Catholic Public Domain Version

2 Maccabees 3:27-40 Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV)

27. Then Heliodorus suddenly fell to the ground, and they quickly took him up, draped by a great darkness, and, having placed him onto a stretcher, they rushed him away.

28. And so, he who had approached the aforesaid treasury, with so many officials and attendants, was carried away, with no one to bring help to him, the manifest power of God being made known.

29. And indeed, through divine power, he lay mute and also was deprived of all hope of recovery.

30. But they blessed the Lord, because he had magnified his place, and because the temple, which a little while before was filled with confusion and fear, became filled with joy and gladness, when the all-powerful Lord appeared.

31. Then, truly, certain friends of Heliodorus came forth to petition Onias, so that he would call upon the Most High to grant life to him who was appointed to breathe his last breath.

32. But the high priest, considering that the king might perhaps suspect that some malice against Heliodorus had been completed by the Jews, offered a beneficial sacrifice for the health of the man.

33. And when the high priest was praying, the same youths, dressed in the same clothing, were standing by Heliodorus, and they said: "Give thanks to Onias the priest, for it is on his behalf that the Lord has granted life to you.

34. But, having been scourged by God, you must announce to all the great things of God and his power." And having said this, they disappeared.

35. Then Heliodorus offered sacrifice to God and made great vows to him who had permitted him to live. And he gave thanks to Onias. And, gathering his troops, he returned to the king.

36. But he testified to all about the works of the great God, which he had seen with his own eyes.

37. And so, when the king questioned Heliodorus as to who might be fit to be sent once more to Jerusalem, he said:

38. "If you have any enemy, or a traitor to your kingdom, send him there, and he will return to you scourged, if he even escapes. For truly, in that place, there is a certain power of God.

39. Yes, he who has his dwelling in the heavens is the visitor and protector of that place, and he strikes and destroys those arriving to do evil."

40. Thus, the things about Heliodorus and the preservation of the treasury happened in this way.