Hi, my name's Father 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

unfold and how we fit into that story today. It is day 303. We're reading Second Maccabees, Chapter 6. We're also starting a new book. It is essentially our last Old Testament book. It's the book of wisdom, and we're reading Wisdom Chapter 1 and 2. Also Proverbs chapter 24 versus 21 through 26. When I say it's the last Old Testament book, I mean it's the last like new book we're going to read from the Old Testament until we jump into the New Testament, kind of with both feet and everything. As I said, as I've always said, the Bible translation we're reading from is the revised standard version second 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 slash Bible in a year. You can also subscribe to

this podcast and receive daily episodes and updates. It's day 303. We're reading second Maccabees

6, Wisdom, Chapter 1 and 2, and Proverbs chapter 24 versus 21 through 26.

The second book of the Maccabees, chapter 6, the suppression of Judaism.

Not long after this, the king sent an Athenian senator to compel the Jews to forsake the

laws of their fathers and cease to live by the laws of God.

And also to pollute the temple in Jerusalem and call it the temple of Olympian Zeus.

And to call the one in Garizim, the temple of Zeus, the friend of strangers, as did the people who dwelt in that place.

Harsh and utterly grievous was the onslaught of evil, for the temple was filled with debauchery and reveling by the Gentiles, who dallied with harlots and had intercourse with women within the sacred precincts,

and besides brought in things for sacrifice that were unfit. The altar was covered with abominable offerings, which were forbidden by the laws. A man could neither keep the Sabbath, nor observe the

feasts of his fathers, nor so much as confess himself to be a Jew. On the monthly celebration

of the king's birthday,

the Jews were taken under bitter constraint to partake of the sacrifices, and when the Feast of Dionysus

came, they were compelled to walk in the procession in honor of Dionysus, wearing wreaths of ivy.

At the suggestion of Ptolemy, a decree was issued to the neighboring Greek cities that they should adopt the same policy toward the Jews and make them partake of the sacrifices and should slay those who did not choose to change over to Greek customs.

One could see, therefore, the misery that had come upon them. For example, two women were brought in for having circumcised their children.

These women, they publicly paraded

about the city with their babies hung at their breasts, then hurled them down headlong from the wall.

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