2 Maccabees 4:23-25

Common English Bible

Menelaus as high priest

²³ Three years later, Jason sent Menelaus (brother of the previously mentioned Simon) to bring funds to the king and settle the accounts of some urgent business matters. ²⁴ When he was introduced to the king, he honored him with an air of authority and bought the high priesthood for himself, outbidding Jason by 17,100 pounds of silver. ²⁵ When he received the king’s assent, he turned up holding no qualifications of the high priesthood but instead displaying the temper of a cruel tyrant and the wrath of a savage beast.