1 Maccabees 15

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	NEW JERUSALEM
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 Antiochus son of King Demetrius addressed a letter from the Mediterranean Isles to Simon, priest andethnarch of the Jews, and to the whole nation;
2 which read as follows: "King Antiochus sends greetings to Simon, the priest and ethnarch, and to the Jewish nation.	2 this was how it read: 'King Antiochus to Simon, high priest and ethnarch, and to the Jewish nation,greetings.
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 'Whereas certain scoundrels have seized control of the kingdom of our fathers, and I propose to claimback the kingdom so that I may re-establish it as it was before, and whereas I have accordingly recruited verylarge forces and fitted out warships,
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 intending to make a landing in the country and to hunt down the men who have ruined it and laidwaste many towns in my kingdom;
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 'I now, therefore, confirm in your favour al remissions of taxes granted to you by the kings mypredecessors, as wel as the waiving of whatever presents they may have conceded.
6 I authorize you to coin your own money, as legal tender in your country.	6 I hereby authorise you to mint your own coinage as legal tender for your own 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 I declare Jerusalem and the sanctuary to be free; all the arms you have manufactured and thefortresses you have built and now occupy may remain yours.
8 All debts, present or future, due to the royal treasury shall be canceled for you, now and for all time.	8 Al debts to the royal treasury, present or future, are cancel ed henceforth in perpetuity.
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 Furthermore, when we have won back our kingdom, we shall bestow such great honour on yourself,your nation and the sanctuary as wil make your glory known throughout the world.'
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 Antiochus invaded the land of his ancestors in the year 174 and, since the troops all rallied to him,Trypho was left with few supporters.
11 Pursued by Antiochus, Trypho fled to Dor, by the sea,	11 Antiochus pursued the usurper, who took refuge in Dora on the coast,
12 realizing what a mass of troubles had come upon him now that his soldiers had deserted him.	12 knowing that misfortunes were piling up on him and that his troops had deserted him.
13 Antiochus encamped before Dor with a hundred and twenty thousand infantry and eight thousand horsemen.	13 Antiochus pitched camp outside Dora with a hundred and twenty thousand fighting men and eightthousand cavalry.
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 He laid siege to the city while the ships closed in from the sea, so that he had the city under attackfrom land and sea, and al owed no one to go in or come out.
15 Meanwhile, Numenius and his companions left Rome with letters such as this addressed to various kings and countries:	15 Numenius and his companions, meanwhile, arrived from Rome, bringing letters addressed to variouskings and states, in the fol owing terms:
16 "Lucius, Consul of the Romans, sends greetings to King Ptolemy.	16 'Lucius, consul of the Romans, to King Ptolemy, greetings.
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 Jewish ambassadors have come to us as our friends and al ies to renew our original friendshipand alliance in the name of the high priest Simon and the Jewish people.
18 and they brought with them a gold shield worth a thousand minas.	18 They have brought a golden shield worth a thousand mina.
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 Accordingly, we have seen fit to write to various kings and states, warning them neither to molest theJewish people nor to attack either them or their towns or their country, nor to al y themselves with any suchaggressors.
20 We have also decided to accept the shield from them.	20 We have seen fit to accept the shield from 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 scoundrels have fled their country to take refuge with you, hand them over to Simonthe high priest, to be punished by him according to their law.'
22 The consul sent similar letters to Kings Demetrius, Attalus, Ariarthes and Arsaces;	22 The consul sent the same letter to King Demetrius, to Attalus, Ariarathes and 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 states, including Sampsames, the Spartans, Delos, Myndos, Sicyon, Caria, Samos,Pamphylia, Lycia, Halicarnassus, Rhodes, Phaselis, Cos, Side, Arados, Gortyn, Cyprus and Cyrene.
24 A copy of the letter was also sent to Simon the high priest.	24 They also drew up a copy for Simon the high priest.
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 Antiochus, meanwhile, from his positions on the outskirts of Dora, was continual y throwingdetachments against the town. He constructed siege-engines, and blockaded Trypho, preventing movement inor out.
26 Simon sent to Antiochus' support two thousand elite troops, together with gold and silver and much equipment.	26 Simon sent him two thousand picked men to support him in the fight, with silver and gold and plentyof equipment.
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 But Antiochus would not accept them; instead, he repudiated al his previous agreements with Simonand completely changed his attitude to 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 He sent him Athenobius, one of his Friends, to confer with him and say, 'You are now occupyingJoppa and Gezer and the Citadel in Jerusalem, which are towns in 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 You have laid waste their territory and done immense harm to the country; and you have seizedcontrol of many places properly 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 Either now surrender the towns you have taken and the taxes from the places you have seizedoutside the frontiers of Judaea,
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 or else pay me five hundred talents of silver in compensation for them and for the destruction youhave done, and another five hundred talents for the taxes from the towns; otherwise we shall come and makewar on 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 When the King's Friend, Athenobius, reached Jerusalem and saw Simon's magnificence, his cabinetof gold and silver plate and the state he kept, he was dumbfounded. He delivered the king's message,
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 but Simon gave him this answer, 'We have not taken foreign territory or any alien property but haveoccupied our ancestral heritage, for some time unjustly wrested from us by our enemies;
34 Now that we have the opportunity, we are holding on to the heritage of our ancestors.	34 now that we have a favourable opportunity, we are merely recovering our ancestral heritage.
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 As regards Joppa and Gezer, which you claim, these were towns that did great harm to our peopleand laid waste our country; we are prepared to give a hundred talents for them.' Without so much as a word inanswer,
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 the envoy went back to the king in a rage and reported on Simon's answer and his magnificence,and on everything he had seen, at which the king fel into a fury.
37 Trypho had gotten aboard a ship and escaped to Orthosia.	37 Trypho now boarded a ship and escaped to Orthosia.
38 Then the king appointed Cendebeus commander-in-chief of the seacoast, and gave him infantry and cavalry forces.	38 The king appointed Cendebaeus military governor of the coastal region and al otted him a force ofinfantry and cavalry.
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 He ordered him to deploy his men facing Judaea, and instructed him to rebuild Kedron and fortify itsgates, and to make war on our people, while the king himself went in pursuit of Trypho.
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 Cendebaeus arrived at Jamnia and began to provoke our people forthwith, invading Judaea, takingprisoners, and massacring.
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 Having rebuilt Kedron, he stationed cavalry and troops there to make sorties and patrol the roads ofJudaea, as the king had ordered.