Day 283: Mattathias Attacks (2026)

Mike Schmitz (0:04)

Hi, my name is Fr. Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to The Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using The Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It's day 283, and so we're reading 1 Maccabees, Chapter 2, Sirach Chapters 4, 5, and 6, as well as Proverbs Chapter 22, Verses 1-4. As always, the Bible translation we're reading from is the Revised Standard Version, the 2nd Catholic Edition. I'm using The Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com/bible in a Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast and receive daily episodes and daily updates every single day, including today, Day 283, 1 Maccabees, Chapter 2, Sirach Chapters 4, 5, and 6, Proverbs 22, Verses 1-4.

The First Book of Maccabees, Chapter 2, Mattathias and His Sons. In those days, Mattathias, the son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Jorib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modin. He had five sons, John, surnamed Gedai, Simon, called Thassai, Judas, called Maccabees, Eliezer, called Avaron, and Jonathan, called Aphus. He saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem and said, Alas! Why was I born to see this, the ruin of my people, the ruin of the holy city, and to dwell there, when it was given over to the enemy, the sanctuary given over to aliens? Her temple has become like a man without honor. Her glorious vessels have been carried into captivity. Her infants have been killed in her streets, her youths by the sword of the foe. What nation has not inherited her palaces and has not seized her spoils? All her adornment has been taken away, no longer free. She has become a slave, and behold, our holy place, our beauty, and our glory have been laid waste. The Gentiles have profaned it. Why should we live any longer? And Mattathias and his sons tore their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned greatly.

Pagan worship refused. Then the king's officers, who were enforcing the apostasy, came to the city of Modin to make them offer sacrifice. Many from Israel came to them, and Mattathias and his sons were assembled. Then the king's officers spoke to Mattathias as follows, You are a leader, honored and great in this city, and supported by sons and brothers. Now, be the first to come and do what the king commands, as all the Gentiles and the men of Judah and those that are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons will be numbered among the friends of the king, and you and your sons will be honored with silver and gold and many gifts. But Mattathias answered and said in a loud voice, Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to do his commandments, departing each one from the religion of his fathers, yet I and my sons and my brothers will live by the covenant of our fathers. Far be it from us to desert the law and the ordinances. We will not obey the king's words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left. When he had finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice upon the altar in Modin according to the king's command. When Mattathias saw it, he burned with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger, he ran and killed him upon the altar. At the same time, he killed the king's officer who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar. Thus he burned with zeal for the laws, as Phineas did against Zimri, the son of Salu. Then Mattathias cried out in the city with a loud voice saying, that everyone who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant, come out with me. He and his sons fled to the hills and left all that they had in the city.

Then many who were seeking righteousness and justice went down to the wilderness to dwell there, they, their sons, their wives and their cattle, because evils pressed heavily upon them. And it was reported to the king's officers and to the troops in Jerusalem, the city of David, that men who had rejected the king's command had gone down to the hiding places in the wilderness. Many pursued them and overtook them. They encamped opposite them and prepared for battle against them on the Sabbath day. And they said to them, Enough of this! Come out and do what the king commands, and you will live. But they said, We will not come out, nor will we do what the king commands, and so profane the Sabbath day. Then the enemy hastened to attack them. But they did not answer them or hurl a stone at them or block up their hiding places. For they said, Let us all die in our innocence. Heaven and earth testify for us that you are killing us unjustly. So they attacked them on the Sabbath day. And they died, with their wives and children and cattle, to the number of a thousand persons.