1 In the hundred and sixtieth year, Alexandras the son of Anliokos, also named Epiphanĕs, went up and took Ptolemais; for the people had received him, by means of which he reigned there.
2 Now when Sovereign Dĕmĕtrios heard of this, he gathered together an exceedingly great army, and went out to fight against him.
3 And Dĕmĕtrios sent letters to Yahonathan with kind words, so that he exalted him.
4 For said he, “Let us first make peace with him, before he joins with Alexandras against us,
5 or else he will remember all the evils that we have done against him, and against his brothers and his people.”
6 Therefore he gave him authority to gather together an army, and to provide weapons, that he might aid him in battle. He also commanded that the hostages that were in the tower should be delivered to him.
7 Then Yahonathan came to Yerushalayim and read the letters in the hearing of all the people and of those that were in the tower,
8 who were greatly afraid when they heard that the sovereign had given him authority to gather together an army.
9 So those of the tower delivered their hostages to Yahonathan, and delivered them to their parents.
10 This done, Yahonathan settled himself in Yerushalayim, and began to build and repair the city.
11 And he commanded the workmen to build the walls and Mount Tsiyon round about with square stones for fortification; and they did so.
12 Then the foreigners, that were in the fortresses which Bakḵidĕs had built, fled away;
13 so that every man left his place and went into his own land.
14 Only, some of those still remained at Bĕyth Tsur that had forsaken the Law and the Commands; for it was their place of refuge.
15 Now when Sovereign Alexandros had heard what promises Dĕmĕtrios had sent to Yahonathan; when it was also told to him of the battles and brave deeds which he and his brothers had done, and of the pains that they had endured,
16 he said, “Shall we find such another man? Now therefore we will make him our friend and ally.”
17 Therefore he wrote a letter, and sent it to him, according to these words, saying:
18 “Sovereign Alexandros, to his brother Yahonathan, greetings.
19 “We have heard of you, that you are a man of great strength, and worthy to be our friend.
20 “Therefore now, we ordain you this day to be the kohĕn ha’gadol of your nation, and to be called the sovereign’s friend, and require you to take our side, and maintain friendship with us.” And with all this he sent him a purple robe and a crown of gold.
21 So in the seventh month of the hundred and sixtieth year, at the Feast of Sukkoth, Yahonathan put on the qodesh robe, and gathered together forces, and provided much armour.
22 When Dĕmĕtrios heard of this, he was very grieved, and said,
23 “What have we done, that Alexandros has prevented us in making peace with the Yahuḏim to strengthen himself?
24 “I will also write words of encouragement to them, and promise them esteem and gifts, that I may have their support.”
25 Therefore he sent to them to this word: “Sovereign Dĕmĕtrios, to the people of the Yahuḏim, greetings.
26 “Whereas you have kept covenants with us, and continued in our friendship, not joining yourselves with our enemies, we have heard of this, and are glad.
27 “Therefore now continue to be still trustworthy to us, and we will recompense you well for the matters you do on our behalf,
28 and will grant you many exemptions, and give you rewards.
29 “And I now release you, and for your sake, I release all the Yahuḏim from tributes, and from the customs of salt, and from crown taxes,
30 and from that which pertains to me to receive of the third part of the seed, and the half of the fruit of the trees. I release it from this day onward, so that they shall not be taken from the land of Yahuḏah, nor of the three governments which are added to them out of the country of Shomeron and Galil, from this day onward, forever.
31 “Let Yerushalayim also be qodesh and released, with its borders, both from tenths and tributes.
32 “And as for the tower which is at Yerushalayim, I yield up authority over it, and give to the kohĕn ha’gadol, that he may appoint in it such men as he shall choose to guard it.
33 “And I freely release every one of the Yahuḏim, that were carried captive out of the land of Yahuḏah into any part of my reign, and I purpose that all my officers release the tributes even of their cattle.
34 “Furthermore, I purpose that all the Feasts, and Shabbathoth, and New Moons, and Appointed Times, and the three days before the Feast, and the three days after the Feast shall be all of tolerance and freedom for all the Yahuḏim in my reign.
35 “Also, no man shall have authority to meddle with or to provoke any of them in any matter.
36 “I further purpose, that there be enrolled among the sovereign’s forces about thirty thousand men of the Yahuḏim, to whom wages shall be given, as belongs to all sovereign’s forces.
37 “And of them, some shall be positioned in the sovereign’s strongholds, some of whom are trustworthy shall also be appointed over the affairs of the reign. And I purpose that their overseers and governors be from among themselves, and that they live after their own Laws, even as the sovereign has commanded in the land of Yahuḏah.
38 “And concerning the three governments that are added to Yahuḏah from the country of Shomeron, let them be joined with Yahuḏah, that they may be reckoned to be under one, nor bound to obey authority other than the kohĕn ha’gadol.
39 “As for Ptolemais, and the land pertaining to it, I give it as a free gift to the Miqdash at Yerushalayim for the necessary expenses of the Miqdash.
40 “And every year I give fifteen thousand shekels of silver out of the sovereign’s accounts from the pertaining places,
41 and all the remainder, which the officers did not pay as in former time, from now on shall be given toward the works of the Hĕyḵal.
42 “And besides this, the five thousand shekels of silver which they took from the uses of the Hĕyḵal out of the accounts year by year, even those shall be released, because they pertain to the kohenim that serve.
43 “And whoever flees to the Hĕyḵal at Yerushalayim, or comes within these freedoms, being indebted to the sovereign, or for any other matter, let them be released, and all that they have in my reign.
44 “Also for the building and repairing of the works of the Miqdash, expenses shall be given from the sovereign’s accounts.
45 “And also for the building of the walls of Yerushalayim, and its fortifications round about, expenses shall be given out of the sovereign’s accounts, as also for the building of the walls in Yahuḏah.”
46 Now when Yahonathan and the people heard these words, they gave them no trust, nor received them, because they remembered the great evil that he had done in Yisra’ĕl; for he had afflicted them very greatly.
47 But with Alexandras they were well pleased, because he was the first that sought true peace with them, and they were allied with him always.
48 Then Sovereign Alexandras gathered great forces, and encamped opposite Dĕmĕtrios.
49 And after the two sovereigns had joined battle, Dĕmĕtrios’ army fled, but Alexandras followed after him, and prevailed against them.
50 And he continued the battle greatly until the sun went down; and Dĕmĕtrios was slain that day.
51 Afterward, Alexandras sent ambassadors to Ptolemaeus sovereign of Mitsrayim with a message to this effect:
52 “Since I have come again to my reign, and am appointed to the throne of my ancestors, and have acquired the reign, and overthrown Dĕmĕtrios, and recovered our country;
53 for after I had joined battle with him, both he and his army were defeated by us, so that we sit on the throne of his reign.
54 Now therefore let us make a covenant of peace together, and give me now your daughter as wife, and I will be your son-in-law, and will give both to you and her according to your dignity.”
55 Then Ptolemaeus the sovereign gave answer, saying, “Joyful is the day in which you returned to the land of your fathers, and sat on the throne of their reign.
56 “And now I will do to you, as you have written. Therefore meet me at Ptolemais, that we may see one another; for I will marry my daughter to you according to your desire.”
57 So Ptolemaeus went out of Mitsrayim with his daughter Cleopatra, and they came to Ptolemais in the hundred and sixty-second year,
58 where Sovereign Alexandras met him, gave to him his daughter Cleopatra, and celebrated her marriage at Ptolemais with great esteem, as is the manner of sovereigns.
59 Now Sovereign Alexandras had written to Yahonathan, that he should come and meet him,
60 who therefore went honourably to Ptolemais, where he met the two sovereigns, and gave they and their friends silver and gold and many gifts, and found favour in their sight.
61 At that time some wicked men of Yisra’ĕl, men of a Beliya’al, assembled themselves against him to accuse him; but the sovereign would not hear them.
62 Yet furthermore, the sovereign commanded to take off his garments, and clothe him in purple; and they did so.
63 And he made him sit beside him, and said to his princes, “Go with him into the midst of the city, and proclaim, that no man complain against him for any matter, and that no man trouble him for any reason.”
64 Now when his accusers saw that he was honored according to the proclamation, and clothed in purple, they all fled.
65 So the sovereign honoured him, and wrote him among his chief friends, and made him a chief, and shared in his reign.
66 Afterward, Yahonathan returned to Yerushalayim in peace and gladness.
67 Furthermore, in the hundred and sixty-fifth year Dĕmĕtrios son of Dĕmĕtrios came out of Krĕtĕ into the land of his fathers.
68 When Sovereign Alexandras heard of this, he was grieved, and returned to Antioḵeia.
69 Then Dĕmĕtrios made Apollonios the governor of Koĕlĕ Suria his general, who gathered together a great army, and encamped in Yaḇneh, and sent to Yahonathan the kohĕn ha’gadol saying,
70 “You alone lift yourself up against us, and I am mocked for your sake and reproached, and why do you boast of your strength against us in the mountains?
71 “Now therefore, if you trust in your own strength, come down to us into the field of the plains, and there let us try the matter together. For the strength of the cities is with me.
72 “Ask, and learn who I am, and the rest that take our side, and they shall tell you that your foot is not able to flee in their own land.
73 “Therefore now, you shall not be able to stand against the horsemen and such a great strength in the plain, where there is neither stone nor flint, nor a place to flee to!”
74 So when Yahonathan heard these words of Apollonios, he was moved in his mind, and choosing ten thousand men he went out of Yerushalayim, where Shim’on his brother met him to help him.
75 And he pitched his tents against Yapho, but those of Yapho shut him out of the city, because Apollonios had a garrison there.
76 Then Yahonathan laid siege against it, so those of the city let him in for fear. And so Yahonathan won Yapho.
77 When Apollonios heard of this, he took three thousand horsemen, with a great army of footmen, and went to Ashdoḏ as one that journeyed, and then approached the plain, because he had a great number of horsemen, in whom he put his trust.
78 Then Yahonathan followed after him to Ashdoḏ where the armies joined battle.
79 Now Apollonios had left one thousand horsemen in ambush.
80 And Yahonathan knew that there was an ambush behind him; for they had surrounded his army, and shot arrows at the people, from morning till evening.
81 But the people stood still, as Yahonathan had commanded them, and so the enemy’s horses were tired.
82 Then brought Shim’on out his army, and positioned them against the footmen, for the horsemen who were defeated by him were weary, and fled.
83 The horsemen also, being scattered in the field, fled to Ashdoḏ, and went to the house of Daḡon, their idol’s temple, for safety.
84 But Yahonathan lit fire to Ashdoḏ, and the cities round about it, and took their spoils. And he burned the temple of Daḡon with fire with those that had fled into it,
85 so there were nearly eight thousand men burned and slain with the sword.
86 And from there Yahonathan moved his army, and encamped against Ashqelon, where the men of the city came out and met him with great ceremony.
87 After this, Yahonathan and his army returned to Yerushalayim possessing many spoils.
88 Now, when Sovereign Alexandras heard these matters, he honoured Yahonathan still further,
89 and sent him a gold buckle, as is the custom to be given to those of the sovereign’s blood. He also gave him Eqron with it’s borders as a possession.