The chat will start when you send the first message.
1Antiochus the son of King Demetrius sent a letter from the sea islands to Simon, the priest and ruler of the Jews, and to all the nation:
10In the year 174, Antiochus invaded the land of his ancestors. All the troops went over to his side. Trypho had only a few remaining.[#15.10 138 BCE]
11Antiochus pursued him, and Trypho fled to Dor, which is by the sea.
12He knew that things looked bad for him and that his troops had deserted him.
13Antiochus camped against Dor with one hundred twenty thousand warriors and eight thousand cavalry.
14He surrounded the town, and ships joined the battle from the sea. He pressured the town from land and sea, and he didn’t let anyone leave or enter it.
15Then Numenius and his companions arrived from Rome with letters to the kings and countries:
22The consul wrote the same thing to King Demetrius and to Attalus, Ariarathes, and Arsaces.
23He also wrote it to all the countries—to Sampsames, the Spartans, Delos, Myndos, Sicyon, Caria, Samos, Pamphylia, Lycia, Halicarnassus, Rhodes, Phaselis, Cos, Side, Aradus, Gortyna, Cnidus, Cyprus, and Cyrene.
24They also sent a copy of these things to Simon the high priest.
25King Antiochus besieged Dor for a second time, continually making war engines and throwing his forces against it. He forced Trypho to stay inside and restricted his movement.
26Simon sent two thousand select troops to fight for Antiochus. He also sent silver, gold, and a large amount of military equipment.
27But Antiochus wouldn’t accept them. He broke all the agreements that he had made with Simon in the past and became like a stranger to him.
28He sent Athenobius, one of his leading political advisors, to talk with Simon: “You hold control of Joppa and Gazara and the elevated fortress in Jerusalem. They are cities of my kingdom.[#15.28 Or Friends]
29You have devastated their territory. You have done great damage in the land. You have taken possession of many places in my kingdom.
30Now hand over the cities that you have captured and the money you have received from the places you have conquered beyond Judea’s borders.
31Or you can pay me 28,500 pounds of silver for the destruction you have caused and another 28,500 pounds for the tribute money of the cities. Otherwise, I will come and make war on you.”
32So the king’s advisor Athenobius came to Jerusalem. When he saw the magnificence of Simon, including his special cupboard that had gold and silver on it, all representing his considerable position, he was amazed. But he delivered the king’s message.
33Simon replied, “We haven’t taken foreign land or property. We’ve taken only our ancestors’ inheritance, which was unjustly stolen by our enemies.
34Now that we have the opportunity, we will hold on firmly to their inheritance.
35As for Joppa and Gazara, which you demand, they were causing a lot of problems for our people and land. But we’ll give you 5,700 pounds of silver for them.” Athenobius didn't say a word.
36Instead, he returned with great anger and told the king what Simon had said. He also reported on Simon’s wealth and all that he had seen, and the king was enraged.
37Meanwhile, Trypho escaped on a ship and went to Orthosia.
38The king made Cendebeus supreme commander of the coastal lands, and he gave him infantry and cavalry.
39He commanded him to camp against Judea, to secure Kedron and its gates, and to wage war against the people. Then the king went to hunt down Trypho.
40Cendebeus came to Jamnia and bothered the people. He invaded Judea and killed the prisoners of war.
41Following the king’s orders, he fortified Kedron. He stationed cavalry and troops there so that they could go out and raid along the roads of Judea.