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.[#14.1 That is, 140 b.c.; #14.1 See 11.19 and the note there.]

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.

¹⁸The 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.[#1 Macc 8.22.]

¹⁹The Jews then read these letters during a meeting in Jerusalem.

²⁰The letter from the Spartans said:

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.[#14.24 See 15.15-24.]

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:

^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.