15 Send someone after these books if you ever need them.
16 We are ready to celebrate the Temple Festival, and so we are writing to say that you should celebrate it as well.
17 God has rescued his nation and returned our sacred land that we inherited from our ancestors. God has also given us back our kingdom, our priests, and our sacred way of life,
18 just as he promised in the Law of Moses. He has saved us from dreadful danger and made our temple holy again. Because of this, we will always trust in the kindness of God, who will bring us back home from every nation on earth and lead us to his holy temple.
19-23 Jason of Cyrene wrote five books about Judas Maccabeus and his brothers in which he told how they made our great temple an acceptable place of worship once again and how they dedicated its altar. He also told us about the wars they fought against Antiochus Epiphanes and his son Eupator.Jason described some visions these brave warriors were given from heaven as they defended our Jewish way of life. He also explained how our small army made raids across the whole country, forcing the cruel barbarians to run for their lives. And because of the Lord's kindness and mercy, our troops recaptured our world-famous temple. They also freed Jerusalem and put back into effect the laws that those barbarians had hoped to wipe out.I will now try to summarize Jason's books in one volume.
24 They are so full of facts and details that they discourage readers who want to learn about these events.
25 My shorter version will please everyone—people who read for pleasure will enjoy it, and those who like to memorize things will find it easy to remember.