1 Maccabees 15
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
15 And king Antiochus the son of Demetrius sent letters from the isles of the sea to Simon the priest, and prince of the nation of the Jews, and to all the people:
2 And the contents were these: King Antiochus to Simon the high priest, and to the nation of the Jews, greeting.
3 Forasmuch as certain pestilent men have usurped the kingdom of our fathers, and my purpose is to challenge the kingdom, and to restore it to its former estate: and I have chosen a great army, and have built ships of war.
4 And I design to go through the country that I may take revenge of them that have destroyed our country, and that have made many cities desolate in my realm.
5 Now therefore I confirm unto thee all the oblations which all the kings before me remitted to thee, and what other gifts soever they remitted to thee:
6 And I give thee leave to coin thy own money in thy country:
7 And let Jerusalem be holy and free, and all the armour that hath been made, and the fortresses which thou hast built, and which thou keepest in thy hands, let them remain to thee.
8 And all that is due to the king, and what should be the king's hereafter, from this present and for ever, is forgiven thee.
9 And when we shall have recovered our kingdom, we will glorify thee, and thy nation, and the temple with great glory, so that your glory shall be made manifest in all the earth.
10 In the year one hundred and seventy-four Antiochus entered into the land of his fathers, and all the forces assembled to him, so that few were left with Tryphon.
11 And king Antiochus pursued after him, and he fled along by the sea coast and came to Dora.
12 For he perceived that evils were gathered together upon him, and his troops had forsaken him.
13 And Antiochus camped above Dora with a hundred and twenty thousand men of war, and eight thousand horsemen:
14 And he invested the city, and the ships drew near by sea: and they annoyed the city by land, and by sea, and suffered none to come in, or to go out.
15 And Numenius, and they that had been with him, came from the city of Rome, having letters written to the kings, and countries, the contents whereof were these:
16 Lucius the consul of the Romans, to king Ptolemee, greeting.
17 The ambassadors of the Jews our friends came to us, to renew the former friendship and alliance, being sent from Simon the high priest, and the people of the Jews.
18 And they brought also a shield of gold of a thousand pounds.
19 It hath seemed good therefore to us to write to the kings, and countries, that they should do them no harm, nor fight against them, their cities, or countries: and that they should give no aid to them that fight against them.
20 And it hath seemed good to us to receive the shield of them.
21 If therefore any pestilent men are fled out of their country to you, deliver them to Simon the high priest, that he may punish them according to their law.
22 These same things were written to king Demetrius, and to Attalus, and to Ariarathes, and to Arsaces,
23 And to all the countries; and to Lampsacus, and to the Spartans, and to Delus, and Myndus, and Sicyon, and Caria, and Samus, and Pamphylia, and Lycia, and Alicarnassus, and Cos, and Side, and Aradus, and Rhodes, and Phaselis, and Gortyna, and Gnidus, and Cyprus, and Cyrene.
24 And they wrote a copy thereof to Simon the high priest, and to the people of the Jews.
25 But king Antiochus moved his camp to Dora the second time, assaulting it continually, and making engines: and shut up Tryphon, that he could not go out.
26 And Simon sent to him two thousand chosen men to aid him, silver also, and gold, and abundance of furniture.
27 And he would not receive them, but broke all the covenant that he had made with him before, and alienated himself from him.
28 And he sent to him Athenobius one of his friends, to treat with him, saying: You hold Joppe, and Gazara, and the castle that is in Jerusalem, which are cities of my kingdom:
29 Their borders you have wasted, and you have made great havock in the land, and have got the dominion of many places in my kingdom.
30 Now therefore deliver up the cities that you have taken, and the tributes of the places whereof you have gotten the dominion without the borders of Judea.
31 But if not, give me for them five hundred talents of silver, and for the havock that you have made, and the tributes of the cities other five hundred talents: or else we will come and fight against you.
32 So Athenobius the king's friend came to Jerusalem, and saw the glory of Simon and his magnificence in gold, and silver, and his great equipage, and he was astonished, and told him the king's words.
33 And Simon answered him, and said to him: We have neither taken other men's land, neither do we hold that which is other men's: but the inheritance of our fathers, which was for some time unjustly possessed by our enemies.
34 But we having opportunity claim the inheritance of our fathers.
35 And as to thy complaints concerning Joppe and Gazara, they did great harm to the people, and to our country: yet for these we will give a hundred talents. And Athenobius answered him not a word:
36 But returning in a rage to the king, made report to him of these words, and of the glory of Simon, and of all that he had seen, and the king was exceeding angry.
37 And Tryphon fled away by ship to Orthosias.
38 And the king appointed Cendebeus captain of the sea coast, and gave him an army of footmen and horsemen.
39 And he commanded him to march with his army towards Judea: and he commanded him to build up Gedor, and to fortify the gates of the city, and to war against the people. But the king himself pursued after Tryphon.
40 And Cendebeus came to Jamnia, and began to provoke the people, and to ravage Judea, and to take the people prisoners, and to kill, and to build Gedor.
41 And he placed there horsemen, and an army: that they might issue forth, and make incursions upon the ways of Judea, as the king had commanded him.
1 Maccabees 15
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 15
Letter of Antiochus VII. 1 Antiochus,[a] son of King Demetrius, sent a letter from the islands of the sea to Simon, the priest and ethnarch of the Jews, and to all the nation, 2 which read as follows:
“King Antiochus sends greetings to Simon, the high priest and ethnarch, and to the Jewish nation. 3 Whereas certain villains have gained control of the kingdom of our ancestors, I intend to reclaim it, that I may restore it to its former state. I have recruited a large number of mercenary troops and equipped warships. 4 I intend to make a landing in the country so that I may take revenge on those who have ruined our country and laid waste many cities in my kingdom.
5 “Now, therefore, I confirm to you all the tax exemptions that the kings before me granted you and whatever other privileges they conceded to you. 6 I authorize you to coin your own money, as legal tender in your country. 7 Jerusalem and its sanctuary shall be free. All the weapons you have prepared and all the strongholds you have built and now occupy shall remain in your possession. 8 All debts, present or future, due to the royal treasury shall be canceled for you, now and for all time. 9 When we establish our kingdom, we will greatly honor you and your nation and the temple, so that your glory will be manifest in all the earth.”
10 In the one hundred and seventy-fourth year[b] Antiochus invaded the land of his ancestors, and all the troops rallied to him, so that few were left with Trypho. 11 Pursued by Antiochus, Trypho fled to Dor, by the sea,[c] 12 realizing what troubles had come upon him now that his soldiers had deserted him. 13 Antiochus encamped before Dor with a hundred and twenty thousand infantry and eight thousand cavalry. 14 While he surrounded the city, his ships closed from the sea, so that he pressed it hard by land and sea and let no one go in or out.
Roman Alliance Renewed. 15 Meanwhile, Numenius and his companions came from Rome with letters containing this message to various kings and countries:(A) 16 “Lucius,[d] Consul of the Romans, sends greetings to King Ptolemy. 17 Ambassadors of the Jews, our friends and allies, have come to us to renew their earlier friendship and alliance. They had been sent by Simon the high priest and the Jewish people, 18 and they brought with them a gold shield of a thousand minas.(B) 19 Therefore we have decided to write to various kings and countries, that they are not to venture to harm them, or wage war against them or their cities or their country, and are not to assist those who fight against them. 20 We have also decided to accept the shield from them. 21 If, then, any troublemakers from their country take refuge with you, hand them over to Simon the high priest, so that he may punish them according to their law.”
22 The consul sent identical letters to Kings Demetrius, Attalus,[e] Ariarthes and Arsaces; 23 to all the countries—Sampsames, the Spartans, Delos, Myndos, Sicyon, Caria, Samos, Pamphylia, Lycia, Halicarnassus, Rhodes, Phaselis, Cos, Side, Aradus, Gortyna, Cnidus, Cyprus, and Cyrene. 24 A copy of the letter was also sent to Simon the high priest.
Hostility from Antiochus VII. 25 When King Antiochus encamped before Dor, he assaulted it continuously both with troops and with the siege engines he had made. He blockaded Trypho by preventing anyone from going in or out. 26 Simon sent to Antiochus’ support two thousand elite troops, together with silver and gold and much equipment. 27 But he refused to accept the aid; in fact, he broke all the agreements he had previously made with Simon and became hostile toward him.(C)
28 He sent Athenobius, one of his Friends, to confer with Simon and say: “You are occupying Joppa and Gazara and the citadel of Jerusalem; these are cities of my kingdom. 29 You have laid waste their territories, done great harm to the land, and taken possession of many districts in my kingdom. 30 Now, therefore, give up the cities you have seized and the tribute money of the districts you control outside the territory of Judea; 31 or instead, pay me five hundred talents of silver for the devastation you have caused and five hundred talents more for the tribute money of the cities. If you do not do this, we will come and make war on you.”
32 So Athenobius, the king’s Friend, came to Jerusalem and on seeing the splendor of Simon’s court, the gold and silver plate on the sideboard, and his rich display, he was amazed. When he gave him the king’s message, 33 Simon said to him in reply: “It is not foreign land we have taken nor have we seized the property of others, but only our ancestral heritage which for a time had been unjustly held by our enemies. 34 Now that we have the opportunity, we are holding on to the heritage of our ancestors. 35 As for Joppa and Gazara, which you demand, those cities were doing great harm to our people and our country. For these we will give you a hundred talents.” Athenobius made no reply, 36 but returned to the king in anger. When he told him of Simon’s words, of his splendor, and of all he had seen, the king fell into a violent rage.
Victory over Cendebeus. 37 Trypho had boarded a ship and escaped to Orthosia.[f] 38 Then the king appointed Cendebeus commander-in-chief of the seacoast, and gave him infantry and cavalry forces. 39 He ordered him to encamp against Judea and to fortify Kedron[g] and strengthen its gates, so that he could wage war on the people. Meanwhile the king went in pursuit of Trypho. 40 When Cendebeus came to Jamnia, he began to harass the people and to make incursions into Judea, where he took people captive and massacred them. 41 As the king ordered, he fortified Kedron and stationed cavalry and infantry there, so that they could go out and patrol the roads of Judea.
Footnotes
- 15:1 Antiochus: Antiochus VII Sidetes, son of Demetrius I, and younger brother of Demetrius II (now a prisoner of the Parthians). At the age of twenty he set out from the island of Rhodes to take his brother’s place and drive out the usurper Trypho.
- 15:10 The one hundred and seventy-fourth year: 138 B.C.
- 15:11 Dor, by the sea: a fortress on the Palestinian coast, fifteen miles south of Carmel.
- 15:16 Lucius: perhaps Lucius Caecilius Metellus, consul in 142 B.C., or Lucius Calpurnicus Piso, consul in 140–139 B.C. This document pertains to Simon’s first years as leader.
- 15:22 Attalus: Attalus II of Pergamum, reigned 159–138 B.C. Ariarthes: Ariarthes V of Cappadocia, reigned 162–130 B.C. Arsaces: see note on 14:2.
- 15:37 Orthosia: a port between Tripoli and the Eleutherus River.
- 15:39 Kedron: a few miles southeast of Jamnia and facing the fortress of Gazara held by John Hyrcanus (13:53; 16:1).
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