1 Maccabees 1:56-58

Common English Bible

⁵⁶ When they found the Law scrolls, they tore them to pieces and burned them. ⁵⁷ If anyone was caught in possession of a copy of the covenant scroll or if anyone kept to the Law, that person was condemned to death by royal decree. ⁵⁸ They were unrelenting in attacking Israelites, all those who were identified as law-observant month after month throughout the towns.