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1In the year 160, Alexander Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the Fourth, landed at Ptolemais and captured it. The people welcomed him as their king.[#10.1: This corresponds to 152 b.c.; #10.1: Alexander Epiphanes is more widely known as Alexander Balas.]
2When King Demetrius heard of it, he gathered a large army and went out to meet him in battle.
3At that time Demetrius sent Jonathan a friendly letter full of flattery,
4in the hope of winning Jonathan over to his side and making peace with the Jews before Alexander made a treaty with them against him.
5Demetrius thought that Jonathan would certainly remember all the wrongs he had done to him, his brothers, and the entire Jewish nation.
6And so Demetrius made Jonathan his ally and gave him authority to raise an army and equip it. He also ordered that the hostages held in the fort at Jerusalem should be handed over to Jonathan.
7So Jonathan went to Jerusalem and read the letter to all the people and to the men in the fort.
8These men were terrified when they learned that the king had given Jonathan authority to raise an army.
9They handed the hostages over to him, and he returned them to their parents.
10Jonathan set up headquarters in Jerusalem and began to rebuild and restore the city.
11He ordered the builders to use squared stones for the city walls and for the protecting wall around Mount Zion. This was done.
12The foreigners deserted the fortresses that Bacchides had built;
13each man left his post and returned to his own country.
14But some of the Jews who had abandoned the Law of Moses and its commands were still left in Bethzur, which served as their last place of refuge.
15King Alexander learned of the promises Demetrius had made to Jonathan and he also learned about Jonathan himself, about the battles he had fought, his courageous deeds, and the troubles he and his brothers had endured.
16He was certain that he would never find another man like Jonathan and so decided to make him his friend and ally.
17He wrote Jonathan a letter:
He also sent him a royal robe and a gold crown.
21Jonathan put on the robes of the High Priest in the seventh month of the year 160 at the Festival of Shelters. He raised an army and stored up a large supply of weapons.[#10.21: This corresponds to 152 b.c.]
22When Demetrius heard this, he was distressed and said,
23“How did we manage to let Alexander get ahead of us? He has strengthened his position by making an alliance with the Jews.
24I also will write them a friendly letter offering high positions and gifts, so that they will support me.”
25He wrote:
46When Jonathan and the people heard the proposals made by King Demetrius, they refused to believe them or accept them, because they remembered how harshly he had treated them and what terrible troubles he had caused them.
47They preferred to give their allegiance to Alexander because he had been the first to open peace negotiations, and they remained his allies as long as he lived.
48King Alexander raised a large army and took up battle positions facing Demetrius.
49But when the armies of the two kings met in battle, the army of Alexander turned and ran. Demetrius pursued them and won the battle.[#10.49: some manuscripts have; #10.49: some manuscripts have]
50Alexander fought bitterly until sundown, but Demetrius was killed that day.[#10.50: some manuscripts have]
51Then Alexander sent ambassadors to King Ptolemy the Sixth of Egypt with this message:
55King Ptolemy replied, “It was a great day when you returned to your country and took the throne of your ancestors.
56I agree to your proposals, but first meet me at Ptolemais. We can get acquainted there, and I will give you my daughter in marriage.”
57So in the year 162 Ptolemy and his daughter Cleopatra left Egypt and arrived at Ptolemais.[#10.57: This corresponds to 150 b.c.; #10.57: This was Cleopatra Thea, also known as Cleopatra the Third, and not to be confused with Cleopatra the Seventh (69–30 b.c. ), who was involved in the history of Caesar and Mark Antony.]
58King Alexander met them, and Ptolemy gave him his daughter in marriage. The wedding was celebrated there in Ptolemais with royal splendor.
59King Alexander wrote asking Jonathan to come to meet him.
60So Jonathan, in a show of splendor, went to Ptolemais and met the two kings. He presented them with gifts of silver and gold, and he also gave many gifts to the high officials who had accompanied them. Everyone was favorably impressed with him.
61At the same time some traitorous Jews who wanted to make trouble for Jonathan made accusations against him, but King Alexander paid no attention to them.
62He gave orders that Jonathan should be given royal robes to wear,
63and he honored him by letting him sit at his side. Alexander told his officers to take Jonathan into the center of the city and to announce that no one was to bring charges against him for any reason and no one was to cause him any kind of trouble.
64When his accusers saw the honors given to him, heard the announcement, and saw him clothed in royal robes, they all fled.
65The king further honored Jonathan by enrolling him in the First Order of the “Friends of the King” and by making him general and governor of his province.
66Jonathan returned to Jerusalem pleased and successful.
67In the year 165 Demetrius the Second, the son of Demetrius the First, left Crete and arrived in Syria, the land of his ancestors.[#10.67: This corresponds to 147 b.c.]
68When King Alexander heard about this, he was worried and returned to Antioch, the capital of Syria.
69Demetrius reappointed Apollonius governor of Greater Syria. Apollonius raised a large army, set up camp near Jamnia, and sent the following message to Jonathan the High Priest:
74When Jonathan received this message from Apollonius, he became angry. He took 10,000 elite troops from Jerusalem; his brother Simon also brought troops, and their two forces
75set up camp outside of Joppa. The men of the city refused to let them in because there was a detachment of Apollonius' troops there, but Jonathan attacked,
76and the men in the city became so frightened that they opened the gates, allowing Jonathan to capture Joppa.
77When Apollonius heard what had happened, he took 3,000 cavalry and a large army of infantry and pretended to retreat south toward Azotus. However, relying upon the strength of his cavalry, he marched into the plain with his main force,
78-79positioning 1,000 cavalry where they could attack Jonathan's forces from the rear. Jonathan continued his pursuit as far as Azotus, where the two armies met in battle.
80Not until then did Jonathan realize that he was caught in an ambush. His army was surrounded, and enemy arrows rained down on them from morning until evening.
81But Jonathan's men stood firm, as he had ordered, and the attacking cavalry grew tired.
82Then, when the cavalry was exhausted, Simon appeared on the scene with his forces and attacked and overwhelmed the enemy infantry, who broke ranks and fled.
83The cavalry, which by now was scattered all over the battlefield, fled to Azotus, where they took refuge in the temple of Dagon, their god.
84But Jonathan set fire to the city and to the temple of Dagon, burning to death all those who had taken refuge there. Then he set fire to the surrounding towns and looted them.
85That day about 8,000 were either killed in the battle or burned to death.
86Jonathan left and set up camp at Ascalon, where the people of the city came out to welcome him with great honors.
87Jonathan and his men returned to Jerusalem with large quantities of loot.
88When King Alexander heard what Jonathan had done, he gave him even greater honors.
89He sent him a gold shoulder buckle, which is given only to those honored with the title “Relative of the King.” He also gave him the city of Ekron and its surrounding territory.