1 Maccabees 10

In the hundred and sixtieth year Alexander, the son of Antiochus, surnamed Epiphanes, went up and took ^aPtolemais: for the people had received him, by means whereof he reigned there. ²Now when ^bking Demetrius heard thereof, he gathered together an exceeding great host, and went forth against him to fight. ³Moreover Demetrius sent letters unto ^cJonathan with loving words, so as he magnified him. ⁴For said he, ^uLet us first ^dmake peace with him, before he join with Alexander against us: ⁵else ^ehe will remember all the evils that we have done against him, and against his brethren and his people. ⁶Wherefore he gave him authority to gather together a host, and to provide weapons, that he might aid him in battle: he commanded also that ^fthe ^ghostages that were in ^hthe tower should be delivered him.

⁷Then came ^cJonathan to Jerusalem, and read the letters in the audience of all the people, and of them that were in ^hthe tower: ⁸who ⁱwere sore afraid, when they heard that the king had given him authority to gather together a host. ⁹Whereupon they of ^hthe tower delivered their ^ghostages unto Jonathan, and he delivered them unto their parents. ¹⁰This done, Jonathan settled himself in Jerusalem, and began to build and repair the city. ¹¹And he commanded the workmen ^kto build the walls and the mount Sion round about with square stones for fortification; and they did so. ¹²Then the strangers that were in the fortresses ^lwhich Bacchides had built, fled away; ¹³insomuch as every man left his place, and went into his own country. ¹⁴Only at ^mBethsura certain of ⁿthose that had forsaken the law and the commandments remained still: for it was their place of refuge.

¹⁵Now when king Alexander had heard ^owhat promises Demetrius had sent unto Jonathan: when also it was told him of the battles and noble acts which he and his brethren had done, and of the pains that they had endured, ¹⁶he said, Shall we find such another man? now therefore we will make him our friend and confederate. ¹⁷Upon this he wrote a letter, and sent it unto him, according to these words, saying, ¹⁸King Alexander ^ooto his brother Jonathan sendeth greeting: ¹⁹we have heard of thee, that thou art a man of great power, and meet to be our friend. ²⁰Wherefore now this day we ordain thee to be the high priest of thy nation, and to be called ^pthe king’s friend; (and therewithal he sent him ^ppa purple robe and ^qa crown of gold:) and require thee ^rto take our part, and keep friendship with us. ²¹So in ^sthe seventh month of the hundred and sixtieth year, ^sat the feast of the tabernacles, Jonathan put on ^tthe holy robe, and gathered together forces, and provided much armour.

²²Whereof when Demetrius heard, he was very sorry, and said, ²³What have we done, ^uthat Alexander hath ^xprevented us in making amity with the Jews to strengthen himself? ²⁴I also will write unto them words of encouragement, and promise them dignities and gifts, that I may have their aid. ²⁵He sent unto them therefore to this effect:

King Demetrius unto the people of the Jews sendeth greeting: ²⁶whereas you have kept covenants with us, and continued in our friendship, not joining yourselves with our enemies, we have heard hereof, and are glad. ²⁷Wherefore now continue ye still to be faithful unto us, and we will well recompense you for the things you do in our behalf, ²⁸and will grant you many ^yimmunities, and give you rewards. ²⁹And now I do free you, and for your sake I release all the Jews, from ^ztributes, and from ^zthe customs of salt, and from ^zacrown taxes, ³⁰and from ^bthat which appertaineth unto me to receive for the third part of the seed, and the half of the fruit of the trees, I release it from this day forth, so that they shall not be taken of the land of Judea, nor of ^cthe three governments which are added thereunto out of the country of ^dSamaria and Galilee, from this day forth for evermore. ³¹Let Jerusalem also be ^eholy and free, with the ^qborders thereof, both from ^ftenths and ^fgtributes. ³²And as for ^hthe tower which is at Jerusalem, I yield up my authority over it, and give it to ⁱthe high priest, that he may set in it such men as he shall choose to keep it. ³³Moreover I freely set at liberty every one of the Jews, ^jthat were carried captives out of the land of Judea into any part of my kingdom, and I will that all my officers remit the tributes even of their cattle. ³⁴Furthermore I will that all the feasts, and ^ksabbaths, and ^knew moons, and solemn days, and the three days before the feast, and the three days after the feast, shall be all days of ^limmunity and freedom for all the Jews in my realm. ³⁵Also no man shall have authority to meddle with them, or to ^mmolest any of them in any matter. ³⁶I will further, ^mmthat there be enrolled amongst the king’s forces about thirty thousand men of the Jews, unto whom pay shall be given, as belongeth to all the king’s forces. ³⁷And of them some shall be placed in the king’s strong holds, of whom also some shall be set over the ⁿaffairs of the kingdom, which are of trust: and I will that their overseers and governors be of themselves, and that they live after their own laws, even as the king hath commanded in the land of Judea. ³⁸And concerning ^cthe three governments that are added to Judea from the country of ^dSamaria, let them be joined with Judea, that they may be reckoned to be under one, nor bound to obey other authority than ⁱthe high priest’s. ³⁹As for ^oPtolemais, and the land pertaining thereto, I give it as a free gift to the sanctuary at Jerusalem for the necessary expences of the sanctuary. ⁴⁰Moreover I give every year fifteen thousand shekels of silver out of the king’s accounts from the places appertaining. ⁴¹And all the overplus, which ^pthe officers payed not in, as in former time, from henceforth shall be given towards the works of the temple. ⁴²And besides this, ^ppthe five thousand shekels of silver, which they took from the ⁿuses of the temple out of the accounts year by year, even those things shall be released, because they appertain to the priests that minister. ⁴³And whosoever they be that flee unto the temple at Jerusalem, or be within the ^qliberties thereof, being indebted unto the king, or for any other matter, let them be at liberty, and all that they have in my realm. ⁴⁴For the building also and ^rrepairing of the works of the sanctuary expences shall be given of the king’s accounts. ⁴⁵Yea, and for ^sthe building of the walls of Jerusalem, and the fortifying thereof round about, expences shall be given out of the king’s accounts, as also for building of the walls in Judea.

⁴⁶Now when Jonathan and the people heard these words, they gave no credit unto them, nor received them, because ^tthey remembered the great evil that he had done in Israel; for he had afflicted them very sore. ⁴⁷But with Alexander they were well pleased, because he was the first that entreated of true peace with them, and they were confederate with him always. ⁴⁸Then gathered king Alexander great forces, and camped over against Demetrius. ⁴⁹And after the two kings had joined battle, Demetrius’ host fled: but Alexander followed after him, and prevailed against them. ⁵⁰And he continued the battle very sore until the sun went down: and that day was Demetrius slain.

⁵¹Afterward Alexander sent ambassadors to ^uPtolemee king of Egypt with a message to this effect: ⁵²Forsomuch as I am come again to my realm, and am set in the throne of my progenitors, and have gotten the dominion, and overthrown Demetrius, and recovered our country; ⁵³(for after I had joined battle with him, both he and his host was discomfited by us, so that we sit in the throne of his kingdom:) ⁵⁴now therefore let us make a league of amity together, and give me now thy daughter to wife: and I will be thy son in law, and will give both thee and her gifts according to thy dignity. ⁵⁵Then Ptolemee the king gave answer, saying, Happy be the day wherein thou didst return into the land of thy fathers, and satest in the throne of their kingdom. ⁵⁶And now will I do to thee, as thou hast written: meet me therefore at ^xPtolemais, that we may see one another; for I will marry my daughter to thee according to thy desire. ⁵⁷So Ptolemee went out of Egypt with his daughter Cleopatra, and they came unto ^xPtolemais in the hundred threescore and second year: ⁵⁸where king Alexander meeting him, he gave unto him his daughter Cleopatra, and celebrated her marriage at ^xPtolemais with great glory, as the manner of kings is.

⁵⁹Now king Alexander had written unto Jonathan, that he should come and meet him. ⁶⁰Who thereupon went honourably to ^xPtolemais, where he met the two kings, and gave them and their friends silver and gold, and many presents, and ^yfound favour in their sight. ⁶¹At that time certain ^zpestilent fellows of Israel, ^amen of a wicked life, assembled themselves against him, to ^baccuse him: but the king would not hear them. ⁶²Yea more than that, the king commanded to take off his garments, and ^cclothe him in purple: and they did so. ⁶³Also he made him sit by himself, and said unto his princes, ^dGo with him into the midst of the city, and make proclamation, that no man ^bcomplain against him of any matter, and that no man ^etrouble him for any manner of cause. ⁶⁴Now when his ^baccusers saw that he was honoured according to the proclamation, and clothed in purple, they fled all away. ⁶⁵So the king honoured him, and ^fwrote him amongst his chief friends, and made him a ^gduke, and partaker of his dominion. ⁶⁶Afterward Jonathan returned to Jerusalem with peace and gladness.

⁶⁷Furthermore in the hundred threescore and fifth year came Demetrius son of ^gDemetrius out of ^hCrete into the land of his fathers: ⁶⁸whereof when king Alexander heard tell, he was right sorry, and returned into ⁱAntioch. ⁶⁹Then Demetrius made ^jApollonius the governor of ^kCoelosyria his general, who gathered together a great host, and camped in ^lJamnia, and sent unto Jonathan…