3 Maccabees 4:18-20

Common English Bible

¹⁸ Though the majority were still in the country, some still in their homes, and some even on-site,^[a] the job had become impossible for all the generals in Egypt. ¹⁹ After the king had threatened the clerks severely, claiming that they had accepted money to arrange a plan of escape, he came to be convinced ²⁰ when they explained and offered proof that both the paper supply and the reed pens that they were using had already run out.