Demetrius the Second Is Taken Prisoner

1In the year 172 of the Syrian Kingdom, King Demetrius the Second led an army to the country of Media, where he hoped to hire soldiers to help him fight Trypho.

2When King Arsaces of Persia and Media learned that Demetrius had invaded his country, he sent one of his generals 3to capture him alive. This general defeated the army of Demetrius and took Demetrius to King Arsaces, who put him in prison.

In Praise of Simon

4The country was at peace

while Simon ruled,

because he worked

for the good of the nation.

Everyone was glad that he ruled,

and they honored him

for as long as he lived.

5Simon became a true hero

by capturing

the seaport of Joppa.

Now ships can sail

to faraway islands.

6Simon made the country larger

and ruled the entire region.

7He took many prisoners

and also captured the towns

of Gazara and Beth-Zur.

And when he took control

of the Jerusalem fortress,

he removed all the idols

that had made it unclean.

No one could oppose him!

8Life was peaceful on the farms;

the earth produced grain,

and fruit grew on the trees.

9In towns the old folks

talked about the good things

that had happened,

while young soldiers strolled by

in their fancy uniforms.

10Simon supplied the towns

with food and protection

and was famous everywhere.

11He brought peace

and great joy to Israel.

12Everyone rested unafraid

beneath their own grapevines

and fig trees;

13troublemakers and enemy kings

had been crushed.

14Simon helped the poor

and obeyed the Law of God

by destroying outlaws

and rebellious people.

15He gave gifts to the temple

and made it more glorious.

Simon Makes a Treaty with Rome and Sparta

16Cities as far away as Rome and Sparta mourned at the news of Jonathan's death. 17But they were pleased that Jonathan's brother Simon had taken his place as high priest and ruler of Judea.

18 The Romans and Spartans wanted Simon to be their friend and ally, just as his brothers had been, so they wrote him letters on sheets of bronze.

19The Jews then read these letters during a meeting in Jerusalem. 20The letter from the Spartans said:

The city of Sparta and its leaders send greetings to Simon the high priest, to the other leaders and priests, and to our relatives, the Jews.

21Your messengers made us very happy when they told us how famous you are. 22The details of their visit are in our record books, which say:

"The Jews sent Numenius and Antipater to us as messengers to make sure that we were on friendly terms. 23We Spartans gladly welcomed these men and honored them. Moreover, we placed a copy of their message in the public building where all our record books are kept. We have also sent a copy to Simon the high priest, telling what we have done."

24After the Jews had finished their meeting, Simon sent Numenius to Rome to make certain that the Romans were still their allies. Numenius took them a heavy gold shield that weighed almost 570 kilograms.

25When the people found out what Simon was doing, they said, "How can we repay Simon and his descendants? 26He and his brothers and the rest of his father's family have been strong; they have defeated our enemies and set us free."

The people wrote on sheets of bronze the things Simon had done, then they fastened the sheets to stone columns on Mount Zion. 27-28This is what they wrote:

After Simon the great high priest had ruled for three years in Asaramel, our priests, rulers, and leaders held an important meeting on the eighteenth day of the month of Elul in the year 172 of the Syrian Kingdom. This is what we were told:

29"Simon the son of Mattathias was a priest from Joarib's family. He and his brothers risked their lives and fought back whenever our enemies attacked us. They protected our temple and the Law of Moses, and they made us famous.

30"Simon's brother Jonathan united our people, and we chose him to be our high priest. But after he died, 31our enemies prepared to invade Judea, because they wanted to attack our temple and destroy the country.

32"Simon took command of our army. He spent a lot of his own money to pay our soldiers and to buy weapons and armor for us. 33He put up strong walls and towers in the towns of Judea, as well as in the border town of Beth-Zur, where the enemy used to store weapons. Then he stationed Jewish soldiers at Beth-Zur.

34"Simon built a fortress in the coastal town of Joppa as well as in the town of Gazara, because it was close to Azotus, which had been a stronghold for our enemies. Simon settled Jews in Gazara, and he gave everyone in these towns whatever they needed to make the towns fit to live in.

35"Simon was a dependable man who had high hopes for our country and did all he could to make our nation glorious. So we chose him to be our ruler and high priest.

36"The Gentiles had built a fortress in Jerusalem and had stationed some soldiers there, who then attacked the rest of us and made the temple and everything else unclean. But Simon successfully forced the Gentiles out of Judea; he got rid of the troops in the fortress and was in full control of everything.

37"Simon strengthened the walls of the Jerusalem fortress and stationed soldiers there to guard the country and city. He also made the walls around Jerusalem higher.

38"Simon did everything well, so King Demetrius accepted him as our high priest. 39Demetrius called Simon his trusted friend and gave him many other honors. 40He did this because he knew that the Romans had welcomed Simon's messengers and considered Jews their friends, allies, and relatives.

41"Our people and priests gladly chose Simon and his descendants to be our rulers and high priests forever, or until God sends a true prophet.

42"Simon will rule over us and care for our temple, our country, our weapons, and our fortresses. 43Everyone must obey his orders and write his name on all official documents in Judea. Simon has permission to wear purple clothes and gold jewelry, just like a king.

44"Our people and our priests must never change any of these orders. They must obey Simon and never hold meetings in the country without first asking him. And none of them may wear purple clothes and a gold buckle, as though they were kings. 45Anyone who disobeys or rejects these orders will be punished."

46-47The people agreed with these decisions that Simon should be high priest, commander, and ruler of the nation and its priests. Simon was glad to do all this, and he promised to protect them.

48The agreement was written on sheets of bronze, then put in the temple for everyone to see. 49Copies were also stored in the treasury for Simon and his family.