Common English Bible

2 Maccabees 4:42-50 Common English Bible (CEB)

42. In the end, they wounded many, killed some, and forced all of them to flee. They overpowered and killed the temple plunderer Lysimachus near the treasury.

43. The people brought charges against Menelaus regarding these matters.

44. When the king arrived in Tyre, the council of elders sent three men to present the case before him.

45. But Menelaus, without an ally, promised enough money to Ptolemy, Dorymenes’ son, to gain the king’s support.

46. So Ptolemy took the king aside into a royal porch area, as though to get some fresh air. He convinced the king to change his mind.

47. So Menelaus, the cause of all the evil, was allowed to leave court acquitted of all charges, but the wretched envoys, who would have been found innocent even had they pleaded their case before Scythians, were falsely condemned to death.

48. As a result, these men, who had spoken in defense of the city, the people, and the temple equipment, were abruptly subjected to an unjust penalty.

49. For this reason, to show their hatred at such twisted justice, even the Tyrians gave generously so that the men could have an impressive funeral.

50. But, through the greed of those in power, Menelaus remained in office and persisted in evil as a great conspirator against the citizens.