40
Trypho stayed there for a long time and kept urging Imalkue to hand the boy over to him, so that he could make him king in place of his father. He also told Imalkue about the decrees of Demetrius and how the soldiers hated him.
41
Jonathan sent a message to King Demetrius asking him to remove his troops from the fort in Jerusalem and from the fortresses in Judea, since they kept harassing the Jews.
42
Demetrius replied: "I will do what you request, and when the opportunity presents itself, I will bestow upon you and your nation the highest honors.
43
But now you can help me by sending soldiers to fight for me, because all of my troops have revolted."
44
So Jonathan sent 3,000 trained soldiers to Antioch. The king was delighted when they arrived,
45
because a mob of 120,000 had gathered in the city determined to kill him.
46
But he escaped to the palace while the mob took control of the streets and began to riot.
47
Then the king called on the Jewish soldiers for help, and they all rushed to his aid. They went through the whole city and killed at least 100,000 people.
48
They saved the king's life, but they plundered and burned the city.
49
When the people saw that the Jews had complete control of the city, they lost courage and appealed to the king, requesting
50
him to arrange a truce and stop the Jewish attack.