1 Maccabees 15

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 Antiochus, son of King Demetrius, sent a letter from the islands of the sea to Simon, the priest and ethnarch of the Jews, and to all the nation,	1 And king Antiochus the son of Demetrius sent letters from the isles of the sea to Simon the priest, and prince of the nation of the Jews, and to all the people:
2 which read as follows: "King Antiochus sends greetings to Simon, the priest and ethnarch, and to the Jewish nation.	2 And the contents were these: King Antiochus to Simon the high priest, and to the nation of the Jews, greeting.
3 Whereas certain villains have gained control of the kingdom of my ancestors, I intend to reclaim it, that I may restore it to its former state. I have recruited a large number of mercenary troops and equipped warships	3 Forasmuch as certain pestilent men have usurped the kingdom of our fathers, and my purpose is to challenge the kingdom, and to restore it to its former estate: and I have chosen a great army, and have built ships of war.
4 to make a landing in my country and take revenge on those who have ruined it and laid waste many cities in my realm.	4 And I design to go through the country that I may take revenge of them that have destroyed our country, and that have made many cities desolate in my realm.
5 "Now, therefore, I confirm to you all the tax exemptions that the kings before me granted you and whatever other privileges they conferred on you.	5 Now therefore I confirm unto thee all the oblations which all the kings before me remitted to thee, and what other gifts soever they remitted to thee:
6 I authorize you to coin your own money, as legal tender in your country.	6 And I give thee leave to coin thy own money in thy country:
7 Jerusalem and its temple shall be free. All the weapons you have prepared and all the strongholds you have built and now occupy shall remain in your possession.	7 And let Jerusalem be holy and free, and all the armour that hath been made, and the fortresses which thou hast built, and which thou keepest in thy hands, let them remain to thee.
8 All debts, present or future, due to the royal treasury shall be canceled for you, now and for all time.	8 And all that is due to the king, and what should be the king's hereafter, from this present and for ever, is forgiven thee.
9 When we recover our kingdom, we will greatly honor you and your nation and the temple, so that your glory will be manifest in all the earth."	9 And when we shall have recovered our kingdom, we will glorify thee, and thy nation, and the temple with great glory, so that your glory shall be made manifest in all the earth.
10 In the year one hundred and seventy-four Antiochus invaded the land of his ancestors, and all the troops rallied to him, so that few were left with Trypho.	10 In the year one hundred and seventy-four Antiochus entered into the land of this fathers, and all the forces assembled to him, so that few were left with Tryphon.
11 Pursued by Antiochus, Trypho fled to Dor, by the sea,	11 And king Antiochus pursued after him, and he fled along by the sea coast and came to Dora.
12 realizing what a mass of troubles had come upon him now that his soldiers had deserted him.	12 For he perceived that evils were gathered together upon him, and his troops had forsaken him.
13 Antiochus encamped before Dor with a hundred and twenty thousand infantry and eight thousand horsemen.	13 And Antiochus camped above Dora with a hundred and twenty thousand men of war, and eight thousand horsemen:
14 While he invested the city, his ships closed in along the coast, so that he blockaded it by land and sea and let no one go in or out.	14 And he invested the city, and the ships drew near by sea: and they annoyed the city by land, and by sea, and suffered none to come in, or to go out.
15 Meanwhile, Numenius and his companions left Rome with letters such as this addressed to various kings and countries:	15 And Numenius, and they that had been with him, came from the city of Rome, having letters written to the kings, and countries, the contents whereof were these:
16 "Lucius, Consul of the Romans, sends greetings to King Ptolemy.	16 Lucius the consul of the Romans, to king Ptolemee, greeting.
17 Certain envoys of the Jews, our friends and allies, have come to us to renew their earlier alliance of friendship. They had been sent by Simon the high priest and the Jewish people,	17 The ambassadors of the Jews our friends came to us, to renew the former friendship and alliance, being sent from Simon the high priest, and the people of the Jews.
18 and they brought with them a gold shield worth a thousand minas.	18 And they brought also a shield of gold of a thousand pounds.
19 Therefore we have decided to write to various kings and countries, that they are not to harm them, or wage war against them or their cities or their country, and are not to assist those who fight against them.	19 It hath seemed good therefore to us to write to the kings, and countries, that they should do them no harm, nor fight against them, their cities, or countries: and that they should give no aid to them that fight against them.
20 We have also decided to accept the shield from them.	20 And it hath seemed good to us to received the shield of them.
21 If, then, any troublemakers from their country take refuge with you, hand them over to Simon the high priest, so that he may punish them according to their law."	21 If therefore any pestilent men are fled out of their country to you, deliver them to Simon the high priest, that he may punish them according to their law.
22 The consul sent similar letters to Kings Demetrius, Attalus, Ariarthes and Arsaces;	22 These same things were written to king Demetrius, and to Attalus, and to Ariarathes, and to Arsaces,
23 to all the countries--Sampsames, Sparta, Delos, Myndos, Sicyon, Caria, Samos, Pamphylia, Lycia, Halicarnassus, Rhodes, Phaselis, Cos, Side, Aradus, Gortyna, Cnidus, Cyprus, and Cyrene.	23 And to all the countries; and to Lampsacus, and to the Spartans, and to Delus, and Myndus, and Sicyon, and Caria, and Samus, and Pamphylia, and Lycia, and Alicarnassus, and Cos, and Side, and Aradus, and Rhodes, and Phaselis, and Gortyna, and Gnidus, and Cyprus, and Cyrene.
24 A copy of the letter was also sent to Simon the high priest.	24 And they wrote a copy thereof to Simon the high priest, and to the people of the Jews.
25 When King Antiochus was encamped before Dor, he assaulted it continuously both with troops and with the siege machines he had made. He blockaded Trypho by preventing anyone from going in or out.	25 But king Antiochus moved his camp to Dora the second time, assaulting it continually, and making engines: and shut up Tryphon, that he could not go out.
26 Simon sent to Antiochus' support two thousand elite troops, together with gold and silver and much equipment.	26 And Simon sent to him two thousand chosen men to aid him, silver also, and gold, and abundance of furniture.
27 But he refused to accept the aid; in fact, he broke all the agreements he had previously made with Simon and became hostile toward him.	27 And he would not receive them, but broke all the covenant that he had made with him before, and alienated himself from him.
28 He sent Athenobius, one of his Friends, to confer with Simon and say: "You are occupying Joppa and Gazara and the citadel of Jerusalem; these are cities of my kingdom.	28 And he sent to him Athenobius one of his friends, to treat with him, saying: You hold Joppe, and Gazara, and the castle that is in Jerusalem, which are cities of my kingdom:
29 You have laid waste their territories, done great harm to the land, and taken possession of many districts in my realm.	29 Their borders you have wasted, and you have made great havock in the land, and have got the dominion of many places in my kingdom.
30 Therefore, give up the cities you have seized and the tribute money of the districts outside the territory of Judea of which you have taken possession;	30 Now therefore deliver up the cities that you have taken, and the tributes of the places whereof you have gotten the dominion without the borders of Judea.
31 or instead, pay me five hundred talents of silver for the devastation you have caused and five hundred talents more for the tribute money of the cities. If you do not do this, we will come and make war on you."	31 But if not, give me for them five hundred talents of silver, and for the havock that you have made, and the tributes of the cities other five hundred talents: or else we will come and fight against you.
32 So Athenobius, the king's Friend, came to Jerusalem and on seeing the splendor of Simon's court, the gold and silver plate on the sideboard, and the rest of his rich display, he was amazed. When he gave him the king's message,	32 So Athenobius the king's friend came to Jerusalem, and saw the glory of Simon and his magnificence in gold, and silver, and his great equipage, and he was astonished, and told him the king's words.
33 Simon said to him in reply: "We have not seized any foreign land; what we took is not the property of others, but our ancestral heritage which for a time had been unjustly held by our enemies.	33 And Simon answered him, and said to him: We have neither taken other men's land, neither do we hold that which is other men's: but the inheritance of our fathers, which was for some time unjustly possessed by our enemies.
34 Now that we have the opportunity, we are holding on to the heritage of our ancestors.	34 But we having opportunity claim the inheritance of our fathers.
35 As for Joppa and Gazara, which you demand, the men of these cities were doing great harm to our people and laying waste our country; however, we are willing to pay you a hundred talents for these cities."	35 And as to thy complaints concerning Joppe and Gazara, they did great harm to the people, and to our country: yet for these we will give a hundred talents. And Athenobius answered him not a word:
36 Athenobius made no reply, but returned to the king in anger. When he told him of Simon's words, of his splendor, and of all he had seen, the king fell into a violent rage.	36 But returning in a rage to the king, made report to him of these words, and of the glory of Simon, and of all that he had seen, and the king was exceeding angry.
37 Trypho had gotten aboard a ship and escaped to Orthosia.	37 And Tryphon fled away by ship to Orthosias.
38 Then the king appointed Cendebeus commander-in-chief of the seacoast, and gave him infantry and cavalry forces.	38 And the king appointed Cendebeus captain of the sea coast, and gave him an army of footmen and horsemen.
39 He ordered him to move his troops against Judea and to fortify Kedron and strengthen its gates, so that he could launch attacks against the Jewish people. Meanwhile the king went in pursuit of Trypho.	39 And he commanded him to march with his army towards Judea: and he commanded him to build up Gedor, and to fortify the gates of the city, and to war against the people. But the king himself pursued after Tryphon.
40 When Cendebeus came to Jamnia, he began to harass the people and to make incursions into Judea, where he took people captive or massacred them.	40 And Cendebeus came to Jamnia, and began to provoke the people, and to ravage Judea, and to take the people prisoners, and to kill, and to build Gedor.
41 As the king ordered, he fortified Kedron and stationed horsemen and infantry there, so that they could go out and patrol the roads of Judea.	41 And he placed there horsemen, and an army: that they might issue forth, and make incursions upon the ways of Judea, as the king had commanded him.