3 Maccabees 1:18-20

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹⁸ Young women who had been secluded in their chambers rushed out with their mothers, sprinkled their hair with dust,^[a] and filled the streets with groans and lamentations.^{(A) 19} Those women who had recently been arrayed for marriage abandoned the bridal chambers^[b] prepared for wedded union and, neglecting proper modesty, in a disorderly rush flocked together in the city.^{(B) 20} Mothers and nurses abandoned even newborn children here and there, some in houses and some in the streets, and without a backward look they crowded together at the most high temple.