The Word Am I

The First Book of Maccabees

Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic

- Chapter 15 -

Antiochus son of Demetrius honours Simon. The Romans write to divers nations in favour of the Jews. Antiochus quarrels with Simon, and sends troops to annoy him.

1
And king Antiochus, the son of Demetrius, sent letters from the islands of the sea to Simon, the priest and leader of the nation of the Jews, and to all the people.
2
And these continued in this way: “King Antiochus to Simon, the great priest, and to the people of the Jews: greetings.
3
Since certain pestilent persons have obtained the kingdom of our fathers, it is my will, then, to vindicate the kingdom and to restore it, just as it was before. And so, I have chosen a great army, and I have built ships of war.
4
Furthermore, I intend to pass through the region, so that I may take revenge on those who have corrupted our country and who have desolated many cities in my kingdom.
5
Now, therefore, I confirm to you all the oblations that all the kings before me have remitted to you, and whatever other gifts they remitted to you.
6
And I permit you to make a striking of your own coins for your country.
7
Moreover, let Jerusalem be holy and free. And all the weapons that have been made, and the fortresses that you have constructed, or that you hold, let them remain with you.
8
And all that is owed to the king, and what should belong to the king in the future, from this time and for all time, is remitted to you.
9
Yet, when we have obtained our kingdom, we will glorify you, and your nation, and the temple with great glory, so much so that your glory shall be made manifest in all the earth.”
10
In the one hundred and seventy-fourth year, Antiochus went into the land of his fathers, and all the armies came over to him, so that few were left with Trypho.
11
And king Antiochus followed him as he fled along the sea coast and came to Dora.
12
For he knew that evils had gathered together upon him, and that his troops had forsaken him.
13
And Antiochus took up a position above Dora, with one hundred and twenty thousand men of warfare and eight thousand horsemen.
14
And he encircled the city, and the ships drew near by sea. And they assailed the city by land and by sea, and they permitted no one to go in or out.
15
But Numenius, and those who had been with him, came from the city of Rome, having letters written to the kings and the regions, in which was contained these things:
16
“Lucius, consul of the Romans, to king Ptolemy: greetings.(a)
17
The ambassadors of the Jews, our friends, came to us, to renew the former friendship and alliance, having been sent from Simon, the leader of the priests and the people of the Jews.
18
And they also brought a shield of gold of over a thousand pounds.
19
And so, it was pleasing to us to write to the kings and the regions, that they should do no harm to them, nor fight against them, and their cities, and their regions, and that they should bear no assistance to those fighting against them.
20
And it seemed good to us to receive the shield from them.
21
If, therefore, those who are pestilent have taken refuge with you from their region, hand them over to Simon, the leader of the priests, so that he may give a verdict to them according to their law.”
22
These same things were written to king Demetrius, and to Attalus, and to Ariarathes, and to Arsaces,(b)
23
and to all the regions, and to Lampsacus and to the Spartans, and to Delos, and Myndos, and Sicyon, and Caria, and Samos, and Pamphylia, and Lycia, and Halicarnassus, and Cos, and Side, and Aradus, and Rhodes, and Phaselis, and Gortyna, and Gnidus, and Cyprus, and Cyrene.
24
Moreover, they wrote a copy of these things to Simon, the leader of the priests and the people of the Jews.
25
But king Antiochus positioned his camp near Dora a second time, moving his hand against it continually, and making machines of war. And he enclosed Trypho, lest he escape.
26
And Simon sent two thousand chosen men to him as auxiliaries, and silver, and gold, and an abundance of equipment.
27
And he was not willing to receive them, but he broke all of the pact that he made with him before, and he alienated himself from him.
28
And he sent to him Athenobius, one of his friends, to deal with him, saying: “You hold Joppa and Gazara, and the stronghold that is in Jerusalem, which are cities of my kingdom.
29
You have desolated their parts, and you have caused a great scourging in the land, and you have become ruler throughout many places in my kingdom.
30
Now, therefore, hand over the cities that you occupy, and the tributes of the places where you have become ruler beyond the borders of Judea.
31
But if not, give me for them five hundred talents of silver, and for the destruction that you have caused, and for the tributes of the cities, another five hundred talents. But if not, we will come and fight against you.”
32
So Athenobius, the friend of the king, came to Jerusalem and saw the glory of Simon, and his splendor in gold and silver, and his abundance of equipment, and he was astonished. And he repeated the words of the king to him.
33
And Simon responded to him, and he said to him: “We have not taken foreign land, nor do we hold anything foreign, but we hold the inheritance of our fathers, which was for some time unjustly possessed by our enemies.
34
In truth, since we have the opportunity, we claim the inheritance of our fathers.
35
And as to Joppa and Gazara, which you demand, they brought a great scourging on the people and our country. For these, we will give one hundred talents.” And Athenobius did not respond a word to him.
36
But, returning with anger to the king, he reported to him these words, and the glory of Simon, and all that he had seen. And the king became angry with a great anger.
37
But Trypho fled by ship to Orthosia.
38
And the king appointed Cendebeus as commander of the seacoast, and he gave him an army of foot soldiers and horsemen.
39
And he commanded him to move with his camp against the face of Judea. And he commanded him to build up Kedron, and to barricade the gates of the city, and to make war against the people. But the king pursued Trypho.
40
And Cendebeus passed through to Jamnia, and he began to provoke the populace, and to trample Judea, and to take the people captive, and to execute, and to build up Kedron.
41
And he stationed horsemen and an army there, so that they could go out and travel through the ways of Judea, as the king appointed him to do.

Footnotes

(a)15:16 Ptolemee:Surnamed Physeon, brother and successor to Philometer.(Challoner)
(b)15:22 Attalus, etc:Attalus was king of Pergamus; Ariarathes was king of Cappadocia; and Arsaces was king of the Parthians.(Challoner)

Antiochus son of Demetrius honours Simon. The Romans write to divers nations in favour of the Jews. Antiochus quarrels with Simon, and sends troops to annoy him.

1
Antiochus son of Demetrius the king sent a letter from the islands of the sea to Simon the priest and(a) governor of the Jews, and to all the nation.
2
Its contents follow: “King Antiochus to Simon the chief priest and(b) governor, and to the nation of the Jews, greetings.
3
Whereas certain troublemakers 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 warships;
4
moreover I plan to land in the country, that I may punish those who have destroyed our country, and those who have made many cities in the kingdom desolate;
5
now therefore I confirm to you all the tax remissions which the kings who were before me remitted to you, and whatever gifts besides they remitted to you,
6
and I permit you to coin money for your country with your own stamp,
7
but that Jerusalem and the sanctuary should be free. All the weapons that you have prepared, and the strongholds that you have built, which you have in your possession, let them remain yours.
8
Every debt owed to the king, and the things that will be owed to the king from henceforth and for evermore, let them be remitted to you.
9
Moreover, when we have established our kingdom, we will glorify you and your nation and the temple with great glory, so that your glory will be made manifest in all the earth.
10
In the one hundred seventy-fourth year,(c) Antiochus went into the land of his fathers; and all the forces came together to him, so that there were few men with Tryphon.
11
King Antiochus pursued him, and he came, as he fled, to Dor, which is by the sea;
12
for he knew that troubles had come upon him all at once, and that his forces had deserted him.
13
Antiochus encamped against Dor, and with him one hundred twenty thousand men of war and eight thousand cavalry.
14
He surrounded the city, and the ships joined in the attack from the sea. He harassed the city by land and sea, and permitted no one to go out or in.
15
Numenius and his company came from Rome, having letters to the kings and to the countries, in which were written these things:
16
“Lucius, consul of the Romans, to King Ptolemy, greetings.
17
The Jews’ ambassadors came to us as our friends and allies, to renew the old friendship and alliance, being sent from Simon the high priest, and from the people of the Jews.
18
Moreover they brought a shield of gold weighing one thousand minas.(d)
19
It pleased us therefore to write to the kings and to the countries, that they should not seek their harm or fight against them, their cities, and their country, or be allies with those who fight against them.
20
Moreover, it seemed good to us to receive the shield from them.
21
If therefore any troublemakers have fled from their country to you, deliver them to Simon the high priest, that he may take vengeance on them according to their law.”
22
He wrote the same things to King Demetrius, to Attalus, to Arathes, to Arsaces,
23
to all the countries, to(e) Sampsames, to the Spartans, to Delos, to Myndos, to Sicyon, to Caria, to Samos, to Pamphylia, to Lycia, to Halicarnassus, to Rhodes, to Phaselis, to Cos, to Side, to Aradus, Gortyna, Cnidus, Cyprus, and Cyrene.
24
They also wrote this copy to Simon the high priest.
25
But King Antiochus 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.
26
Simon sent him two thousand chosen men to fight on his side, with silver, gold, and instruments of war in abundance.
27
He would not receive them, but nullified all the covenants which he had made with him before, and was estranged from him.
28
He sent to him Athenobius, one of his friends,(f) to confer with him, saying, “You hold possession of Joppa, Gazara, and the citadel that is in Jerusalem, cities of my kingdom.
29
You have devastated their territory, and done great harm in the land, and control of many places in my kingdom.
30
Now therefore hand over the cities which you have taken, and the tributes of the places which you have taken control of outside of the borders of Judea;
31
or else give me for them five hundred talents of silver; and for the harm that you have done, and the tributes of the cities, another five hundred talents. Otherwise we will come and subdue you.”
32
Athenobius, the king’s friend,(g) came to Jerusalem. When he saw the glory of Simon, the cupboard of gold and silver vessels, and his great attendance, he was amazed. He reported to him the king’s words.
33
Simon answered, and said to him, “We have not taken other men’s land nor do we have possession of that which belongs to others, but of the inheritance of our fathers. However, it had been in possession of our enemies wrongfully for a while.
34
But we, having opportunity, firmly hold the inheritance of our fathers.
35
As for Joppa and Gazara, which you demand, they did great harm among the people throughout our country. We will give one hundred talents for them.” Athenobius didn’t answer even one word,
36
but returned in a rage to the king, and reported to him these words, and the glory of Simon, and all that he had seen; and the king was exceedingly angry.
37
Meanwhile, Tryphon embarked on board a ship, and fled to Orthosia.
38
The king appointed Cendebaeus chief captain of the sea coast, and gave him troops of infantry and cavalry.
39
He commanded him to encamp against Judea, 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.
40
So Cendebaeus came to Jamnia and began to provoke the people, and to invade Judea, and to take the people captive and kill them.
41
He built Kidron and stationed cavalry and infantry there, to the end that going out they might make raids on the highways of Judea, as the king had commanded him.

Footnotes

(a)15:1 Gr. ethnarch.
(b)15:2 Gr. ethnarch.
(c)15:10 circa B.C. 139
(d)15:18 1,000 minas is about 499 kg. or about 1,098 pounds.
(e)15:23 Some authorities read Sampsaces:the Latin versions have Lampsacus.
(f)15:28 See 1 Maccabees 2:18 .
(g)15:32 See 1 Maccabees 2:18 .