1 Then the king of Egypt gathered together a large army, like sand along the seashore, and many ships; and he sought to obtain possession of Alexander's kingdom by deceit, and to add it to his kingdom.
2 So he set out for Syria with words of peace, and those from the cities were open to him and met with him, because King Alexander ordered them to meet him since he was his father-in-law.
3 But when Ptolemy entered the cities, he set a band of soldiers in every city.
4 But when they neared Azotus, they showed him the temple of Dagon which had been burned, and Azotus and the surrounding fortifications that were destroyed, and the bodies of those lying about whom Jonathan had burned in the war; for they made heaps of them in his path.
5 They also told the king what Jonathan had done, so as to blame him; but the king remained silent.
6 Jonathan then met the king in Joppa with great ceremony, and they greeted each other and stayed the night there.
7 Jonathan journeyed with the king to the river Eleutherus, and then went back to Jerusalem.
8 Thus King Ptolemy ruled over the coastal cities as far as Seleucia by the sea, and devised evil plans against Alexander.
9 So he sent ambassadors to King Demetrius, saying, “Come, let us enter into a covenant with one another. I will give you my daughter, Alexander's wife, in marriage, and you will reign over your father's kingdom.
10 For I regret giving him my daughter, since he tried to kill me.”
11 Thus, Ptolemy blamed Alexander because he desired his kingdom.
12 So he took back his daughter and gave her to Demetrius. Therefore he was estranged from Alexander, and their animosity was evident.
13 Then Ptolemy entered Antioch and assumed the crown of Asia. So he wore two crowns on his head, that of Egypt and that of Asia.
14 But King Alexander was in Cilicia at this time, for the inhabitants there were in revolt.
15 When Alexander heard of it, he engaged him in battle. So Ptolemy went out with a mighty force and faced him, putting him to flight.
16 Then Alexander took refuge in Arabia, seeking safety. King Ptolemy was held in great honor.
17 So Zabdiel the Arab cut off Alexander's head and sent it to Ptolemy.
18 But King Ptolemy died three days later, and his garrisons in the fortresses were destroyed by the inhabitants of those fortresses.
19 Thus in the one hundred and sixty-seventh year, Demetrius became king.
20 In those days, Jonathan gathered men from Judea to attack the citadel in Jerusalem, and he built many engines of war for use against it.
21 But some lawless men who despised their nation came to the king and told him Jonathan would set siege to the citadel.
22 When the king heard this, he was enraged; and he broke camp and went to Ptolemais. He wrote Jonathan that he was to lift the siege, and to meet him in Ptolemais at once for a conference.
23 But when Jonathan heard this, he issued orders to continue the siege. Then he chose some elders of Israel and some priests, and put himself in danger.
24 For he took silver, gold, clothing, and many other friendly gifts and went to the king in Ptolemais. And Jonathan found favor with him.
25 Again, some lawless men from the nation accused Jonathan.
26 But the king did to him as those before him had done and exalted him in front of all his friends.
27 He also confirmed him in the high priesthood and whatever other honors he held before, and considered him as one of his best friends.
28 Then Jonathan asked the king to exempt Judea from taxes along with the three provinces and Samaria, and promised him three hundred talents.
29 The king was pleased and wrote Jonathan a letter concerning all these things. Its message was as follows:
30 “King Demetrius to his brother Jonathan and the nation of the Jews, greetings.
31 The copy of this letter which we wrote to Lasthenes our relative concerning you we have copied also to you, that you might know what it says.
32 ‘King Demetrius to his father Lasthenes, greetings.
33 To the nation of the Jews, our friends, and who do what is right towards us, we have decided to do good, because of their goodwill toward us.
34 We have established the borders of Judea for them and the three provinces of Aphairema, Lydda, and Rathamin. They were added to Judea from Samaria, as well as all the areas bordering them. All who offer sacrifices in Jerusalem we have released from the royal taxes which the king received from them each year, from the harvest of the earth and fruit of the trees.
35 Any other payments due us from now on from the tithes, the salt pits, and the crown taxes—from all these we grant release.
36 None of these provisions will be cancelled from now on for all time.
37 Now therefore, take heed to make a copy of this, and let it be given to Jonathan and put in a notable place on the holy mountain.’ ”
38 When King Demetrius saw the land was peaceful before him and no one was opposed to him, he dismissed his troops, each to their own place, except the foreign soldiers whom he had recruited as mercenaries from the islands of the nations. So all the soldiers who had served his fathers hated him.
39 Now Trypho formerly had been one of Alexander's supporters. He saw that all the soldiers complained against Demetrius. So he approached Imalkue the Arab, who was rearing Antiochus, the young son of Alexander.
40 He insisted that he hand Antiochus over to him, so as to make him king in place of his father. He told Imalkue everything Demetrius had done and the hatred his troops had for him; and he remained there many days.
41 Meanwhile, Jonathan sent to King Demetrius the request that he remove the soldiers in the citadel from Jerusalem as well as those in the fortresses; for they were at war with Israel.
42 Then Demetrius sent to Jonathan, saying, “Not only will I do these things for you and your nation, but I will greatly honor you and the Jewish nation when I have the opportunity.
43 And you will do rightly to send me soldiers who will ally with me, because all my troops have revolted.”
44 So Jonathan sent three thousand very able men to him at Antioch. When they came to the king, he was very glad at their arrival.
45 Then men from the city gathered within the city, a hundred and twenty thousand of them, and they wanted to kill the king.
46 But the king fled into the palace, and those from the city seized the streets of the city, and they began to fight.
47 So the king summoned the Jews for help, and they all rallied around him and dispersed throughout the city. On that day they killed about one hundred thousand men.
48 They set the city on fire, took many spoils on that day, and rescued the king.
49 When the men of the city realized the Jews had gained control of the city at will, they lost their courage and called out to the king with this request:
50 “Restore the peace and make the Jews quit fighting us and the city.”
51 So they threw down their weapons and made peace. Then the Jews were honored before the king and before all those in his kingdom. After this, they returned to Jerusalem with many spoils.
52 Thus King Demetrius ruled on the throne of his kingdom, and the land was peaceful before him.
53 But he broke his word about everything he promised Jonathan. Thus he became estranged from him, and did not repay Jonathan the favors he had done for him, but greatly afflicted him.
54 Later, Trypho returned and had with him the young boy Antiochus, who put on the crown and became king.
55 All the troops who had cursed Demetrius gathered around him. They fought against Demetrius, who was put to flight.
56 Trypho then captured the elephants and gained control of Antioch.
57 So Antiochus the younger wrote to Jonathan, saying, “I confirm you in the high priesthood, set you over the four provinces, and you will be one of the king's friends.”
58 He also sent him gold cups to serve him at table, and gave him authority to drink from these, to dress in purple, and to wear a golden buckle.
59 He then established Simon his brother as general from the Ladder of Tyre to the boundary of Egypt.
60 Then Jonathan departed and journeyed beyond the river and in the cities. The entire army of Syria gathered around him as allies. When he went into Askelon, the people of the city met him and honored him.
61 From there, he left for Gaza, but when the inhabitants of Gaza shut him out, he besieged the city, set its surrounding fortifications on fire, and plundered them.
62 Thus the men of Gaza pleaded with Jonathan. He made peace with them, took the sons of their governors as hostages, and dispatched them to Jerusalem. Then he traveled through the country, going as far as Damascus.
63 Jonathan also got word the officers of Demetrius had arrived in Kadesh in Galilee with a sizable army. They intended to oust him from office.
64 So he set out to meet them, but he left his brother Simon in the country.
65 Then Simon positioned himself at Beth-zur, and for many days fought against it and blocked it off.
66 Then the people begged him for peace, and he granted it to them. So he cast them out from there, took possession of the city, and placed a garrison in it.
67 Now Jonathan and his soldiers camped by the lake of Gennesaret, and rose early the next morning and marched to the plain of Hazor.
68 Then behold, the foreign army met him in the plain and set up an ambush against him in the mountains. But they themselves met him face to face.
69 Then the men in the ambush rose up from their places and joined the battle.
70 All Jonathan's men fled. None of them remained except Mattathias, the son of Absalom, and Judas, the son of Chalphi, commanders of the armed forces.
71 So Jonathan tore his garments, poured earth on his head, and prayed.
72 Then he turned back to the battle and put the enemy to flight.
73 When Jonathan's men who had run away saw this, they returned and joined him in the pursuit of the enemy as far as Kadesh, and there they set up camp.
74 As many as three thousand of the foreign army fell that day. Then Jonathan went back to Jerusalem.