2 Maccabees 2:22-24

Revised Standard Version

²² and recovered the temple famous throughout the world and freed the city and restored the laws that were about to be abolished, while the Lord with great kindness became gracious to them— ²³ all this, which has been set forth by Jason of Cyre′ne in five volumes, we shall attempt to condense into a single book. ²⁴ For considering the flood of numbers involved and the difficulty there is for those who wish to enter upon the narratives of history because of the mass of material,