13
But Heliodorus insisted that the money should be taken for the royal treasury, as the king had ordered.
14
So he set 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 their priestly robes, threw themselves face downward 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 down 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.