1 Maccabees 9:23-12:53

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

III. Leadership of Jonathan

Jonathan Succeeds Judas. ²³ After the death of Judas, the lawless raised their heads in every part of Israel, and all kinds of evildoers appeared. ²⁴ In those days there was a very great famine, and the country deserted to them. ²⁵ Bacchides chose renegades and made them masters of the country. ²⁶ These sought out and hunted down the friends of Judas and brought them to Bacchides, who punished and derided them. ²⁷ There was great tribulation in Israel, the like of which had not been since the time prophets ceased to appear among them.

²⁸ Then all the friends of Judas came together and said to Jonathan: ²⁹ “Ever since your brother Judas died, there has been no one like him to lead us against our enemies, both Bacchides and those of our nation who are hostile to us. ³⁰ Now therefore we have chosen you today to be our ruler and leader in his place, to fight our battle.” ³¹ From that moment Jonathan accepted the leadership, and took the place of Judas his brother.

Bacchides Pursues Jonathan. ³² When Bacchides learned of it, he sought to kill him. ³³ But Jonathan and his brother Simon and all who were with him discovered this, and they fled to the wilderness of Tekoa^[a] and camped by the waters of the pool of Asphar. [³⁴ ]^[b]

³⁵ Jonathan sent his brother^[c] as leader of the convoy to implore his friends, the Nabateans, to let them deposit with them their great quantity of baggage.^{(A) 36} But the tribe of Jambri from Medaba^[d] made a raid and seized and carried off John and everything he had.

³⁷ After this, word was brought to Jonathan and his brother Simon: “The tribe of Jambri are celebrating a great wedding, and with a large escort they are bringing the bride, the daughter of one of the great princes of Canaan, from Nadabath.” ³⁸ Remembering the blood of John their brother, they went up and hid themselves under cover of the mountain. ³⁹ As they watched there appeared a noisy throng with much baggage; then the bridegroom and his friends and kinsmen had come out to meet them with tambourines and musicians with their instruments. ⁴⁰ Jonathan and his party rose up against them from their ambush and killed them. Many fell wounded; the rest fled toward the mountain; all their spoils were taken. ⁴¹ Thus the wedding was turned into mourning, and the sound of their music into lamentation. ⁴² Having taken their revenge for the blood of their brother, they returned to the marshes of the Jordan.

⁴³ When Bacchides heard of it, he came on the sabbath to the banks of the Jordan with a large force. ⁴⁴ Then Jonathan said to his companions, “Let us rise up now and fight for our lives, for today is not like yesterday and the day before. ⁴⁵ The battle is before us, behind us are the waters of the Jordan, on either side of us, marsh and thickets; there is no way of escape.^{[e] 46} Cry out now to Heaven so that you may be delivered from the hand of our enemies.” ⁴⁷ When they joined battle, Jonathan raised his hand to strike Bacchides, but Bacchides backed away from him. ⁴⁸ Jonathan and those with him jumped into the Jordan and swam across to the other side, but the enemy did not pursue them across the Jordan. ⁴⁹ About a thousand men on Bacchides’ side fell that day.

⁵⁰ On returning to Jerusalem, Bacchides built strongholds in Judea: the Jericho fortress, as well as Emmaus, Beth-horon, Bethel, Timnath, Pharathon, and Tephon, with high walls and gates and bars.^{[f] 51} In each he put a garrison to harass Israel. ⁵² He fortified the city of Beth-zur, Gazara and the citadel, and put troops in them and stores of provisions. ⁵³ He took as hostages the sons of the leading people of the country and put them in custody in the citadel at Jerusalem.^(B)

⁵⁴ In the one hundred and fifty-third year, in the second month,^[g] Alcimus ordered the wall of the inner court of the sanctuary to be torn down, thus destroying the work of the prophets. But he only began to tear it down. ⁵⁵ Just at that time Alcimus was stricken, and his work was interrupted; his mouth was closed and he was paralyzed, so that he could no longer utter a word or give orders concerning his household. ⁵⁶ Alcimus died in great agony at that time. ⁵⁷ Seeing that Alcimus was dead, Bacchides returned to the king, and the land of Judah was at rest for two years.

⁵⁸ Then all the lawless took counsel and said: “Jonathan and those with him are living in peace and security. Now then, let us have Bacchides return, and he will capture all of them in a single night.” ⁵⁹ So they went and took counsel with him. ⁶⁰ When Bacchides was setting out with a large force, he sent letters secretly to all his allies in Judea, telling them to seize Jonathan and his companions. They were not able to do this, however, because their plan became known. ⁶¹ In fact, Jonathan’s men seized about fifty of the men of the country who were leaders in the conspiracy and put them to death.

⁶² Then Jonathan and those with him, along with Simon, withdrew to Bethbasi^[h] in the wilderness; he rebuilt its ruins and fortified it. ⁶³ When Bacchides learned of this, he gathered together his whole force and sent word to those who were in Judea. ⁶⁴ He came and camped before Bethbasi, and constructing siege engines, he fought against it for many days.

⁶⁵ Leaving his brother Simon in the city, Jonathan, accompanied by a small group of men, went out into the countryside. ⁶⁶ He struck down Odomera and his kindred and the tribe of Phasiron in their encampment; these men had begun to attack and they were going up with their forces. ⁶⁷ Simon and those with him then sallied forth from the city and set fire to the siege engines. ⁶⁸ They fought against Bacchides, and he was crushed. They caused him great distress, because the enterprise he had planned was in vain. ⁶⁹ He was enraged with the lawless men who had advised him to invade the province. He killed many of them and resolved to return to his own country.

⁷⁰ Jonathan learned of this and sent ambassadors to agree on peace with him and to obtain the release of the prisoners. ⁷¹ He agreed to do as Jonathan asked. He swore an oath to him that he would never try to do him any harm for the rest of his life; ⁷² and he released to him the prisoners he had previously taken from the land of Judah. Thereupon he returned to his own land and never came into their territory again. ⁷³ Then the sword ceased from Israel. Jonathan settled in Michmash;^[i] he began to judge the people and he eliminated the renegades from Israel.

Chapter 10

Jonathan Becomes High Priest. ¹ In the one hundred and sixtieth year,^[j] Alexander Epiphanes, son of Antiochus, came up and took Ptolemais. They accepted him as king and he began to reign there. ² When King Demetrius heard of it, he mustered a very large army and marched out to engage him in battle. ³ Demetrius sent a letter to Jonathan written in peaceful terms, to exalt him; ⁴ for he said: “Let us be the first to make peace with him, before he makes peace with Alexander against us, ⁵ since he will remember all the wrongs we have done to him, his brothers, and his nation.”

⁶ So Demetrius authorized him to gather an army and procure arms as his ally; and he ordered that the hostages in the citadel be released to him. ⁷ Accordingly Jonathan went to Jerusalem and read the letter to all the people and to those who were in the citadel. ⁸ They were struck with fear when they heard that the king had given him authority to gather an army. ⁹ Those in the citadel released the hostages to Jonathan, and he gave them back to their parents.^{(C) 10} Thereafter Jonathan dwelt in Jerusalem, and began to build and restore the city. ¹¹ He ordered those doing the work to build the walls and to encircle Mount Zion with square stones for its fortification, and they did so. ¹² The foreigners in the strongholds that Bacchides had built took flight; ¹³ all of them left their places and returned to their own lands. ¹⁴ Only in Beth-zur did some remain of those who had abandoned the law and the commandments, for it was a place of refuge.

¹⁵ King Alexander heard of the promises that Demetrius had made to Jonathan; he was also told of the battles and brave deeds of Jonathan and his brothers and of the troubles that they had endured. ¹⁶ He said, “Shall we ever find another man like him? Let us now make him our friend and ally.” ¹⁷ So he sent Jonathan a letter written in these terms: ¹⁸ “King Alexander sends greetings to his brother Jonathan. ¹⁹ We have heard of you, that you are a mighty warrior and worthy to be our friend. ²⁰ We have therefore appointed you today to be high priest of your nation; you are to be called the King’s Friend, and you are to look after our interests and preserve friendship with us.” He also sent him a purple robe and a crown of gold.^{(D) 21} Jonathan put on the sacred vestments in the seventh month of the one hundred and sixtieth year at the feast of Booths,^[k] and he gathered an army and procured many weapons.

A Letter from Demetrius to Jonathan. ²² When Demetrius heard of these things, he was distressed and said: ²³ “Why have we allowed Alexander to get ahead of us by gaining the friendship of the Jews and thus strengthening himself? ²⁴ I too will write them encouraging words and offer honors and gifts, so that they may support me.” ²⁵ So he sent them this message: “King Demetrius sends greetings to the Jewish nation. ²⁶ We have heard how you have kept the treaty with us and continued in our friendship and not gone over to our enemies, and we are glad. ²⁷ Continue, therefore, to keep faith with us, and we will reward you with favors in return for what you do in our behalf. ²⁸ We will grant you many exemptions and will bestow gifts on you.

^29 (E)“I now free you and exempt all the Jews from the tribute, the salt tax, and the crown levies. ³⁰ Instead of collecting the third of the grain and the half of the fruit of the trees that should be my share, I renounce the right from this day forward. Neither now nor in the future will I collect them from the land of Judah or from the three districts annexed from Samaria.^{[l] 31} Let Jerusalem and her territory, her tithes and her tolls, be sacred and free from tax. ³² I also yield my authority over the citadel in Jerusalem, and I transfer it to the high priest, that he may put in it such men as he shall choose to guard it. ³³ Every Jew who has been carried into captivity from the land of Judah into any part of my kingdom I set at liberty without ransom; and let all their taxes, even those on their cattle, be canceled.

³⁴ Let all feast days, sabbaths, new moon festivals, appointed days, and the three days that precede each feast day, and the three days that follow, be days of immunity and exemption for all Jews in my kingdom. ³⁵ No one will have authority to exact payment from them or to harass any of them in any matter.

³⁶ “Let thirty thousand Jews be enrolled in the king’s army and allowances be given them, as is due to all the king’s soldiers. ³⁷ Let some of them be stationed in the king’s principal strongholds, and of these let some be given positions of trust in the affairs of the kingdom. Let their superiors and their rulers be chosen from among them, and let them follow their own laws, as the king has commanded in the land of Judah.

³⁸ “Let the three districts that have been added to Judea from the province of Samaria be annexed to Judea so that they may be under one rule and obey no other authority than the high priest. ³⁹ Ptolemais and its confines I give as a present to the sanctuary in Jerusalem for the necessary expenses of the sanctuary. ⁴⁰ I make a yearly personal grant of fifteen thousand silver shekels out of the royal revenues, taken from appropriate places. ⁴¹ All the additional funds that the officials did not hand over as they had done in the first years shall henceforth be handed over for the services of the temple. ⁴² Moreover, the dues of five thousand silver shekels that used to be taken from the revenue of the sanctuary every year shall be canceled, since these funds belong to the priests who perform the services. ⁴³ All who take refuge in the temple of Jerusalem or in any of its precincts, because of money they owe the king, or because of any other debt, shall be released, together with all the goods they possess in my kingdom. ⁴⁴ The cost of rebuilding and restoring the structures of the sanctuary shall be covered out of the royal revenue. ⁴⁵ Likewise the cost of building the walls of Jerusalem and fortifying it all around, and of building walls in Judea, shall be donated from the royal revenue.”

⁴⁶ When Jonathan and the people heard these words, they neither believed nor accepted them, for they remembered the great evil that Demetrius had done in Israel, and the great tribulation he had brought upon them. ⁴⁷ They therefore decided in favor of Alexander, for he had been the first to address them peaceably, and they remained his allies for the rest of his life.

⁴⁸ Then King Alexander gathered together a large army and encamped opposite Demetrius. ⁴⁹ The two kings joined battle, and when the army of Demetrius fled, Alexander pursued him, and overpowered his soldiers. ⁵⁰ He pressed the battle hard until sunset, and Demetrius fell that day.

Treaty of Ptolemy and Alexander. ⁵¹ Alexander sent ambassadors to Ptolemy, king of Egypt, with this message: ⁵² “Now that I have returned to my realm, taken my seat on the throne of my ancestors, and established my rule by crushing Demetrius and gaining control of my country— ⁵³ for I engaged him in battle, he and his army were crushed by us, and we assumed his royal throne— ⁵⁴ let us now establish friendship with each other. Give me now your daughter for my wife; and as your son-in-law, I will give to you and to her gifts worthy of you.”

⁵⁵ King Ptolemy answered in these words: “Happy the day on which you returned to the land of your ancestors and took your seat on their royal throne! ⁵⁶ I will do for you what you have written; but meet me in Ptolemais, so that we may see each other, and I will become your father-in-law as you have proposed.”

⁵⁷ So Ptolemy with his daughter Cleopatra^[m] set out from Egypt and came to Ptolemais in the one hundred and sixty-second year. ⁵⁸ There King Alexander met him, and Ptolemy gave him his daughter Cleopatra in marriage. Their wedding was celebrated at Ptolemais with great splendor according to the custom of kings.

⁵⁹ King Alexander also wrote to Jonathan to come and meet him. ⁶⁰ So he went with pomp to Ptolemais, where he met the two kings and gave them and their friends silver and gold and many gifts and thus won their favor.^{(F) 61} Some villainous men of Israel, transgressors of the law, united against him to accuse him, but the king paid no heed to them. ⁶² The king ordered Jonathan to be divested of his garments and to be clothed in royal purple; and so it was done. ⁶³ The king also had him seated at his side. He said to his magistrates: “Go with him to the center of the city and make a proclamation that no one is to bring charges against him on any grounds or be troublesome to him for any reason.” ^64 (G)When his accusers saw the honor paid to him according to the king’s proclamation, and him clothed in purple, they all fled. ⁶⁵ And so the king honored him, enrolling him among his Chief Friends, and he made him governor and chief of the province. ⁶⁶ So Jonathan returned in peace and happiness to Jerusalem.

Jonathan Defeats Apollonius. ⁶⁷ In the one hundred and sixty-fifth year,^[n] Demetrius, son of Demetrius, came from Crete to the land of his ancestors. ⁶⁸ When King Alexander heard of it he was greatly troubled, and returned to Antioch. ⁶⁹ Demetrius set Apollonius over Coelesyria.^[o] Having gathered a large army, Apollonius encamped at Jamnia. From there he sent this message to Jonathan the high priest:

⁷⁰ “You are the only one who resists us. I am laughed at and put to shame on your account. Why are you exercising authority against us in the mountains? ⁷¹ If you have confidence in your forces, come down now to us in the plain, and let us test each other’s strength there; for the forces of the cities are on my side. ⁷² Inquire and find out who I am and who the others are who are helping me. People are saying that you cannot make a stand against us because your ancestors were twice put to flight^[p] in their own land. ⁷³ Now you too will be unable to withstand our cavalry and such a force as this in the plain, where there is not a stone or a pebble or a place to flee.”

⁷⁴ When Jonathan heard the message of Apollonius, he was provoked. Choosing ten thousand men, he set out from Jerusalem, and Simon his brother joined him to help him. ⁷⁵ He encamped near Joppa, but the people of the city shut him out because Apollonius had a garrison in Joppa. When they attacked it, ⁷⁶ the people of the city became afraid and opened the gates, and so Jonathan took possession of Joppa.^[q]

⁷⁷ When Apollonius heard of it, he drew up three thousand cavalry and a large force of infantry. He marched toward Azotus as though he were going on through, but at the same time he was advancing into the plain, because he had such a large number of cavalry to rely on. ⁷⁸ Jonathan pursued him toward Azotus, and the armies engaged in battle. ⁷⁹ Apollonius, however, had left a thousand cavalry in hiding behind them. ⁸⁰ Jonathan discovered that there was an ambush behind him; his army was surrounded. From morning until evening they showered his troops with arrows. ⁸¹ But his troops held their ground, as Jonathan had commanded, while the enemy’s horses became tired out.

⁸² Then Simon brought forward his force, and engaged the phalanx in battle. Since the cavalry were exhausted, the phalanx was crushed by him and fled, ⁸³ while the cavalry too were scattered over the plain. They fled to Azotus and entered Beth-dagon, the temple of their idol, to save themselves. ⁸⁴ But Jonathan burned and plundered Azotus with its neighboring towns, and destroyed by fire both the temple of Dagon and those who had taken refuge in it.^{(H) 85} Those who fell by the sword, together with those who were burned alive, came to about eight thousand.

⁸⁶ Then Jonathan left there and encamped at Askalon, and the people of that city came out to meet him with great pomp. ⁸⁷ Jonathan and those with him then returned to Jerusalem, with much spoil. ⁸⁸ When King Alexander heard of these events, he accorded new honors to Jonathan. ⁸⁹ He sent him a gold buckle, such as is usually given to King’s Kinsmen;^[r] he also gave him Ekron and all its territory as a possession.

Chapter 11

Alliance of Ptolemy and Demetrius II. ¹ Then the king of Egypt gathered forces as numerous as the sands of the seashore, and many ships; and he sought by deceit to take Alexander’s kingdom and add it to his own. ² He set out for Syria with peaceful words, and the people in the cities opened their gates to welcome him, as King Alexander had ordered them to do, since Ptolemy was his father-in-law. ³ But when Ptolemy entered the cities, he stationed a garrison of troops in each one.

⁴ As they neared Azotus, they showed him the temple of Dagon destroyed by fire, Azotus and its suburbs demolished, corpses lying about, and the charred bodies of those burned in the war, for they had heaped them up along his route.^{(I) 5} They told the king what Jonathan had done in order to denigrate him; but the king said nothing. ⁶ Jonathan met the king with pomp at Joppa, and they greeted each other and spent the night there. ⁷ Jonathan accompanied the king as far as the river called Eleutherus^[s] and then returned to Jerusalem.

⁸ And so King Ptolemy took possession of the cities along the seacoast as far as Seleucia by the sea,^[t] plotting evil schemes against Alexander all the while. ⁹ He sent ambassadors to King Demetrius, saying: “Come, let us make a covenant with each other; I will give you my daughter whom Alexander has married, and you shall reign over your father’s kingdom. ¹⁰ I regret that I gave him my daughter, for he has sought to kill me.”^{[u] 11} He was criticizing Alexander, however, because he coveted his kingdom. ¹² After taking his daughter away, Ptolemy gave her to Demetrius and broke with Alexander; the enmity between them was now evident. ¹³ Then Ptolemy entered Antioch and assumed the crown^[v] of Asia; thus he set upon his head two crowns, that of Egypt and that of Asia.

¹⁴ Now King Alexander was in Cilicia at that time, because the people of that region had revolted. ¹⁵ When Alexander heard the news, he came against Ptolemy in battle. Ptolemy marched out and met him with a strong force and routed him. ¹⁶ When Alexander fled to Arabia to seek protection, King Ptolemy was triumphant. ¹⁷ Zabdiel the Arabian cut off Alexander’s head and sent it to Ptolemy. ¹⁸ But three days later King Ptolemy himself died, and his troops in the strongholds were killed by the inhabitants of the strongholds. ¹⁹ Thus Demetrius became king in the one hundred and sixty-seventh year.^[w]

Alliance of Jonathan and Demetrius II. ²⁰ In those days Jonathan gathered together the people of Judea to attack the citadel in Jerusalem, and they set up many siege engines against it. ²¹ But some transgressors of the law, enemies of their own nation, went to the king and informed him that Jonathan was besieging the citadel. ²² When Demetrius heard this, he was enraged; and as soon as he heard it, he set out and came to Ptolemais. He wrote to Jonathan to discontinue the siege and to meet him for a conference at Ptolemais as soon as possible.

²³ On hearing this, Jonathan ordered the siege to continue. He selected some elders and priests of Israel and put himself at risk. ²⁴ Taking with him silver, gold and apparel, and many other presents, he went to the king at Ptolemais, and found favor with him. ²⁵ Although certain renegades of his own nation kept on bringing charges against him, ²⁶ the king treated him just as his predecessors had done and exalted him in the presence of all his Friends. ²⁷ He confirmed him in the high priesthood and in the other honors he had previously held, and had him enrolled among his Chief Friends.

²⁸ Jonathan asked the king to exempt Judea and the three districts of Samaria from tribute, promising him in return three hundred talents.^{(J) 29} The king agreed and wrote a letter to Jonathan about all these matters as follows:

^30 (K)“King Demetrius sends greetings to his brother^[x] Jonathan and to the Jewish nation. ³¹ We are sending you, for your information, a copy of the letter that we wrote to Lasthenes^[y] our Kinsman concerning you. ³² ‘King Demetrius sends greetings to his father Lasthenes. ³³ Upon the Jewish nation, who are our friends and observe their obligations to us, we have decided to bestow benefits because of the good will they show us. ^34 (L)Therefore we confirm their possession, not only of the territory of Judea, but also of the three districts of Aphairema,^[z] Lydda, and Ramathaim. These districts, together with all their dependencies, are hereby transferred from Samaria to Judea for those who offer sacrifices in Jerusalem in lieu of the royal taxes the king used to receive yearly from the produce of earth and trees. ³⁵ From payment of the other things that would henceforth be due to us, namely, the tithes and taxes, as well as the salt tax, and the crown tax—from all these we grant them release. ³⁶ Henceforth and forever not one of these provisions shall ever be revoked. ³⁷ See to it, therefore, that a copy of these instructions be made and given to Jonathan. Let it be displayed on the holy mountain in a conspicuous place.’”

The Intrigue of Trypho. ³⁸ When King Demetrius saw that the land was peaceful under his rule and that he had no opposition, he dismissed his entire army, each to his own home, except the foreign troops which he had hired from the islands of the nations. So all the soldiers who had served under his predecessors became hostile to him. ³⁹ When a certain Trypho, who had previously supported Alexander, saw that all the troops were grumbling against Demetrius, he went to Imalkue the Arabian, who was raising Alexander’s young son Antiochus.^{(M) 40} Trypho kept urging Imalkue to hand over the boy to him, so that he might succeed his father as king. He told him of all that Demetrius had done and of the hostility his soldiers had for him; and he remained there for many days.

Jonathan Aids Demetrius II. ⁴¹ Meanwhile Jonathan sent the request to King Demetrius to withdraw the troops in the citadel from Jerusalem and from the other strongholds, for they were constantly waging war on Israel. ⁴² Demetrius, in turn, sent this word to Jonathan: “I will do not only this for you and your nation, but I will greatly honor you and your nation when I find the opportunity. ⁴³ Now, therefore, you will do well to send men to fight for me, because all my troops have revolted.”

⁴⁴ So Jonathan sent three thousand good fighting men to him at Antioch. When they came to the king, he was delighted over their arrival. ⁴⁵ The populace, one hundred and twenty thousand strong, massed in the center of the city in an attempt to kill the king. ⁴⁶ So the king took refuge in the palace, while the populace gained control of the main streets of the city and prepared for battle. ⁴⁷ Then the king called the Jewish force to his aid. They all rallied around him and spread out through the city. On that day they killed about a hundred thousand in the city. ⁴⁸ At the same time, they set the city on fire and took much spoil. Thus they saved the king. ⁴⁹ When the populace saw that the Jewish force controlled the city, they lost courage and cried out to the king in supplication, ⁵⁰ “Extend the hand of friendship to us, and make the Jews stop attacking us and the city.” ⁵¹ So they threw down their weapons and made peace. The Jews thus gained honor in the eyes of the king and all his subjects, and they became renowned throughout his kingdom. Finally they returned to Jerusalem with much plunder.

⁵² But when King Demetrius was sure of his royal throne, and the land was peaceful under his rule, ⁵³ he broke all his promises and became estranged from Jonathan. Instead of repaying Jonathan for all the favors he had received from him, he caused him much distress.

Alliance of Jonathan and Antiochus VI. ⁵⁴ After this, Trypho returned and brought with him the young boy Antiochus, who became king and put on the diadem.^{(N) 55} All the soldiers whom Demetrius had discharged rallied around Antiochus and fought against Demetrius, who was routed and fled. ⁵⁶ Trypho captured the elephants and occupied Antioch. ⁵⁷ Then young Antiochus wrote to Jonathan: “I confirm you in the high priesthood and appoint you ruler over the four districts, and to be one of the King’s Friends.” ⁵⁸ He also sent him gold dishes and a table service, gave him the right to drink from gold cups, to dress in royal purple, and to wear a gold buckle.^{(O) 59} Likewise, he made Jonathan’s brother Simon governor of the region from the Ladder of Tyre^[aa] to the borders of Egypt.

Campaigns of Jonathan and Simon. ⁶⁰ Jonathan set out and traveled through the province of West-of-Euphrates^[ab] and its cities, and all the forces of Syria espoused his cause as allies. When he arrived at Askalon, the citizens welcomed him with pomp. ⁶¹ But when he set out for Gaza, the people of Gaza shut him out. So he besieged it, and burned and plundered its suburbs. ⁶² Then the people of Gaza appealed to Jonathan, and he granted them terms of peace. He took the sons of their leaders as hostages and sent them to Jerusalem. He then traveled on through the province as far as Damascus.

⁶³ Jonathan heard that the generals of Demetrius had come with a strong force to Kadesh in Galilee, intending to remove him from office. ⁶⁴ So he went to meet them, leaving his brother Simon in the province. ^65 (P)Simon encamped against Beth-zur, attacked it for many days, and shut in the inhabitants. ⁶⁶ They appealed to him, and he granted them terms of peace. He expelled them from the city, took possession of it, and put a garrison there.

⁶⁷ Meanwhile, Jonathan and his army pitched their camp near the waters of Gennesaret, and at daybreak they went to the plain of Hazor.^{[ac] 68} There the army of the foreigners met him on the plain. Having first detached an ambush in the mountains, this army mounted a frontal attack. ⁶⁹ Then those in ambush rose out of their places and joined in the battle. ⁷⁰ All of Jonathan’s men fled; no one stayed except the army commanders Mattathias, son of Absalom, and Judas, son of Chalphi. ⁷¹ Jonathan tore his clothes, threw dust on his head, and prayed. ⁷² Then he went back to the battle and routed them, and they fled. ⁷³ Those of his men who were running away saw it and returned to him; and with him they pursued the enemy as far as their camp in Kadesh, and there they encamped. ⁷⁴ About three thousand of the foreign troops fell on that day. Then Jonathan returned to Jerusalem.

Chapter 12

Alliances with Rome and Sparta. ¹ When Jonathan saw that the time was right, he chose men and sent them to Rome to confirm and renew the friendship with the Romans.^{(Q) 2} He also sent letters to the Spartans and other places to the same effect.

³ After reaching Rome, the men entered the senate chamber and said, “The high priest Jonathan and the Jewish people have sent us to renew the friendship and alliance of earlier times with them.” ⁴ The Romans gave them letters addressed to authorities in various places, with the request to provide them with safe conduct to the land of Judah.

⁵ This is a copy of the letter that Jonathan wrote to the Spartans: ⁶ “Jonathan the high priest, the senate of the nation, the priests, and the rest of the Jewish people send greetings to their brothers the Spartans. ⁷ Long ago a letter was sent^[ad] to the high priest Onias from Arius, who then reigned over you, stating that you are our brothers, as the attached copy shows.^{(R) 8} Onias welcomed the envoy with honor and received the letter, which spoke clearly of alliance and friendship. ⁹ Though we have no need of these things, since we have for our encouragement the holy books that are in our possession,^{[ae](S) 10} we have ventured to send word to you for the renewal of brotherhood and friendship, lest we become strangers to you; a long time has passed since you sent your message to us. ¹¹ We, on our part, have unceasingly remembered you in the sacrifices and prayers that we offer on our feasts and other appropriate days, as it is right and proper to remember brothers. ¹² We likewise rejoice in your renown. ¹³ But many tribulations and many wars have beset us, and the kings around us have attacked us. ¹⁴ We did not wish to be troublesome to you and to the rest of our allies and friends in these wars. ¹⁵ For we have the help of Heaven for our support, and we have been saved from our enemies, and our enemies have been humbled. ¹⁶ So we have chosen Numenius, son of Antiochus, and Antipater, son of Jason, and we have sent them to the Romans to renew with them the friendship and alliance of earlier times.^{(T) 17} We have also ordered them to come to you and greet you, and to deliver to you our letter concerning the renewal of our brotherhood. ¹⁸ Therefore kindly send us an answer on this matter.”

¹⁹ This is a copy of the letter that they sent to Onias: ^20 (U)“Arius, king of the Spartans, sends greetings to Onias the high priest. ²¹ A document has been found stating that the Spartans and the Jews are brothers and that they are of the family of Abraham. ²² Now that we have learned this, kindly write to us about your welfare. ²³ We, for our part, declare to you that your animals and your possessions are ours, and ours are yours. We have, therefore, given orders that you should be told of this.”

More Campaigns of Jonathan and Simon. ²⁴ Then Jonathan heard that the officers of Demetrius had returned to attack him with a stronger army than before. ²⁵ So he set out from Jerusalem and met them in the territory of Hamath,^[af] giving them no opportunity to enter his province. ²⁶ The spies he had sent into their camp came back and reported to him that the enemy were preparing to attack them that night. ²⁷ Therefore, when the sun set, Jonathan ordered his men to keep watch, with their weapons at the ready for battle, throughout the night; and he set outposts around the camp. ²⁸ When the enemy heard that Jonathan and his men were ready for battle, their hearts sank with fear and dread. They lighted fires in their camp and then withdrew. ²⁹ But because Jonathan and his men were watching the campfires burning, they did not know until the morning what had happened. ³⁰ Then Jonathan pursued them, but he could not overtake them, for they had crossed the river Eleutherus. ³¹ So Jonathan turned aside against the Arabians who are called Zabadeans, and he struck them down and plundered them. ³² Then he broke camp, marched on toward Damascus and traveled through the whole region.

³³ Simon also set out and traveled as far as Askalon and its neighboring strongholds. He then turned to Joppa and took it by surprise, ³⁴ for he heard that its people intended to hand over the stronghold to the supporters of Demetrius. He left a garrison there to guard it.

³⁵ When Jonathan returned, he assembled the elders of the people, and with them he made plans for building strongholds in Judea, ³⁶ for making the walls of Jerusalem still higher, and for erecting a high barrier between the citadel and the city, to separate it from the city and isolate it, so that its garrison could neither buy nor sell. ³⁷ The people therefore gathered together to build up the city, for part of the wall of the eastern valley had collapsed. And Jonathan repaired the quarter called Chaphenatha. ³⁸ Simon likewise built up Adida in the Shephelah, and fortified it by installing gates and bars.

Capture of Jonathan. ³⁹ Then Trypho sought to become king of Asia, assume the diadem, and do violence to King Antiochus.^{(V) 40} But he was afraid that Jonathan would not permit him, but would fight against him. Looking for a way to seize and kill him, he set out and came to Beth-shan. ⁴¹ Jonathan marched out to meet him with forty thousand picked fighting men and came to Beth-shan. ⁴² But when Trypho saw that Jonathan had arrived with a large army he was afraid to do him violence. ⁴³ Instead, he received him with honor, introduced him to all his friends, and gave him presents. He also ordered his friends and soldiers to obey him as they would himself. ⁴⁴ Then he said to Jonathan: “Why have you put all these people to so much trouble when we are not at war? ⁴⁵ Now pick out a few men to stay with you, send the rest to their homes, and then come with me to Ptolemais. I will hand it over to you together with other strongholds and the remaining troops, as well as all the officials; then I will turn back and go home. That is why I came here.”

⁴⁶ Jonathan trusted him and did as he said. He dismissed his troops, and they returned to the land of Judah. ⁴⁷ But he kept with him three thousand men, of whom he left two thousand in Galilee while one thousand accompanied him. ⁴⁸ Then as soon as Jonathan entered Ptolemais, the people of Ptolemais closed the gates and seized him; all who had entered with him, they killed with the sword.^(W)

⁴⁹ Then Trypho sent soldiers and cavalry to Galilee and the Great Plain^[ag] to destroy all Jonathan’s men. ⁵⁰ These, upon learning that Jonathan had been captured and killed along with his companions, encouraged one another and went out in close formation, ready to fight. ⁵¹ As their pursuers saw that they were ready to fight for their lives, they turned back. ⁵² Thus all Jonathan’s men came safely into the land of Judah. They mourned Jonathan and those who were with him. They were in great fear, and all Israel fell into deep mourning. ⁵³ All the nations round about sought to crush them. They said, “Now that they have no leader or helper, let us make war on them and wipe out their memory from the earth.”^(X)