12. He admitted that he had committed a sin for which he deserved to die, but he promised that, if he were spared, he would tell people everywhere about the divine favor that shelters the holy place.
13. The high priest Onias was touched by these words, but he was also aware that King Seleucus might assume that Apollonius was killed by human plots rather than by God’s justice. Therefore, Onias prayed for him.
14. When he was unexpectedly delivered from danger, Apollonius left and told the king everything that happened.
15. After King Seleucus died, his son Antiochus Epiphanes came to power. He was a proud and horrible man.
16. Antiochus removed Onias from the office of high priest and installed Onias’ brother Jason in his place.
17. Jason had agreed to pay the king 208,620 pounds of silver every year if he were made high priest.
18. So Antiochus appointed Jason to the office of high priest and made him the ruler of the nation.
19. Jason changed the nation’s culture and the government so that they completely contradicted the Law.
20. He constructed a Greek school and athletic complex in the heart of the city and abandoned the care of the temple.
21. God’s sense of justice was provoked by these things, so God caused Antiochus himself to start a war against the nation.
22. While Antiochus was at war with Ptolemy in Egypt, he heard that the people in Jerusalem had celebrated when they heard a rumor about his death. So Antiochus rushed off to attack them.
23. After he had defeated them, he gave an order that anyone who was caught following the traditional Jewish Law should be put to death.
24. However, his orders had no effect on the people’s commitment to keep the Law. He saw that they simply ignored his threats and punishments.
25. Even women were thrown down from a cliff headfirst along with their infants because they continued to circumcise their sons, though they were fully aware that they would suffer the consequences.