The king, on his recovery from this attack, which he believed was caused by the prayers of the people, was determined to be revenged on the whole Jewish nation; for which purpose, he went to Alexandria, and commanded that all the people should sacrifice to his idols. The people in general refused to do so, on which account he deprived them of all the privileges which had been granted to them by Alexander the Great. He then directed that every Jew should be marked with an ivy leaf, (the same being the badge of his idol Bacchus,) burned in their flesh with a hot iron; and further, that all those who resisted this infliction, should either be made slaves or put to death. Some few of the poor Jews reluctantly obeyed the king's mandate, in order to prevent the threatened punishment; but many thousands of them stood firm in the religion of their fathers, and suffered all the persecutions of the tyrant, rather than forsake the God who had wrought so many miracles in their behalf. Ptolemy, vexed to find that the people would not sacrifice to his idols, and that they submitted to every degradation rather than forsake their God, resolved to be revenged, and threatened to destroy and annihilate the whole of the nation; and this he attempted to do, by issuing an order that all the Jews who lived _in_ and _about_ Egypt, should be brought to Alexandria in chains, and there to be devoured by his elephants. The Jews were brought to the place of execution, where the elephants were made drunk with wine and frankincense, and then let loose among the people; but instead of falling upon the Jews, they turned their rage upon the spectators who came to witness the scene, and destroyed great numbers of them, leaving the Jews unhurt. The king on seeing his plans frustrated, began to reflect, and to be convinced that the God of Israel would protect his people from their enemies; and fearing that he would become the victim of the vengeance of a justly offended God, he immediately revoked his cruel decree, and restored to the people all their former privileges. Those, however, who had forsaken their God and abandoned their religion by sacrificing to his idols, were delivered into the hands of their enemies, and many of them were put to death. How just are the dispensations of Providence! and how secure is man under the most perilous circumstances, while he puts his trust in his God and remains firm to the true worship of Him who is ever watchful of the safety of his faithful and trustworthy followers. CHAPTER VI. Of the Jewish affairs under Antiochus the Greek, Seleucus, and Antiochus Epiphanes, Kings of Syria.