48. They were forbidden to circumcise their sons and were required to make themselves ritually unclean in every way they could,
49. so that they would forget the Law which the Lord had given through Moses and would disobey all its commands.
50. The penalty for disobeying the king's decree was death.
51. The king not only issued the same decree throughout his whole empire, but he also appointed officials to supervise the people and commanded each town in Judea to offer pagan sacrifices.
52. Many of the Jews were ready to forsake the Law and to obey these officials. They defiled the land with their evil,