2 Maccabees 1:1-11

1 The Jewish brethren in Jerusalem and those in the land of Judea, To their Jewish brethren in Egypt, Greeting, and good peace.
2 May God do good to you, and may he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants.
3 May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his will with a strong heart and a willing spirit.
4 May he open your heart to his law and his commandments, and may he bring peace.
5 May he hear your prayers and be reconciled to you, and may he not forsake you in time of evil.
6 We are now praying for you here.
7 In the reign of Demetrius, in the one hundred and sixty-ninth year, we Jews wrote to you, in the critical distress which came upon us in those years after Jason and his company revolted from the holy land and the kingdom
8 and burned the gate and shed innocent blood. We besought the Lord and we were heard, and we offered sacrifice and cereal offering, and we lighted the lamps and we set out the loaves.
9 And now see that you keep the feast of booths in the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and eighty-eighth year.
10 Those in Jerusalem and those in Judea and the senate and Judas, To Aristobulus, who is of the family of the anointed priests, teacher of Ptolemy the king, and to the Jews in Egypt, Greeting, and good health.
11 Having been saved by God out of grave dangers we thank him greatly for taking our side against the king.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.