If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.”

and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us, being Romans, to adopt or observe.”

But Paul replied, “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison, and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.”

The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,

I told them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met the accusers face to face and had been given an opportunity to make a defense against the charge.

Paul and Jewish Leaders in Rome

Three days later he called together the local leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, yet I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.

When they had examined me, the Romans wanted to release me because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case.

A Eulogy of the Romans

Now Judas heard of the fame of the Romans, that they were very strong and were well-disposed toward all who made an alliance with them, that they pledged friendship to those who came to them,

but this became known to them, and they sent a general against the Greeks and attacked them. Many of them were wounded and fell, and the Romans took captive their wives and children; they plundered them, conquered the land, tore down their strongholds, and enslaved them to this day.

“May all go well with the Romans and with the nation of the Jews at sea and on land forever, and may sword and enemy be far from them.

In the same way, if war comes first to the nation of the Jews, the Romans shall willingly act as their allies, as the occasion may indicate to them.

Thus on these terms the Romans make a treaty with the Jewish people.

And the Romans gave them letters to the people in every place, asking them to provide for the envoys safe conduct to the land of Judah.

After this Simon sent Numenius to Rome with a large gold shield weighing one thousand minas to confirm the alliance with the Romans.

For he had heard that the Jews were addressed by the Romans as friends and allies and brothers and that the Romans had received the envoys of Simon with honor.

“Lucius, consul of the Romans, to King Ptolemy, greetings.

He set aside the existing royal concessions to the Jews, secured through John the father of Eupolemus, who went on the mission to establish friendship and alliance with the Romans, and he destroyed the lawful ways of living and introduced new customs contrary to the law.

Nicanor determined to make up for the king the tribute due to the Romans, two thousand talents, by selling the captured Jews into slavery.

So he who had undertaken to secure tribute for the Romans by the capture of the people of Jerusalem proclaimed that the Jews had a Defender and that therefore the Jews were invulnerable because they followed the laws ordained by him.

The Romans also sent them a letter, which read thus: “Quintus Memmius and Titus Manius, envoys of the Romans, to the people of the Jews, greetings.