3 Maccabees 4:17-19

Revised Standard Version

¹⁷ But after the previously mentioned interval of time the scribes declared to the king that they were no longer able to take the census of the Jews because of their innumerable multitude, ¹⁸ although most of them were still in the country, some still residing in their homes, and some at the place;^[a] the task was impossible for all the generals in Egypt. ¹⁹ After he had threatened them severely, charging that they had been bribed to contrive a means of escape, he was clearly convinced about the matter