Official honors for Simon
25 When the people heard these things they said, "How should we thank Simon and his sons?
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He and his brothers, and his father's family, have stood firm. They have fought and repelled Israel's enemies and established our freedom." So they made a written record on bronze plaques and put it on pillars on Mount Zion.
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This is a copy of the document: On the eighteenth day of Elul, in the year 172, the third year of the great high priest Simon.
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In the great assembly of the priests, the people, and the rulers and elders of the country, the following was proclaimed to us.
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Wars occurred often in our country. Simon, Mattathias' son, a priest of the sons of Joarib, and his brothers bravely faced danger and fought against the enemies of their nation. They preserved the sanctuary and the Law, and they brought great honor to their nation.
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Jonathan rallied the nation and became their high priest, and was gathered to his people.
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Their enemies decided to invade their country and take hold of their sanctuary.
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Then Simon rose up and fought for his nation. He spent great amounts of his own money to arm soldiers of his nation and give them pay.
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He fortified the towns of Judea and Beth-zur on the borders of Judea, where enemy weapons had been stored in the past, and placed a group of Jewish soldiers there.
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He also fortified Joppa by the sea, along with Gazara on the borders of Azotus, where enemies formerly lived. He settled Jews there and provided whatever was needed to restore the towns.
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The people saw Simon's faithfulness and the honor that he had resolved to win for his nation. So they made him their leader and high priest, because he had done all these things and had acted toward his nation with justice and loyalty. He sought in every way to lift up his people.
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In his days, things prospered under his leadership so that the Gentiles were driven out of the country, as well as those in David's City in Jerusalem, who had built themselves an elevated fortress. Gentiles used to leave the elevated fortress and defile the sanctuary area, doing great damage to its purity.
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He settled Jewish troops in the elevated fortress and fortified it for the safety of the country and of the city, and built the walls of Jerusalem higher.
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In light of all these things, King Demetrius confirmed him as high priest.
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He also made him one of the leading political advisors, and paid him other high honors.
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For he had heard that the Jews were considered friends, allies, and brothers by the Romans, and that the Romans had welcomed the ambassadors of Simon with honor.
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The Jews and their priests have resolved that Simon should be their leader and high priest forever, until a trustworthy prophet should arise.
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He should govern them and take charge of the sanctuary, appointing officials to oversee its tasks and the weapons and the fortresses of the country.
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Everyone should obey him. All contracts in the land should bear his name. In addition, he should be clothed in royal purple and wear gold.
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None of the people or the priests can annul these decisions or oppose what he says. They cannot convene an assembly without his permission. No one else can be clothed in purple or put on a gold buckle.
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Whoever fails to follow all of these decisions or acts contrary to them will be punished.
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All the people agreed to give Simon the power to act in keeping with these decisions.
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Simon accepted and agreed to be high priest, to command and rule the Jews and the priests, and to protect them all.
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Also they gave orders to write this decision on bronze plates and to set them up in a public place in the sanctuary grounds.
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Finally, they were to place copies in the treasury so that Simon and his sons would have access to them.