1 Maccabees 10:69-71

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

⁶⁹ And Deme′trius appointed Apollo′nius the governor of Coelesyria, and he assembled a large force and encamped against Jam′nia. Then he sent the following message to Jonathan the high priest:

⁷⁰ “You are the only one to rise up against us, and I have become a laughingstock and reproach 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.