10-11 The High Priest then stated that Simon, that devil of a man, had not been telling the truth. There was indeed some money in the Temple treasury, but part of it was set aside for widows and orphans and part of it belonged to Hyrcanus son of Tobias, a very important man. He also pointed out that the total amount was only 30,000 pounds of silver and 15,000 pounds of gold.
12 He added that it was absolutely impossible that anyone should be permitted to take the money of those people who had placed their trust in the sanctity and safety of this world-famous Temple.
13 But Heliodorus insisted that the money should be taken for the royal treasury, as the king had ordered.
14 So he set a day and went into the Temple to supervise the counting of the money. This caused an uproar throughout the entire city.
15 Priests, wearing their priestly robes, threw themselves face downward before the altar and begged God to keep the money safe, since he had given the laws designed to protect the money that people deposited in the Temple.
16 It was heartbreaking to see the High Priest. His face turned pale, revealing the agony of his soul,
17 and his body was trembling with fear, reflecting the pain in his heart.