Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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The Argument between Onias
and Simon
1 When Onias note was High Priest in
Jerusalem, the holy city enjoyed
peace and prosperity, and its laws
were strictly obeyed, because he
was devout and hated evil.
2 The
kings of Syria and Egypt honored
the Temple and presented it with expensive
gifts,
3 and King Seleucus, note
ruler of all Asia, even used to pay
the costs of the Temple sacrifices
from the revenues he collected.
4 But a man by the name of Simon,
of the tribe of Bilgah, note the chief
administrative official of the Temple,
lost an argument he had with Onias
over the regulations governing the
city market.
5 At this time Apollonius
son of Thraseus was the governor
of Greater Syria. Simon went to
him
6 and said that there was so
much money in the Temple treasury
that it could not be counted, and
since the money was not needed for
sacrifices, it might as well be placed
under the king's control.
Heliodorus Is Sent to Jerusalem
7 When Apollonius met with the
king, he told him about the money,
and the king ordered Heliodorus, his
chief minister, to get it for him.
8 Heliodorus set out at once on his
mission, but he claimed that he was
only making a tour of inspection of
the cities of Greater Syria.
9 After he
had arrived in Jerusalem and had
been warmly received by the High
Priest, he explained the real reason
for his visit and asked if what he had
been told was true.
10
11 The High
Priest then stated that Simon, that
devil of a man, had not been telling
the truth. There was indeed some
money in the Temple treasury, but
part of it was set aside for widows
and orphans and part of it belonged
to Hyrcanus son of Tobias, a very
important man. He also pointed out
that the total amount was only
30,000 pounds of silver and 15,000
pounds of gold.
12 He added that it
was absolutely impossible that anyone
should be permitted to take the
money of those people who had
placed their trust in the sanctity and
safety of this world-famous Temple.
Heliodorus Plans to Enter the Temple
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.
The Lord Protects His Temple
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.
24 But at the very moment that he
and his bodyguards arrived at the
treasury, the Lord of all supernatural
powers caused such a vision to
appear that everyone who had dared
to enter with Heliodorus was panic-stricken
and weak with fear at this
display of the Lord's power.
25 In the
vision they saw a horse and a rider.
The horse had a richly decorated bridle,
and its rider, dressed in gold armor,
was frightening. Suddenly the
horse rushed at Heliodorus, then
reared up and struck at him with its
hoofs.
26 Heliodorus also saw two
unusually strong and handsome
young men, wearing very fine
clothes. They stood on either side of
him and beat him unmercifully.
27 He
immediately fell to the ground unconscious,
and his men put him on a
stretcher
28 and carried him out.
Only a moment earlier this man had
entered the treasury with a large
group of men, including all his bodyguards,
but now he was being carried
away helpless. So they all note
openly acknowledged the mighty
power of God.
Onias Prays for Heliodorus' Recovery
29 Heliodorus lay there unable to
speak and without hope of recovery
from this demonstration of God's
power.
30 But the Jews praised Almighty
God because he had miraculously
protected his Temple and had
brought great happiness where only
minutes before there had been fear
and confusion.
31 Some of Heliodorus'
friends quickly asked Onias
the High Priest to pray that the Most
High would spare the life of this man
who was at the point of death.
32 So
the High Priest offered a sacrifice in
the hope that God would save Heliodorus,
for he did not want the king
to think that the Jews had done this
to the man he had sent.
33 While
Onias was offering the sacrifice, the
two young men, wearing the same
clothes as before, again appeared to
Heliodorus and said, “Be grateful to
the High Priest; the Lord has spared
your life because of him.
34 Remember
that it was the Lord of heaven
who punished you. Now go and tell
everyone of his great power.” When
they had said this, they disappeared.
Heliodorus Praises God
35 So Heliodorus offered a sacrifice
to the Lord and made many promises,
because the Lord had spared
-- --
his life. Then he said good-bye to
Onias and returned with his army to
the king.
36 There he told everyone
what the Lord, the most powerful of
all gods, had done.
37 When the king asked Heliodorus
who would be the best man to send
on the next mission to Jerusalem,
Heliodorus replied,
38 “If you have
an enemy or know of someone plotting
against your government, send
him. He will come back badly
beaten, if he comes back at all, for
some strange power from God is at
work there.
39 The God of heaven
watches over the Temple; he strikes
down and destroys anyone who
comes to harm it.”
40 That is the
story of how the Temple treasury
was protected from Heliodorus.
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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