I Maccabees 10

¹And in the one hundred and sixtieth year, Alexander, the son of Antiochus, who was surnamed the illustrious, came up and occupied Ptolemais, and they received him, and he reigned there.

²And king Demetrius heard of it, and he gathered together an exceedingly great army, and he went forth to meet him in battle.

³And Demetrius sent a letter to Jonathan, with peaceful words, to magnify him.

⁴For he said, “Let us first make a peace with him, before he makes one with Alexander against us.

⁵For he will remember all the evils that we have done to him, and to his brother, and to his nation.”

⁶And he gave him the authority to gather together an army, and to fabricate weapons, so that he would be his associate. And the hostages who were in the stronghold, he ordered to be handed over to him.

⁷And Jonathan came to Jerusalem, and he read the letters in the hearing of all the people and of those who were in the stronghold.

⁸And they were struck with a great fear, because they heard that the king gave him the authority to gather together an army.

⁹And the hostages were handed over to Jonathan, and he restored them to their parents.

¹⁰And Jonathan lived in Jerusalem, and he began to rebuild and repair the city.

¹¹And he told those doing the work to build up the walls, and mount Zion, all around, with square stones, as a fortification. And they did so.

¹²Then the foreigners, who were in the fortifications that Bacchides had built, fled away.

¹³And each one abandoned his place and departed into his own land.

¹⁴Only in Bethzur did there remain some others of these, who had forsaken the law and the precepts of God. For this was a refuge for them.

¹⁵And king Alexander heard of the promises that Demetrius promised to Jonathan. And they described the battles to him, and the virtuous deeds that he and his brothers had done, and the hardships that they had endured.

¹⁶And he said: “Would we ever find another such man? And so now, let us make him our friend and our associate.”

¹⁷And so, he wrote a letter, and he sent it to him, according to these words, saying:

¹⁸“King Alexander to his brother, Jonathan: greetings.

¹⁹We have heard of you, that you are a man of power and strength, and that you are fit to be our friend.

²⁰And so now, on this day, we appoint that you be high priest of your people, and that you be called the king’s friend, (and he sent him a purple robe, and a crown of gold,) and that you be of one mind with us in our affairs, and that you keep friendship with us.”

²¹Then Jonathan clothed himself with the holy vestment, in the seventh month, in the one hundred and sixtieth year, on the solemn day of the Feast of Tabernacles. And he gathered together an army, and he made an abundance of weapons.

²²And Demetrius heard these words, and he was exceedingly sorrowful, and he said:

²³“What have we done in this, that Alexander has gone before us to obtain the friendship of the Jews to strengthen himself?

²⁴I also will write to them words of petition, and offer positions of rank and gifts, so that they may act in assistance to me.”

²⁵And he wrote to them in these words: “King Demetrius to the nation of the Jews: greetings.

²⁶Since you have kept the peace with us, and have remained in our friendship, and have not made agreements with our enemies, we have heard of this, and we are glad.

²⁷And so now, persevere still to remain faithful to us, and we will reward you with good things for what you have done for us.

²⁸And we will repay you for your many expenses, and we will give you gifts.

²⁹And now, I release you, and all the Jews, from tributes, and I grant to you the payments of salt, and I send back the crowns and the thirds of the seed.

³⁰And the one half portion of the fruit from the trees, which is my share, I relinquish to you from this day and hereafter, so that it shall not be taken from the land of Judah, nor from the three cities that have been added to it from Samaria and Galilee, from this day and for all time.

³¹And let Jerusalem be holy and free within its borders, and let the tenths and tributes be for itself.

³²And I even return authority over the stronghold, which is in Jerusalem, and I give it to the high priest, in order to appoint in it any such men as he will choose, who will guard it.

³³And every soul of the Jews who were taken captive from the land of Judah in all my kingdom, I set at liberty without charge, so that they are all released from tributes, even of their cattle.

³⁴And all the days of solemnities, and the Sabbaths, and the new moons, and the decreed days, and the three days before the solemn day, and three days after the solemn day, shall all be days of immunity and remission for all the Jews who are in my kingdom.

³⁵And no one will have the authority to do anything, or to incite any plots, against any of them, in all cases.

³⁶And let there be enrolled from the Jews, into the army of the king, up to thirty thousand men. And allowances shall be given to them, just as is due to all the king’s army. And some of them shall be appointed to be in the fortresses of the great king.

³⁷And some of them shall be set over the affairs of the kingdom, those who act with faith, and let the leaders be from them, and let them walk by their own laws, just as the king has commanded in the land of Judah.

³⁸And the three cities that have been added to Judea from the region of Samaria, let them be counted with Judea, so that they may be united as one, and so that they may obey no other authority, except the high priest.

³⁹Ptolemais and its confines, I give as a free gift to the holy places that are in Jerusalem, for the necessary expenses of the holy things.

⁴⁰And I give, every year, fifteen thousand shekels of silver from the allotment of the king, from what belongs to me.

⁴¹And all that has been left over, which those who were set over the affairs in prior years have not paid: from this time, they will give it to the works of the house.

⁴²And beyond this, they shall receive five thousand shekels of silver from the allotment of the holy places each year, and this will belong to the priests who perform the ministry.

⁴³And whoever will flee into the temple that is in Jerusalem, or in any of its parts, being liable before the king in any matter, let them be released, and all that is theirs in my kingdom, let them have it freely.

⁴⁴And as to the works of rebuilding and repairing the holy places, the expenses shall be given from the king’s revenues.

⁴⁵And as to the raising of the walls of Jerusalem and the fortifications all around it, the expenses shall be given from the king’s revenues, as also for the building of the walls in Judea.”

⁴⁶So when Jonathan and the people heard these words, they did not believe or accept them, because they remembered the great malice that he had done in Israel, for he had troubled them greatly.

⁴⁷And so they were pleased with Alexander, because he had been to them a leader with words of peace, and they were of assistance to him every day.

⁴⁸And so king Alexander gathered together a great army, and he moved his camp against Demetrius.

⁴⁹And the two kings joined together in battle, and the army of Demetrius fled away, and Alexander followed after him, and he closed in on them.

⁵⁰And the battle was hard fought, until the sun went down. And Demetrius was slain on that day.

⁵¹And Alexander sent ambassadors to Ptolemy, the king of Egypt, according to these words, saying:

⁵²“Know that I have returned to my kingdom, and I am seated upon the throne of my fathers, and I have obtained the leadership, and I have crushed Demetrius, and I have taken possession of our country,

⁵³and I have joined battle with him, and both he and his camp have been crushed by us, and we are seated on the throne of his kingdom.

⁵⁴And now, let us establish a friendship with one with another. And give me your daughter as a wife, and I will be your son-in-law, and I will give gifts that are worthy of you, to both you and her.”

⁵⁵And king Ptolemy responded by saying: “Happy is the day on which you were returned to the land of your fathers, and you sat on the throne of their kingdom.

⁵⁶And now, I will do for you as you have written. But meet with me at Ptolemais, so that we may see one another, and so that I may espouse her to you, just as you have said.”

⁵⁷And so Ptolemy departed from Egypt, both he and his daughter Cleopatra, and he arrived at Ptolemais in the one hundred and sixty-second year.

⁵⁸And king Alexander met him, and he gave him Cleopatra, his daughter. And he celebrated her marriage at Ptolemais with great glory, just as befits kings.

⁵⁹And king Alexander wrote to Jonathan, that he should come to meet him.

⁶⁰And he went forth with glory to Ptolemais, and he met the two kings there, and he gave them much silver, and gold, and gifts. And he found favor in their sight.

⁶¹And some of the pestilent men of Israel, men of iniquity, came together against him, interrupting with objections against him. And the king did not attend to them.

⁶²And he ordered that Jonathan’s garments be taken away from him, and that he be clothed in purple. And they did so. And the king arranged for him to sit with him.

⁶³And he said to his princes, “Go out with him into the midst of the city, and make a proclamation, so that no one may raise objections against him in any matter, and so that no one may bother him for any reason.”

⁶⁴And so it happened that, when his accusers saw his glory being proclaimed, and him clothed in purple, they all fled away.

⁶⁵And the king magnified him, and he enrolled him among his foremost friends, and he gave him a position as governor and as a participant in his dominion.

⁶⁶And Jonathan returned to Jerusalem with peace and joy.

⁶⁷In the one hundred and sixty-fifth year, Demetrius, the son of Demetrius, came from Crete into the land of his fathers.

⁶⁸And king Alexander heard of it, and he was very sorrowful, and he returned to Antioch.

⁶⁹And king Demetrius appointed Apollonius as his general, who was in charge of Coelesyria. And he gathered together a great army, and he drew near to Jamnia. And he sent to Jonathan, the high priest,

⁷⁰saying: “You alone resist us, and so I have been brought to derision and disgrace, because you exercise your power against us in the mountains.

⁷¹Now, therefore, if you trust in your forces, descend to us in the plains, and there let us contest one another. For the power of war is with me.

⁷²Inquire, and learn who I am, and the others, who are auxiliaries to me, who also say that your feet cannot stand before our face, for your fathers have twice been put to flight in their own land.

⁷³And now, how will you be able to withstand the horsemen, and so great an army in the plains, where there is no stone, or rock, or place to flee?”

⁷⁴But when Jonathan heard the words of Apollonius, he was moved in his soul. And he chose ten thousand men, and he departed from Jerusalem, and Simon, his brother, met him to help him.

⁷⁵And they positioned their tents near Joppa, but they excluded him from the city, because a garrison from Apollonius was in Joppa. And so, he attacked it.

⁷⁶And those who were in the city, being terrified, opened to him. And so Jonathan obtained Joppa.

⁷⁷And Apollonius heard of it, and he moved three thousand horsemen, and a great army.

⁷⁸And he went toward Azotus, like one making a journey, but he suddenly departed into the plains, because he had a great number of horsemen, and he trusted in them. And Jonathan followed after him to Azotus, and they joined together in battle.

⁷⁹And Apollonius secretly left behind them in the camp a thousand horsemen.

⁸⁰And Jonathan realized that there was an ambush behind him, and they surrounded his camp, and they cast darts at the people from morning until evening.

⁸¹But the people stood firm, just as Jonathan had instructed them, and their horses suffered hardships.

⁸²Then Simon drew forth his army, and he sent them against the legion. For the horsemen were wearied. And they were crushed by him, and they fled.

⁸³And those who were scattered throughout the plains fled to Azotus, and they entered into Bethdagon, so that, by their idol in that place, they might save themselves.

⁸⁴But Jonathan set fire to Azotus and to the cities that were all around it, and he captured their spoils and the temple of Dagon. And he burned with fire all those who had fled into it.

⁸⁵And so it was that those who fell by the sword, with those who were burned, were nearly eight thousand men.

⁸⁶And Jonathan, removed his encampment from there, and he took up a position against Askalon. And they went out of the city to meet him with great glory.

⁸⁷And Jonathan returned to Jerusalem with his own, having many spoils.

⁸⁸And it happened that, when king Alexander heard these words, he added still more glory to Jonathan.

⁸⁹And he sent him a clasp of gold, as is customary to be given to those who are of royal lineage. And he gave him Ekron, and all its borders, as a possession.

I Maccabees 10

¹Now in the hundred and sixtieth year, Alexander, the son of Antiochus, surnamed the Illustrious, came up and took Ptolemais, and they received him, and he reigned there.

²And king Demetrius heard of it, and gathered together an exceeding great army, and went forth against him to fight.

³And Demetrius sent a letter to Jonathan, with peaceable words, to magnify him.

⁴For he said: Let us first make a peace with him, before he make one with Alexander against us.

⁵For he will remember all the evils that we have done against him, and against his brother, and against his nation.

⁶And he gave him authority to gather together a army, and to make arms, and that he should be his confederate: and the hostages that were in the castle, he commanded to be delivered to him.

⁷And Jonathan came to Jerusalem, and read the letters in the hearing of all the people, and of them that were in the castle.

⁸And they were struck with great fear, because they heard that the king had given him authority to gather together an army.

⁹And the hostages were delivered to Jonathan, and he restored them to their parents.

¹⁰And Jonathan dwelt in Jerusalem, and began to build, and to repair the city.

¹¹And he ordered workmen to build the walls, and mount Sion round about with square stones for fortification: and so they did.

¹²Then the strangers that were in the strong holds, which Bacchides had built, fled away.

¹³And every man left his place, and departed into his own country:

¹⁴Only in Bethsura there remained some of them, that had forsaken the law, and the commandments of God: for this was a place of refuge for them.

¹⁵And king Alexander heard of the promises that Demetrius had made Jonathan: and they told him of the battles, and the worthy acts that he and his brethren had done, and the labours that they had endured.

¹⁶And he said: Shall we find such another man? now, therefore, we will make him our friend and our confederate.

¹⁷So he wrote a letter, and sent it to him according to these words, saying:

¹⁸King Alexander to his brother, Jonathan, greetings.

¹⁹We have heard of thee, that thou art a man of great power, and fit to be our friend:

²⁰Now therefore, we make thee this day high priest of thy nation, and that thou be called the king's friend, (and he sent him a purple robe, and a crown of gold) and that thou be of one mind with us in our affairs, and keep friendship with us.

²¹Then Jonathan put on the holy vestment in the seventh month, in the year one hundred and threescore, at the feast day of the tabernacles: and he gathered together an army, and made a great number of arms.

²²And Demetrius heard these words, and was exceeding sorry, and said:

²³What is this that we have done, that Alexander hath prevented us to gain the friendship of the Jews to strengthen himself?

²⁴I also will write to them words of request, and offer dignities, and gifts: that they may be with me to aid me.

²⁵And he wrote to them in these words: King Demetrius to the nation of the Jews, greeting.

²⁶Whereas you have kept covenant with us, and have continued in our friendship, and have not joined with our enemies, we have heard of it, and are glad.

²⁷Wherefore now continue still to keep fidelity towards us, and we will reward you with good things, for what you have done in our behalf.

²⁸And we will remit to you many charges, and will give you gifts.

²⁹And now I free you, and all the Jews, from tributes, and I release you from the customs of salt, and remit the crowns, and the thirds of the seed:

³⁰And the half of the fruit of trees, which is my share, I leave to you from this day forward, so that it shall not be taken of the land of Juda, and of the three cities that are added thereto out of Samaria and Galilee, from this day forth, and for ever:

³¹And let Jerusalem be holy and free, with the borders thereof: and let the tenths, and tributes be for itself.

³²I yield up also the power of the castle that is in Jerusalem, and I give it to the high priest, to place therein such men as he shall choose, to keep it.

³³And every soul of the Jews that hath been carried captive from the land of Juda in all my kingdom, I set at liberty freely, that all be discharged from tributes, even of their cattle.

³⁴And I will that all the feasts, and the sabbaths, and the new moons, and the days appointed, and three days before the solemn day, and three days after the solemn day, be all days of immunity and freedom, for all the Jews that are in my kingdom:

³⁵And no man shall have power to do any thing against them, or to molest any of them, in any cause.

³⁶And let there be enrolled in the king's army to the number of thirty thousand of the Jews: and allowance shall be made them, as is due to all the king's forces and certain of them shall be appointed to be in the fortresses of the great king:

³⁷And some of them shall be set over the affairs of the kingdom, that are of trust, and let the governors be taken from among themselves, and let them walk in their own laws, as the king hath commanded in the land of Juda.

³⁸And the three cities that are added to Judea, out of the country of Samaria, let them be accounted with Judea: that they may be under one, and obey no other authority but that of the high priest:

³⁹Ptolemais and the confines thereof, I give as a free gift to the holy places that are in Jerusalem, for the necessary charges of the holy things.

⁴⁰And I give every year fifteen thousand sickles of silver out of the king's accounts, of what belongs to me:

⁴¹And all that is above, which they that were over the affairs the years before, had not paid, from this time they shall give it to the works of the house.

⁴²Moreover, the five thousand sickles of silver, which they received from the account of the holy places, every year, shall also belong to the priests that execute the ministry.

⁴³And whosoever shall flee into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and in all the borders thereof, being indebted to the king for any matter, let them be set at liberty, and all that they have in my kingdom, let them have it free.

⁴⁴For the building also, or repairing the works of the holy places, the charges shall be given out of the king's revenues:

⁴⁵For the building also of the walls of Jerusalem, and the fortifying thereof round about, the charges shall be given out of the king's account, as also for the building of the walls in Judea.

⁴⁶Now when Jonathan and the people heard these words, they gave no credit to them, nor received them because they remembered the great evil that he had done in Israel, for he had afflicted them exceedingly.

⁴⁷And their inclinations were towards Alexander, because he had been the chief promoter of peace in their regard, and him they always helped.

⁴⁸And king Alexander gathered together a great army, and moved his camp near to Demetrius.

⁴⁹And the two kings joined battle, and the army of Demetrius fled away, and Alexander pursued after him, and pressed them close.

⁵⁰And the battle was hard fought, till the sun went down: and Demetrius was slain that day.

⁵¹And Alexander sent ambassadors to Ptolemee king of Egypt, with words to this effect, saying:

⁵²Forasmuch as I am returned into my kingdom and am set in the throne of my ancestors, and have gotten the dominion, and have overthrown Demetrius and possessed our country,

⁵³And have joined battle with him, and both he and his army have been destroyed by us, and we are placed in the throne of his kingdom:

⁵⁴Now, therefore, let us make friendship one with another: and give me now thy daughter to wife, and I will be thy son in law, and I will give both thee and her gifts worthy of thee.

⁵⁵And king Ptolomee answered, saying: Happy is the day wherein thou didst return to the land of thy fathers, and sattest in the throne of their kingdom.

⁵⁶And now I will do to thee as thou hast written but meet me at Ptolemais, that we may see one another, and I may give her to thee as thou hast said.

⁵⁷So Ptolemee went out of Egypt, with Cleopatra his daughter, and he came to Ptolemais, in the hundred and sixty-second year.

⁵⁸And king Alexander met him, and he gave him his daughter, Cleopatra: and he celebrated her marriage at Ptolemais with great glory, after the manner of kings.

⁵⁹And king Alexander wrote to Jonathan, that he should come and meet him.

⁶⁰And he went honourably to Ptolemais, and he met there the two kings, and he gave them much silver, and gold, and presents: and he found favour in their sight.

⁶¹And some pestilent men of Israel, men of a wicked life, assembled themselves against him, to accuse him: and the king gave no heed to them.

⁶²And he commanded that Jonathan's garments should be taken off, and that he should be clothed with purple: and they did so. And the king made him sit by himself.

⁶³And he said to his princes: Go out with him into the midst of the city, and make proclamation, that no man complain against him of any matter, and that no man trouble him for any manner of cause.

⁶⁴So when his accusers saw his glory proclaimed, and him clothed with purple, they all fled away.

⁶⁵And the king magnified him, and enrolled him amongst his chief friends, and made him governor, and partaker of his dominion.

⁶⁶And Jonathan returned into Jerusalem with peace and joy.

⁶⁷In the year one hundred and sixty-five, Demetrius, the son of Demetrius, came from Crete into the land of his fathers.

⁶⁸And king Alexander heard of it, and was much troubled, and returned to Antioch.

⁶⁹And king Demetrius made Apollonius his general, who was governor of Celesyria: and he gathered together a great army, and came to Jamnia: and he sent to Jonathan, the high priest,

⁷⁰Saying: Thou alone standest against us, and I am laughed at and reproached, because thou shewest thy power against us in the mountains.

⁷¹Now, therefore, if thou trustest in thy forces, come down to us into the plain, and there let us try one another: for with me is the strength of war.

⁷²Ask, and learn who I am, and the rest that help me, who also say that your foot cannot stand before our face, for thy fathers have twice been put to flight in their own land:

⁷³And now how wilt thou be able to abide the horsemen, and so great an army in the plain, where there is no stone, nor rock, nor place to flee to?

⁷⁴Now when Jonathan heard the words of Apollonius, he was moved in his mind: and he chose ten thousand men, and went out of Jerusalem, and Simon, his brother, met him to help him.

⁷⁵And they pitched their tents near Joppe, but they shut him out of the city: because a garrison of Apollonius was in Joppe, and he laid siege to it.

⁷⁶And they that were in the city being affrighted, opened the gates to him: so Jonathan took Joppe.

⁷⁷And Apollonius heard of it, and he took three thousand horsemen, and a great army.

⁷⁸And he went to Azotus, as one that was making a journey, and immediately he went forth into the plain: because he had a great number of horsemen, and he trusted in them. And Jonathan followed after him to Azotus, and they joined battle.

⁷⁹And Apollonius left privately in the camp a thousand horsemen behind them.

⁸⁰And Jonathan knew that there was an ambush behind him, and they surrounded his army, and cast darts at the people from morning till evening.

⁸¹But the people stood still, as Jonathan had commanded them: and so their horses were fatigued.

⁸²Then Simon drew forth his army, and attacked the legion: for the horsemen were wearied: and they were discomfited by him, and fled.

⁸³And they that were scattered about the plain fled into Azotus, and went into Bethdagon, their idol's temple, there to save themselves.

⁸⁴But Jonathan set fire to Azotus, and the cities that were round about it, and took the spoils of them and the temple of Dagon: and all them that were fled into it, he burnt with fire.

⁸⁵So they that were slain by the sword, with them that were burnt, were almost eight thousand men.

⁸⁶And Jonathan, removed his army from thence and camped against Ascalon: and they went out of the city to meet him with great honour.

⁸⁷And Jonathan returned into Jerusalem with his people, having many spoils.

⁸⁸And it came to pass, when Alexander, the king heard these words, that he honoured Jonathan yet more.

⁸⁹And he sent him a buckle of gold, as the custom is, to be given to such as are of the royal blood. And he gave him Accaron, and all the borders thereof, in possession.