person he took away. He glorified the sanctuary, and the vessels of the temple he multiplied. 15 1 And Antiochus son of Demetrius the king sent letters 155 from the isles of the sea unto Simon the priest and governor of the Jews, and to all the nation; and the contents thereof were after this manner : King Antiochus to Simon the chief priest and governor, and to the nation of the Jews, greeting: Forasmuch as certain pestilent 160 fellows have made themselves masters of the kingdom of our fathers, but my purpose is to claim the kingdom, that I may restore it as it was before; and moreover I have raised a multitude of foreign soldiers, and have prepared ships of war; moreover I am minded to land in the country, that I may punish them that 165 have destroyed our country, and them that have made many cities in the kingdom desolate: Now therefore I confirm unto thee all the exactions which the kings that were before me remitted unto thee, and whatsoever gifts besides they remitted unto thee and I give thee leave to coin money for thy country with thine own stamp, but that Jerusalem and the sanctuary should be free and all the arms that thou hast prepared, and the strongholds that thou hast built, which thou hast in thy possession, let them remain unto thee and everything owing to the king, and the things that shall be owing to the king from henceforth 175 and for evermore, let them be remitted unto thee: moreover, when we shall have established our kingdom, we will glorify thee and thy nation and the temple with great glory, so that your glory shall be made manifest in all the earth. 170 : 10 In the hundred and seventy and fourth year went Antiochus 180 forth into the land of his fathers; and all the forces came together unto him, so that there were few men with Tryphon. And king Antiochus pursued him, and he came, as he fled, unto Dor, which is by the sea for he knew that troubles were come upon him all at once, and that his forces had forsaken him. And Antiochus 185 encamped against Dor, and with him a hundred and twenty thousand men of war, and eight thousand horse. And he compassed the city round about, and the ships joined in the attack from the sea; and he vexed the city by land and sea, and suffered no man to go out or in. 190 25 But Antiochus the king encamped against Dor the second day, bringing his forces up to it continually, and making engines of war, and he shut up Tryphon from going in or out. And Simon sent him two thousand chosen men to fight on his side; and silver, and gold, and instruments of war in abundance. And he would not receive them, but set at nought all the covenants which he 195 had made with him aforetime, and was estranged from him. And he sent unto him Athenobius, one of his Friends, to commune with him, saying, Ye hold possession of Joppa and Gazara, and the citadel that is in Jerusalem, cities of my kingdom. The borders thereof 200 ye have wasted, and done great hurt in the land, and got the dominion of many places in my kingdom. Now therefore deliver up the cities which ye have taken, and the tributes of the places whereof ye have gotten dominion without the borders of Judæa : or else give me for them five hundred talents of silver; and for 205 the harm that ye have done, and the tributes of the cities, other five hundred talents: or else we will come and subdue you. 32 And Athenobius the king's Friend came to Jerusalem; and he saw the glory of Simon, and the cupboard of gold and silver vessels, and his great attendance, and he was amazed; and he 210 reported to him the king's words. And Simon answered, and said unto him, We have neither taken other men's land, nor have we possession of that which appertaineth to others, but of the inheritance of our fathers; howbeit, it was had in possession of our enemies 215 wrongfully for a certain time. But we, having opportunity, hold fast the inheritance of our fathers. But as touching Joppa and Gazara, which thou demandest, they did great harm among the people throughout our country, we will give a hundred talents for them. And he answered him not a word, but returned in a rage to the king, and reported unto him these words, and the glory of Simon, and all that he had seen and the king was exceeding wroth. But Tryphon embarked on board a ship, and fled to Orthosia. : 220 38 And the king appointed Cendebæus chief captain of the sea 225 coast, and gave him forces of foot and horse: and he commanded him to encamp before Judæa, and he commanded him to build up Kidron, and to fortify the gates, and that he should fight against the people but the king pursued Tryphon. And Cendebæus came to Jamnia, and began to provoke the people, 230 and to invade Judæa, and to take the people captive, and to slay them. And he built Kidron, and set horsemen there, and forces of foot, to the end that issuing out they might make outroads upon the ways of Judæa, according as the king commanded him. 16 1 And John went up from Gazara, and told Simon his 235 father what Cendebæus was doing. And Simon called his two eldest sons, Judas and John, and said unto them, I and my 240 brethren and my father's house have fought the battles of Israel from our youth, even unto this day; and things have prospered in our hands, that we should deliver Israel oftentimes. But now I am old, and ye moreover, by his mercy, are of a sufficient age: be ye instead of me and my brother, and go forth and fight for our nation; but let the help which is from heaven be with you. And he chose out of the country twenty thousand men of war 245 and horsemen, and they went against Cendebæus, and slept at Modin. And rising up in the morning, they went into the plain, and, behold, a great host came to meet them, of footmen and horsemen : and there was a brook betwixt them. And he encamped over against them, he and his people: and he saw 250 that the people were afraid to pass over the brook, and he passed over first, and the men saw him, and passed over after him. And he divided the people, and set the horsemen in the midst of the footmen but the enemies' horsemen were exceeding many. And they sounded with the trumpets; and Cendebæus and his 255 army were put to the rout, and there fell of them many wounded to death, but they that were left fled to the stronghold: at that time was Judas John's brother wounded; but John pursued after them, till he came unto Kidron, which Cendebæus had built; and they fled unto the towers that are in the fields of Azotus; and 260 he burned it with fire; and there fell of them about two thousand And he returned into Judæa in peace. men. 11 And Ptolemy the son of Abubus had been appointed captain for the plain of Jericho, and he had much silver and gold; for he was the high priest's son in law. And his heart was lifted up, 265 and he was minded to make himself master of the country, and he took counsel deceitfully against Simon and his sons, to make away with them. Now Simon was visiting the cities that were in the country, and taking care for the good ordering of them; and he went down to Jericho, himself and Mattathias and Judas 270 his sons, in the hundred and seventy and seventh year, in the eleventh month, the same is the month Sebat: and the son of Abubus received them deceitfully into the little stronghold that is called Dok, which he had built, and made them a great banquet, and hid men there. And when Simon and his sons had drunk 275 freely, Ptolemy and his men rose up, and took their arms, and came in upon Simon into the banqueting place, and slew him, and his two sons, and certain of his servants. And he committed a great iniquity, and recompensed evil for good. And Ptolemy wrote these things, and sent to the king, that he should send him 280 forces to aid him, and should deliver him their country and the cities. And he sent others to Gazara to make away with John: and unto the captains of thousands he sent letters to come unto him, that he might give them silver and gold and gifts. And others he sent to take possession of Jerusalem, and the mount of the temple. And one ran before to Gazara, and told John that 285 his father and brethren were perished, and he hath sent to slay thee also. And when he heard, he was sore amazed; and he laid hands on the men that came to destroy him, and slew them; for he perceived that they were seeking to destroy him. 23 And the rest of the acts of John, and of his wars, and of 290 his valiant deeds which he did, and of the building of the walls which he built, and of his doings, behold, they are written in the chronicles of his high priesthood, from the time that he was made high priest after his father. |