Diplomacy with Rome and Sparta
16 The people in Rome, and those who were as far away as Sparta, learned that Jonathan had died, and they were all very sad.
17
They also heard that Simon his brother had become high priest in his place and that he was ruling over the country and its towns.
18
So they wrote to him on bronze tablets to renew with him the friendly alliance that they had established with his brothers Judas and Jonathan.
19
The tablets were read before the assembly in Jerusalem.
20
This is a copy of the letter that the Spartans sent: The rulers of the Spartans, with the city. To the high priest Simon, the elders, the priests, and the rest of the Jewish people, our brothers and sisters. Greetings!
21
The envoys who were sent to our people have told us about your glory and honor, and we rejoiced when they came.
22
We made this record in our public decrees concerning what they said: “Numenius, Antiochus' son, and Antipater, Jason's son, Jewish representatives, have come to renew their friendship with us.
23
Our people were pleased to receive them with respect and to maintain a copy of their words in the public archives so that Spartans may have a record of them. They have also sent a copy of this to Simon, the high priest.
24
Following this exchange, Simon sent Numenius to Rome with a large gold shield weighing one thousand manehs, to confirm the alliance with the Romans.