2 Maccabees 1:6-8

New Catholic Bible

⁶ Even at this very moment we are offering prayers for you here.

⁷ In the reign of Demetrius, in the year one hundred and sixty-nine, we Jews wrote to you during the period of persecution and crisis that befell us during those years after Jason and his followers had revolted against the holy land and the kingdom, ⁸ setting fire to the temple gate and shedding innocent blood. When we prayed to the Lord, our prayer was heard. Hence, we presented sacrifices and offerings of grain, and we lit the lamps and set out the loaves.