12. Likewise, Solomon observed the eight days.
13. Nehemiah also narrated the same things in his writings and journals. He also told how, when Solomon established a library, he gathered the scrolls concerning the kings and prophets and the scrolls of David and letters of kings regarding offerings for solemn promises.
14. In the same way, Judas also gathered together all the scrolls that went missing because of the war, so that those documents are now in our possession.
15. So if you need them, send messengers to carry them back.
16. Now as we are about to celebrate the Purification Festival, we write to you. Act honorably by observing the days.
17. God has saved all of his people and restored to all the inheritance, even the kingdom, the priesthood, and the holy place,
18. as he promised through the Law. We have hope in God that he will quickly extend mercy and gather us from everywhere under heaven into the holy place. He has brought us out of great evils and purified the place.
19. This scroll is about the stories of Judas the Maccabee and his brothers, the purification of the great temple, and the restoration of the altar.
20. It will tell of the wars against Antiochus Epiphanes and his son Eupator,
21. and the appearances from heaven to those who had gloriously performed brave deeds for Judaism. Though they were few in number, they took back the whole country, chased off the barbaric hordes,
22. regained the temple renowned throughout the whole inhabited world, freed the city, and restored the laws that were almost abolished—because the Lord with all kindness was merciful to them.
23. Jason of Cyrene recorded all of these things in five scrolls, which we will attempt to condense into one.
24. Jason’s scrolls contain an abundance of material and pose serious difficulty for those wanting to plunge into the historical accounts because of the amount of detail.
25. We aimed, therefore, to provide something amusing for those who want to read, to make it easy for those inclined to commit facts to memory, and to offer something useful to all those who happen to pick up the scroll.