2 Maccabees 4:4-6

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

⁴ Onias recognized that the rivalry was serious and that Apollonius son of Menestheus,^[a] and governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, was intensifying the malice of Simon. ⁵ So he appealed to the king, not accusing his compatriots but having in view the welfare, both public and private, of all the people. ⁶ For he saw that without the king’s attention public affairs could not again reach a peaceful settlement, and that Simon would not stop his folly.