Expedition of Bacchides and Alcimus

7 In the one hundred fifty-first year Demetrius son of Seleucus set out from Rome, sailed with a few men to a town by the sea, and there began to reign.^{(A) 2} As he was entering the royal palace of his ancestors, the army seized Antiochus and Lysias to bring them to him.^{(B) 3} But when this act became known to him, he said, “Do not let me see their faces!” ⁴ So the army killed them, and Demetrius took his seat on the throne of his kingdom.

⁵ Then there came to him all the renegade and godless men of Israel; they were led by Alcimus, who wanted to be high priest.^{(C) 6} They brought to the king this accusation against the people: “Judas and his brothers have destroyed all your Friends and have driven us out of our land. ⁷ Now, then, send a man whom you trust; let him go and see all the ruin that Judas^[a] has brought on us and on the land of the king, and let him punish them and all who help them.”

⁸ So the king chose Bacchides, one of the king’s Friends, governor of the province Beyond the River; he was a great man in the kingdom and was faithful to the king.^{(D) 9} He sent him, and with him he sent the ungodly Alcimus, whom he made high priest, and he commanded him to take vengeance on the Israelites.^{(E) 10} So they marched away and came with a large force into the land of Judah, and he sent messengers to Judas and his brothers with peaceable but treacherous words. ¹¹ But they paid no attention to their words, for they saw that they had come with a large force.

¹² Then a group of scribes appeared in a body before Alcimus and Bacchides to ask for just terms.^{(F) 13} The Hasideans were first among the Israelites to seek peace from them, ¹⁴ for they said, “A priest of the line of Aaron has come with the army, and he will not harm us.”^{(G) 15} Alcimus^[b] spoke peaceable words to them and swore this oath to them, “We will not seek to injure you or your friends.” ¹⁶ So they trusted him, but he seized sixty of them and killed them in one day, in accordance with the word that was written,

¹⁸ Then the fear and dread of them fell on all the people, for they said, “There is no truth or justice in them, for they have violated the agreement and the oath that they swore.”

¹⁹ Then Bacchides withdrew from Jerusalem and encamped in Beth-zaith. And he sent and seized many of the men who had deserted to him,^[c] and some of the people, and killed them and threw them into a great pit.^{(I) 20} He placed Alcimus in charge of the country and left with him a force to help him; then Bacchides went back to the king.

Peter and Cornelius

10 In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. ² He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. ³ One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.”^{(A) 4} He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” He answered, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.^{(B) 5} Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter; ⁶ he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.”^{(C) 7} When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him, ⁸ and after telling them everything he sent them to Joppa.

⁹ About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.^{(D) 10} He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while it was being prepared he fell into a trance.^{(E) 11} He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners.^{(F) 12} In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. ¹³ Then he heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” ¹⁴ But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.”^{(G) 15} The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.”^{(H) 16} This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.

¹⁷ Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon’s house and were standing by the gate.^{(I) 18} They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there. ¹⁹ While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look, three^[a] men are searching for you.^{(J) 20} Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” ²¹ So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?” ²² They answered, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous^[b] and God-fearing man who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish people, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.”^{(K) 23} So Peter^[c] invited them in and gave them lodging.

The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers and sisters from Joppa accompanied him.^(L)

²⁴ I also will write them words of encouragement and promise them honor and gifts, so that I may have their help.” ²⁵ So he sent a message to them in the following words:

A Letter from Demetrius to Jonathan

“King Demetrius to the nation of the Jews, greetings. ²⁶ Since you have kept your agreement with us and have continued your friendship with us and have not sided with our enemies, we have heard of it and rejoiced. ²⁷ Now continue still to keep faith with us, and we will repay you with good for what you do for us. ²⁸ We will grant you many immunities and give you gifts.^(A)

²⁹ “I now free you and exempt all the Jews from payment of tribute and salt tax and crown levies,^{(B) 30} and instead of collecting the third of the grain and the half of the fruit of the trees that I should receive, I release them from this day and henceforth. I will not collect them from the land of Judah or from the three districts added to it from Samaria and Galilee, from this day and for all time.^{(C) 31} Jerusalem and its environs, its tithes and its revenues, shall be holy and free from tax.^{(D) 32} I release also my control of the citadel in Jerusalem and give it to the high priest, so that he may station in it men of his own choice to guard it.^{(E) 33} And every one of the Jews taken as a captive from the land of Judah into any part of my kingdom, I set free without payment, and let all officials cancel also the taxes on their livestock.^(F)

³⁴ “All the festivals and Sabbaths and new moons and appointed days and the three days before a festival and the three after a festival—let them all be days of immunity and release for all the Jews who are in my kingdom.^{(G) 35} No one shall have authority to exact anything from them or trouble any of them about any matter.

³⁶ “Let Jews be enrolled in the king’s forces to the number of thirty thousand men, and let the maintenance be given them that is due to all the forces of the king.^{(H) 37} Let some of them be stationed in the great strongholds of the king, and let some of them be put in positions of trust in the kingdom. Let their officers and leaders be of their own number, and let them live by their own laws, just as the king has commanded in the land of Judah.

³⁸ “As for the three districts that have been added to Judea from the country of Samaria, let them be annexed to Judea so that they may be considered to be under one ruler and obey no other authority than the high priest.^{(I) 39} Ptolemais and the land adjoining it I have given as a gift to the sanctuary in Jerusalem, to meet the necessary expenses of the sanctuary.^{(J) 40} I also grant fifteen thousand shekels of silver yearly out of the king’s revenues from appropriate places. ⁴¹ And all the additional funds that the government officials have not paid as they did in the first years,^[a] they shall give from now on for the service of the temple.^{[b] 42} Moreover, the five thousand shekels of silver that my officials^[c] have received every year from the income of the services of the temple, this, too, is canceled, because it belongs to the priests who minister there. ⁴³ And all who take refuge at the temple in Jerusalem or in any of its precincts because they owe money to the king or are in debt, let them be released and receive back all their property in my kingdom.

⁴⁴ “Let the cost of rebuilding and restoring the structures of the sanctuary be paid from the revenues of the king. ⁴⁵ And let the cost of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and fortifying it all around and the cost of rebuilding the walls in Judea also be paid from the revenues of the king.”^(K)

Death of Demetrius

⁴⁶ When Jonathan and the people heard these words, they did not believe or accept them, because they remembered the great wrongs that Demetrius^[d] had done in Israel and how much he had oppressed them.^{(L) 47} They favored Alexander because he had been the first to speak peaceable words to them, and they remained his allies all his days.

⁴⁸ Now King Alexander assembled large forces and encamped opposite Demetrius. ⁴⁹ The two kings met in battle, and the army of Demetrius fled, and Alexander^[e] pursued him and defeated them. ⁵⁰ He pressed the battle strongly until the sun set, and on that day Demetrius fell.

Treaty of Ptolemy and Alexander

⁵¹ Then Alexander sent ambassadors to Ptolemy king of Egypt with the following message:^{(M) 52} “Since I have returned to my kingdom and have taken my seat on the throne of my ancestors and established my rule—for I crushed Demetrius and gained control of our country; ⁵³ I met him in battle, and he and his army were crushed by us, and we have taken our seat on the throne of his kingdom— ⁵⁴ now therefore let us establish friendship with one another; give me now your daughter as my wife, and I will become your son-in-law and will make gifts to you and to her in keeping with your position.”

⁵⁵ Ptolemy the king replied and said, “Happy was the day on which you returned to the land of your ancestors and took your seat on the throne of their kingdom. ⁵⁶ And now I will do for you as you wrote, but meet me at Ptolemais, so that we may see one another, and I will become your father-in-law, as you have said.”^(N)

⁵⁷ So Ptolemy set out from Egypt, he and his daughter Cleopatra, and came to Ptolemais in the one hundred sixty-second year. ⁵⁸ King Alexander met him, and Ptolemy^[f] gave him his daughter Cleopatra in marriage and celebrated her wedding at Ptolemais with great pomp, as kings do.^(O)

⁵⁹ Then King Alexander wrote to Jonathan to come and meet him. ⁶⁰ So he went with pomp to Ptolemais and met the two kings; he gave them and their Friends silver and gold and many gifts and found favor with them.^{(P) 61} A group of malcontents from Israel, renegades, gathered together against him to accuse him, but the king paid no attention to them.^{(Q) 62} The king gave orders to take off Jonathan’s garments and to clothe him in purple, and they did so.^{(R) 63} The king also seated him at his side, and he said to his officers, “Go out with him into the middle of the city and proclaim that no one is to bring charges against him about any matter, and let no one trouble him for any reason.”^{(S) 64} When his accusers saw the honor that was paid him, in accord with the proclamation, and saw him clothed in purple, they all fled.^{(T) 65} Thus the king honored him and enrolled him among his First Friends and made him general and governor of the province.^{(U) 66} And Jonathan returned to Jerusalem in peace and gladness.

Apollonius Is Defeated by Jonathan

⁶⁷ In the one hundred sixty-fifth year Demetrius son of Demetrius came from Crete to the land of his ancestors.^{(V) 68} When King Alexander heard of it, he was greatly distressed and returned to Antioch.^{(W) 69} And Demetrius appointed Apollonius the governor of Coelesyria, and he assembled a large force and encamped against Jamnia. Then he sent the following message to the high priest Jonathan:^(X)

⁷⁰ “You are the only one to rise up against us, and I have fallen into ridicule and disgrace because of you. Why do you assume authority against us in the hill country? ⁷¹ If you now have confidence in your forces, come down to the plain to meet us, and let us match strength with each other there, for I have with me the power of the cities. ⁷² Ask and learn who I am and who the others are who are helping us. People will tell you that you cannot stand before us, for your ancestors were twice put to flight in their own land.^{(Y) 73} And now you will not be able to withstand my cavalry and such an army in the plain, where there is no stone or pebble or place to flee.”

⁷⁴ When Jonathan heard the words of Apollonius, his spirit was aroused. He chose ten thousand men and set out from Jerusalem, and his brother Simon met him to help him.^{(Z) 75} He encamped before Joppa, but the people of the city closed its gates, for Apollonius had a garrison in Joppa.^{(AA) 76} So they fought against it, and the people of the city became afraid and opened the gates, and Jonathan gained possession of Joppa.

⁷⁷ When Apollonius heard of it, he mustered three thousand cavalry and a large army and went to Azotus as though he were going farther. At the same time he advanced into the plain, for he had a large troop of cavalry and put confidence in it.^{(AB) 78} Jonathan^[g] pursued him to Azotus, and the armies engaged in battle.^{(AC) 79} Now Apollonius had secretly left a thousand cavalry behind them. ⁸⁰ Jonathan learned that there was an ambush behind him, for they surrounded his army and shot arrows at his men from early morning until late afternoon. ⁸¹ But his men stood fast, as Jonathan had commanded, and the enemy’s^[h] horses grew tired.

⁸² Then Simon brought forward his force and engaged the phalanx in battle (for the cavalry was exhausted); they were overwhelmed by him and fled, ⁸³ and the cavalry was dispersed in the plain. They fled to Azotus and entered Beth-dagon, the temple of their idol, for safety.^{(AD) 84} But Jonathan burned Azotus and the surrounding towns and plundered them, and the temple of Dagon and those who had taken refuge in it he burned with fire.^{(AE) 85} The number of those who fell by the sword, with those burned alive, came to eight thousand.

⁸⁶ Then Jonathan left there and encamped against Askalon, and the people of the city came out to meet him with great pomp.^(AF)

⁸⁷ He and those with him then returned to Jerusalem with a large amount of plunder. ⁸⁸ When King Alexander heard of these things, he honored Jonathan still more, ⁸⁹ and he sent to him a golden buckle, such as it is the custom to give to the King’s Kinsmen. He also gave him Ekron and all its environs as his possession.^(AG)

²⁴ The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ On Peter’s arrival, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a mortal.”^{(A) 27} And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled, ²⁸ and he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is improper for a Jew to associate with or to visit an outsider, but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean.^{(B) 29} So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?”

³⁰ Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me. ³¹ He said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms have been remembered before God. ³² Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter; he is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ ³³ Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say.”

Gentiles Hear the Good News

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality,^{(C) 35} but in every people anyone who fears him and practices righteousness^[a] is acceptable to him.^{(D) 36} You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all.^{(E) 37} That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.^{(F) 39} We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,^{(G) 40} but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear,^{(H) 41} not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.^{(I) 42} He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.^{(J) 43} All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”^(K)

Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.^{(L) 45} The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the gentiles,^{(M) 46} for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”^{(N) 48} So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.^(O)