17. Then the officers of the king addressed Mattathias: “You are a leader, an honorable and great man in this city, supported by sons and kindred.
18. Come now, be the first to obey the king’s command, as all the Gentiles and Judeans and those who are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons shall be numbered among the King’s Friends, and you and your sons shall be honored with silver and gold and many gifts.”
19. But Mattathias answered in a loud voice: “Although all the Gentiles in the king’s realm obey him, so that they forsake the religion of their ancestors and consent to the king’s orders,
20. yet I and my sons and my kindred will keep to the covenant of our ancestors.
21. Heaven forbid that we should forsake the law and the commandments.
22. We will not obey the words of the king by departing from our religion in the slightest degree.”