2 Maccabees 5:19-21

Good News Translation

¹⁹ But the Lord did not choose his people for the sake of his Temple; he established his Temple for the sake of his people. ²⁰ So the Temple shared in the people's suffering but also later shared in their prosperity. The Lord abandoned it when he became angry, but restored it when his anger had cooled down.

Another Attack against Jerusalem

²¹ Antiochus took 135,000 pounds of silver from the Temple and hurried off to Antioch. Such was his arrogance that he felt he could make ships sail across dry land or troops march across the sea.