33
he stretched out his right hand toward the sanctuary, and swore this oath: "If you do not hand Judas over to me as a prisoner, I will level this shrine of God to the ground and tear down the altar, and build here a splendid temple to Dionysus."
34
Having said this, he went away. Then the priests stretched out their hands toward heaven and called upon the constant Defender of our nation, in these words:
35
"O Lord of all, though you have need of nothing, you were pleased that there should be a temple for your habitation among us;
36
so now, O holy One, Lord of all holiness, keep undefiled forever this house that has been so recently purified."
37
A certain Razis, one of the elders of Jerusalem, was denounced to Nicanor as a man who loved his compatriots and was very well thought of and for his goodwill was called father of the Jews.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.