Capture of Demetrius

1In the one hundred and seventy-second year14.1 140 bc King Demetrius assembled his forces and marched into Media to obtain help, so that he could make war against Trypho. 2When King Arsaces of Persia and Media heard that Demetrius had invaded his territory, he sent one of his generals to take him alive. 3The general14.3 Gk He went and defeated the army of Demetrius, and seized him and took him to Arsaces, who put him under guard.

Eulogy of Simon

4The land14.4 Other ancient authorities add of Judah had rest all the days of Simon.

He sought the good of his nation;

his rule was pleasing to them,

as was the honour shown him, all his days.

5To crown all his honours he took Joppa for a harbour,

and opened a way to the isles of the sea.

6He extended the borders of his nation,

and gained full control of the country.

7He gathered a host of captives;

he ruled over Gazara and Beth-zur and the citadel,

and he removed its uncleanness from it;

and there was none to oppose him.

8They tilled their land in peace;

the ground gave its increase,

and the trees of the plains their fruit.

9Old men sat in the streets;

they all talked together of good things,

and the youths put on splendid military attire.

10He supplied the towns with food,

and furnished them with the means of defence,

until his renown spread to the ends of the earth.

11He established peace in the land,

and Israel rejoiced with great joy.

12All the people sat under their own vines and fig trees,

and there was none to make them afraid.

13No one was left in the land to fight them,

and the kings were crushed in those days.

14He gave help to all the humble among his people;

he sought out the law,

and did away with all the renegades and outlaws.

15He made the sanctuary glorious,

and added to the vessels of the sanctuary.

Diplomacy with Rome and Sparta

16It was heard in Rome, and as far away as Sparta, that Jonathan had died, and they were deeply grieved. 17When they heard that his brother Simon had become high priest in his stead, and that he was ruling over the country and the towns in it, 18they wrote to him on bronze tablets to renew with him the friendship and alliance that they had established with his brothers Judas and Jonathan. 19And these were read before the assembly in Jerusalem.

20This is a copy of the letter that the Spartans sent:

‘The rulers and the city of the Spartans to the high priest Simon and to the elders and the priests and the rest of the Jewish people, our brothers, greetings. 21The envoys who were sent to our people have told us about your glory and honour, and we rejoiced at their coming. 22We have recorded what they said in our public decrees, as follows, “Numenius son of Antiochus and Antipater son of Jason, envoys of the Jews, have come to us to renew their friendship with us. 23It has pleased our people to receive these men with honour and to put a copy of their words in the public archives, so that the people of the Spartans may have a record of them. And they have sent a copy of this to the high priest Simon.” ’

24After this Simon sent Numenius to Rome with a large gold shield weighing one thousand minas, to confirm the alliance with the Romans.14.24 Gk them

Official Honours for Simon

25When the people heard these things they said, ‘How shall we thank Simon and his sons? 26For he and his brothers and the house of his father have stood firm; they have fought and repulsed Israel's enemies and established its freedom.’ 27So they made a record on bronze tablets and put it on pillars on Mount Zion.

This is a copy of what they wrote: ‘On the eighteenth day of Elul, in the one hundred and seventy-second year,14.27 140 bc which is the third year of the great high priest Simon, 28in Asaramel,14.28 This word resembles the Hebrew words for the court of the people of God or the prince of the people of God in the great assembly of the priests and the people and the rulers of the nation and the elders of the country, the following was proclaimed to us:

29‘Since wars often occurred in the country, Simon son of Mattathias, a priest of the sons14.29 Meaning of Gk uncertain of Joarib, and his brothers, exposed themselves to danger and resisted the enemies of their nation, in order that their sanctuary and the law might be preserved; and they brought great glory to their nation. 30Jonathan rallied the14.30 Gk their nation, became their high priest, and was gathered to his people. 31When their enemies decided to invade their country and lay hands on their sanctuary, 32then Simon rose up and fought for his nation. He spent great sums of his own money; he armed the soldiers of his nation and paid them wages. 33He fortified the towns of Judea, and Beth-zur on the borders of Judea, where formerly the arms of the enemy had been stored, and he placed there a garrison of Jews. 34He also fortified Joppa, which is by the sea, and Gazara, which is on the borders of Azotus, where the enemy formerly lived. He settled Jews there, and provided in those towns14.34 Gk them whatever was necessary for their restoration.

35‘The people saw Simon's faithfulness14.35 Other ancient authorities read conduct and the glory that he had resolved to win for his nation, and they made him their leader and high priest, because he had done all these things and because of the justice and loyalty that he had maintained towards his nation. He sought in every way to exalt his people. 36In his days things prospered in his hands, so that the Gentiles were put out of the14.36 Gk their country, as were also those in the city of David in Jerusalem, who had built themselves a citadel from which they used to sally forth and defile the environs of the sanctuary, doing great damage to its purity. 37He settled Jews in it and fortified it for the safety of the country and of the city, and built the walls of Jerusalem higher.

38‘In view of these things King Demetrius confirmed him in the high-priesthood, 39made him one of his Friends, and paid him high honours. 40For he had heard that the Jews were addressed by the Romans as friends and allies and brothers, and that the Romans14.40 Gk they had received the envoys of Simon with honour.

41‘The Jews and their priests have resolved that Simon should be their leader and high priest for ever, until a trustworthy prophet should arise, 42and that he should be governor over them and that he should take charge of the sanctuary and appoint officials over its tasks and over the country and the weapons and the strongholds, and that he should take charge of the sanctuary, 43and that he should be obeyed by all, and that all contracts in the country should be written in his name, and that he should be clothed in purple and wear gold.

44‘None of the people or priests shall be permitted to nullify any of these decisions or to oppose what he says, or to convene an assembly in the country without his permission, or to be clothed in purple or put on a gold buckle. 45Whoever acts contrary to these decisions or rejects any of them shall be liable to punishment.’

46All the people agreed to grant Simon the right to act in accordance with these decisions. 47So Simon accepted and agreed to be high priest, to be commander and ethnarch of the Jews and priests, and to be protector of them all.14.47 Or to preside over them all 48And they gave orders to inscribe this decree on bronze tablets, to put them up in a conspicuous place in the precincts of the sanctuary, 49and to deposit copies of them in the treasury, so that Simon and his sons might have them.