1 Maccabees 15

KING JAMES BIBLE	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Moreover Antiochus son of Demetrius the king sent letters from the isles of the sea unto Simon the priest and prince of the Jews, and to all the people;	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 The contents whereof were these: King Antiochus to Simon the high priest and prince of his nation, and to the people of the Jews, greeting:	2 this was how it read: 'King Antiochus to Simon, high priest and ethnarch, and to the Jewish nation,greetings.
3 Forasmuch as certain pestilent men have usurped the kingdom of our fathers, and my purpose is to challenge it again, that I may restore it to the old estate, and to that end have gathered a multitude of foreign soldiers together, and prepared ships of war;	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 My meaning also being to go through the country, that I may be avenged of them that have destroyed it, and made many cities in the kingdom desolate:	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 unto thee all the oblations which the kings before me granted thee, and whatsoever gifts besides they granted.	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 give thee leave also to coin money for thy country with thine own stamp.	6 I hereby authorise you to mint your own coinage as legal tender for your own country.
7 And as concerning Jerusalem and the sanctuary, let them be free; and all the armour that thou hast made, and fortresses that thou hast built, and keepest in thine hands, let them remain unto thee.	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 And if anything be, or shall be, owing to the king, let it be forgiven thee from this time forth for evermore.	8 Al debts to the royal treasury, present or future, are cancel ed henceforth in perpetuity.
9 Furthermore, when we have obtained our kingdom, we will honour thee, and thy nation, and thy temple, with great honour, so that your honour shall be known throughout the world.	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 hundred threescore and fourteenth year went Antiochus into the land of his fathers: at which time all the forces came together unto him, so that few were left with Tryphon.	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 Wherefore being pursued by king Antiochus, he fled unto Dora, which lieth by the sea side:	11 Antiochus pursued the usurper, who took refuge in Dora on the coast,
12 For he saw that troubles came upon him all at once, and that his forces had forsaken him.	12 knowing that misfortunes were piling up on him and that his troops had deserted him.
13 Then camped Antiochus against Dora, having with him an hundred and twenty thousand men of war, and eight thousand horsemen.	13 Antiochus pitched camp outside Dora with a hundred and twenty thousand fighting men and eightthousand cavalry.
14 And when he had compassed the city round about, and joined ships close to the town on the sea side, he vexed the city by land and by sea, neither suffered he any to go out or in.	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 In the mean season came Numenius and his company from Rome, having letters to the kings and countries; wherein were written these things:	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 unto king Ptolemee, greeting:	16 'Lucius, consul of the Romans, to King Ptolemy, greetings.
17 The Jews' ambassadors, our friends and confederates, came unto us to renew the old friendship and league, being sent from Simon the high priest, and from the people of the Jews:	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 a shield of gold of a thousand pound.	18 They have brought a golden shield worth a thousand mina.
19 We thought it good therefore to write unto the kings and countries, that they should do them no harm, nor fight against them, their cities, or countries, nor yet aid their enemies 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 It seemed also good to us to receive the shield of them.	20 We have seen fit to accept the shield from them.
21 If therefore there be any pestilent fellows, that have fled from their country unto you, deliver them unto Simon the high priest, that he may punish them according to their own 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 same things wrote he likewise unto Demetrius the king, and Attalus, to Ariarathes, and Arsaces,	22 The consul sent the same letter to King Demetrius, to Attalus, Ariarathes and Arsaces,
23 And to all the countries and to Sampsames, and the Lacedemonians, and to Delus, and Myndus, and Sicyon, and Caria, and Samos, and Pamphylia, and Lycia, and Halicarnassus, and Rhodus, and Aradus, and Cos, and Side, and Aradus, and Gortyna, and Cnidus, and 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 And the copy hereof they wrote to Simon the high priest.	24 They also drew up a copy for Simon the high priest.
25 So Antiochus the king camped against Dora the second day, assaulting it continually, and making engines, by which means he shut up Tryphon, that he could neither go out nor in.	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 At that time Simon sent him two thousand chosen men to aid him; silver also, and gold, and much armour.	26 Simon sent him two thousand picked men to support him in the fight, with silver and gold and plentyof equipment.
27 Nevertheless he would not receive them, but brake all the covenants which he had made with him afore, and became strange unto him.	27 But Antiochus would not accept them; instead, he repudiated al his previous agreements with Simonand completely changed his attitude to him.
28 Furthermore he sent unto him Athenobius, one of his friends, to commune with him, and say, Ye withhold Joppa and Gazera; with the tower that is in Jerusalem, which are cities of my realm.	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 The borders thereof ye have wasted, and done great hurt in the land, and got the dominion of many places within my kingdom.	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 Now therefore deliver the cities which ye have taken, and the tributes of the places, whereof ye have gotten dominion without the borders of Judea:	30 Either now surrender the towns you have taken and the taxes from the places you have seizedoutside the frontiers of Judaea,
31 Or else give me for them five hundred talents of silver; and for the harm that ye have done, and the tributes of the cities, other five hundred talents: if not, we will come and fight against 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 when he saw the glory of Simon, and the cupboard of gold and silver plate, and his great attendance, he was astonished, and told 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 Then answered Simon, and said unto him, We have neither taken other men's land, nor holden that which appertaineth to others, but the inheritance of our fathers, which our enemies had wrongfully in possession a certain time.	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 Wherefore we, having opportunity, hold the inheritance of our fathers.	34 now that we have a favourable opportunity, we are merely recovering our ancestral heritage.
35 And whereas thou demandest Joppa and Gazera, albeit they did great harm unto the people in our country, yet will we give thee an hundred talents for them. Hereunto Athenobius answered him not a word;	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 But returned in a rage to the king, and made report unto him of these speeches, and of the glory of Simon, and of all that he had seen: whereupon the king was exceeding wroth.	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 In the mean time fled Tryphon by ship unto Orthosias.	37 Trypho now boarded a ship and escaped to Orthosia.
38 Then the king made Cendebeus captain of the sea coast, and gave him an host of footmen and horsemen,	38 The king appointed Cendebaeus military governor of the coastal region and al otted him a force ofinfantry and cavalry.
39 And commanded him to remove his host toward Judea; also he commanded him to build up Cedron, and to fortify the gates, and to war against the people; but as for the king himself, he pursued Tryphon.	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 So Cendebeus came to Jamnia and began to provoke the people and to invade Judea, and to take the people prisoners, and slay them.	40 Cendebaeus arrived at Jamnia and began to provoke our people forthwith, invading Judaea, takingprisoners, and massacring.
41 And when he had built up Cedrou, he set horsemen there, and an host of footmen, to the end that issuing out they might make outroads upon the ways of Judea, as the king had commanded him.	41 Having rebuilt Kedron, he stationed cavalry and troops there to make sorties and patrol the roads ofJudaea, as the king had ordered.