The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

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

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

Whereas 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.

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

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

And 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:

And 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:

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

I 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.

And 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.

And 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:

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

And 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:

And 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.

And 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:

Ptolemais 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.

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

And 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.

Moreover, 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.

And 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.

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

For 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.

Now 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Forasmuch 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,

And 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:

Now, 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.

And 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.

And 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.

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

And 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.

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

And 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.

And 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.

And 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.

And 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.

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

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

And Jonathan returned into Jerusalem with peace and joy.

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

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

And 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,

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

Now, 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.

Ask, 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:

And 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?

Now 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.

And 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.

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

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

And 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.

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

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

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

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

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

But 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.

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

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

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

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

And 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.

And the king of Egypt gathered together an army, like the sand that lieth upon the sea shore, and many ships: and he sought to get the kingdom of Alexander by deceit, and join it to his own kingdom.

And he went out into Syria with peaceable words and they opened to him the cities, and met him: for king Alexander had ordered them to go forth to meet him, because he was his father-in-law.

Now when Ptolemee entered into the cities, he put garrisons of soldiers in every city.

And when he came near to Azotns, they shewed him the temple of Dagon that was burnt with fire, and Azotus, and the suburbs thereof, that were destroyed, and the bodies that were cast abroad, and the graves of them that were slain in the battle, which they had made near the way.

And they told the king that Jonathan had done these things, to make him odious: but the king held his peace.

And Jonathan came to meet the king at Joppe with glory, and they saluted one another, and they lodged there.

And Jonathan went with the king as far as the river, called Eleutherus: and he returned into Jerusalem.

And king Ptolemee got the dominion of the cities by the sea side, even to Seleucia, and he devised evil designs against Alexander.

And he sent ambassadors to Demetrius, saying: Come, let us make a league between us, and I will give thee my daughter whom Alexander hath, and thou shalt reign in the kingdom of thy father.

For I repent that I have given him my daughter: for he hath sought to kill me.

And he slandered him, because he coveted his kingdom,

And he took away his daughter, and gave her to Demetrius, and alienated himself from Alexander, and his enmities were made manifest.

And Ptolemee entered into Antioch, and set two crowns upon his head, that of Egypt, and that of Asia.

Now king Alexander was in Cilicia at that time: because they that were in those places had rebelled.

And when Alexander heard of it, he came to give him battle: and king Ptolemee brought forth his army, and met him with a strong power, and put him to flight.

And Alexander fled into Arabia, there to be protected: and king Ptolemee was exalted.

And Zabdiel the Arabian took off Alexander's head, and sent it to Ptolemee.

And king Ptolemee died the third day after: and they that were in the strong holds were destroyed by them that were within the camp.

And Demetrius reigned in the hundred and sixty-seventh year.

In those days Jonathan gathered together them that were in Judea, to take the castle that was in Jerusalem: and they made many engines of war against it.

Then some wicked men that hated their own nation, went away to king Demetrius, and told him that Jonathan was besieging the castle.

And when he heard it, he was angry: and forthwith he came to Ptolemais, and wrote to Jonathan that he should not besiege the castle, but should come to him in haste, and speak to him.

But when Jonathan heard this, he bade them besiege it still: and he chose some of the ancients of Israel, and of the priests, and put himself in danger.

And he took gold, and silver, and raiment, and many other presents, and went to the king to Ptolemais and he found favour in his sight.

And certain wicked men of his nation made complaints against him.

And the king treated him as his predecessors had done before: and he exalted him in the sight of all his friends.

And he confirmed him in the high priesthood and all the honours he had before, and he made him the chief of his friends.

And Jonathan requested of the king that he would make Judea free from tribute, and the three governments, and Samaria, and the confines thereof: and he promised him three hundred talents.

And the king consented: and he wrote letters to Jonathan of all these things, to this effect.

King Demetrius to his brother, Jonathan, and to the nation of the Jews, greeting.

We send you here a copy of the letter which we have written to Lasthenes, our parent, concerning you, that you might know it.

King Demetrius to Lasthenes, his parent, greetings.

We have determined to do good to the nation of the Jews, who are our friends, and keep the things that are just with us, for their good will which they bear towards us.

We have ratified, therefore, unto them all the borders of Judea, and the three cities, Apherema, Lydda, and Ramatha, which are added to Judea, out of Samaria, and all their confines, to be set apart to all them that sacrifice in Jerusalem, instead of the payments which the king received of them every year, and for the fruits of the land, and of the trees.