1 Maccabees 14 In the hundred seuentie and two yeere gathered King Demetrius his hoste, and departed vnto Media, to get him helpe for to fight against Tryphon.

Geneva⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ In the hundred seuentie and two yeere gathered King Demetrius his hoste, and departed vnto Media, to get him helpe for to fight against Tryphon. ² But when Arsaces the King of Persia and Media heard, that Demetrius was entred within his borders, hee sent one of his princes to take him aliue. ³ So he went, and ouercame the armie of Demetrius, and tooke him, and brought him to Arsaces, which kept him in warde. ⁴ Thus all the land of Iuda was in rest, so long as Simon liued: for he sought the wealth of his nation: therefore were they glad to haue him for their ruler, and to doe him worship alway. ⁵ Simon also wanne the citie of Ioppe to his great honour to be an hauen towne, and made it an entrance vnto the yles of the sea. ⁶ He enlarged also the borders of his people, their and conquered the countreys. ⁷ He gathered vp many of their people that were prisoners, & he had the dominion of Gazaris, and Beth-sura, & the castell, which he clensed from filthines, and there was no man that resisted him, ⁸ So that euery ma tilled his ground in peace, and the land gaue her fruites, and the trees gaue their fruite. ⁹ The Elders sate in the open places, and consulted all together for the common wealth, and the yong men were honourably clothed and armed. ¹⁰ He prouided vittailes for the cities, and all kinde of munition, so that his glorious fame was renoumed vnto the end of the world. ¹¹ He made peace throughout the land, and Israel had perfite mirth and ioy. ¹² For euery man sate vnder his vine, and the fig trees, and there was no man to fray them. ¹³ There was none in the land to fight against them: for then the Kings were ouercome. ¹⁴ He helped all those that were in aduersitie among his people: hee was diligent to see the Law kept, and he tooke away the vngodly, and wicked. ¹⁵ He beautified the Sanctuarie, and encreased the vessels of the Temple. ¹⁶ When the Romanes heard, and the Spartians had knowledge, that Ionathan was dead, they were very sorie. ¹⁷ But when they heard, that Simon his brother was made hie Priest in his steade, and howe he had wonne the land againe with the cities in it, ¹⁸ They wrote vnto him in tables of brasse, to renue the friendship, and bond of loue, which they had made with Iudas and Ionathan his brethren. ¹⁹ Which writings were read before the congregation at Ierusalem, and this is the copy of the letters that the Spartians sent, ²⁰ The Senators and citie of Sparta vnto Simon the great Priest, and to the Elders, and to the Priests, and to the residue of the people of the Iewes their brethren send greeting. ²¹ When your ambassadours that were sent vnto our people, certified vs of your glory and honour, we were glad of their comming, ²² And haue registred their ambassage in the publique records in this maner, Nvmenivs the sonne of Antiochus, and Antipater the sonne of Iason the Iewes ambassadours came vnto vs, to renue amitie with vs. ²³ And it pleased the people, that the men should be honourably intreated, and that the copy of their ambassage should be registred in the publique records, that it might be for a memoriall vnto the people of Sparta: and a copy of the same was sent to Simon the chiefe Priest. ²⁴ After this Simon sent Numenius to Rome, with a great shield of golde of a thousand pound weight, to confirme the friendship with them. ²⁵ Which when the people vnderstood, they sayd, What thankes shal we recompense againe vnto Simon and his children? ²⁶ For he and his brethren, and the house of his father haue stablished Israel, and ouercome their enemies, and haue confirmed the libertie thereof: therefore they wrote this in tables of brasse, and set it vpon pillars in mount Sion. ²⁷ The copy of the writing is this, In the eight and twentie day of the moneth Elul in the hundreth, seuentie and two yeere, in the third yeere of Simon the hie Priest. ²⁸ In Saramel in the great congregation of the Priests, and of the people, and of the gouernours of the nation, and of the Elders of the countrey, we would signifie vnto you, that many battels haue bene fought in our countrey. ²⁹ Wherein Simon ye sonne of Mattathias (come of the children of Iarib) and his brethren put them selues in danger, and resisted the enemies of their nation, that their Sanctuarie, and Lawe might be mainteined, and did their nation great honour. ³⁰ For Ionathan gathered his nation together, and became their hie Priest, and is layde with his people. ³¹ After that would their enemies haue inuaded their countrey, and destroyed their land, and lay their hands on their Sanctuarie. ³² Then Simon resisted them, and fought for his nation, and spent much of his owne substance, and armed the valiant men of his nation, and gaue them wages. ³³ He fortified also the cities of Iudea, & Bethsura that lyeth vpon the borders of Iudea (where the ordinance of their enemies lay sometime) and set there a garison of the Iewes. ³⁴ And he fortified Ioppe, which lyeth vpon the sea, & Gazara that bordereth vpon Azotus, (where the enemies dwelt afore) and there he placed Iewes, and furnished them with things necessarie for the reparation thereof. ³⁵ Now when the people saw the faithfulnes of Simon, and to what glory hee thought to bring his nation vnto, they made him their gouernour, and the chiefe Priest, because hee had done all these things, and for the vprightnes, and fidelitie that he had kept to his nation, & that sought by all meanes to exalt his people. ³⁶ For in his time they prospered well by him, so that the heathen were taken out of their countrey, and they also which were in the citie of Dauid at Ierusalem, where they had made them a castell, out of the which they went, and defiled all things that were about the Sanctuarie, & did great hurt vnto religion. ³⁷ And he set Iewes in it, and fortified it, for the assurance of the land, and citie, and raised vp the walles of Ierusalem. ³⁸ And King Demetrius confirmed him in his hie Priesthood for these causes, ³⁹ And made him one of his friends, and gaue him great honour. ⁴⁰ For it was reported that the Romanes called the Iewes their friends, and confederates, and that they honourably receiued Simons Ambassadours, ⁴¹ And that the Iewes, and Priests consented, that Simon should be their Prince, and hie Priest perpetually, till God raised vp the true Prophet, ⁴² And that he should be their captaine, and haue the charge of the Sanctuarie, and so set men ouer the workes, and ouer the countrey, and ouer the weapons, and ouer the fortresses, and that should make prouision for the holy things, ⁴³ And that he should be obeyed of euery man, and that all the writings in the countrey shouldebe made in his name, and that he should be clothed in purple, and weare golde, ⁴⁴ And that it shoulde not be lawfull for any of the people or Priestes to breake any of these things, or to withstand his wordes, or to call any congregation in the countrey without him, or be clothed in purple, or weare a colar of gold: ⁴⁵ And if any did contrary to these thinges or brake any of them, he should be punished. ⁴⁶ So it pleased all the people to agree that it shoulde bee done to Simon according vnto these wordes. ⁴⁷ Simon also accepted it, and was content to be the high Priest, and the captaine, and the Prince of the Iewes, and of the Priestes, and to be the chiefe of all. ⁴⁸ And they commanded to set vp this writing in tables of brasse, and to fasten it to the wall that compassed the Sanctuarie in an open place, ⁴⁹ And that a copie of the same should be laide vp in the treasurie, that Simon and his sonnes might haue it.