39 Meanwhile, with the support of his brother Menelaus, Lysimachus had on numerous occasions robbed the Jerusalem Temple and had taken many of its gold objects. When word of this spread round, crowds began to gather in protest against Lysimachus.
40 Finally, the crowds were becoming dangerous and were beginning to get out of control, so Lysimachus sent 3,000 armed men to attack them. They were led by Auranus, a man as stupid as he was old.
41 When the Jews in the Temple courtyard realized what was happening, they picked up stones, pieces of wood, or simply handfuls of ashes from the altar and threw them at Lysimachus and his men in the confusion.
42 They killed a few of Lysimachus' men, wounded many of them, and all the rest ran for their lives. Lysimachus himself, that temple robber, was killed near the Temple treasury.
43 Because of this incident Menelaus was brought to trial.
44 When the king came to the city of Tyre, the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem sent three men to bring charges against Menelaus.
45 When Menelaus saw that he was losing the case, he offered Ptolemy son of Dorymenes a large bribe to persuade the king to decide in his favour.