Corruption spread through the high priesthood as Simon slandered the faithful Onias, and Onias's own brother Jason bought the sacred office by bribery, then set about turning Jerusalem toward Greek ways with a gymnasium and pagan customs that lured the priests from the altar. Jason was in turn outbid by the still more ruthless Menelaus, who plundered temple vessels to pay his promised bribes and arranged the treacherous murder of the deposed Onias, a crime that grieved even the Gentiles. The people's outcry brought no justice, for Menelaus escaped punishment through further bribery while his accusers were put to death. The chapter matters as the book's account of how apostasy from within, and not merely assault from without, defiled the sanctuary, preparing the reader to see the coming persecution as both judgment and trial.