realized how critical their situation had become, with opposing forces encamped within their territory. They also had learned of the orders that the king had issued for the total destruction of their people.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Maccabees 3:40 Emmaus: this was not the Emmaus of Lk 24:13, but a town about twenty-five miles west of Jerusalem, which dominated the ways of access to it.
- 1 Maccabees 3:42 Preparations are made for a holy war by prayer and penitence (see 1 Sam 7:5). The Lord is implored, his word is consulted (see v. 48), and the law is more strictly observed, for it is from Heaven—that is, from God—that the outcome of the combat depends. The people are ready to risk everything in the cause of God, to save the temple and the nation.
