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1Antiochus the Seventh, the son of Demetrius the Second, sent a letter from the Greek islands to the Jews and to Simon the high priest and ruler.[#15.1 Ruled 138–129 b.c.; #15.1 See 11.19 and the note there.]
2It said:
10In the year 174 of the Syrian Kingdom, Antiochus the Seventh invaded the land of his ancestors. Soon most of Trypho's soldiers deserted and joined the army of Antiochus, leaving Trypho with only a few soldiers.[#15.10 That is, 138 b.c.]
11He retreated to the town of Dor on the coast, and Antiochus got ready to attack him there.
12Trypho was in real trouble now, because he did not have enough troops to fight back.
13Antiochus led 120,000 soldiers and eight thousand cavalry to Dor
14and surrounded the town. At the same time, his ships attacked from the sea, and the people of Dor were trapped.
15Meanwhile, Numenius and the other messengers returned to Jerusalem from Rome with letters to different countries and rulers. One of the letters said:[#1 Macc 12.16.; #15.15 See 12.16; 14.22.]
22Lucius sent the same letter to King Demetrius and to Attalus, Ariarathes, and Arsaces.
23It went to every country, including Sampsames and Sparta. And it went to Caria, Pamphylia, and Lycia, as well as to the islands of Delos, Samos, Rhodes, Cos, Aradus, and Cyprus and to the cities of Myndos, Sicyon, Halicarnassus, Cnidus, Gortyna, Cyrene, Phaselis, and Side.[#15.23 The location is not known.]
24Simon the high priest also received a copy of the letter.
25Antiochus the Seventh made a second attack against the town of Dor. His soldiers set up weapons for breaking through the wall; they fought long and hard and kept Trypho from leaving.
26Simon wanted to help Antiochus. So he sent him 2,000 of his best soldiers, together with silver and gold and many supplies.
27Antiochus not only refused Simon's help, but he turned against him and broke every promise he had ever made.
28Antiochus told his trusted friend Athenobius to meet with Simon and tell him:[#15.28 See the note at 2.18.]
32When Athenobius arrived in Jerusalem, he could not take his eyes off Simon's great wealth. Simon had a table with dishes made of gold and silver, and he owned many other valuable things. Then Athenobius told Simon what the king had said.[#15.32 One possible meaning for the difficult Greek text.]
33Simon answered:
Athenobius was so furious that he could not speak. He returned to Antiochus and told him what Simon had said. He also let him know about Simon's great wealth and everything else he had seen. This report made Antiochus very angry.
37Meanwhile, Trypho had escaped by ship from Dor and sailed to the town of Orthosia.
38-39Antiochus went after him, but left Cendebeus in command of the coastland. He gave him soldiers and cavalry and said, “Get ready to invade Judea and attack the Jews. Make the fortress at Kedron even stronger.”
40Cendebeus led his army to Jamnia and started causing trouble in the town. He invaded Judea and killed everyone he captured.
41After he made the fortress at Kedron stronger, he stationed some soldiers and cavalry there. Then he told them, “The king has ordered us to patrol the roads in Judea.”