1   And in the yeare an hundreth threescore came vp Alexander ^notethe sonne of Antiochus, that was surnamed Noble: and he tooke Ptolemais, and they receiued him, and he reigned there.

2   And Demetrius the king heard it, and he gathered together an exceding great armie, and went forth to meete him into battel.

3   And Demetrius sent an epistle to Ionathas in peaceable wordes, to magnifie him.

4   For he sayd: Let vs preuent to make peace with him, before he make with Alexander against vs:

5   for he wil remember al the euils, that

we haue done against him, and against his brother, and against his nation.

6   And he gaue him authoritie to gather an armie, and to make weapons, and to be himself his felow: and the hostages that were in the castel, he commanded to be deliuered to him.

7   And Ionathas came into Ierusalem, and read the epistles in the hearing of al the people, and of them that were in the castle.

8   And they feared with great feare, because they heard that the king gaue him authoritie to gather an armie.

9   And the hostages were deliuered to Ionathas, & he rendered them to their parents.

10   And Ionathas dwelt in Ierusalem, and began to build, and to renew the citie.

11   And he spake to them that made the workes, that they should build the walles, and mount Sion round about with square stones for munition: and so they did.

12   And the Aliens fled that were in the holdes, which Bacchides had built:

13   and euerie man left his place, and departed into his owne countrie:

14   onlie in Bethsura there remained some of them, that had forsaken the law, and the precepts of God: for this was for a refuge to them.

15   And Alexander the king heard of the promises, that Demetrius had promised to Ionathas: and they told him the battels, and the worthie acts that he did, and his bretheren, and the labours, that they endured:

16   and he sayd: Why, shal we find any such man? and now we wil make him a freind, & our felow.

17   And he wrote an epistle, & sent it to him according to these wordes, saying:

18   King Alexander to his brother Ionathas greeting.

19   We haue heard of thee, that thou art mightie of powre, and art meete to be our freind:

20   & now ^note we make thee this day high priest of thy nation, that thou be called the kings freind (and he sent him purple, and a crowne of gold) and in our affayres thou be of one minde with vs, and keepe amitie towards vs.

21   And Ionathas put on him the holie stole the seuenth moneth, in the yeare an hundreth threescore in the solemne day of Scenopegia: and he gathered an armie, and made very manie weapons.

22   And Demetrius heard these wordes, and was exceding sorie, and sayd:

23   What is this that we haue done, that Alexander hath preuented vs to take the frendshippe of the Iewes for his strength?

24   I also wil write to them wordes of request, and dignities, and gifts: that they may be with me to ayde me.

25   And he wrote to them in these wordes: King Demetrius to the nation of the Iewes greeting.

26   Because you haue kept couenant towards vs, and haue continewed in our

amitie, and haue not ioyned to our enemies, ^note we haue heard of it, & are glad.

27   And now perseuere stil to keepe fidelitie towards vs, & we wil reward you with good thinges, for that you haue done with vs.

28   And we wil remitte you manie charges, and wil geue you manie gifts.

29   And now I release you, and al the Iewes from tributes, and I pardon you the prices of salt, and remitte the crownes, and the thirds of the seede:

30   and the halfe of the fruite of trees, which is my portion, I leaue to you from this day fotward, that it be not taken of the land of Iuda, and of the three cities that are added therto of Samaria, and Galilee from this day and foreuer:

31   and let Ierusalem be holie, and free with the coasts therof: and the tithes, & tributes be they to it.

32   I release also the authoritie of the castel, that is in Ierusalem, and I geue it to the high priest, to place therin men whomsoeuer he shal choose, that may keepe it.

33   And euerie soule of the Iewes, that is captiue from the land of Iuda in al my kingdom, I dismisse free for nothing, that al may be discharged also from tributes of their cattel.

34   And al the solemne dayes, and the sabbaths, and the new moones, and the dayes appointed, and three dayes before the solemne day, and three dayes after the solemne day let them al be of immunitie and remission, to al the Iewes that are in my kingdom:

35   and no man shal haue powre to do any thing, and to make businesses against any of them in any cause.

36   And let there be inrolled of the Iewes in the kinges armie to the number of thirtie thousand men: and allowance shal be geuen them as behoueth to al the kings bands, and of them there shal be ordayned certaine, that shal be in the fortresses of the great king:

37   and of these there shal be appoynted ouer the affayres of the kingdom, that are done of trust, and let there be princes of them, and let them walke in their owne lawes, as the king hath commanded in the land of Iuda.

38   And the three cities that are added to Iurie of the countrie of Samaria, let them be accounted with Iurie: that they may be vnder one, and obey no other powre, but the high priestes:

39   Ptolomais, and the confines therof, which I haue geuen for a gift to the holies, that are in Ierusalem, to the necessarie charges of the holie thinges.

40   And I geue euerie yeare fiftene thousand sicles of siluer of the kings accounts, that belong to me:

41   and al that is aboue which they had not rendred, that were ouer the affayres the yeares before, from this time they shal geue it to the workes of the house.

42   And beside these fiue thousand sicles of siluer, which they receiued of the account of the holies euerie yeare: and let these perteyne to the priests, that execute the ministerie.

43   And whosoeuer flee into the temple that is in Ierusalem, & in al the coasts therof, in the kings danger for matter, let them be dismissed, & al thinges, that they haue in my kingdom, let them haue it free.

44   And to build or repayre the workes of the holie places, the charges shal be geuen of the kings account:

45   and to build the walles in Ierusalem, and to fortifie them round about, the charges shal be geuen of the kings account, and to build the walles in Iurie.

46   But as Ionathas, and the people heard these wordes, ^note they beleued them not, nor receiued them: because they remembred the great mischife, that he had done in Israel, and had afflicted them excedingly.

47   And their liking was toward Alexander, because he had bene the first mouer of the wordes of peace vnto them, and him they ayded al dayes.

48   And king Alexander gathered a great armie, and moued the campe nere to Demetrius.

49   And the two kinges ioyned battel, and the armie of Demetrius fled, and Alexander pursewed him, and vrged them fore.

50   And the battel grew very sore, til the sunne went downe: and Demetrius was slaine in that day.

51   And Alexander sent legates to ^note Ptolomee king of Ægypt according to these wordes, saying:

52   Becavse I am returned into my kingdom, and am set in the seate of my fathers, and haue obteyned the princedom, and haue destroyed Demetrius, and possessed our countrie,

53   and haue ioyned battel with him, and he is destroyed him self, & his campe by vs, and we sit in the seate of his kingdom:

54   and now let vs make amitie one with an other: and geue me thy daughter to wife, and I wil be thy sonne in law, and I wil geue thee gifts, and to her, dignitie.

55   And king Ptolomee answered, saying: Happie is the day wherin thou art returned to the land of thy fathers, and art set in the seate of their kingdom.

56   And now I wil doe to thee that which thou hast writen: but meete me at Ptolemais, that we may see one an other, and I may despouse her to thee as thou hast sayd.

57   And Ptolomee went out of Ægypt, he and Cleopatra his daughter, and he came to Ptolomais in the yeare an hundred threescore and two.

58   And Alexander the king mette him, and he gaue him Cleopatra his daughter: and he made her mariage at Ptolomais, as kinges in great glorie.

59   And king Alexander wrote to Ionathas, that he

should come to meete him.

60   And he went with glorie to Ptolomais, and he mette there the two kinges, and he gaue them much siluer, and gold, and gifts: and he found grace in their sight.

61   And there assembled against him pestilent men of Israel, wicked men soliciting against him: and the king attended not to them.

62   And he commanded Ionathas to be changed of his garments, and that he should be clothed with purple: and so they did. And the king placed him to sit with him self.

63   And he sayd to his princes: Goe ye out with him into the middes of the citie, & proclame, that no man solicite against him for any matter, and that no man be trublesome vnto him for any cause.

64   And it came to passe, as they that solicited, ^note saw his glorie that was published, & him couered with purple, they al fled:

65   and the king magnified him, and wrote him amongst his chiefe freindes, and made him Duke, and partaker of the princedom.

66   And Ionathas returned into Ierusalem with peace, and ioy.

67   In the yeare an hundreth sixtie fiue came Demetrius the sonne of Denetrius from Crete into the land of his fathers.

68   And Alexander the king heard it, and he was verie sorie, and returned to Antioche.

69   And Demetrius the king made Apollonius general, who was ruler of Coelesiria: & he gathered a great armie, & came to Iamnia: and he sent to Ionathas the high priest,

70   saying: Thou onlie resistest vs, and I am brought into derision, and into reproch, because thou doest exercise powre against vs in the mountains.

71   Now therfore if thou trust in thy forces, come downe to vs into the plaine, let vs compare there one with an other: because with me is the force of battels.

72   Aske, and learne who I am, and the rest, that ayde me, who also say that your foote can not stand before our face, because twise haue thy fathers bene put to flight in their owne land:

73   and now how wilt thou be able to abide the horsemen, & so great an armie in the plaine, where is no stone, nor rocke, nor place to flee?

74   But as Ionathas heard the wordes of Apollonius, he was moued in minde: and he chose tenne thousand men, and went forth from Ierusalem, & Simon his brother mette him to ayde him.

75   And they moued the campe to Ioppe, and it shut him out of the citie: because the garison of Apollonius was in Ioppe, and he assaulted it.

76   And they that were in the citie being put in great feare, opened to him, and Ionathas obteyned Ioppe.

77   And Apollonius heard it, & he tooke three thousand horsemen,

and a great armie.

78   And he went to Azotus as making iorney, and immediatly he went forth into the plaine: because he had a multitude of horsemen, and he trusted in them. And Ionathas pursewed him vnto Azotus, and they ioyned battel.

79   And Apollonius left in the campe a thousand horsemen behinde them secretly.

80   And Ionathas vnderstood that there was an embushement behind him, and they compassed his campe, and they threw dattes vpon the people from morning euen vnto euening.

81   But ^note the people stood, as Ionathas had commanded: and their horses laboured.

82   And Simon put forth his armie, and ioyned it against the legion: for the horsemen were wearied: and they were discomfited by him, and fled.

83   And they that were scattered by the playne, fled into Azotus, and entered into Bethdagon their idol house, there to saue them selues.

84   And Ionathas burnt Azotus, and the cities that were round about it, and he tooke the spoiles of them, and the temple of Dagon: and al that fled into it, he burnt with fire.

85   And there were that were slayne by the sword, with these that were burnt, almost eight thousand men.

86   And Ionathas has remoued the campe from thence, and brought it to Ascalon: and they went out of the citie to meete him in great glorie.

87   And Ionathas returned into Ierusalem with his companie, hauing manie spoiles.

88   And it came to passe: as Alexander the king heard these wordes, he added yet to glorifie Ionathas.

89   And he sent him a cheyne of gold, as the custome is to be geuen to the cosins of kings. And he gaue him Accaron and al the borders therof in possession.

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