1 Maccabees 10
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1IN the hundreth and thre score yere came Alexander the sonne of Antiochus Epiphanes, and toke Ptolemais, and they receiued him, and there he reigned. 2Now when Demetrius the King heard it, he gathered an exceading great hoste, and went forthe against him to fight. 3Also Demetrius sent letters vnto Ionathan, with louing wordes, as thogh he wolde preferre him. 4For he said, We wil first make peace with him, before he ioyne with Alexander against vs. 5Els he wil remember all the euil that we haue done against him, & against his brethren and his nacion. 6And so he gaue Ionathan leaue to gather an hoste, and to prepare weapons, and to be confederate with him, and commanded the hostages that were in the castel, to be deliuered vnto him. 7¶Then came Ionathan to Ierusalem, and red the letters in the audience of all the people, & of them that were in the castel. 8Therefore they were sore afraied, because they heard that the King had giuen him licence to gather an armie. 9So they that were of the castel, deliuered the hostages vnto Ionathan, who restored them to their parents. 10Ionathan also dwelt at Ierusalem, & began to buyld, and repaire the citie. 11And he commanded the workemen to buylde the walles, & the mount Sion rounde about with hewen stone, to fortifie it: & so they did. 12Then the strangers that were in the castels which Bacchides had made, fled, 13So that euerie man left his place, & went into his owne countrey. 14Onely at Beth-sura remained certeine which had forsaken the Law and the commandements: for it was their refuge. 15¶Now when King Alexander had heard of the promises that Demetrius had made vnto Ionathan: and when it was tolde him of the battels and noble actes, which he and his brethren had done, and of the paines that they had indured, 16He said, Might we finde suche a man? now therefore we wil make him our friend and confederate. 17Vpon this he wrote a letter, and sent it vnto him, with these wordes, saying, 18KING ALEXANDER to his brother Ionathan sendeth salutation. 19We haue heard of thee, that thou art a very valiant man; and worthie to be our friend. 20Wherefore this day we ordeine thee to be the hie Priest of thy nacion, and to be called the Kings friend: and he sent him a purple robe, and a crowne of golde, that thou maist consider what is for our profite, and kepe friendship towarde vs. 21So in the seuenth moneth of the hundreth and thre score yere, vpon the feast daye of the tabernacles, Ionathan put on the holie garment, & gathered an hoste, & prepared many weapons. 22¶Which when Demetrius heard, he was marueilous sory, and said, 23What haue we done, that Alexander hathe preuented vs in getting the friendship of the Iewes for his strength? 24Yet wil I write and exhorte them, and promes them dignities and rewardes, that they may helpe me. 25Whereupon he wrote vnto them these wordes, KING DEMETRIVS vnto the nacions of the Iewes sendeth greting. 26We haue heard that ye haue kept your couenant towarde vs, and continued in our friendship, and haue not ioyned with our enemies, whereof we are glad. 27Now therefore remaine stil, and kepe fidelitie towarde vs, and we wil recompense you for the good things that ye haue done for vs, 28And wil release you of many charges, & giue you rewardes. 29And now I discharge for your sake all the Iewes from tributes, & fre you from the customes of salte, and the crowne taxes, and from the thirde parte of the sede. 30And from the halfe of the frute of the trees which is mine owne duetie, I so release them that from this day forthe, none shal take any thing of the land of Iuda, or of the thre gouernements which are added thereunto as of Samaria and of Galile, from this daye forthe for euermore. 31Ierusalem also with all things belonging thereto, shalbe holie and fre from the tenthes and tributes. 32Also I release the power of the castel which is at Ierusalem, and giue it vnto the hie Priest, that he may set in it suche men, as he shal chuse to kepe it. 33Moreouer I frely deliuer euerie one of the Iewes that were taken away prisoners out of the land of Iuda through out all my realme, and euerie one of them shalbe free from tributes, yea, euen their catel, 34And all the feastes, and Sabbaths, & new moones, and the daies appointed and the thre daies before the feast, & the thre daies after the feast, shalbe daies of fredome & libertie for all the Iewes in my realme, 35So that in them no man shal haue power to do any thing, or to vexe any of them in any maner of cause. 36Also thirtie thousand of the Iewes shalbe writen vp in the Kings hoste, and haue their wages paied them as apperteineth to all them that are of the Kings armie: and of them shalbe ordeined certeine to kepe the Kings strong holdes. 37And some of them shalbe set ouer the Kings moste secret affaires, and their gouernours and their princes shalbe of them selues, and they shal liue after their owne lawes, as the King hathe commanded in the land of Iuda. 38And the thre gouernements that are added vnto Iudea from the countrey of Samaria, shalbe ioyned vnto Iudea, and they shalbe as vnder one, and obey none other power, but the hie Priest. 39And I giue Ptolemais & the borders thereof vnto the Sanctuarie at Ierusalem, for the necessarie expenses of the holie things. 40Moreouer, I wil giue euerie yere fiftene thousand sicles of siluer of the Kings reuenues out of the places apperteining vnto me. 41And all the ouerplus which they haue not paied for the things due, as they did in the former yeres, from hence forthe they shal giue it towarde the workes of the Temple. 42And besides this, the fiue thousand sicles of siluer which they receiued yerely of the accounte appointed for the interteinement of the Sanctuarie, these yeres passed, euen these things shalbe released because they apperteine to the Priests that minister. 43Item, whosoeuer they be that flee vnto the Temple at Ierusalem, or within the liberties thereof, and are indetted to the King for any maner of thing, they shalbe pardoned, and all that they haue in my realme. 44For the buylding also and repairing of the workes of the Sanctuarie, expenses shalbe giuen of the Kings reuenues. 45And for the making of the walles of Ierusalem, and fortifying it rounde about that the holdes in Iudea may be buylt vp, shal also the costes be giuen out of the Kings reuenues. 46¶But when Ionathan & the people heard these wordes, thei gaue no credit vnto them, nether receiued them: for thei remembred the great wickednes that he had done in Israel, and how sore he had vexed them. 47Wherefore they agreed vnto Alexander: for he was the first that had intreated of true peace with them, and so were confederat with him alway. 48Then gathered King Alexander a great hoste, & camped ouer against Demetrius. 49So the two Kings ioyned battel, but Demetrius hoste fled, and Alexander pursued him, and preuailed against them. 50So that sore battel continued til the sunne went downe, and Demetrius was slaine the same day. 51¶Then Alexander sent ambassadours vnto Ptolemeus the King of Egypt with these wordes, saying, 52For so muche as I am come againe to my realme, and am set in the throne of my fathers, and haue gotten the dominion, and haue destroied Demetrius, and enioye my countrey, 53Seing that I haue euen giuen him the battel, and he and his armie is discomfited by me, & I sit in the throne of his kingdome, 54Let vs now make friendship together, and giue me now thy daughter to wife: so shal I be thy sonne in law, and giue thee rewardes, and vnto her things according to thy dignitie. 55Then Ptolemeus the King gaue answer, saying, Happie be the day, wherein thou art come againe vnto the lande of thy fathers, and sittest in the throne of their kingdome. 56Now therefore wil I fulfil thy writing: but mete me at Ptolemais that we may se one another, and that I may make thee my sonne in law, according to thy desire. 57So Ptolemeus went out of Egypt with his daughter Cleopatra, & came vnto Ptolemais in the hundreth threscore & two yere, 58Where King Alexander met him, and he gaue vnto him his daughter Cleopatra, and maried them at Ptolemais with great glorie, as the maner of Kings is. 59¶Then wrote King Alexander vnto Ionathan, that he shulde come and mete him. 61And there assembled certeine pestilent felowes of Israel, & wicked men to accuse him: but the King wolde not heare them. 62And the King commanded that they shulde take of the garments of Ionathan, & clothe him in purple: and so they did: & the King appointed him to sit by him, 63And said vnto his princes, Go with him into the middes of the citie, and make a proclamacion, that no man complaine against him of anie matter, & that no man trouble him for anie maner of cause. 64So when his accusers sawe his honour according as it was proclaimed, and that he was clothed in purple, they fled all away. 65And the King preferred him to honour, and wrote him among his chief friends, and made him a duke, and partaker of his dominion. 66Thus Ionathan returned to Ierusalem with peace and gladnes. 67¶In the hundreth, thre score & fiue yere came Demetrius the sonne of Demetrius from Creta into his fathers land. 68Whereof when King Alexander heard, he was verie sorie, and returned vnto Antiochia. 69Then Demetrius appointed Apollonius the gouernour of Celosyria, who gathered a great hoste, and camped in Iamnia, and sent vnto Ionathan the hie Priest, saying, 70Darest thou, being but alone, lift vp thy self against vs? and I am laughed at, and reproched, because of thee: now therefore why doest thou vant thy self against vs in the mountaines? 71Now then if thou trust in thine owne strength, come downe to vs into the plaine field & there let vs trye the matter together: for I haue the strength of cities. 72Aske and learne who I am, and thei shal take my parte: and they shal tell thee that your fote is not able to stand before our face: for thy fathers haue bene twise chased in their owne land. 73And now how wilt thou be able to abide so great an hoste of horsemen and fotemen in the plaine, where is nether stone, nor rocke, nor place to flee vnto? 74When Ionathan heard the wordes of Apollonius, he was moued in his minde: wherefore he chose ten thousand men, and went out of Ierusalem, & Simon his brother met him for to helpe him. 75And he pitched his tents at Ioppe: but they shut him out of the citie: for Apollonius garison was in Ioppe. 76Then they foght against it, and they that were in the citie, for verie feare let him in: so Ionathan wan Ioppe. 77Apollonius hearing of this, toke thre thousand horsemen with a great hoste of fote men & went towarde Azotus, as thogh he wolde go forwarde, & came immediatly into the plaine field, because he had so manie horsemen, and put his trust in them. 78So Ionathan followed vpon him to Azotus, and the armie skirmished with his arriere bande. 79For Apollonius had left a thousand horsemen behinde them in ambush. 80And Ionathan knewe that there was an ambushment behinde him, and thogh they had compassed in his hoste, & shot dartes at the people from the morning to the euening, 81Yet the people stode stil, as Ionathan had commanded them, til their horses were wearie. 82Then broght Simon forthe his hoste, & set them against the bande: but the horses were wearie, and he discomfited them, & thei fled: so the horsemen were scattered in the field, 83And they fled to Azotus, and came into the temple of Dagon their idole, that thei might there saue them selues. 84But Ionathan set fyre vpon Azotus and all the cities rounde about it, & toke their spoiles, and burnt with fyre the temple of Dagon with all them that were fled into it. 85Thus were slayne and burnt about eight thousand men. 86So Ionathan remoued the hoste from thence, and camped by Ascalon, where the men of the citie came forthe, & met him with great honour. 87After this went Ionathan and his hoste againe to Ierusalem with great spoiles. 88And when King Alexander heard these things, he began to do Ionathan more honour, 89And sent him a colar of golde, as the vse is to be giuen vnto suche as are of the Kings blood: he gaue him also Accaron, with the borders thereof in possession.