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[1]Moreouer, king Antiochus the sonne of Demetrius, sent letters from the Iles of the sea, vnto Simon the hie priest and prince of the Iewes, and to all the people.
[2]Concerning these wordes: Antiochus the king sendeth greeting vnto Simon the hie priest, and to the people of the Iewes.
[3]Forsomuch as certaine wicked men haue gotten the kingdome of our progenitours, I haue purposed to chalenge the realme againe, and to restore it to the olde estate: Wherefore I haue gathered a great hoast, and made shippes of warre:
[4]That I may go through the countrey, and be auenged of them which haue destroyed our lande, and wasted many cities in my realme.
[5]And therefore nowe I make thee free also from all the tributes whereof all kinges my progenitours haue discharged thee, & from other customes wherefrom they haue releassed thee, whatsoeuer they be:
[6]Yea, I geue thee leaue to smite money of thyne owne within thy lande.
[7]As for Hierusalem, I wyll that it be holy and free, and all the weapons and houses of defence which thou hast builded and kepest in thyne handes shable thyne.
[8]Whereas any thing is or shalbe owing vnto the king, I forgeue it thee, from this time foorth for euermore.
[9]And when we haue obtayned our kingdome, we shall do thee, thy people, and the temple, great worship: so that your honour shalbe knowen throughout the whole worlde.
[10]In the hundred threescore & fourteenth yere went Antiochus into his fathers land, and all the men of warre came together vnto him, so that fewe were left with Tryphon.
[11]So the king Antiochus folowed vpon him: but he fled vnto Dora, which lyeth by the sea side:
[12]For he sawe that there was mischiefe comming vnto him, and that his hoast had forsaken him.
[13]Then came Antiochus vnto Dora with an hundred and twentie thousand men of armes on foote, and eyght thousand horsmen: so he compassed the citie rounde about, and the shippes came by the sea.
[14]Thus they vexed the citie by land and by water, insomuch that they suffered no man to go in nor out.
[15]In the meane season came Numenius, & they that had ben with him, from the citie of Rome, hauing letters written vnto the kinges & prouinces, wherein were contayned these wordes:
[16]Lucius the consull of Rome, sendeth greeting vnto Ptolomi the king.
[17]The Ambassadours of the Iewes our friendes, being sent from Simon the hie priest, and from the people of the Iewes, came vnto vs for to renue the olde friendship and bonde of loue,
[18]Brought a shielde of golde weying a thousand pounde,
[19]Wherefore, we thought it good to write vnto the kinges and prouinces, to do them no harme, nor to take part against them, their cities, nor countries, neither to maintaine their enemies against them.
[20]And we were content to receaue of them the shielde.
[21]If there be any wicked persons therefore fled from their countrey vnto you, deliuer them vnto Simon the hie priest, that he may punishe them according to their owne lawe.
[22]The same wordes wrote the Romanes also vnto Demetrius the king, to Attalus, Araba, Arsaces,
[23]And to all regions: as Samsanes, to them of Spartia, Delo, Mydo, Sidon, Caria, Samos, Pamphilia, Lycia, Alicarnassem, and to the Rhodes, to Faselidis, Coo, Sida, Arado, Cortyna, Gnidum, to Cypres, and Cyren.
[24]And of euery letter they sent a copie to Simon the hie priest.
[25]So Antiochus the king brought his hoast vnto Dora the second time to take it, where he made diuers ordinaunce of warre, and kept Tryphon in that he should not go eyther in or out.
[26]Then sent Simon vnto Antiochus two thousand chosen men to helpe him, with golde, siluer, & other plenteous thinges.
[27]Neuerthelesse, he woulde not receaue them, but brake all the couenaut which he made with Simon afore, and withdrewe him selfe from him.
[28]He sent Athenobius also a frend of his vnto Simon for to reason with him, saying: Ye withholde fro me Ioppa and Gaza, with the castle that is at Hierusalem, which are cities of my realme,
[29]Whose borders ye haue destroyed, and done great euill in the lande, hauing the dominion in many other places of my kingdome.
[30]Wherfore deliuer now the cities which ye haue taken, with the tributes of the places that ye haue rule vpon without the borders of Iurie:
[31]Or els geue me fiue hundred talentes of siluer: yea & for the harme that ye haue done in the cities & for the tributes of the same, other fiue hundred talentes: yf no, we shall come and fight against you.
[32]So Athenobius the kinges friend came to Hierusalem, and when he sawe the great worship & honour of Simon in golde, siluer, & so great plentie of ornamentes, he maruailed: & tolde Simon as the king commaunded him.
[33]Then aunswered Simon, and saide vnto him: As for vs, we haue neither taken other mens landes, nor withholden the: but onely our fathers heritage, which our enemies had vnrighteously in possession a certaine time.
[34]This heritage of our fathers haue we chalenged in processe of time.
[35]And whereas thou complaynest concerning Ioppa & Gaza, they did great harme to our people and in our lande, yet wyll we geue an hundred talentes for them. Neuerthelesse, Athenobius aunswered him not one worde:
[36]But turned againe wrothfully vnto the king, & tolde him al these words, and the great dignitie of Simon, with al that he had seene: & the king was very angry.
[37]And in the meane time fled Tryphon by ship vnto Orthosias.
[38]Then the king made Cendebeus captaine of the sea coast, and gaue him an hoast of footemen and horsemen,
[39]Commaunding him to remoue the hoast toward Iurie, & to builde vp the citie of Cedron, to make vp the portes, and to warre against the people of the Iewes: As for the king him selfe, he folowed vpon Tryphon.
[40]So Cendebeus came vnto Iamnia, and began to vexe the people, to treade downe Iurie, to take the people prisoners, to slay them,
[41]And to builde vp Cedron, where he set horsmen and other men of warre, that they might come foorth, and go through the streetes of Iurie, lyke as the king had commaunded him.
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