34
Then he left, and immediately the priests lifted their arms toward heaven and prayed to God, the faithful Defender of our nation:
35
"Lord, you are in need of nothing, yet it has pleased you to place your Temple here and to live among us.
36
You alone are holy, and your Temple has only recently been purified, so now protect its holiness forever."
37
One of the leaders in Jerusalem, a man by the name of Razis, was denounced to Nicanor. It was said that he had helped his people in many ways and was so highly respected by them that he was known as "the Father of the Jews."
38
During the early days of the revolution he had risked his life for Judaism and had been brought to trial because of his loyalty.
39
Wanting to show clearly how much he disliked the Jews, Nicanor sent more than 500 soldiers to arrest Razis,
40
because he thought his arrest would be a crippling blow to the Jews.
41
The soldiers were about to capture the tower where Razis had gone. They were forcing open the gates to the courtyard, and the order had been given to set the door on fire. Razis realized there was no escape, so he tried to commit suicide with his sword,
42
preferring to die with honor rather than suffer humiliation at the hands of evil men.
43
Under the pressure of the moment, Razis misjudged the thrust of the sword, and it did not kill him. So, while the soldiers were swarming into the room, he rushed to the wall and jumped off like a brave hero into the crowd below.
44
The crowd quickly moved back, and he fell in the space they left.