2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees has 15 chapters. Read 2 Maccabees in the King James Version + Apocrypha, chapter by chapter, free and without an account.
2 Maccabees recounts conflict over Jerusalem’s sanctuary and Jewish religious life, emphasizing divine help, faithful suffering, and hope of resurrection. It describes persecution, the deaths of martyrs, Judas Maccabaeus’ campaigns, and the temple’s rededication. The narrative ends with the defeat of Nicanor and the establishment of a commemorative day.
In Catholic and Orthodox Bibles, 2 Maccabees is among the Historical Books of the Old Testament, one of the deuterocanonical books. Protestant Bibles place it in the Apocrypha or leave it out, and it is not part of the Jewish Tanakh. See it on the shelf.
2 Maccabees 1 links diaspora prayer and temple dedication with Nehemiah's recovery and rekindling of the sacred fire.
2 Maccabees 2 recalls Jeremiah hiding sacred objects and explains the narrator's careful abridgment of a larger history.
2 Maccabees 3 recounts Heliodorus's failed seizure of deposits for widows and orphans and Onias's merciful intercession.
2 Maccabees 4 traces bribery for the priesthood, forced Hellenization, temple theft, Onias's murder, and corrupted justice.
2 Maccabees 5 depicts factional violence, Antiochus's assault and temple plunder, and Judas preserving a remnant in the mountains.
2 Maccabees 6 recounts forced pagan worship and Eleazar's courageous refusal to compromise the law or mislead the young.
2 Maccabees 7 tells of a mother and seven sons who face martyrdom with courage, fidelity, and hope in resurrection.
2 Maccabees 8 follows Judas's prayerful army as it defeats Nicanor and overturns a scheme to sell Jewish captives.
2 Maccabees 9 depicts Antiochus's proud threats, sudden affliction, belated promises, and lonely death far from Jerusalem.
2 Maccabees 10 celebrates the temple's cleansing and dedication before Judas confronts renewed military threats.
2 Maccabees 11 moves from Lysias's invasion and defeat to negotiated peace and restored freedom for Jewish customs.
2 Maccabees 12 recounts Judas's campaigns and the community's prayer and offering for fallen soldiers found with idols.
2 Maccabees 13 pairs Judas's prayerful resistance to invasion with Menelaus's judgment and a negotiated peace.
2 Maccabees 14 traces Alcimus's intrigue, Nicanor's broken friendship with Judas, and threats against the temple.
2 Maccabees 15 recounts Judas's vision of Onias and Jeremiah, victory over Nicanor, and Jerusalem's deliverance.