3 Maccabees 4:17-19

Common English Bible

¹⁷ At the end of the forty days, the clerks reported to the king that they were no longer able to complete the task of drawing up a list of all the Jews because of their countless number. ¹⁸ Though the majority were still in the country, some still in their homes, and some even on-site,^[a] the job had become impossible for all the generals in Egypt. ¹⁹ After the king had threatened the clerks severely, claiming that they had accepted money to arrange a plan of escape, he came to be convinced