1 Maccabees 15

Geneva^{(i) 1} Moreouer King Antiochus the sonne of Demetrius sent letters from the yles of the sea vnto Simon the Priest, and Prince of the Iewes, and to all the nation, ² Conteyning these words, Antiochvs the King vnto Simon the great Priest, and to the nation of the Iewes sendeth greeting. ³ For so much as certeine pestilent men haue vsurped the kingdome of our fathers, I am purposed to chalenge the Realme againe, and to restore it to the olde estate: wherefore I haue gathered a great hoste, and prepared shippes of warre, ⁴ That I may goe thorowe the countrey, and be auenged of them, which haue destroyed our countrey, and wasted many cities in the Realme. ⁵ Nowe therefore I doe confirme vnto thee all the liberties, whereof all the Kings my progenitours haue discharged thee, and all the payments, whereof they haue released thee. ⁶ And I giue thee leaue to coyne money of thine owne stampe within thy countrey, ⁷ And that Ierusalem, and the Sanctuarie be free, and that all the weapons, that thou hast prepared, and the fortresses, which thou hast builded, and keepest in thine hands, shall be thine. ⁸ And all that is due vnto the King, and al that shall be due vnto the King, I forgiue it thee, from this time foorth for euermore. ⁹ And when we haue obteined our kingdome, we will giue thee, and thy nation and the Temple great honour, so that your honour shall be knowen throughout the world. ¹⁰ In the hundreth, seuentie and foure yeere, went Antiochus into his fathers lande, and all the bands came together vnto him, so that fewe were left with Tryphon. ¹¹ So the King Antiochus pursued him, but he fled and came to Dora, which lyeth by the sea side. ¹² For he sawe that troubles were towarde him, and that the armie had forsaken him. ¹³ Then camped Antiochus against Dora with an hundreth and twentie thousand fighting men, and eight thousand horsemen. ¹⁴ So he compassed the citie about, & the ships came by the sea. Thus they pressed the citie by land and by sea, in so much that they suffered no man to goe in nor out. ¹⁵ In the meane season came Numenius, and his companie from Rome, hauing letters written vnto the Kings and countreys, wherein were conteyned these wordes, ¹⁶ Lvcivs the Consull of Rome vnto King Ptolemeus sendeth greeting. ¹⁷ The Ambassadours of the Iewes are come vnto vs as our friendes and confederates from Simon the hie Priest, and from the people of ye Iewes to renewe friendship, and the bond of loue, ¹⁸ Who haue brought a shield of golde weying a thousand pound. ¹⁹ Wherefore we thought it good to write vnto the Kings and countreys, that they shoulde not goe about to hurt them, nor to fight against them, nor their cities, nor their countrey, neither to mainteyne their enemies against them. ²⁰ And we were content to receiue of them the shielde. ²¹ If therefore there be any pestilent felowes fled from their countrey vnto you, deliuer them vnto Simon the hie Priest, that he may punish them according to their owne Lawe. ²² The same things were written to Demetrius the King, and to Attalus, and to Arathes and to Arsaces, ²³ And to all countreis, as Sampsames, and to them of Sparta, and to Delus, and to Mindus, and to Sicion, and to Caria, and to Samos, and to Pamphylia, and to Lycia, and to Halicarnassus, and to Rhodus, and to Phaselis, and to Cos, and to Siden, and to Cortyna, and to Gnidon, and to Cyprus, and to Cyrene. ²⁴ And they sent a copie of them to Simon the hie Priest. ²⁵ So Antiochus the King camped against Dora the seconde time euer readie to take it, and made diuers engins of warre, and kept Tryphon in, that he coulde neither goe in nor out. ²⁶ Then Simon sent him two thousand chosen men to helpe him with siluer and golde, and much furniture. ²⁷ Neuerthelesse, he woulde not receiue them, but brake al the couenant, which he had made with him afore, and withdrewe himselfe from him, ²⁸ And sent vnto him Athenobius one of his friendes to commune with him, saying, Ye withhold Ioppe, and Gazara with the castell that is at Ierusalem, the citie of my Realme, ²⁹ Whose borders ye haue destroyed and done great hurt in the land, and haue the gouernement of many places of my kingdome. ³⁰ Wherefore nowe deliuer the cities, which ye haue taken, with the tributes of the places, that ye haue rule ouer without the borders of Iudea, ³¹ Or els giue me for them fiue hundreth talents of siluer, and for the harme that ye haue done, and for the tributes of the places other fiue hundreth talents: if not, wee will come, and fight against you. ³² So Athenobius the Kings friend came to Ierusalem, and when he sawe the honour of Simon, and the cupborde of golde and siluer plate, and so great preparation, he was astonished, and tolde him the Kings message. ³³ Then answered Simon, & said vnto him, We haue neither taken other mens lands, nor withholden that which apperteyneth to others: but our fathers heritage, which our enemies had vnrighteously in possession a certeine time. ³⁴ But when we had occasion, we recouered the inheritance of our fathers. ³⁵ And whereas thou requirest Ioppe and Gazara, they did great harme to our people, and thorowe our countrey, yet will we giue an hundreth talents for them. But Athenobius answered him not one worde, ³⁶ But turned againe angrie vnto the King, and tolde him all these wordes, and the dignitie of Simon, with all that he had seene: and the King was very angrie. ³⁷ In the meane time fled Tryphon by shippe vnto Orthosias. ³⁸ Then the King made Cendebeus captaine of the sea coast, and gaue him bands of footemen and horsemen, ³⁹ And commanded him to remoue the hoste toward Iudea, and to build vp Cedron, and to fortifie the gates, and to warre against the people: but the King pursued Tryphon. ⁴⁰ So Cendebeus came vnto Iamnia, and began to vexe the people, and to inuade Iudea, and to take the people prisoners, and to slay them. ⁴¹ And he built vp Cedron, where he set horsemen and garisons, that they might make outrodes by the wayes of Iudea, as the King had commanded him.