1And Antiochus, son of Demetrius the king, sent letters from the islands of the sea to Simon, priest and ethnarch of the Jews, and to the whole nation.
2And they contained the following: ‘King Antiochus to Simon the great priest and ethnarch, and to the nation of the Jews, greetings.’
3Since certain scoundrels have seized control of the kingdom of our fathers, I am planning to reclaim the kingdom, so that I may restore it as it was before. And I have recruited a multitude of forces and have equipped warships.
4And I intend to land in the country, so that I may proceed against those who have ruined our country and those who have devastated many cities in the kingdom.
5Now therefore I confirm for you all the exemptions that the kings before me granted you, and whatever other exemptions they granted you.
6You are also permitted to mint your own coinage as currency for your country.
7And Jerusalem and the sanctuary are to be free. And all the weapons that you have manufactured and the fortresses that you have built, which you now hold, let them remain yours.
8And let every royal debt, both present and future, be forgiven you from now and for all time.
9And when we have established our kingdom, we will honor you and your nation and your temple with great honor, so that your glory will become known in all the earth.
10In the one hundred and seventy-fourth year, Antiochus went forth into the land of his fathers, and all the forces rallied to him, so that few remained with Trypho.
11And King Antiochus pursued him, and he fled to Dora by the sea.
12For he knew that troubles had gathered against him and that his forces had deserted him.
13And Antiochus encamped against Dora, and with him were one hundred and twenty thousand fighting men and eight thousand horsemen.
14And he surrounded the city, and the ships joined the attack from the sea. He pressed the city hard from the land and from the sea, and allowed no one to go out or come in.
15And Numenius and his companions came from Rome, with letters for the kings and the countries, in which the following was written:
16‘Lucius, consul of the Romans, to King Ptolemy, greetings.’
17The envoys of the Jews have come to us as our friends and allies to renew the original friendship and alliance, sent from Simon the high priest and the people of the Jews.
18And they brought a golden shield weighing five thousand minas.
19Therefore it seemed good to us to write to the kings and the countries, that they should not seek to do them harm, nor make war on them, their cities, or their countries, nor ally themselves with those who make war on them.
20And it seemed good to us to receive the shield from them.
21If, therefore, any scoundrels have fled from their country to you, hand them over to Simon the high priest, so that he may punish them according to their law.
22And he wrote the same things to King Demetrius and to Attalus, Ariarathes, and Arsaces,
23and to all the countries: to Sampsames, to the Spartans, to Delos, Myndus, Sicyon, Caria, Samos, Pamphylia, Lycia, Halicarnassus, Cos, Side, Aradus, Rhodes, Phaselis, Gortyna, Cnidus, Cyprus, and Cyrene.
24And he wrote a copy of these letters to Simon the high priest.
25But King Antiochus encamped against Dora a second time, continually bringing his forces against it and making siege engines, and he blockaded Trypho from going in or out.
26And Simon sent him two thousand chosen men to fight as his allies, along with silver and gold and abundant equipment.
27But he was not willing to receive them; instead, he nullified everything he had previously agreed to with him and became estranged from him.
28And he sent Athenobius, one of his Friends, to him to confer with him, saying, “You are holding Joppa, Gazara, and the citadel in Jerusalem—cities of my kingdom.’
29You have devastated their territories, inflicted a great blow upon the land, and taken control of many places in my kingdom.
30Now therefore, hand over the cities you have seized, and the tribute from the places outside the borders of Judea that you have taken control of.
31But if not, give five hundred talents of silver for them, and for the destruction you have caused and for the tribute from the cities, another five hundred talents. Otherwise, we will come and wage war against you.”
32And Athenobius, a friend of the king, came to Jerusalem, and he saw the glory of Simon, and the cabinet with its gold and silver plate, and his great retinue. And he was astonished, and he reported the king’s words to them.
33And Simon answered and said to him, “We have neither taken foreign land nor seized what belongs to others, but only the inheritance of our fathers, which was unjustly held by our enemies for a time.
34But we, having the opportunity, are holding fast to our fathers’ inheritance.
35As for Joppa and Gazara, which you demand—they were inflicting great harm on the people and in our land. For these we will give one hundred talents.” And he did not answer him a word.
36But he returned to the king in anger and reported to him these words, and the glory of Simon, and all that he had seen. And the king became greatly enraged.
37But Trypho boarded a ship and fled to Orthosia.
38And the king appointed Cendebeus commander of the coastal region, and he gave him infantry and cavalry forces.
39And he commanded him to encamp opposite Judea, and he commanded him to build Kedron and to fortify the cities, and to wage war against the people. Meanwhile, the king was pursuing Trypho.
40So Cendebeus came to Jamnia and began to provoke the people, to invade Judea, and to take the people captive and kill them.
41And he built Kedron and stationed cavalry and forces there, so that they might go out and patrol the roads of Judea, just as the king had commanded him.
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