2 Machabees 1:20
But when many years had passed, and it pleased God that Nehemias should be sent by the king of Persia, he sent some of the posterity of those priests that had hid it, to seek for the fire: and as they told us, they found no fire, but thick water.
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- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Cum autem præterissent anni multi, et placuit Deo ut mitteretur Nehemias a rege Persidis, nepotes sacerdotum illorum qui absconderant, misit ad requirendum ignem : et sicut narraverunt nobis, non invenerunt ignem, sed aquam crassam.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- διελθόντων δὲ ἐτῶν ἱκανῶν, ὅτε ἔδοξεν τῷ θεῷ, ἀποσταλεὶς Νεεμίας ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως τῆς Περσίδος τοὺς ἐκγόνους τῶν ἱερέων τῶν ἀποκρυψάντων ἔπεμψεν ἐπὶ τὸ πῦρ.
The Fathers on this verse
St Ambrose On the Duties of the Clergy, Chapter XVII. With what virtuous feelings the fathers of old hid the sacred fires when on the point of going into captivity
100. So they went to Persia, free only in their religion; for that alone could not be torn from them by their captivity. After a length of time, indeed, according to God’s good pleasure, He put it into the Persian king’s heart to order the temple in Judea to be restored, and the regular customs to be again rebuilt at Jerusalem. To carry out this work of his the Persian king appointed the priest Nehemiah. He took with him the grandchildren of those priests who on leaving their native soil had hidden the sacred fire to save it from perishing. But on arriving, as we are told in the history of the fathers, they found not fire but water. And when fire was wanting to burn upon the altars, the priest Nehemiah bade them draw the water, to bring it to him, and to sprinkle it upon the wood. …