1 Maccabees 6:1-5
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,
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.
