12 He eagerly built the place for exercise and sports near the temple. Then he ordered our finest young men to take part in activities there.
13 Jason was so terribly evil that he did not deserve to be high priest. In fact, it was his fault that our people began to adopt the foreign customs that came with the Greek way of life.
14 Even our priests gave up worshiping at the altar. They cared nothing about the temple, and they neglected offering sacrifices. And when the signal was given, they hurried off to take part in games that were against our teachings.
15 They sneered at the values our ancestors had prized, and their only goal in life was to receive Greek honors.
16 This love of the Greek way of life caused the downfall of our country, when these foreign rulers became our enemies and punished our nation. They did this, even though many Jews liked and tried to follow their way of life.
17 When people disobey God's Law, they are taking a big risk, as the following events will show.
18 King Antiochus attended a sports festival that was held once every four years in the city of Tyre. While he was there,