1
During that time, a priest of the Jehoiarib family named Mattathias, who was the son of John and the grandson of Simeon, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein.
2
Mattathias had five sons: John (also called Gaddi),
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Simon (also called Thassi),
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Judas (also called Maccabeus),
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Eleazar (also called Avaran), and Jonathan (also called Apphus).
6
When Mattathias saw all the sins that were being committed in Judea and Jerusalem,
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he said: "Why was I born to see these terrible things, the ruin of my people and of the holy city? Must I sit here helpless while the city is surrendered to enemies and the Temple falls into the hands of foreigners?
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The Temple is like someone without honor.
9
Its splendid furnishings have been carried away as loot. Our children have been killed in the streets, and our young men by the sword of the enemy.