FIRST MACCABEES

11.16–62

¹⁶ Alexander fled into the regions of Arabia, seeking to hide there and escape from him. And King Ptolemy was triumphant. ¹⁷ Then Zabdiel the Arab cut off Alexander's head and sent it to King Ptolemy. ¹⁸ But King Ptolemy died on the third day, and those who were in his strongholds were destroyed by the local inhabitants of those fortresses.

19 ¹⁹ Thus Demetrius became king in the one hundred and sixty-seventh year Approximately 145 BCE. ²⁰ In those days, Jonathan gathered the forces of Judea to go and lay siege to the citadel in Jerusalem; they prepared many siege engines against it. ²¹ Then certain lawless men who were enemies of the Jewish nation went to tell the king that Jonathan had prepared engines to surround the citadel and take it by storm. ²² When he heard this, he was very angry. He set out and came to Ptolemais The coastal city of Acre, and sent a letter to Jonathan, ordering him not to continue the siege of the citadel, but to come and meet him immediately in the city of the Ptolemaians to discuss the matter face to face. ²³ When Jonathan heard this, he commanded the siege of the citadel to be pressed even harder. He chose certain elders from the council of the people and from the priests to accompany him. ²⁴ He prepared gifts of gold and silver, and placed treasures in his baggage, and went to meet the king in the city of the Ptolemaians. And he found favor in his sight. ²⁵ Even though many of the lawless men were bringing accusations against him, ²⁶ the king honored him just as his predecessors had done. He exalted him greatly in the presence of all his friends. ²⁷ He confirmed him in the office of High Priest and in whatever other honors he had held before. He appointed him among his "First Friends" A prestigious rank in the Seleucid court. ²⁸ And Jonathan requested that the king make Judea tax-exempt, along with the three districts and Samaria. He promised to give the king three hundred talents A massive unit of weight/currency, roughly 10,000 kg of silver. ²⁹ This seemed good to the king, and concerning all these matters, he commanded that a letter be written to Jonathan in these words: ³⁰ "King Demetrius to Jonathan his brother, greetings. ³¹ We have written a copy of this letter to our brother Lasthenes, and we have written it also to you so that you may know its contents. ³² King Demetrius to Father Lasthenes, greetings. ³³ Because the Jewish nation are our allies, comrades-in-arms, and faithful friends, we have decided to treat them well in return for the justice and loyalty they have shown us. ³⁴ We have established the borders of Judea and the three districts—Apharim, Lydda, and Ramathaim—which are added to Judea from the regions of Samaria. All things that pertain to them by law shall belong to those who serve in Jerusalem, in place of the royal taxes which the king used to receive from them every year from the crops of the earth and the fruit of the trees. ³⁵ And as for other royal dues—whether tithes, tolls, or any other income belonging to the crown, or the salt tax, or the crown tax—³⁶ we release all these to them. And none of these things shall be revoked from this time forth forever. ³⁷ Now, therefore, see that you make a copy of this decree and give it to Jonathan, so that it may be placed in the holy treasury in a conspicuous and appropriate place." ³⁸ When King Demetrius saw that all the land was at peace before him and that nothing in the world opposed his command, he ordered all his troops to be dismissed to their own places, except for the foreign troops he had hired from the islands of the nations.

20 Because of this, all the national troops turned against him in enmity. ³⁹ Now there was a certain Tryphon, who had formerly been of Alexander’s party; when he saw that all the troops were grumbling against Demetrius, he went to Imalkue the Arab, who was raising the young boy Antiochus, the son of Alexander. ⁴⁰ He urged him to hand the boy over to him, so that he might lead him and make him king in his father's place. He told him everything Demetrius had done and the hostility the troops felt toward him. He stayed there many days. ⁴¹ Meanwhile, Jonathan sent word to King Demetrius, asking him to withdraw the troops who were in the citadel and those in the fortresses, for they were continually harassing Israel. ⁴² Demetrius sent word back to Jonathan, saying, "I will not only do this for you and your nation, but I will greatly honor you and your nation when I find the right opportunity. ⁴³ Now, you would do well to send me a troop of men as reinforcements, for my own troops here have revolted." ⁴⁴ When Jonathan heard this, he immediately sent a troop of three thousand chosen, well-armed men to the king in the city of Antioch. And the king was glad when they reached his hand. ⁴⁵ When the citizens heard of this, about one hundred and twenty thousand people gathered in the center of the city. They were ready to attack the king, intending to kill him then and there. ⁴⁶ He fled from them, but they immediately seized all the narrow passes of the city and began to fight. ⁴⁷ Word reached the Israelite troop. They massed at the king’s palace, called out to one another, and spread throughout the whole city. ⁴⁸ That day they killed about ten thousand men; they set fire to all the wooden structures of his palaces and took their goods and possessions as plunder. They rescued the king and saved him from their hands. ⁴⁹ When the rest of the city saw that the Israelite troop had prevailed over them and had triumphed as they pleased, they lost heart and grew weak in their resolve. With loud voices of supplication, they began to cry out to the king, saying, ⁵⁰ "Give us your hand Grant us peace/mercy, and let this fierce troop stop destroying our city." ⁵¹ They said this and threw down their weapons at the feet of the combatants. Thus the Israelite troop was exalted in glory before the king and before all his army. They returned to Jerusalem with great renown and much plunder. ⁵² So King Demetrius sat upon the throne of his kingdom, and all the land was quiet before him. ⁵³ But he lied to the Israelites regarding everything he had promised them, and he became completely estranged from Jonathan. He did not repay him according to the loyalty of his service.

⁵⁴ After this, Tryphon returned with the young boy Antiochus, who was crowned and sat upon the throne of the kingdom. ⁵⁵ All the troops that Demetrius had dismissed gathered to him. They gave battle to Demetrius, and he fled, defeated. ⁵⁶ Tryphon came and captured the beasts original: zgazansn — war elephants and took the city of Antioch.

21 ⁵⁷ The young Antiochus sent a letter to Jonathan, saying, "I confirm you in the office of High Priest, and I have established you over the four districts, and we have appointed you as one of our own 'First Friends'." ⁵⁸ He sent him golden vessels and service for the temple. He gave him the right to drink from gold cups, to wear purple, and to wear the golden buckle A mark of high nobility after the manner of kings. ⁵⁹ He also appointed his brother Simon as general from the Ladder of Tyre to the borders of Egypt. ⁶⁰ Then Jonathan set out and traveled across the Jordan river and through the cities; all the troops of Syria gathered to him as reinforcements. He came to the region of Ashkelon, and the citizens came out to meet him with great praise. ⁶¹ From there he went to Gaza, but the people of Gaza shut their gates against him. He besieged it and set fire to its suburbs, and they took their goods and possessions as plunder. ⁶² Then they came...