1 Maccabees 15:31-33

New Catholic Bible

³¹ or else pay me five hundred talents of silver for the devastation you have caused and another five hundred talents to compensate for the tribute money of the cities. If you refuse to do this, we will come and make war on you.”

³² So Athenobius, the king’s Friend, came to Jerusalem and was astounded upon observing the magnificence of Simon’s court, the gold and silver vessels on his sideboard, and the rich display of his wealth. When he delivered the king’s message to him, ³³ Simon said to him in reply:

“We have neither taken foreign land nor seized possession of the property of others. We have merely reclaimed our ancestral heritage that for a period of time had been unjustly seized by our enemies. Read full chapter