1   In the yeare an hundreth seuentie two, king Demetrius gathered his armie, and went into Media to get him aydes to expugne Tryphon.

2   And Arsaces the king of Persia, and Media heard, that Demetrius was entered his confines, and he sent one of his princes to take him aliue.

3   And he went, and stroke the campe of Demetrius: and tooke him, and brought him to Arsaces, and he put him into ward.

4   And ^note al the land of Iuda was at rest al the dayes of Simon, and he sought good to his nation: and his powre, and his glorie pleased them al dayes.

5   And with al his glorie he tooke Ioppe for an hauen, and made it an entrance vnto the iles of the sea.

6   And he enlarged the borders of his nation, and obteyned the countrie.

7   And he gathered a great ^note captiuitie, and had the dominion of Gazara, and of Bethsura, and of the castle: and tooke away the vncleanes out of it, and there was none that resisted him.

8   And euerie man tilled his land with peace: & the land of Iuda yelded her fruites, and the trees of the fildes their fruit.

9   The ancients sate al in the streetes, and treated of the good thinges of the land, & the yongmen did on them glorie, and the stoles of warre.

10   And he gaue victuals to the cities, and he appointed them that they should be vessels of munition, til the name of his glorie was renowmed euen to the end of the earth.

11   He made peace vpon the land, & Israel reioyced with great ioy.

12   And euerie man sate vnder his vine, and vnder his figtree: and there was none to make them afrayd.

13   There was none left that impugned them vpon the earth: kinges were

discomfited in those dayes.

14   And he confirmed al the humble of his people, and sought the law, and tooke away euerie wicked and euil man:

15   he glorified the holies, and multiplied the vessels of the holie places.

16   And it was heard at Rome that Ionathas was dead, and euen vnto the Spartiats: and they were very sorie.

17   But as they heard that Simon his brother was made the high priest in his place, and he obteyned al the countrie, and the cities therein;

18   they wrote to him in brasen tables, to renew the amities and societie, which they had made with Iudas, & with Ionathas his bretheren.

19   And they were read in the sight of the church in Ierusalem. And this is a copie of the epistles, that the Spartiates sent.

20   The princes and ^note the cities of the Spartians to Simon the grand priest, and to the ancients, and the priests, and the rest of the people of the Iewes their bretheren, greeting.

21   The legates, that were sent to our people, haue told vs of your glorie, and honour, and ioy: and we reioyced at their entrance.

22   And we wrote that, which was sayd of them in the counsels of the people, thus: Numenius the sonne of Antiochus, and Antipater the sonne of Iason legates of the Iewes, came to vs, renewing with vs old amitie.

23   And it pleased the people to receiue the men gloriously, and to put a copie of their wordes in the seuered booke of the people, to be for a memorie to the people of the Spartiats. And a copie of these we haue writen to Simon the grand priest.

24   And after these thinges Simon sent Numenius to Rome, hauing a great buckler of gold, of the weight of thousand poundes, to establish amitie with them. But when the people of Rome had heard

25   these wordes, they sayd: What thankes geuing shal we render to Simon, and his children? ^note

26   For he hath restored his bretheren, and hath expugned the enemies of Israel from them: & they decreed him libertie, and registred it in tables of brasse, and put it in titles in mount Sion.

27   And this is a copie of the writing. The eightenth day of the moneth Elul, in the yeare an hundreth seuentie two, the third yeare vnder Simon the grand priest in Asaramel,

28   in a great assemblie of the priests, & of the people and the princes of the nation, and the ancients of the countrie, these thinges were notified: that there haue often bene battels made in our countrie.

29   But Simon the sonne of Mathathias of the children of Iarib, and his bretheren put themselues in danger, and resisted the aduersaries of their nation, that their holies, and

law might stand: & with great glorie haue they glorified their nation.

30   And Ionathas gathered together his nation, and was made their grand priest, and he was layd to his people.

31   And their enemies would conculcate, and destroy their countrie, and extend their handes against the holies.

32   Then Simon, resisted and fought for his nation, and bestowed much money, and armed the valient men of his nation, & gaue them wages:

33   and he fortified the cities of Iurie, and Bethsura, that was in the borders of Iurie, where the armour of the enimies was before: and he placed there Iewes for a garrison.

34   And he fortified Ioppe, which was by the sea: and Gazara, which is in the borders of Azotus, wherin the enemies dwelt before, and he placed Iewes there: and whatsoeuer was fitte for their correption, he put in them.

35   And the people saw the fact of Simon, and the glorie that he meant to doe to his nation, & they made him their duke, and grand priest, for that he had done al these thinges, and for the iustice, and fayth, which he kept to his nation, & for that he sought by al meanes to aduance his people.

36   And in his dayes it prospered in his hands, so that the heathen were taken away out of their countrie, and they that were in the citie of Dauid in Ierusalem in the castel, out of which they came forth, and contaminated al thinges that were round about the holies, & they brought great plague vpon chastitie:

37   & he placed in it men of Iurie to the defence of the countrie, & of the citie, & he raysed the walles of Ierusalem.

38   And king Demetrius appointed him the high priesthood.

39   According to these thinges he made him his freind, and glorified him with great glorie.

40   For he heard that the Iewes were called of the Romanes, freinds, and felowes, and bretheren, and that they receiued Simons legates gloriously:

41   and that the Iewes, and their priests consented that he should be their duke, and high priest ^note for euer, til there rise the faithful prophete:

42   and that he be duke ouer them, and that he should haue the care of the holies, and that he should appoint rulers ouer their workes, and ouer the countrie, and ouer the armour, and ouer the holdes.

43   And that he haue care of the holies: and that he be heard of al, and that al writinges in the countrie be writen in his name: and that he be clothed with purple, and gold:

44   and that it be not lawful for any of the people, and of the priests to disanul anie of these, and to gainsay those thinges, that are sayd of him, or to cal together an assemblie in the

countrie without him: and to be clothed with purple, and to weare a cheyne of gold.

45   But he that shal doe beside these thinges, or shal make frustrate any of these he shal be guiltie.

46   And it pleased al the people to appoiut Simon, and to doe according to these wordes.

47   And Simon tooke it vpon him, and it pleased him to execute high priesthood, and to be duke, and prince of the nation of the Iewes, and of the priests, and to be chiefe ouer al.

48   And this writing they bad them put in tables of brasse, and to set them in the circuite of the holies, in a famous place:

49   and to put a copie therof in the treasurie, that Simon may haue it, and his children.

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