2 Maccabees 9:16-18

New Catholic Bible

¹⁶ that the holy temple that he had previously plundered, he would now adorn with the finest offerings, replace all the sacred vessels many times over, and provide from his own revenues the expenses incurred for the sacrifices. ¹⁷ In addition to all this, he would become a Jew himself and would visit every inhabited place to proclaim the glory of God.

¹⁸ However, when his sufferings did not abate in any way, inasmuch as the judgment of God had already justly befallen him, he lost all hope for himself and wrote to the Jews the following letter, in the form of a supplication. This was its content: