3 Maccabees 5:20-22

Common English Bible

²⁰ So the king, with a savagery worse than the tyrant Phalaris, said that the Jews could be grateful for today’s sleep, but “Tomorrow,” he said, “without delay, prepare the elephants in the same way for the destruction of the unseemly Jews.” ²¹ So the king spoke, and when all those present gave their unanimous approval readily and joyfully, they all departed for their own homes. ²² But they didn’t spend their night sleeping so much as devising all kinds of insults for those who seemed to be doomed.