Her feasts were turned into mourning,
Her sabbaths into a reproach,
Her honor into contempt,
So great as was once her glory, so now was her dishonor,
And her exaltation was turned into mourning.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 1:41-53]
Then King Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom commanding that all should
be one people, and that each should give up his own laws. And all the
heathen nations yielded to the demand of the king. Many Israelites too
consented to worship him and sacrificed to the idols, and profaned the
sabbath. And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the
cities of Judah commanding them to follow customs foreign to the land, and
to prevent the making of whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices and
libations in the sanctuary, and to profane the sabbaths and feasts, and
pollute the sanctuary and the holy things, to build altars, temples, and
shrines for idols, and to sacrifice swine's flesh and unclean beasts; also
to leave their sons uncircumcised, to stain their souls with all manner of
uncleanness and profanation, so that they might forget the law, and change
all the customs. And that whoever would not do as the king commanded
should die. Thus he wrote to his whole kingdom; and appointed overseers
over all the people, who commanded the cities of Judah to sacrifice city
by city. Then many of the people, every one who had forsaken the law,
gathered about them. And they did evil things in the land, and caused the
Israelites to hide themselves in all their places of refuge.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 1:54-58]
On the twenty-fifth day of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifth
year, they built an abomination of desolation upon the altar; and in the
cities of Judah on every side they built idol altars. And at the doors of
the houses and in the streets they burnt incense. And tearing in pieces
the books of the law which they found, they set fire to them. And wherever
a book of the covenant was found in the possession of anyone, or if anyone
obeyed the law, the king's decree sentenced him to death. Thus they did in
their might month by month to the Israelites who were found in the cities.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 1:59-63]
And on the twenty-fifth day of the month they sacrificed upon the idol
altar which was upon Jehovah's sacrificial altar. And the women who had
circumcised their children they put to death according to the command. And
they hanged their babies about their necks, and destroyed their households
wit