Deportation to Alexandria
3 Maccabees 4, verse 1. Wherever this decree arrived, a feast at public expense was arranged for the Gentiles with shouting and rejoicing, as the hatred they had harbored against the Jews before now appeared openly. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 2. But for the Jews, there was unceasing sorrow and lamentable crying with tears; everywhere their hearts burned, and with groans they bewailed the unexpected destruction that was suddenly inflicted on them. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 3. But was there any district or city, or any inhabited place whatsoever, or any streets, that were not filled with their mourning and wailing? 3 Maccabees 4, verse 4. For they were being sent off by the commanders of the city in such a bitter and ruthless spirit that even when some of their enemies saw them receive such unusual punishments before their eyes, they considered them a common object of pity, and wept for their miserable expulsion and the uncertainty of their lives. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 5. A large group of old men, covered with gray hair, was forced to march swiftly, despite the sluggishness of their old age. With shameless violence they were driven on a harsh journey. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 6. Young women who had just stepped into their bridal chamber to enter married life exchanged delight for wailing. With their perfumed hair sprinkled with dust, they openly raised a lamentation instead of wedding hymns, as they were carried away together by the violence of the Gentiles. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 7. In shackles and in view of the public, they were dragged along violently to the boat of embarkation. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 8. Their husbands, in their vigorous youthful prime and with nooses encircling their necks instead of flowers, passed the remaining days of their wedding feast in lamentations rather than feasting and youthful celebration, as they saw the grave already before their feet. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 9. But they were brought on board like wild animals in iron-bound restraints, some fastened by their necks to the benches of the ships, others with their feet secured in unbreakable fetters. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 10. In addition they had the thick deck above them; thus, darkness covered their eyes on all sides, and they were treated like betrayers during the entire voyage.
Death Threat
3 Maccabees 4, verse 11. When they were brought to the place called Schedia and their voyage was completed according to the king's decree, he directed that they be confined outside the city in the hippodrome, which had an immense outside perimeter. He also commanded that at the appointed time, they be made a public example for those returning to the city and those going from the city to the country. Thus they could not communicate with the king's forces, or in any way claim to be within the boundaries of the city. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 12. But as this took place, the king heard that their Jewish compatriots from the city often went out secretly to lament the shameful suffering of their brothers. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 13. Growing furious, he commanded that these visitors be treated in precisely the same way as the others, so they would not be spared any of their punishment. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 14. He further commanded that every tribe be registered by name, not for the toilsome servitude just mentioned, but so they would suffer the prescribed tortures and be put to death in a single day. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 15. Their registration took place, then, with bitter haste and zealous diligence. It took forty days from sunrise to sunset, yet still remained incomplete. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 16. The king was filled with great and constant joy as he established banquets to extol all his idols, with a mind that wandered far away from the truth. With a profane mouth, he praised mute things that were unable to speak or offer help, and spoke improper things against the Almighty God. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 17. But after the aforementioned interval of time, the scribes suggested to him that he would no longer be able to accomplish the registration of the Jews because their number was so large. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 18. They said that although there were still many of them in the country, some of whom were gathered in their houses and others elsewhere in the region, it was impossible for all the commanders in Egypt to register them. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 19. But the king threatened the scribes more harshly, claiming they were bribed to provide the Jews a mechanism of escape. But he was clearly convinced 3 Maccabees 4, verse 20. when they proved what they said, for they showed him that the paper and writing pens they used were depleted. 3 Maccabees 4, verse 21. This was the activity of God's invincible providence helping the Jews from heaven.