1 Maccabees 13
Good News Translation
Simon Leads the Jews
13 Simon learned that Trypho had assembled a large army and that he had plans to invade Judea and devastate it. 2 He realized that this news had brought panic and fear to the people, so he went to Jerusalem, called the people together, 3 and tried to encourage them by saying,
You know how much my father's family, my brothers, and I have done for the sake of the Law of Moses and the Temple. You also know about the wars we have fought and the troubles we have had. 4 All my brothers have been killed fighting for our Law, our Temple, and our nation, and I am the only one left. 5 But never let it be said that I tried to save my own life in a time of danger; I do not consider myself better than my brothers. 6 Not in the least! It is true that in their hatred all the Gentile nations have gathered together to destroy us, but I will fight to defend my nation, the Temple, and your loved ones.
7 These words immediately revived the morale of the people, 8 and they answered with a loud shout,
You are now our leader in place of your brothers Judas and Jonathan. 9 Fight our wars, and we will do whatever you ask.
10 So Simon gathered together all the soldiers and hurried to complete the walls of Jerusalem and to strengthen all its defenses. 11 He sent Jonathan son of Absalom to Joppa with a large army. This Jonathan drove out the people who were there and occupied the town.
12 Trypho left Ptolemais with a large army to invade Judea, taking Simon's brother Jonathan along with him as a prisoner. 13 Simon set up camp at Adida at the edge of the plain. 14 When Trypho learned that Simon had succeeded his brother Jonathan and that he was ready to meet him in battle, he sent this message to him:
15 I am holding your brother Jonathan under arrest because while he was in office he did not pay his debts to the royal treasury. 16 However, I will release him if you will pay me 6,000 pounds of silver and send two of his sons as hostages to guarantee that he will not revolt against us when he is released.
17 Although Simon knew that they were deceiving him, he sent for the money and the two sons because he did not want to arouse the hostility of the Jews. 18 He was afraid that they might later say that Jonathan was put to death because Simon would not send the money and the boys. 19 So he did as Trypho had demanded, but Trypho broke his promise and did not release Jonathan.
20 Then Trypho made his move to invade the land and destroy it, circling around by the road to Adora. But Simon and his army moved along facing him wherever he went. 21 The enemy soldiers in the fort in Jerusalem kept sending messengers to Trypho urging him to come to them quickly by way of the desert and to send them supplies. 22 Trypho got all his cavalry ready for the invasion, but that night there was a heavy snowstorm, and he was not able to move up into the hills. So he withdrew and went into Gilead. 23 When he was near Baskama, he had Jonathan put to death and his body buried there. 24 Then Trypho turned and went back to his own country.
25 Simon had the body of his brother Jonathan brought to Modein, to be buried in the town of their ancestors. 26 Everyone in Israel was in deep sorrow at the loss of Jonathan, and they mourned for him a long time. 27 Over the tomb of his father and his brothers Simon built a high monument that could be seen from a great distance. It was covered front and back with polished stone. 28 He constructed seven pyramids side by side for his father, his mother, and his four brothers. 29 For the pyramids he created a setting of tall columns on which there were carvings. Some of these carvings were of suits of armor and some were of ships. It was a monument to their victories, which travelers from overseas could visit.[a] 30 The tomb which he built in Modein is still there today.
31 Meanwhile, Trypho assassinated the young king, Antiochus the Sixth, 32 and took over his kingdom in Syria. He brought that country great troubles.
33 Simon rebuilt the fortresses of Judea with high towers, strong walls, and barred gates; then he placed stores of supplies there. 34 He sent ambassadors to King Demetrius the Second to ask for tax relief for the land, since Trypho was doing nothing but robbing them. 35 King Demetrius sent the following letter in reply:
36 King Demetrius to the High Priest Simon, the friend of kings, to the Jewish nation, and to their leaders, greetings. 37 I have received the gold crown and the gold palm branch which you sent, and I am prepared to make a peace treaty with you and to instruct our tax officials to grant you exemptions. 38 Our previous agreements with you are confirmed, and the fortresses which you have built are to remain yours. 39 I grant you pardon for treaty violations committed up to the present date, and I release you from payment of the special tax still due and any other taxes that have been collected up to this time in Jerusalem. 40 All Jews who are qualified may enroll in the royal service. Let us have peace.
41 So in the year 170[b] the yoke of the Gentile oppressors was removed from the Jews. 42 People began to date their documents and contracts with these words:
In the first year of Simon, the great High Priest, commander and leader of the Jews.
43 (A)At that time Simon laid siege to Gezer and surrounded it with his army. He built a movable siege platform, brought it up to the town wall, attacked one of the towers, and captured it. 44 The men who had been on the siege platform then moved rapidly into the town, and this created great confusion. 45 The men of the town, their wives, and their children tore their clothes in distress and climbed up on the top of the town wall. They pleaded loudly with Simon for a truce.
46 Have mercy on us, they begged.
Don't punish us as we deserve!
47 So Simon came to terms with them and ended the fighting. He made the people leave the town; then he purified the houses in which there had been idols. When that was done, he and his men entered the town singing hymns and songs of praise. 48 He eliminated everything that would make the town ritually unclean and settled it with people who would obey every command contained in the Law of Moses. He strengthened the defenses of the town and built himself a palace there.
49 Those in the fort in Jerusalem were now prevented from leaving to buy or sell anything. They were suffering from severe hunger and many of them had died of starvation. 50 Finally they appealed to Simon for a truce. He agreed, removed them from the fort, and purified it. 51 On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the year 171,[c] there was a great celebration in the city because this terrible threat to the security of Israel had come to an end. Simon and his men entered the fort singing hymns of praise and thanksgiving, while carrying palm branches and playing harps, cymbals, and lyres. 52 Simon issued a decree that the day should be joyfully celebrated every year. He strengthened the defenses of the Temple hill on the side facing the fort, and he and his men made their headquarters there. 53 Simon's son John was now a grown man, so Simon made him commander of the whole army, and John set up headquarters at Gezer.
Footnotes
- 1 Maccabees 13:29 Verses 28-29 in Greek are unclear.
- 1 Maccabees 13:41 the year 170: This corresponds to 142 B.C.
- 1 Maccabees 13:51 the year 171: This corresponds to 141 B.C.
1 Maccabees 13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Simon Takes Command
13 Simon heard that Trypho had assembled a large army to invade the land of Judah and destroy it,(A) 2 and he saw that the people were trembling with fear. So he went up to Jerusalem, and gathering the people together 3 he encouraged them, saying to them, “You yourselves know what great things my brothers and I and the house of my father have done for the laws and the sanctuary; you know also the wars and the difficulties that my brothers and I have seen. 4 By reason of this all my brothers have perished for the sake of Israel, and I alone am left.(B) 5 And now, far be it from me to spare my life in any time of distress, for I am not better than my brothers.(C) 6 But I will avenge my nation and the sanctuary and your wives and children, for all the nations have gathered together out of hatred to destroy us.”(D)
7 The spirit of the people was rekindled when they heard these words, 8 and they answered in a loud voice, “You are our leader in place of Judas and your brother Jonathan.(E) 9 Fight our battles, and all that you say to us we will do.” 10 So he assembled all the warriors and hurried to complete the walls of Jerusalem, and he fortified it on every side.(F) 11 He sent Jonathan son of Absalom to Joppa and with him a considerable army; he drove out its occupants and remained there.(G)
Deceit and Treachery of Trypho
12 Then Trypho left Ptolemais with a large army to invade the land of Judah, and Jonathan was with him under guard.(H) 13 Simon encamped in Adida, facing the plain.(I) 14 Trypho learned that Simon had risen up in place of his brother Jonathan and that he was about to join battle with him, so he sent envoys to him and said,(J) 15 “It is for the money that your brother Jonathan owed the royal treasury, in connection with the offices he held, that we are detaining him. 16 Send now one hundred talents of silver and two of his sons as hostages, so that when released he will not revolt against us, and we will release him.”
17 Simon knew that they were speaking deceitfully to him, but he sent to get the money and the sons, so that he would not arouse great hostility among the people, who might say, 18 “It was because Simon[a] did not send him the money and the sons that Jonathan[b] perished.” 19 So he sent the sons and the hundred talents, but Trypho[c] broke his word and did not release Jonathan.
20 After this Trypho came to invade the country and destroy it, and he circled around by the way to Adora. But Simon and his army kept marching along opposite him to every place he went. 21 Now the men in the citadel kept sending envoys to Trypho urging him to come to them by way of the wilderness and to send them food.(K) 22 So Trypho got all his cavalry ready to go, but that night a very heavy snow fell, and he did not go because of the snow. He marched off and went into the land of Gilead.(L) 23 When he approached Baskama, he killed Jonathan, and he was buried there.(M) 24 Then Trypho turned and went back to his own land.
Jonathan’s Tomb
25 Simon sent and took the bones of his brother Jonathan and buried him in Modein, the city of his ancestors.(N) 26 All Israel bewailed him with great lamentation and mourned for him many days.(O) 27 And Simon built a monument over the tomb of his father and his brothers; he made it high so that it might be seen, with polished stone at the front and back. 28 He also erected seven pyramids, opposite one another, for his father and mother and four brothers. 29 For the pyramids[d] he devised an elaborate setting, erecting about them great columns, and on the columns he put suits of armor for a permanent memorial, and beside the suits of armor he carved ships, so that they could be seen by all who sail the sea. 30 This is the tomb that he built in Modein; it remains to this day.(P)
Judea Gains Independence
31 Trypho dealt treacherously with the young King Antiochus; he killed him(Q) 32 and became king in his place, putting on the crown of Asia, and he brought great calamity on the land.(R) 33 But Simon built up the strongholds of Judea and walled them all around, with high towers and great walls and gates and bolts, and he stored food in the strongholds.(S) 34 Simon also chose emissaries and sent them to King Demetrius with a request to grant relief to the country, for all that Trypho did was to plunder.(T) 35 King Demetrius sent him a favorable reply to this request and wrote him a letter as follows, 36 “King Demetrius to Simon, the high priest and friend of kings, and to the elders and nation of the Jews, greetings.(U) 37 We have received the gold crown and the palm branch that you sent, and we are ready to make a general peace with you and to write to our officials to grant you release from tribute.(V) 38 All the grants that we have made to you remain valid, and let the strongholds that you have built be your possession.(W) 39 We pardon any errors and offenses committed to this day and cancel the crown tax that you owe, and whatever other tax has been collected in Jerusalem shall be collected no longer.(X) 40 And if any of you are qualified to be enrolled in our bodyguard,[e] let them be enrolled, and let there be peace between us.”(Y)
41 In the one hundred seventieth year the yoke of the nations was removed from Israel, 42 and the people began to write in their documents and contracts, “In the first year of Simon the great high priest and commander and leader of the Jews.”(Z)
The Capture of Gazara by Simon
43 In those days Simon[f] encamped against Gazara[g] and surrounded it with troops. He made a siege engine, brought it up to the city, and battered and captured one tower. 44 The men in the siege engine leaped out into the city, and a great tumult arose in the city. 45 The men in the city, with their wives and children, went up on the wall with their clothes torn, and they cried out with a loud voice, asking Simon to make peace with them;(AA) 46 they said, “Do not treat us according to our wicked acts but according to your mercy.” 47 So Simon reached an agreement with them and stopped fighting against them. But he expelled them from the city and cleansed the houses in which the idols were located and then entered it with hymns and praise.(AB) 48 He removed all uncleanness from it and settled in it those who observed the law. He also strengthened its fortifications and built in it a house for himself.
Simon Regains the Citadel at Jerusalem
49 Those who were in the citadel at Jerusalem were prevented from going in and out to buy and sell in the country. So they were very hungry, and many of them perished from famine.(AC) 50 Then they cried to Simon to make peace with them, and he did so. But he expelled them from there and cleansed the citadel from its pollutions.(AD) 51 On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the one hundred seventy-first year, the Jews[h] entered it with praise and palm branches, and with harps and cymbals and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel.(AE) 52 Simon[i] decreed that every year they should celebrate this day with rejoicing. He strengthened the fortifications of the temple hill alongside the citadel, and he and his men lived there.(AF) 53 Simon saw that his son John had reached manhood, so he made him commander of all the forces, and he lived at Gazara.(AG)
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