First Book of Maccabees 12

¹ When Jonathan saw that circumstances were working in his favour he sent a select mission to Rome to confirm and renew his treaty of friendship with the Romans.

² He also sent letters to the same effect to the Spartans and to other places.[*a]

³ The envoys made their way to Rome and entered the Senate, where they made this announcement: ‘Jonathan the high priest and the Jewish nation have sent us to renew your treaty of friendship and alliance with them as before’.

⁴ The Romans gave them letters to the authorities of each place, to procure their safe conduct to the land of Judah.

⁵ The following is the copy of the letter Jonathan wrote to the Spartans:

⁶ ‘Jonathan the high priest, the senate of the nation, the priests and the rest of the Jewish people to the Spartans their brothers, greetings.

⁷ In the past, a letter was sent to Onias, the high priest, from Areios, one of your kings, stating that you are indeed our brothers, as the copy subjoined attests.

⁸ Onias received the envoy with honour, and accepted the letter, in which a clear reference was made to friendship and alliance.

⁹ For our part, though we have no need of these, having the consolation of the holy books in our possession,

¹⁰ we venture to send to renew our fraternal friendship with you, so that we may not become strangers to you, for a long time has elapsed since you sent us the letter.[*b]

¹¹ We may say that constantly on every occasion, at our festivals and on other appointed days, we make a remembrance of you in the sacrifices we offer and in our prayers, as it is right and fitting to remember brothers.

¹² We rejoice in your renown.

¹³ As for ourselves, we have been involved in many trials, many battles, and the surrounding kings have fought against us.

¹⁴ We were unwilling to trouble you or our other allies and friends during these wars.

¹⁵ But now, having the support of heaven to help us, we have been delivered from our enemies, and it is they who have been brought low,

¹⁶ and so we have chosen Numenius son of Antiochus, and Antipater son of Jason, and sent them to the Romans to renew our former treaty of friendship and alliance,

¹⁷ and we have ordered them to make their way to you also, to greet you, and deliver to you this letter of ours concerning the renewal of our brotherhood;

¹⁸ we shall be grateful for an answer to it.’

¹⁹ The following is the copy of the letter sent to Onias:

²⁰ ‘Areios king of the Spartans, to Onias the high priest, greetings.

²¹ lt has been discovered in a document concerning the Spartans and Jews that they are brothers, and of the race of Abraham.

²² Now that this has come to our knowledge. we shall be obliged if you will send us news of your welfare.

²³ Our own message to you is this: your flocks and your possessions are ours, and ours are yours, and we are instructing our envoys to give you a message to this effect.’

²⁴ Jonathan learned that Demetrius’ generals had returned with a larger army than before to make war on him.

²⁵ For that reason he left Jerusalem and went to face them in the region of Hamath, giving them no respite in which to mount an invasion of his own country.

²⁶ He sent spies into their camp, who told him on their return that the enemy were taking up positions for a night attack on the Jews.

²⁷ At sunset Jonathan ordered his men to keep watch with their weapons at hand, in readiness to fight at any time during the night, and posted advance guards all round the camp.

²⁸ When they knew that Jonathan and his men were ready to fight, the enemy became afraid, and with quaking hearts they kindled fires in their camp.

²⁹ Jonathan and his men, watching the glow of the fires, were unaware of their withdrawal until morning,

³⁰ and although Jonathan pursued them, he failed to overtake them, for they had already crossed the river Eleutherus.

³¹ So Jonathan wheeled round on the Arabs called Zabadaeans, defeated them and plundered them;

³² then, breaking camp, he went to Damascus, and travelled through the whole province. 33 Meanwhile Simon had also set out and had penetrated as far as Askalon and the neighbouring strongholds. He then turned on Joppa and moved quickly to occupy it,

³⁴ for he had heard of their intention to hand over this strong point to the supporters of Demetrius; he stationed a garrison there to hold it.

³⁵ On Jonathan’s return he called a meeting of the elders of the people and decided with them to build fortresses in Judaea

³⁶ and to heighten the walls of Jerusalem and erect a high barrier between the Citadel and the city, to separate it from the city and isolate it, to prevent the occupants from buying or selling.

³⁷ They gathered together to rebuild the city. Part of the wall over the eastern ravine had fallen, and he restored the quarter called Chaphenatha.

³⁸ Meanwhile Simon rebuilt Adida in the Lowlands, fortifying it, and erecting gates with bolts.

³⁹ Trypho’s ambition was to become king of Asia, assume the crown, and overpower King Antiochus.

⁴⁰ He was apprehensive that Jonathan might not allow him to do so, and might even make war on him, so he set out and came to Bethshan, in the hopes of finding some pretext for his arrest and execution.

⁴¹ Jonathan went out to intercept him, with forty thousand picked men in battle order, and arrived at Bethshan.

⁴² When Trypho saw him there with a large force, he hesitated to make any move against him.

⁴³ He even received him with honour, commended him to all his friends and presented gifts to him, and told his friends and his troops to obey him as they would himself.

⁴⁴ He said to Jonathan, ‘Why have you made all these people so tired, when there is no threat of war between us?

⁴⁵ Send them back home; pick yourself a few men as your bodyguard, and come with me to Ptolemais. I will hand it over to you, with the other fortresses and the remaining troops and all the officials; then I will take the road for home, for that was my purpose in coming here.’

⁴⁶ Jonathan trusted him and did as he said; he dismissed his forces, who returned to the land of Judah.

⁴⁷ With him he retained three thousand men, of whom he left two thousand in Galilee, while a thousand accompanied him.

⁴⁸ But as soon as Jonathan had entered Ptolemais the people of Ptolemais closed the gates, seized him, and put all those who had entered with him to the sword.

⁴⁹ Trypho sent troops and cavalry into Galilee and the Great Plain to wipe out all Jonathan’s supporters.

⁵⁰ These, concluding that he had been taken, and had perished with his companions, encouraged one another, marching with closed ranks and ready to give battle,

⁵¹ and when their pursuers saw that they would fight for their lives, they turned back.

⁵² They all reached the land of Judah safe and sound, but lamenting Jonathan and his companions, and in a state of alarm; all Israel was plunged into mourning.

⁵³ All the surrounding pagans were now looking for ways of destroying them: ‘They have no leader,’ they said ‘no ally; we have only to attack them now, and we shall blot out their very memory from mankind’.