1. And it happened afterwards that Alexander, the son of Philip the Macedonian, who first reigned in Greece having come from the land of Kittim, struck Darius the king of the Persians and the Medes.
2. He appointed many battles, and he took hold of all the fortifications, and he executed the kings of the earth.
3. And he passed through even to the ends of the earth. And he received the spoils of many nations. And the earth was silenced in his sight.
4. And he gathered together power, and an exceedingly strong army. And he was exalted, and his heart was lifted up.
5. And he captured the regions of nations and of sovereign leaders, and they became tributaries to him.
6. And after these things, he fell down on his bed, and he knew that he would die.
7. And he called his servants, nobles who were raised with him from his youth. And he divided his kingdom to them, while he was still alive.
8. And Alexander reigned twelve years, and then he died.
9. And his servants obtained his kingdom, each one in his place.
10. And they all put diadems on themselves after his death, and their sons after them, for many years; and evils were multiplied on the earth.
11. And there went forth from among them a sinful root, Antiochus the illustrious, the son of king Antiochus, who had been a hostage at Rome. And he reigned in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.
12. In those days, there went forth from Israel sons of iniquity, and they persuaded many, saying: "Let us go and negotiate a covenant with the Gentiles that are all around us. For since we have withdrawn from them, many evils have found us."
13. And the word seemed good in their eyes.
14. And some of the people determined to do this, and they went to the king. And he gave them the power to act according to the justice of the Gentiles.