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1In the one hundred sixtieth year of Greek rule, Alexander Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, arrived and occupied Ptolemais. The people accepted him, and he began his reign there.[#10:1 The 160th year of Greek rule was 152 b.c.]
2When King Demetrius Soter heard of this, he gathered together a very large army and went to fight him.
3Demetrius sent Jonathan a letter containing words of peace and promises to honor him.
4He reasoned, “We need to make peace with him before he makes an alliance with Alexander against us.
5For he will remember all the harm we have done to him, to his brothers, and to his nation.”
6So Demetrius gave Jonathan authority to recruit and equip an army, hoping to make him a military ally. He also ordered that the hostages in the citadel should be released to Jonathan.
7Jonathan came to Jerusalem and read the letters to all the people and to those in the citadel.
8They were greatly alarmed when they heard that the king had given him authority to recruit an army,
9but the guards at the citadel released the hostages to Jonathan, and he returned them to their parents.
10Thereafter, Jonathan lived in Jerusalem and began to rebuild and repair the city.
11He ordered workers to build walls around Mount Zion, using squared stones for better fortification.
12The foreigners living in the strongholds built by Bacchides fled,
13each one leaving his place and returning to his own country.
14Only in Beth-zur did some remain who had forsaken the law of Moses and the commandments, for this was a place of refuge for them.
15King Alexander heard of the promises that Demetrius had made to Jonathan. He was told of the battles fought and the brave deeds done by Jonathan and his brothers, as well as the hardships they had endured.
16He said, “Could we ever find another man like this? We should make him our friend and our ally.”
17So the king sent Jonathan a letter that read:
Alexander also sent him a purple robe and a crown of gold.
21So in midautumn of the one hundred sixtieth year of Greek rule, at the Festival of Shelters, Jonathan put on the holy vestments, and he recruited troops and heavily armed them.[#10:21 Greek in the seventh month. This month of the Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in September and October 152 b.c.]
22When Demetrius heard about this, he was very distressed and said,
23“What have we done that Alexander has thwarted our plans? He has gotten ahead of us and strengthened himself by gaining the friendship of the Jews.
24I’ll do the same thing; I’ll send a letter of friendship to them and offer them honor and gifts so that they will help me.”
25So he sent this letter to them:
46When Jonathan and the people heard this message, they did not believe it, because they remembered the tremendous harm that Demetrius had done to Israel and how much he had oppressed the people.
47They continued to side with Alexander, because he had been the first to offer them a peace treaty. So they remained his ally as long as he lived.
48King Alexander gathered a large army and moved his camp near the army of Demetrius.
49Then the armies of the two kings began to fight each other. The army of Demetrius fled, and Alexander’s army pursued them and won the battle.[#10:49 Some manuscripts read The army of Alexander fled, and Demetrius’s army pursued them and won the battle.]
50They continued to pursue them until sundown, and Demetrius was killed that day.
51Alexander sent ambassadors to Ptolemy Philometor, king of Egypt, with this message:
55King Ptolemy answered,
57So Ptolemy left Egypt with his daughter Cleopatra and came to Ptolemais in the one hundred sixty-second year of Greek rule.[#10:57 The 162nd year of Greek rule was 150 b.c.]
58King Alexander met him on friendly terms there, and Ptolemy gave Alexander his daughter Cleopatra in marriage. Ptolemy celebrated her marriage at Ptolemais with great and royal splendor.
59King Alexander wrote to Jonathan that he should come and meet him.
60So Jonathan went in stately ceremony to Ptolemais and met the two kings there. Jonathan gave them and their favored leaders silver, gold, and many other gifts and thereby gained their favor.
61Some ungodly troublemakers from Israel gathered together to bring accusations against him, but the king paid no attention to them.
62Alexander commanded that Jonathan should be clothed with a royal purple robe instead of his ordinary clothes, and it was done.
63Then the king gave him a seat of honor at his side. He said to his officers, “Escort Jonathan to the middle of the city and proclaim that no one is to bring charges against him for any reason, nor should anyone even annoy him.”
64When Jonathan’s accusers saw that he was being honored and that he was clothed in a royal purple robe, they all fled.
65So the king honored him and declared in writing that he was one of his most favored leaders, and he made him general and governor of Judea.[#10:65 Greek lacks of Judea.]
66Then Jonathan returned to Jerusalem with a sense of peace and joy.
67In the one hundred sixty-fifth year of Greek rule, Demetrius Nicator, the son of Demetrius Soter, came from Crete to the land of his ancestors.[#10:67 The 165th year of Greek rule was 147 b.c.]
68When King Alexander heard about it, he was very troubled and returned to Antioch.
69Demetrius appointed Apollonius governor of Coelesyria. Apollonius then gathered together a large army and set up camp outside Jamnia. He sent this message to Jonathan, the high priest:
74When Jonathan heard the message from Apollonius, he was stirred to action. He chose ten thousand men and marched out from Jerusalem, and his brother Simon met him to help him.
75They set up camp outside Joppa, for the gates of the town had been closed because a garrison of Apollonius was in Joppa. When Jonathan’s army began to attack it,
76those in the town became terrified. So they opened the gates to him, and Jonathan captured Joppa.
77When Apollonius heard about this, he assembled three thousand horsemen and a large army and marched to Azotus, as though he were going to pass through the area. But immediately he went out on to the plain because he had many horsemen he could rely on.
78Jonathan pursued him to Azotus, and they fought there.
79Apollonius had secretly left a thousand horsemen behind Jonathan’s army.
80Jonathan realized that there was an ambush behind him, for they surrounded his army and shot arrows at his soldiers from morning until evening.
81But his men stood firm, as Jonathan had ordered them, while the enemy’s horses grew tired.
82Then Simon brought his army forward and attacked the enemy’s ranks of foot soldiers, for their horsemen had become exhausted. He crushed the enemy, and they fled.
83The horsemen scattered across the plain and fled to Azotus, where they took refuge in Beth-dagon, the temple of their idol.
84But Jonathan set fire to Azotus and the surrounding towns. He carried away their possessions and burned down the temple of Dagon, along with all who had fled into it.
85Almost eight thousand people were killed, whether by sword or by fire.
86Then Jonathan moved his army and set up camp outside Ashkelon. The people came out of the town to greet him with great ceremony.
87After this, Jonathan returned to Jerusalem with his people and a large amount of plunder.
88When King Alexander heard about these deeds, he honored Jonathan even more.
89He sent him a buckle of gold, a gift that is customarily given only to those whom the king regards as members of the royal family. He also gave Jonathan the town of Ekron and all its surrounding villages.