2 Maccabees 9:17-19
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
17 Besides all this, he would become a Jew himself and visit every inhabited place to proclaim there the power of God. 18 But since his sufferings were not lessened, for God’s just judgment had come upon him, he lost hope for himself and wrote the following letter to the Jews in the form of a supplication. It read thus:
19 [a]“To the worthy Jewish citizens, Antiochus, king and general, sends hearty greetings and best wishes for their health and prosperity.
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- 9:19–27 Despite the statement in v. 18 this letter is not really a supplication. It is rather a notification to all the king’s subjects of the appointment of his son as his successor and a request that they be loyal to the new king. Apparently the same letter, which has every appearance of being authentic, was sent to the various peoples throughout the kingdom, with only a few words of address changed for each group.
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