In the hundred and seventy-second year, King Demetrius gathered his armies and went into Media, seeking help to fight against Tryphon. And he left none in the land to fight against them. And the kings in those days were broken; they wrote unto him upon tables of brass, renewing with him that which they had settled with Judas and Jonathan his brothers, of amity and aid.

And Arsaces, king of Persia and Media, heard that Demetrius had entered his borders, and he sent some of his chief men to take him alive from among the chief men of the Lacedemonians and from the city, to Simon the high priest, and to the elders and the priests, and all the people of the Jews, our brethren, greeting.

So he went and smote the army of Demetrius, and took him, and brought him to Arsaces, who put him in prison.

Then rested the land of Judea all the days of Simon, and he sought the welfare of his nation; and they were glad in his authority and his glory all the days. And it was not lawful for any of the people or the priests to gainsay anything thereof, or to violate anything that he commanded, or to assemble a council without him in the country, or to wear purple and a clasp of gold.

And beside all this glory, he made a haven of Joppa, and opened a passage to the isles of the sea.

He enlarged the borders of his nation and subdued the countries.

He gathered a great number of captives, and possessed Gazara, and Bethsura, and the citadel, and purged out of them the pollutions; and there was none to withstand him.

And they tilled their ground in peace, and the earth gave her increase, and the trees of the fields their fruits.

The elders sat in the streets, communing together concerning the welfare of the nation, and the young men were clothed in glory and had on robes of war.

And Simon furnished the cities with victuals, and prepared therein all things for fortification, so that the fame of his glory reached to the end of the earth.

And he established peace in his land, and Israel abode in great joy.

And every man sat under his vine and his fig tree, and there was none to make them afraid.

And he strengthened all those that were brought low among his people, and was zealous for the law, and rooted out every wicked and ungodly man.

And he glorified the sanctuary, and multiplied the holy vessels.

And the report of Jonathan's death came to Rome and Sparta, and they were very sorrowful.

But when they heard that Simon his brother was made high priest in his stead, and that the country and all the cities therein were under his dominion,

Then were the tables read before the congregation in Jerusalem. And this is the copy of the letters that the Lacedemonians sent.

The ambassadors that ye sent unto our people have declared unto us your glory and honor, and we were glad of their coming.

And we have recorded what they said in the public records, thus: Numenius, son of Antiochus, and Antipater, son of Jason, messengers of the Jews, came unto us to renew the friendship between us.

And it pleased the people to receive the men with honor, and to establish the copy of their words in the public records set apart, to be a memorial unto the people of the Lacedemonians. And we have written a copy thereof unto Simon the high priest.

After this, Simon sent Numenius to Rome with a great shield of gold weighing a thousand pounds, to confirm the friendship between them.

When the people heard these words, they said, What shall we render to Simon and his son?

For his steadfastness, he and his brethren and the house of his father, and for delivering Israel from their enemies. And they wrote it in tables of brass, which they set upon pillars in mount Zion,

The copy whereof was this: On the tenth day of the month Elul, in the hundred and seventy-second year, which is the third year of Simon the high priest, in Sarmal,

In a great assembly of the priests and the people and the princes of the nation and the elders of the country, it was confirmed unto us that many wars have occurred in the country,

And that Simon, son of Mattathias, of the children of Joarib, and his brethren, have put themselves in perils, and withstood the enemies of their nation, and preserved their sanctuary and the law, and brought great glory unto their nation.

And that Jonathan gathered his nation and took upon him the high priesthood, and then was gathered unto his people.

Then their enemies purposed to invade their land, to destroy their country, and to lay hands on their sanctuary.

Then Simon arose and fought for his nation, and spent much of his own money, and armed valiant men of his nation, and provided for them.

And he fortified the cities of Judea, and Bethsura, which is on the borders of Judea, where the enemies' weapons had been before, and he placed there a garrison of men of Judea.

And he fortified Joppa, which is by the sea, and Gazara, which is on the borders of Ashdod, where the enemies had dwelt before, and he placed Jews there, and put in them all things tending to their glory.

When the people saw what Simon had done, and the glory which he purposed to bring unto his nation, they made him their leader and high priest for all that he had done, and for his justice and the faithfulness he kept to his nation, and his seeking to glorify his people by all means.

And in his days, success was perfected by his hand in expelling the foreigners from the land, and driving out those in the city of David in Jerusalem, who had built for themselves a citadel, from whence they went forth and defiled the sanctuary, and greatly corrupted its purity.

And he placed Jews therein, and fortified it for the preservation of the country and the city, and he raised the walls of Jerusalem.

And King Demetrius confirmed him in the high priesthood,

And made him of his friends, and honored him greatly.

For it was rumored that the Romans called the Jews their allies and supporters and brethren, and they received the messengers of Simon with honor.

And the Jews and their priests were pleased that Simon should be their ruler and high priest forever, until a faithful prophet should arise;

And that he should be their leader, and attend to the sanctuary, and appoint men over the works and the country and the weapons and the fortresses.

And that he should have charge of the sanctuary, and that all should obey him, and that all documents should be written in his name, and that he should write and wear purple and gold.

And whosoever shall do otherwise, and violate any of these things, he shall be guilty.

And all the people were pleased to appoint Simon to all these things.

And Simon accepted and was content to be high priest and leader and ruler of the nation of the Jews and of the priests, and governor over all.

And they decreed that this writing should be engraved on tables of brass, and set up in the portico of the sanctuary in a conspicuous place,

And copies thereof placed in the treasury, that they may remain for Simon and his sons.