6. and said that there was so much money in the Temple treasury that it could not be counted, and since the money was not needed for sacrifices, it might as well be placed under the king's control.
7. When Apollonius met the king, he told him about the money, and the king ordered Heliodorus, his chief minister, to get it for him.
8. Heliodorus set out at once on his mission, but he claimed that he was only making a tour of inspection of the cities of Greater Syria.
9. After he had arrived in Jerusalem and had been warmly received by the High Priest, he explained the real reason for his visit and asked if what he had been told was true.
10-11. The High Priest then stated that Simon, that devil of a man, had not been telling the truth. There was indeed some money in the Temple treasury, but part of it was set aside for widows and orphans and part of it belonged to Hyrcanus son of Tobias, a very important man. He also pointed out that the total amount was only thirteen tonnes of silver and 6.5 tonnes of gold.
12. He added that it was absolutely impossible that anyone should be permitted to take the money of those people who had put their trust in the sanctity and safety of this world-famous Temple.
13. But Heliodorus insisted that the money should be taken for the royal treasury, as the king had ordered.
14. So he fixed a day and went into the Temple to supervise the counting of the money. This caused an uproar throughout the entire city.
15. Priests, wearing the priestly robes, threw themselves face downwards before the altar and begged God to keep the money safe, since he had given the laws designed to protect the money that people deposited in the Temple.
16. It was heartbreaking to see the High Priest. His face turned pale, revealing the agony of his soul,
17. and his body was trembling with fear, reflecting the pain in his heart.
18. People ran from their houses to join together in prayer that the Temple might not be defiled.
19. Women, wearing nothing but skirts of sackcloth, crowded the streets. Young girls whose parents had never allowed them to be seen in public ran to the gates or to the walls of the city, or just stared out of their windows.
20. But wherever they went, they lifted their hands to God in prayer.
21. What a pitiful sight it was to see the High Priest in such great agony and frustration and to see everyone in the city confused and lying face downwards on the ground.
22. While everyone was begging the Lord Almighty to protect the money that had been entrusted to his care,
23. Heliodorus went on with his plan.