2 Maccabees 4:19

19 the evil Jason sent residents of Jerusalem who were now citizens of Antioch as his envoys, carrying three hundred silver drachmen for the sacrifice to Hercules. Because it was inappropriate, the envoys didn't think it was right to use these funds for sacrifice. Instead, they applied the expense to something else.

2 Maccabees 4:19 In-Context

17 To be ungodly in the face of the divine laws isn't a light matter, as the following events would reveal.

18 Once when the king was present at the athletic games they held every five years in Tyre,

19 the evil Jason sent residents of Jerusalem who were now citizens of Antioch as his envoys, carrying three hundred silver drachmen for the sacrifice to Hercules. Because it was inappropriate, the envoys didn't think it was right to use these funds for sacrifice. Instead, they applied the expense to something else.

20 So although Jason designated this sum for a sacrifice to Hercules, the envoys spent it on equipping warships.

21 After Menestheus' son Apollonius was sent to Egypt for the coronation of Ptolemy Philometor as king, Antiochus thought about his own security because he had received a report that the Egyptian king was hostile toward his government. So after sailing to Joppa, he came to Jerusalem.

Footnotes

• [a]. A drachme is equivalent in value to a typical day’s wage.