Campaigns of Jonathan and Simon
60 Jonathan traveled through Beyond the River and among the towns. All the Syrian army gathered to him as allies. When he came to Ashkelon, the people of the city met him and honored him.
61
From there, he went to Gaza, but the people shut him out. So he attacked Gaza and burned and plundered the areas surrounding the city.
62
Then the people of Gaza pleaded with Jonathan, and he made peace with them. He took the sons of their rulers as hostages and sent them to Jerusalem. And he passed through the country as far as Damascus.
63
Then Jonathan heard that Demetrius' officers had come to Kadesh in Galilee with a large army, intending to remove him from office.
64
He went to meet them but left his brother Simon in the country.
65
Simon camped before Beth-zur and fought against it for many days, hemming it in.
66
Then they asked Simon to grant them terms of peace, and he did so. He removed them from there and took possession of the town. He appointed troops to guard it.
67
Jonathan and his army camped by the waters of Gennesaret. Early in the morning they marched to the plain of Hazor,
68
where the foreign army met him. They had set an ambush against him in the mountains, but they themselves met him face-to-face.
69
Then the men waiting to ambush emerged from their places and joined the battle. All the men with Jonathan fled.
70
Not one of them was left except Mattathias, Absalom's son, and Judas, Chalphi's son, commanders of the army forces.
71
Jonathan tore his clothes, put dust on his head, and prayed.
72
Then he turned back to the battle against the enemy, routed them, and they fled.
73
When his men who were running away saw this, they returned to him. They joined him in the pursuit as far as Kadesh, where they camped.
74
As many as three thousand foreigners died that day. Finally, Jonathan returned to Jerusalem.