2 Maccabees 9:17-19

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹⁷ and in addition to all this he also would become a Jew and would visit every inhabited place to proclaim the power of God. ¹⁸ But when his sufferings did not in any way abate, for the judgment of God had justly come upon him, he gave up all hope for himself and wrote to the Jews the following letter, in the form of a supplication. This was its content:

Antiochus’s Letter and Death

¹⁹ “To his worthy Jewish citizens, Anti′ochus their king and general sends hearty greetings and good wishes for their health and prosperity.