1To the brothers, the Jews throughout Egypt, from the brothers, the Jews in Jerusalem and in the land of Judea: Greetings and good peace.
2May God do good to you, and may he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants.
3And may he give to all of you a heart to worship him and to do his will with a great heart and a willing soul.
4And may he open your hearts to his law and to his commandments, and may he make peace.
5And may he listen to your prayers, and be reconciled to you, and not abandon you in a time of trouble.
6And now, we are here praying for you.
7In the reign of Demetrius, in the one hundred sixty-ninth year, we the Jews have written to you during the affliction and the crisis that has come upon us in these years, since Jason and his followers revolted from the holy land and the kingdom.
8They burned the great gate and shed innocent blood. And we pleaded with the Lord and were heard; we offered sacrifice and fine flour, and we lit the lamps and set out the loaves.
9And now, we write so that you may celebrate the days of the Festival of Booths in the month of Chislev.
10In the one hundred eighty-eighth year. The people in Judea, the council of elders, and Judas, to Aristobulus, teacher of King Ptolemy and one of the family of the anointed priests, and to the Jews in Egypt: Greetings and good health.
11Having been saved by God from great dangers, we give great thanks to him, as we were arrayed in battle against a king.
12For he himself cast out those who had arrayed themselves for battle against the holy city into Persia.
13For when the commander came with his seemingly irresistible force, they were cut to pieces in the temple of Nanea, through a deception used by the priests of Nanea.
14For Antiochus and his friends came to the place on the pretext of marrying her, in order to take its vast riches as a dowry.
15And when the priests of the temple of Nanea had set out the treasures, and he had approached with a few men into the enclosure of the sacred precinct, they shut the temple as soon as Antiochus entered,
16and opening a secret door in the coffered ceiling, they threw stones and struck down the commander as if by a thunderbolt; then they dismembered him and threw his head to those outside.
17In all things blessed be our God, who has handed over the ungodly.
18Since we are about to celebrate the purification of the temple on the twenty-fifth of Chislev, we thought it necessary to inform you, so that you also may celebrate a festival of booths and of the fire, just as when Nehemiah, who built the temple and the altar, offered sacrifices.
19For when our fathers were being led away into Persia, the devout priests of that time secretly took some of the fire from the altar and hid it in the hollow of a well that had the appearance of being dry. In it they made it secure, so that the place was unknown to anyone.
20After a number of years had passed, when it seemed good to God, Nehemiah, having been sent by the king of Persia, sent the descendants of the priests who had hidden the fire to look for it.
21When they reported to us that they had not found fire but a thick liquid, he commanded them to draw some out and bring it. And when the materials for the sacrifices had been brought up, Nehemiah commanded the priests to sprinkle both the wood and the offerings on it with the liquid.
22When this was done, and after some time had passed, the sun, which had been behind clouds, shone out, and a great fire was kindled, so that everyone was amazed.
23While the sacrifice was being consumed, the priests offered a prayer—both the priests and all the people—with Jonathan leading and the rest responding, along with Nehemiah.
24The prayer was of this nature: “Lord God, Creator of all, the fearsome and strong, righteous and merciful, the only King and gracious one,
25the only provider, the only righteous one, almighty and eternal, who saves Israel from all evil, who made the fathers his chosen ones and sanctified them;
26Accept this sacrifice on behalf of all your people Israel, and guard your own portion and sanctify it.
27Gather our scattered people, free those who are enslaved among the nations, look upon those who are despised and detested, and let the nations know that you are our God.
28Punish those who oppress us and treat us insolently with arrogance.
29Plant your people in your holy place, as Moses said.
30And the priests chanted the hymns.
31And when the sacrificial offerings were consumed, Nehemiah commanded the remaining water to be poured over the larger stones.
32And when this was done, a flame was ignited; but when the light from the altar shone back, it was consumed.
33When the matter became known, it was also reported to the king of the Persians that in the place where the deported priests had hidden the fire, the water had appeared from which Nehemiah and his companions purified the sacrifices.
34So the king, after investigating the matter, enclosed the place and made it holy.
35And the king would take many different things and distribute them to those he favored.
36And Nehemiah and his companions named this ‘Nephthar,’ which is translated ‘Purification’; but it is called ‘Nephthar’ by the common people.
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