2 Maccabees — Greek text and reception
Choose a chapter to explore the source readings and their notes. Original references, source labels, and review records are retained.
Source guide and review record
Saints Translation — 2 Maccabees
Chapters 1–15 • V1 • Working translation draft • Sep 8, 2026
Reader’s guide
Complete working translation draft: all 555 numbered Greek verses in 2 Maccabees 1–15 are present and were translated independently from the directly read Rahlfs–Hanhart 2006 Greek main text as presented online by the publisher. Verse sequence and coverage checked against source markers. A drafting-agent English pass was performed; difficult clauses remain locally flagged. Two selective Augustinian reception notes were verified in English translation. No critical apparatus, manuscript collation, independent second-reader review, or comprehensive reception survey is claimed.
References follow the chapter and verse numbering displayed in the consulted Greek text. Chapter 12 ends at 12:45, which includes the closing propitiation sentence. Other editions may number that sentence 12:46. No Hebrew column or cross-tradition comparison classifications are supplied because no Hebrew base text is used.
The middle column gives an independent English translation of the declared Greek main text. The final column records translation decisions and selected, sourced reception. Blank note cells carry no further claim. This working draft remains subject to qualified independent review.
Source basis
Septuaginta, Alfred Rahlfs, second revised edition edited by Robert Hanhart (2006), Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft; publisher's online Greek main text
Sources and method
G — Septuaginta, Alfred Rahlfs, second revised edition edited by Robert Hanhart (2006), Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft; publisher's online Greek main text
2 Maccabees 1–15; each chapter at the same address ending 2MA.1 through 2MA.15
Direct reading of the ancient Greek main text in the publisher's online presentation; no apparatus consulted. Accessed Sep 8, 2026.
ACD — Augustine of Hippo, On the Care of the Dead (De cura pro mortuis gerenda), section 3; English translation hosted by New Advent
Sections 1–6 consulted for the context of section 3; reception of prayer and sacrifice for the dead
Direct reading of the work in English translation; Latin original not collated. Accessed Sep 8, 2026.
AF19 — Augustine of Hippo, Against Faustus (Contra Faustum), book 19, section 14; English translation hosted by New Advent
Book 19, sections 13–14, including explicit discussion of the Maccabean martyrs
Direct reading of the work in English translation; Latin original not collated. Accessed Sep 8, 2026.
Translation terms
κύριος — Lord / the Lord
Divine title as present in the source; not expanded to YHWH.
δεσπότης — Master
Distinguished from κύριος, including divine address.
παντοκράτωρ — Almighty
Retains the source's title; not inserted where absent.
ἱλασμός / ἐξιλασμός — propitiation
Project preference retained in 3:33 and 12:45; these words concern sacrificial reconciliation and release from sin, without importing a later doctrinal formula.
Ἰουδαϊσμός — Judaism
The text's Jewish way of life and allegiance, including ancestral laws.
τάλαντον / δραχμή / στάδιον / πῆχυς — talent / drachma / stadion / cubit
Ancient denominations and measures are retained; plural stadia. No modern conversions.
ἐπιφάνεια — manifestation
A visible divine intervention in context; the manner is retained as narrated.
παῖς — child / servant
Contextual; 7:34 'Heaven's children' is provisional and noted.
Translation decisions
Translate the Greek main text independently, preserving all verses, clauses, names, numbers, divine titles, negatives and imagery.
Use Reference | Greek–English (Saints Priority) | Textual & Reception Notes; no invented Hebrew parallel or comparison classification.
Numerical quantities are spelled out; conventional recognizable names are used without harmonizing source differences.
Notes distinguish textual choices from later reception. No patristic or rabbinic interpretation is attributed without direct consultation.
All renderings remain subject to independent qualified Greek review.
Final drafting corrections: 1:35 financial direction revised provisionally; 5:12 unsupported possessive removed; 7:37 prayer syntax clarified; 9:21 past tense restored; 14:46 unqualified blood-loss wording restored. Source wording checked; no base-text departures adopted.
Added two selectively verified reception notes, at 7:2 and 12:45, from Augustine in English translation; distinguish later Christian application from the ancient Greek wording.
Outstanding review
No critical apparatus or manuscript collation has been performed.
The two verified Augustine notes are selective. A broader survey of Jewish and Christian reception and independent verification remain outstanding.
Several compressed or obscure Greek constructions are flagged locally, including 1:23,35; 8:20,23; 10:13; 14:17,21; 15:17.
Coverage record
Fifteen chapters; five hundred fifty-five source verses; five hundred fifty-five translation units. This is a single-source Greek–English translation.
Document format: Native headings, three-column tables, repeated table headers, and page settings applied. Exported-page inspection is recorded separately. Automatic page-number fields could not be added with the exposed native API.