24. But when he stood before the king, Menelaus impressed him with his show of authority and offered ten tonnes of silver more than Jason had offered for his appointment to the office of High Priest.
25. As a result Menelaus returned to Jerusalem with papers from the king, confirming him as High Priest. But he possessed no other qualifications; he had the temper of a cruel tyrant and could be as fierce as a wild animal.
26. So Jason, who had cheated his own brother out of the office of High Priest, was now forced to flee to the land of Ammon.
27. Menelaus continued to be High Priest, but he never paid any of the money he had promised the king.
28. However, Sostratus, the captain of the fort in Jerusalem, kept demanding the money, since it was his responsibility to collect it. So finally, the two men were summoned to appear before the king concerning the matter.
29. Menelaus left his brother Lysimachus as acting High Priest, while Sostratus left the fort under the command of Crates, the commander of the mercenary troops from Cyprus.
30. Meanwhile, there was a revolt in the Cilician cities of Tarsus and Mallus, because the king had given those cities to Antiochis, his mistress.
31. So the king left Andronicus, one of his high officials, in command, while he hurried off to Cilicia to restore order.
32. Menelaus took advantage of this opportunity and presented Andronicus with some of the gold objects he had removed from the Temple in Jerusalem. He had already sold some of them to the city of Tyre and to other nearby cities.
33. When Onias heard about this, he fled for safety to a temple at Daphne near the city of Antioch and openly accused Menelaus.
34. Then Menelaus secretly persuaded Andronicus to kill Onias. So Andronicus went to Onias and deceived him with a friendly greeting and with promises of safety. Although Onias was suspicious, Andronicus finally lured him away from the safety of the temple and immediately murdered him in cold blood.
35. The Jews and Gentiles were very angry because Onias had been murdered.
36. So when the king returned from the territory of Cilicia, the Jews of Antioch went to him and protested against this senseless killing. Many Gentiles felt the same way about the crime.
37. King Antiochus was deeply grieved and was so filled with sorrow that he was moved to tears when he recalled the wisdom and self-control that Onias had shown throughout his life.
38. Antiochus became so angry that he tore off Andronicus' royal robe, stripped him naked, and marched him round the city to the very spot where Onias had been murdered. Then Antiochus had this bloodthirsty murderer put to death. This was how the Lord gave him the punishment he deserved.