15 Now King Alexander heard of all the promises that Demetrius had sent to Jonathan, and he heard of the battles that Jonathand and his brothers had fought, of the brave deeds that they had done, and of the troubles that they had endured. 16 So he said, “Shall we find another such man? Come now, we will make him our friend and ally.” 17 And he wrote a letter and sent it to him, in the following words:

Jonathan Becomes High Priest

18 “King Alexander to his brother Jonathan, greetings. 19 We have heard about you, that you are a mighty warrior and worthy to be our friend. 20 And so we have appointed you today to be the high priest of your nation; you are to be called the king’s Friend and you are to take our side and keep friendship with us.” He also sent him a purple robe and a golden crown.

21 So Jonathan put on the sacred vestments in the seventh month of the one hundred sixtieth year,e at the festival of booths,f and he recruited troops and equipped them with arms in abundance.