30
Judas, however, noticed that Nicanor was becoming hostile and rude toward him, and he knew that this was a bad sign. So he gathered a large number of his followers and went into hiding.
31
When Nicanor realized that Judas had outsmarted him, he went to the great and holy Temple at the time when the priests were offering sacrifice and ordered them to surrender Judas to him.
32
But the priests declared under oath that they had no idea where Judas was hiding.
33
Then Nicanor raised his right arm in the direction of the Temple and made a solemn threat: "If you do not hand Judas over to me as a prisoner, I will level God's Temple to the ground, demolish this altar, and on this spot build a glorious temple to Dionysus."
34
Then he left, and immediately the priests lifted their arms toward heaven and prayed to God, the faithful Defender of our nation:
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.