than themselves. And from that
time it principally came to pass that our city was greatly disordered,
and that all things grew worse and worse among us.

5. But when Albinus heard that Gessius Florus was coming to succeed him,
he was desirous to appear to do somewhat that might be grateful to the
people of Jerusalem; so he brought out all those prisoners who seemed
to him to be most plainly worthy of death, and ordered them to be put to
death accordingly. But as to those who had been put into prison on some
trifling occasions, he took money of them, and dismissed them; by which
means the prisons were indeed emptied, but the country was filled with
robbers.

6. Now as many of the Levites, [26] which is a tribe of ours, as were
singers of hymns, persuaded the king to assemble a sanhedrim, and to
give them leave to wear linen garments, as well as the priests for they
said that this would be a work worthy the times of his government, that
he might have a memorial of such a novelty, as being his doing. Nor did
they fail of obtaining their desire; for the king, with the suffrages
of those that came into the sanhedrim, granted the singers of hymns this
privilege, that they might lay aside their former garments, and wear
such a linen one as they desired; and as a part of this tribe ministered
in the temple, he also permitted them to learn those hymns as they had
besought him for. Now all this was contrary to the laws of our country,
which, whenever they have been transgressed, we have never been able to
avoid the punishment of such transgressions.

7. And now it was that the temple was finished. So when the people saw
that the workmen were unemployed, who were above eighteen thousand and
that they, receiving no wages, were in want because they had earned
their bread by their labors about the temple; and while they were
unwilling to keep by them the treasures that were there deposited, out
of fear of [their being carried away by] the Romans; and while they had
a regard to the making provision for the workmen; they had a mind to
expend these treasures upon them; for if any one of them did but labor
for a single hour, he received his pay immediately; so they persuaded
him to rebuild the eastern cloisters. These cloisters belonged to the
outer court, and were situated in a deep valley, and had walls that
reached four hundred cubits [in length], and were built of square and
very white stones, the length of each of which stones wa