1And Jonathan saw that the time was favorable for him, so he chose men and sent them to Rome to confirm and renew the friendship with them.
2He also sent letters to the Spartans and to other places for the same purpose.
3And they went to Rome, entered the senate house, and said, “Jonathan the high priest and the nation of the Jews have sent us to renew their friendship and alliance, as it was before.”
4And they gave them letters to the authorities in each place, so that they might escort them safely to the land of Judah.
5And this is a copy of the letter that Jonathan wrote to the Spartans:
6“Jonathan the high priest, the senate of the nation, the priests, and the rest of the people of the Jews, to the Spartans their brothers: Greetings.”
7“In times past, a letter was sent to Onias the high priest from Areius, who was reigning among you, stating that you are our brothers, as the appended copy shows.”
8“And Onias received the envoy with honor and accepted the letter, in which an alliance and friendship were set forth.”
9“And so, although we have no need of these things, having the encouragement of the holy books in our hands,”
10“we have undertaken to send messengers to renew our brotherhood and friendship with you, so that we might not become estranged from you; for a long time has passed since you sent word to us.”
11“We, therefore, remember you unceasingly at all times, during our feasts and on other appointed days, at the sacrifices we offer and in our prayers, as it is right and fitting to remember brothers.”
12“And we rejoice at your glory.”
13“But as for us, many afflictions and many wars have surrounded us, and the kings around us have made war against us.”
14“Therefore, we did not wish to trouble you or our other allies and friends in these wars.”
15“For we have help from heaven to aid us, and we have been delivered from our enemies, and our enemies have been humbled.”
16“We have therefore chosen Numenius son of Antiochus and Antipater son of Jason, and we have sent them to the Romans to renew our former friendship and alliance with them.”
17“We have therefore instructed them to go also to you to greet you and to deliver to you our letter concerning the renewal of our brotherhood.”
18“And now, you will do well to send us a reply concerning these matters.”
19And this is the copy of the letter that they sent to Onias:
20“Areius, king of the Spartans, to Onias the great priest: Greetings.”
21“It has been found in a writing concerning the Spartans and the Jews that they are brothers and that they are of the stock of Abraham.”
22“And now that we have learned this, you will do well to write to us concerning your well-being.”
23“And we in turn write to you: ‘Your cattle and your possessions are ours, and ours are yours.’ We therefore command our envoys to report to you to this effect.”
24Then Jonathan heard that the commanders of Demetrius had returned with a force much larger than before to make war against him.
25So he set out from Jerusalem and went to meet them in the region of Hamath, for he did not give them time to invade his country.
26And he sent spies into their camp; they returned and reported to him, “They are preparing to attack us during the night.”
27When the sun set, Jonathan commanded his men to keep watch and to be under arms, ready for battle all night long; and he posted sentries around the camp.
28And the adversaries heard that Jonathan and his men were ready for battle, and they were afraid and their hearts failed them, and they lit fires in their camp.
29But Jonathan and his men did not know of their flight until morning, for they saw the lights burning.
30And Jonathan pursued them, but he did not overtake them, for they had crossed the Eleutherus River.
31Then Jonathan turned aside to the Arabs called Zabadeans, and he struck them down and took their plunder.
32Then he broke camp and came to Damascus, and he passed through the whole region.
33Meanwhile, Simon went out and passed through the region as far as Ashkelon and the nearby strongholds; then he turned aside to Joppa and occupied it.
34For he had heard that they intended to hand over the stronghold to Demetrius’s men, so he placed a garrison there to guard it.
35Then Jonathan returned and called an assembly of the elders of the people, and he took counsel with them to build strongholds in Judea,
36to raise the walls of Jerusalem higher, and to build a high barrier between the citadel and the city to separate it from the city, so that it would be isolated and its occupants could neither buy nor sell.
37So they gathered to build, and part of the wall of the torrent on the east side fell, and he repaired the section called Chaphenatha.
38And Simon rebuilt Adida in the Shephelah and fortified it, fitting it with gates and bars.
39Now Trypho sought to become king of Asia, to put on the diadem, and to lay hands on King Antiochus.
40But he was afraid that Jonathan would not allow him and would make war against him, so he sought a way to seize and kill him. And he set out and came to Beth-shan.
41Then Jonathan went out to meet him with forty thousand men chosen for battle, and he came to Beth-shan.
42And when Trypho saw that Jonathan had come with a large force, he was afraid to lay hands on him.
43So he received him with honor, introduced him to all his friends, gave him gifts, and commanded his friends and his forces to obey him as they would himself.
44And he said to Jonathan, “Why have you troubled all these people, since there is no war between us?”
45“Now send them to their homes, but choose for yourself a few men to be with you, and come with me to Ptolemais. I will hand it over to you, along with the other strongholds, the other forces, and all the officials. Then I will turn back and depart, for this is the reason I have come.”
46And Jonathan trusted him and did as he said. He sent away his forces, and they went to the land of Judah.
47But he kept three thousand men with him, of whom he left two thousand in Galilee, while one thousand went with him.
48But when Jonathan entered Ptolemais, the people of Ptolemais shut the gates and seized him, and they killed all who had entered with him by the sword.
49Then Trypho sent forces and cavalry to Galilee, to the Great Plain, to destroy all of Jonathan’s men.
50When his men realized that he had been seized and had perished along with those who were with him, they encouraged one another and marched out in close formation, ready for battle.
51And when their pursuers saw that they would fight for their lives, they turned back.
52So they all came safely to the land of Judah. They mourned for Jonathan and those with him, and they were very afraid. And all Israel mourned with a great mourning.
53And all the nations around them sought to destroy them, for they said, “They have no ruler or helper. Now, therefore, let us attack them and wipe out their memory from among humankind.”
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