2 Maccabees 5:18-20

Good News Translation

¹⁸ If the people of Jerusalem had not been involved in so many sins, Antiochus would have been punished immediately and prevented from taking such a foolish action. He would have suffered the same fate as Heliodorus, who was sent by King Seleucus to inspect the treasury. ¹⁹ But the Lord did not choose his people for the sake of his Temple; he established his Temple for the sake of his people. ²⁰ So the Temple shared in the people's suffering but also later shared in their prosperity. The Lord abandoned it when he became angry, but restored it when his anger had cooled down.