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1In the year 172, King Demetrius gathered together his military forces. He marched into Media to find help, in order to wage war against Trypho.[#14.1 140 BCE]
2When Arsaces, the king of Persia and Media, heard that Demetrius had invaded his territory, he sent one of his generals to capture him alive.
3The general went and defeated the army of Demetrius. He arrested Demetrius and took him to Arsaces, who put him under guard.
4The land of Judah enjoyed peace all the days of Simon.
He sought what was good for his nation.
His rule was agreeable to them,
5His crowning achievement
was to take Joppa for a harbor,
opening the way to the sea
with its islands.
6He also extended his country’s borders.
He gained full control of the land;
He ruled over Gazara, Beth-zur,
and the elevated fortress.
He removed the impurities
from the elevated fortress.
8People worked their farmland in peace.
The ground was fertile,
9Old men sat along the sides of the streets and talked about good things.
The young put on
impressive military uniforms.
10Simon supplied the towns with food
and with the means for defense.
His fame spread to the ends of the earth.
11He established peace
throughout the land,
12All the people sat under their own vines and fig trees.
No one made them afraid.
13No one was left in the land to fight them,
because foreign kings had been crushed in those days.
14He gave help to all the humble ones among his people.
He sought lawful ways.
He did away with evil people
and those who sinned against the Law.
15He made the sanctuary glorious,
and added to its holy equipment.
16The people in Rome, and those who were as far away as Sparta, learned that Jonathan had died, and they were all very sad.
17They also heard that Simon his brother had become high priest in his place and that he was ruling over the country and its towns.
18So they wrote to him on bronze tablets to renew with him the friendly alliance that they had established with his brothers Judas and Jonathan.
19The tablets were read before the assembly in Jerusalem.
20This is a copy of the letter that the Spartans sent:
24Following this exchange, Simon sent Numenius to Rome with a large gold shield weighing one thousand manehs, to confirm the alliance with the Romans.
25When the people heard these things they said, “How should we thank Simon and his sons?
26He and his brothers, and his father’s family, have stood firm. They have fought and repelled Israel’s enemies and established our freedom.” So they made a written record on bronze plaques and put it on pillars on Mount Zion.
27This is a copy of the document:
46All the people agreed to give Simon the power to act in keeping with these decisions.
47Simon accepted and agreed to be high priest, to command and rule the Jews and the priests, and to protect them all.
48Also they gave orders to write this decision on bronze plates and to set them up in a public place in the sanctuary grounds.
49Finally, they were to place copies in the treasury so that Simon and his sons would have access to them.