2 Maccabees 4:46-48

Common English Bible

⁴⁶ So Ptolemy took the king aside into a royal porch area, as though to get some fresh air. He convinced the king to change his mind. ⁴⁷ So Menelaus, the cause of all the evil, was allowed to leave court acquitted of all charges, but the wretched envoys, who would have been found innocent even had they pleaded their case before Scythians, were falsely condemned to death. ⁴⁸ As a result, these men, who had spoken in defense of the city, the people, and the temple equipment, were abruptly subjected to an unjust penalty.