1 Maccabees 11

1And the king of Egypt gathered many forces, like the sand by the seashore, and many ships; and he sought to gain control of Alexander’s kingdom by deceit, and to add it to his own kingdom.

2And he went out into Syria with peaceful words, and the men from the cities opened to him and went out to meet him, because Alexander the king had given an order to meet him, since he was his father-in-law.

3And as he entered into the cities of Ptolemais, he stationed forces as a garrison in each city.

4But when he came near Ashdod, they showed him the temple of Dagon burned down, and Ashdod and its surrounding villages torn down, and the bodies thrown about, and those burned in the war—for they had made heaps of them along his route.

5And they reported to the king what Jonathan had done, in order to accuse him; but the king kept silent.

6And Jonathan met the king at Joppa with honor, and they greeted one another, and they spent the night there.

7And Jonathan went with the king as far as the river called Eleutherus, and he returned to Jerusalem.

8But King Ptolemy gained control of the cities of the coast as far as Seleucia-by-the-Sea, and he was devising evil plans against Alexander.

9And he sent envoys to King Demetrius, saying, “Come, let us make a covenant with one another, and I will give you my daughter whom Alexander has, and you will reign over your father's kingdom.”

10For I regret giving him my daughter, for he sought to kill me.

11and he reproached him because he desired his kingdom.

12And after taking his daughter away from him, he gave her to Demetrius; and Alexander’s attitude changed, and their hostility became evident.

13And Ptolemy entered Antioch and put on the crown of Asia, and he put two crowns on his head, that of Asia and Egypt.

14But King Alexander was in Cilicia in those days, because those from those regions were rebelling.

15And Alexander heard, and came against him in war; and Ptolemy marched out and met him with a strong force, and routed him.

16And Alexander fled to Arabia, that he might be sheltered there; but King Ptolemy was exalted.

17And Zabdiel the Arab cut off Alexander’s head and sent it to Ptolemy.

18And King Ptolemy died on the third day, and those who were in his strongholds were destroyed by those in the strongholds.

19And Demetrius reigned in the one hundred sixty-seventh year.

20In those days Jonathan gathered those from Judea to make war against the citadel in Jerusalem, and they built many siege engines against it.

21And some lawless men, who hated their own nation, went to the king and reported to him that Jonathan was besieging the citadel.

22And when he heard it, he was angry. As soon as he heard, he immediately broke camp and came to Ptolemais, and he wrote to Jonathan not to continue the siege, but to meet him for a conference in Ptolemais as quickly as possible.

23But when Jonathan heard, he ordered them to be surrounded; and he chose some of the elders of Israel and some of the priests, and put himself in danger.

24And he took silver and gold and clothing and many other gifts, and went to the king at Ptolemais, and found favor before him.

25And some lawless men from the nation were making accusations against him.

26And the king dealt with him as those before him had dealt with him, and he exalted him above all his friends.

27And he confirmed for him the high priesthood, and whatever other honors he had formerly held, and he made him rank among the first friends.

28And Jonathan asked the king to make Judea, the three toparchies, and Samaria tax-free, and he promised him three hundred talents.

29And the king approved, and wrote letters to Jonathan concerning all these things, having this form:

30King Demetrius to Jonathan his brother, greetings, and to the nation of the Jews.

31We have also written to you a copy of the letter that Lasthenes wrote to our kinsman concerning you, so that you may see it.

32King Demetrius to Lasthenes his father, greetings.

33To the nation of the Jews, our friends, who also maintain what is right toward us, we have decided to do good, because of their goodwill toward us.

34Therefore we have confirmed for them the borders of Judea and the three districts—Aphairema and Lydda and Ramathaim—which were added to Judea from Samaria, and all that adjoins them, for all who offer sacrifice in Jerusalem, instead of the royal taxes that the king formerly received from them each year from the produce of the land and the fruit trees.

35And the other things belonging to us from now on—the tithes and the taxes belonging to us, and the salt lakes, and the crowns belonging to us—we will grant all these to them.

36And none of these things shall be set aside from now on for all time.

37Now then, take care to make a copy of these things, and let it be given to Jonathan, and let it be placed on the holy mountain in a prominent place.

38And King Demetrius saw that the land was quiet before him and that nothing opposed him, so he dismissed all his forces, each to his own place, except for the foreign forces that he had recruited from the islands of the nations; and all the forces from his fathers became hostile to him.

39Tryphon had formerly been among those with Alexander, and seeing that all the forces were grumbling against Demetrius, he went to Simmakoues the Arab, who was rearing Antiochus, the little child of Alexander.

40And he stayed close to him, so that he might hand him over to him, so that he might reign in place of his father. And they reported to him all that Demetrius had done, and the hostility with which his forces were hostile to him; and he remained there many days.

41And Jonathan sent to Demetrius the king, asking that he drive out those in the citadel from Jerusalem, and those in the strongholds; for they were making war against Israel.

42And Demetrius sent to Jonathan, saying, “Not only will I do these things for you and for your nation, but I will greatly honor you and your nation, if I find a suitable opportunity.”

43Now then, you will do well to send us men who will fight alongside me, because all my forces have deserted.

44And Jonathan sent three thousand men, mighty in their strength, to Antioch, and they came to the king, and the king rejoiced at their arrival.

45And those from the city gathered in the middle of the city, about one hundred twenty thousand men, and they wanted to kill the king.

46And the king fled into the court, and the men of the city seized the passages of the city and began to fight.

47And the king called the Jews to his aid, and they all gathered to him together; and they spread out in the city, and on that day they killed ten thousand in the city.

48And they set the city on fire, and took much plunder on that day, and saved the king.

49And those in the city saw that the Jews had gained control of the city as they wished, and they lost heart, and they cried out to the king with a plea, saying,

50Give us your right hands, and let the Jews stop fighting against us and the city.

51And they threw down their weapons and made peace. And the Jews were honored before the king and before all those in his kingdom, and they returned to Jerusalem with much plunder.

52And King Demetrius sat on the throne of his kingdom, and the land was quiet before him.

53And he proved false in everything that he said, and became estranged from Jonathan, and did not repay the favors that Jonathan had shown him, and he oppressed him severely.

54After these things Tryphon returned, and Antiochus with him, a younger boy; and he became king and put on the crown.

55And all the forces that Demetrius had dismissed gathered to him, and they fought against him; and he fled and was routed.

56And Tryphon took the elephants and gained control of Antioch.

57And Antiochus the younger wrote to Jonathan, saying, “I appoint you to the high priesthood, and I appoint you over the four districts, and that you are to be among the king’s Friends.”

58And he sent him gold vessels and table service, and gave him authority to drink from gold vessels and to be clothed in purple and to wear a gold clasp.

59And he appointed Simon his brother as commander from the Ladder of Tyre as far as the borders of Egypt.

60And Jonathan went out, and he traveled beyond the river and through the cities, and all the forces of Syria gathered to him as allies, and he came to Ashkelon, and the men of the city met him with honor.

61And he went from there to Gaza, and the men of Gaza shut him out; and he encamped around it, and burned its outlying parts with fire, and plundered them.

62And the men from Gaza asked terms of Jonathan, and he gave them pledges; and he took the sons of their rulers as hostages and sent them to Jerusalem. And he passed through the country as far as Damascus.

63And Jonathan heard that Demetrius’s commanders had come to Kedesh in Galilee with a large force, intending to remove him from office.

64And he went to meet them, but he left his brother Simon in the country.

65And Simon encamped at Bethsura, and fought against it for many days, and shut it in.

66And they asked him to receive pledges from them, and he gave them; then he drove them out from there and took the city, and stationed a garrison in it.

67And Jonathan and his camp encamped by the water of Gennesar, and they rose early in the morning for the plain of Nasor.

68And behold, a camp of foreigners met him in the plain, and they set an ambush against him in the mountains, while they themselves advanced from the front.

69But the ambushes rose up from their places and joined battle, and all those with Jonathan fled.

70Not one of them was left, except Mattathias son of Absalom and Judas son of Chalphi, commanders of the forces of the army.

71And Jonathan tore his clothes, and put earth on his head, and prayed.

72And he turned back against them in battle, and routed them, and they fled.

73And those who had fled from him saw it, and they returned to him, and with him they pursued as far as Kadesh, as far as their camp, and they encamped there.

74And on that day three thousand men of the foreigners fell, and Jonathan returned to Jerusalem.