From the Good News Bible Catholic Study Edition 2 Maccabees 2: 4-9; 1“We know from the records that Jeremiah the prophet instructed the people who were being taken into exile to hide some of the fire from the altar, as we have just mentioned. 2We also know that he taught them God's Law and warned them not to be deceived by the ornamented gold and silver idols which they would see in the land of their exile. 3And then he urged them never to abandon the Law.

4“These same records also tell us that Jeremiah, acting under divine guidance, commanded the Tent of the Lord's Presence and the Covenant Box to follow him to the mountain where Moses had looked down on the land which God had promised our people. 5When Jeremiah got to the mountain, he found a huge cave and there he hid the Tent of the Lord's Presence, the Covenant Box, and the altar of incense. Then he sealed up the entrance.

6“Some of Jeremiah's friends tried to follow him and mark the way, but they could not find the cave. 7When Jeremiah learnt what they had done, he reprimanded them, saying, ‘No one must know about this place until God gathers his people together again and shows them mercy. 8At that time he will reveal where these things are hidden, and the dazzling light of his presence will be seen in the cloud, as it was in the time of Moses and on the occasion when Solomon prayed that the Temple might be dedicated in holy splendour.’