Now King Ptolemy gathered great forces, as the sand that is on the seashore, and many ships, and sought to take Alexander's kingdom by deceit, and to add it to his own kingdom.

And he came into Syria with a pretence of peace, so the people of the cities opened unto him; for King Alexander had commanded to meet him, because he was his father-in-law. So he took much silver and gold and garments and all other presents, and went to the king in Ptolemais, and obtained favour with him, and he confirmed him in the high priesthood, and in all his prerogatives, and made him one of his first friends.

And Ptolemy, when he entered into the cities, sought in every city a garrison of soldiers, Now write a copy of this ordinance and let it be delivered to Jonathan, and let it be placed upon the holy mountain, in a conspicuous place.

And when he came to Azotus, he beheld the burnt temple of Dagon, and Azotus and its damaged suburbs, and the cast-out bodies, and those whom Jonathan had burned in the war, and they had laid their heaps upon his way.

And they told the king what Jonathan had done, seeking to accuse him, but the king held his peace.

And Jonathan met the king in Joppa with reverence, and they saluted each other, and lodged there. And he departed thence to Gaza; but the people of Gaza shut the gates against him, so he besieged it, and burned its suburbs with fire, and plundered it. Then Jonathan heard that the captains of Demetrius had reached Kedesh in Galilee with a mighty army, intending to remove him from the governorship. So he marched to meet them, and left his brother Simon in the country.

Then Jonathan escorted the king to the river called Eleutherus, and returned to Jerusalem.

And King Ptolemy possessed himself of the cities of the coast unto Seleucia by the sea, and he meditated evil against Alexander.

Then he sent messengers to King Demetrius, saying, Come, let us make a covenant between me and thee, and I will give thee my daughter, whom Alexander hath with him, and thou shalt reign in thy father's kingdom.

For I repent that I gave my daughter to him, because he sought to slay me.

And he brought charges against him out of covetousness for his kingdom.

Then he took his daughter back, and gave her to Demetrius, and changed his mind concerning Alexander, and their enmity became manifest.

Then Ptolemy entered Antioch, and put two crowns upon his head, the crown of Asia and the crown of Egypt.

Now King Alexander was at that time in Cilicia, for the people of that country had rebelled.

And when Alexander heard thereof, he came to fight against him, but Ptolemy brought forth his army and met him with a mighty host, and overcame him.

So Alexander fled into Arabia for refuge, and the power of King Ptolemy became great.

And Zabdiel the Arabian cut off Alexander's head, and sent it to Ptolemy.

And on the third day King Ptolemy died, and the men of the army destroyed the garrisons in the strongholds.

And Demetrius reigned in the hundred and seventieth year.

In those days Jonathan gathered the men of Judea to take the citadel which was in Jerusalem, and he set many engines against it.

Then certain men of the enemies of their nation, hypocrites, went to the king, and told him that Jonathan was besieging the citadel.

And when he heard it, he was filled with wrath, and departed immediately, intending for Ptolemais, and wrote to Jonathan to cease from besieging the citadel, and to hasten to meet him in Ptolemais for a confrontation.

And when Jonathan learned of this, he commanded them to continue the siege, and chose certain of the elders of Israel and the priests, and risked his own person.

And certain men of the nation, hypocrites, slandered him.

Nevertheless, the king treated him as his predecessors had treated him, and honored him before all his friends.

And Jonathan asked the king to exempt Judea and the three cities and the land of Samaria from all tribute, and he promised three hundred talents.

So the king assented, and wrote letters to Jonathan concerning all these things, the copy whereof is this:

King Demetrius to his brother Jonathan, and to the nation of the Jews, sendeth greeting:

A copy of the letter which we wrote concerning you to our kinsman Lasthenes, we have written to you, that you may know its content.

King Demetrius to his father Lasthenes, sendeth greeting:

We have seen fit to do good unto the nation of the Jews, our friends, who observe what is due to us, in return for their former kindness to us.

Therefore we have granted them the borders of Judea and the three cities, that is, Aphaerema, Lydda, and Ramathaim, which have been annexed to Judea from the land of Samaria, with all their dependencies, to be for all those who sacrifice in Jerusalem instead of the royal taxes which the king used to exact from them yearly from the produce of the land and the fruit of the trees.

And all other imposts that belong to us, of tithes and dues, and the salt-pits, and the crowns.

All this we have bestowed upon them freely, and from henceforth none of these grants shall be revoked for all time.

And King Demetrius saw that the land was at peace under him, with none to contest him, so he sent away all his armies, every man to his own place, save the foreign soldiers whom he had brought from the islands of the nations, so all the armies of his fathers hated him.

Now Tryphon was of Alexander's party; and when he saw that all the armies murmured against Demetrius, he went to Imalcoe the Arabian, who was nurturing Antiochus, Alexander’s son.

So he urged him to deliver him to him, that he might reign in his father's stead, and told him what Demetrius had done, and of the enmity he bore to the armies, and he abode there many days.

And Jonathan sent unto King Demetrius, that he should cast out the soldiers who were in the citadel in Jerusalem, and those who were in the strongholds, for they fought against Israel.

And Demetrius sent to Jonathan, saying, I will do this for thee and for thy nation; yea, I will greatly honour thee and thy nation, when the opportune moment presents itself to me.

And now thou shalt do well if thou send unto me men to be for my help, for all my armies have failed me.

So Jonathan sent three thousand valiant men to Antioch, and they came to the king, and the king rejoiced at their coming.

And the people of the city assembled in the midst of the city, and they were a hundred and twenty thousand men, seeking to kill the king.

But the king fled to his house, and the people of the city took possession of the streets, and began to fight.

Then the king called the Jews to his aid, and they all gathered to him, and then dispersed throughout the city, and slew in the city that day a hundred thousand men.

And they burned the city, and took much spoil, and delivered the king that day.

And when the people of the city saw that the Jews had taken possession of the city and were doing as they pleased, their hearts failed them, and they cried out to the king, supplicating, and said, Make peace with us, and let the Jews cease from harming us and the city.

So they laid down their arms, and made peace, and the Jews were greatly honoured by the king and by all the people of his kingdom, and then they returned to Jerusalem with much spoil.

And King Demetrius sat on the throne of his kingdom, and the land was at peace before him.

But he failed in all that he had promised, and changed his mind concerning Jonathan, and rewarded him contrary to the good he had done him, and greatly distressed him.

And after this, Tryphon returned, and with him Antiochus, a young lad, and Antiochus reigned and wore the crown.

Then all the armies that Demetrius had discharged assembled unto him, and they fought against Demetrius, and he fled from them, being routed.

And Tryphon took possession of the elephants, and then opened Antioch.

And young Antiochus wrote to Jonathan, saying, I confirm thee in the high priesthood, and appoint thee over the four cities, and I will make thee one of the king's friends.

And he sent him golden vessels for his service, and allowed him to drink in gold and wear purple with a golden buckle.

And he appointed Simon his brother as captain from the ascent of Tyre unto the borders of Egypt.

And Jonathan went forth and journeyed through the river across, and in the cities, and all the armies of Syria gathered to display themselves to him, and he came to Ashkelon, and the people of the city met him with a celebration.

Then the people of Gaza asked Jonathan for peace, and he made a covenant with them, and took the sons of their rulers as hostages, and sent them to Jerusalem, and then he travelled through the country to Damascus.

And Simon besieged Beth-zur, and fought against it many days, and encompassed it. 66. So he asked them for a covenant, and he made a covenant with them, and cast them out from thence, and took the city, and placed a garrison therein. 67. And Jonathan and his army encamped by the water of Gennesar, and before dawn they marched to the plain of Hazor. 68. And behold, the army of the foreigners met them in the plain, and they had laid an ambush against them in the mountains; and as they advanced towards them, 69. the ambush rose from their places, and joined battle. 70. And all of Jonathan's men fled, and none remained of them save Mattathias the son of Absalom, and Judas the son of Chalphi, captains of the armies. 71. So Jonathan tore his clothes, and put dust upon his head, and prayed.

Then he returned to them and fought, and they were defeated and fled.

And when those of his men who had fled saw this, they returned and pursued the enemy with him to Kedesh to their camp, and lodged there.

And there fell of the foreigners that day three thousand men, and Jonathan returned to Jerusalem.