1   And ^note Simon heard that Tryphon gathered a very great armie, to come into the land of Iuda, and to destroy it.

2   Seing that the people was in dread, and in feare, he went vp to Iurusalem, and assembled the people:

3   and exhorting he sayd: You know what great battels I and my bretheren, and the house of my father, haue made for the lawes, & the holies, and the distresses that we haue sene:

4   by reason of these are al my bretheren perished for Israel, and I onlie am left.

5   And now let it not fal to me to spare my life in al time of tribulation: for I am not better then my bretheren.

6   I wil ^note auenge therfore my nation and the holies, our children also, & wiues: because al the heathen are gathered together to destroy vs of emnitie.

7   And the spirit of the people was kindled as soone as they heard these wordes:

8   and they answered with a lowd voice, saying: Thou art our captayne in the place of Iudas, and Ionathas thy brother:

9   fight thou our battel, & we wil doe al thinges whatsoeuer thou shalt say to vs.

10   And gathering together al the men of warre, he hastened to finish al the walles of Ierusalem, and fortified it round about.

11   And he sent Ionathas the sonne of Absalom, & with him a new armie into Ioppe, and they that were in the castel being cast out, he remayned there.

12   And Tryphon remoued from Ptolemais with a great armie, to come into the land of Iuda, & Ionathas with him in ward.

13   But Simon pitched in Addus against the face of the playne.

14   And as Tryphon vnderstood that Simon was risen in the place of his brother Ionathas: and that he

would ioyne battel with him, he sent legats to him,

25   saying: For the siluer, that thy brother Ionathas owed in the kings account, for the affayres which he had, we haue stayed him.

16   And now send an hundred talents of siluer, and his two sonnes for hostages, that being dismissed he flee not from vs, and we wil release him.

17   And Simon knew that with guile he spake with him, ^note neuertheles he commanded the siluer, and the children to be geuen: lest he should get great emnitie with the people of Israel, saying:

18   Because he sent not the siluer, & the children, therfore is he perished.

19   And he sent the children, and the hundred talents: and he lyed, and dismissed not Ionathas.

20   And after these thinges came Tryphon within the countrie, to destroy it, and they compassed by the way that leadeth to Addar, & Simon, and his campe marched into euerie place whither soeuer they went.

21   And they that were in the castel, sent legates to Tryphon, that he should hasten to come through the desert, and should send them victuals.

22   And Tryphon prepared al the horsemen, to come that night: but there was an exceding great snow, and he came not into the countrie of Galaad.

23   And when he had approched to Bascama, he slew Ionathas and his sonnes there.

24   And Tryphon returned, & went into his countrie.

25   And Simon sent, and tooke the bones of Ionathas his brother, and buried them in Modin the citie of his fathers.

26   And al Israel lamented him with great lamentation: & they mourned for him manie dayes,

27   And Simon ^note built ouer the sepulcher of his father and of his bretheren, a building high to behold, of stone polished behind and before:

28   and he erected seuen spyres one against one, to his father and mother, and to his foure bretheren:

29   and about these he set great pillers: and vpon the pillers armour for an eternal memorie: and by the armour shippes grauen, which might be sene of al that sayled the sea.

30   This is the sepulcher, that he made in Modin euen vntil this day.

31   But Tryphon wh&ebar; he iourneyed with Antiochus the king being but a yong man, by guile he slew him.

32   And he reigned in his place, and put the crowne of Asia vpon himself, and made a great plague in the land.

33   And Simon built the fortresses of Iurie, fortifying them with high towres, and great walles, and gates, and lockes: and he put victuals in the fortresses.

34   And Simon chose men & sent to Demetrius the king, that he would make a release to the countrie: because al Tryphons actes had bene

done by spoile.

35   And Demetrius the king according to these wordes answered him, and wrote an epistle in this maner:

36   King demetrius to Simon the high priest, and the freind of kinges, and to the ancients, and to the nation of the Iewes, greeting.

37   The crowne of gold, and ^note the bahem, which you sent, we haue receiued: and we are readie to make with you great peace, and to write to the kings chiefe officers to release you the thinges that we haue released.

38   For what soeuer thinges we haue decreed vnto you, stand in force. The holdes that you haue built, let them be to you.

39   We remitte also the ignorances, and offences euen vntil this day, and the crowne which you owed: and if any other thing was tributarie in Ierusalem, now let it not be tributarie.

40   And if anie of you be fitte to be inrolled among ours, let them be inrolled, and let there be peace betwen vs.

41   In the yeare an hundreth seuentie was the yoke of the Gentils taken away from Israel.

42   And the people of Israel began to write in the tables, and publique instruments. The first yeare vnder Simon the high priest, the great duke, and the prince of the Iewes.

43   In these dayes Simon approched to Gaza, and compassed it with campes, and he made engins, & set them to the citie, and he stroke one towre, and tooke it.

44   And they that were within the engin, brake out into the citie and there was made a great sturre in the citie.

45   And they that were in the citie went vp with their wiues, & children vpon the wal their coates tent, and they cried with a lowd voice, desyring of Simon that the tight handes might be geuen them,

46   and they sayd: Requite vs not according to our malices, but according to thy mercies.

47   And Simon yelding destroyed them not: but ^note yet he cast them out of the citie, and clensed the houses, wherein there had bene idols, and then he entered into it with hymes blessing our Lord:

48   and al filthines being cast out of it, he placed in it men that should doe the law: and he fortified it, and made it his habitation.

49   But they that were in the castel of Ierusalem, were prohibited to goe out and to come in to the countrie, & to bye, and sel: and they were exceding hungrie, and manie of them perished for famine,

50   and they cried to Simon to receiue the right handes, and he gaue it them: and he cast them out from thence, and clensed the castel from the contaminations:

51   and they entered into it the three and twentith day of the second moneth, the yeare an hundreth seuentie one, with prayse, and boughes of palme trees, and

harpes, and cymbals, & nables, and hymnes, and canticles, because the great enemie was destroyed out of Israel.

52   And he ordayned that euerie yeare these dayes should be kept with gladnes.

53   And he fortified the mount of the temple, that was by the castel, and he dwelt there him self, and they that were with him.

54   And Simon saw ^note Iohn his sonne, that he was a valient man of warre: & he made him captayne of al the hosts: and he dwelt in Gazara.

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