1 Maccabees 15

1And Antiochus son of King Demetrius sent letters from the islands of the sea to Simon, priest and ethnarch of the Jews, and to all the nation.

2And they contained this form: “King Antiochus to Simon the high priest and ethnarch, and to the nation of the Jews, greetings.”

3Since certain pestilent men seized control of the kingdom of our fathers, and I want to reclaim the kingdom so that I may restore it as it was before, I have enlisted a multitude of forces and equipped warships;

4But I want to go out into the country, so that I may pursue those who have devastated our country and laid waste many cities in the kingdom;

5Now therefore I confirm for you all the remissions that the kings before me granted you, and whatever other remissions they granted you.

6to make your own coinage for the currency of your country;

7But Jerusalem and the holy places are to be free; and all the weapons that you have made, and the strongholds that you have built, which you hold, shall remain yours.

8And let every royal debt, and the royal revenues yet to come, from now on and for all time, be remitted to you.

9And when we establish our kingdom, we will honor you and your nation and the sanctuary with great glory, so that your glory may become evident in all the earth.

10In the one hundred seventy-fourth year, Antiochus went out into the land of his fathers, and all the forces gathered to him, so that only a few were left with Tryphon.

11And King Antiochus pursued him, and he came to Dora, fleeing to the seacoast.

12For he knew that troubles had gathered against him, and the forces had abandoned him.

13And Antiochus encamped against Dora, and with him were twelve myriads of fighting men and eight thousand cavalry.

14And he encircled the city, and the ships closed in from the sea; and he pressed the city from the land and from the sea, and he allowed no one to go out or to come in.

15And Numenius and those with him came back from Rome, bringing letters to the kings and the countries, in which these things had been written:

16Lucius, consul of the Romans, to King Ptolemy, greetings.

17The envoys of the Jews came to us as our friends and allies, renewing the friendship and alliance from the beginning, having been sent by Simon the high priest and by the people of the Jews;

18And they brought a gold shield worth five thousand minas.

19It therefore seemed good to us to write to the kings and the countries, that they should not seek harm against them, and should not make war against them and their cities and their countries, and that they should not join in alliance with those who are making war against them.

20And it seemed good to us to receive the shield from them.

21If, then, any pestilent men have escaped from their land to us, hand them over to Simon the high priest, so that he may punish them according to their law.

22And he wrote these things to Demetrius the king, and to Attalus, and to Ariarathes, and to Arsaces,

23and to all the regions, and to Sampsame, and to the Spartans, and to Delos and to Myndus and to Sicyon and to Caria and to Samos and to Pamphylia and Lycia and to Halicarnassus and to Cos and to Side and to Aradus and to Rhodes and to Phaselis and Gortyna and Cnidus and Cyprus and Cyrene.

24And he wrote a copy of it to Simon the high priest.

25But King Antiochus encamped against Dora a second time, continually bringing his forces against it and constructing siege engines, and he shut Tryphon in so that he could neither go in nor go out.

26And Simon sent him two thousand chosen men to fight alongside him, and silver and gold and sufficient equipment.

27And he was not willing to accept them, but rejected everything that he had previously agreed to with him, and became estranged from him.

28And he sent to him Athenobius, one of his Friends, to confer with him, saying, “You are holding Joppa and Gazara and the citadel in Jerusalem, cities of my kingdom.”

29You have laid waste their borders, and you have inflicted a great blow on the land, and you have gained control of many places in my kingdom.

30Now then, hand over the cities that you seized, and the taxes of the places over which you gained control, beyond the borders of Judea.

31But if not, give five hundred talents of silver in place of them, and another five hundred talents for the destruction that you have caused and for the taxes of the cities. But if not, they will come and make war against you.

32And Athenobius, the king’s friend, came to Jerusalem, and he saw the splendor of Simon, and a display of gold and silver vessels, and an impressive retinue; and he was astonished, and reported to him the king’s words.

33And Simon answered and said to him, “We have neither taken foreign land nor seized what belongs to others, but only the inheritance of our fathers, which at one time was unjustly taken over by our enemies.”

34But, since we have the opportunity, we are holding fast to the inheritance of us and of our fathers.

35But concerning Joppa and Gazara, you ask for them. These were inflicting great harm on the people and on our land. For these we will give one hundred talents. And he answered him not a word.

36But he turned back to the king in anger, and reported to him these words and the splendor of Simon and everything that he had seen; and the king became very angry.

37But Tryphon boarded a ship and fled to Orthosia.

38And the king appointed Cendebaeus commander of the coastal region, and gave him infantry and cavalry forces.

39And he commanded him to encamp opposite Judea; and he commanded him to build Kedron and fortify the cities, and to fight against the people. But the king was pursuing Tryphon.

40And Cendebeus came to Jamnia, and began to provoke the people and to invade Judea and to take the people captive and to kill them.

41And he fortified Kedron and stationed there cavalry and forces, so that by going out they might patrol the roads of Judea, just as the king had ordered him.