2 Maccabees 9:14-16
Good News Translation
14
I once intended to level Jerusalem to the ground and make that holy city a graveyard full of Jews, he said,
but now I declare it a free city. 15 I had planned to throw out the dead bodies of the Jews and their children for the wild animals and the birds to eat, for I did not consider them worth burying. But now I intend to grant them the same privileges as the citizens of Athens enjoy. 16 I once looted the Temple and took its sacred utensils, but I will fill it with splendid gifts and with better utensils than before, and I will pay the cost of the sacrifices from my own resources.
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