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"King Demetrius to Jonathan his brother and to the nation of the Jews, greeting.
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This copy of the letter which we wrote concerning you to Lasthenes our kinsman we have written to you also, so that you may know what it says.
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`King Demetrius to Lasthenes his father, greeting.
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To the nation of the Jews, who are our friends and fulfil their obligations to us, we have determined to do good, because of the good will they show toward us.
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We have confirmed as their possession both the territory of Judea and the three districts of Aphairema and Lydda and Rathamin; the latter, with all the region bordering them, were added to Judea from Samaria. To all those who offer sacrifice in Jerusalem, we have granted release from the royal taxes which the king formerly received from them each year, from the crops of the land and the fruit of the trees.
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And the other payments henceforth due to us of the tithes, and the taxes due to us, and the salt pits and the crown taxes due to us -- from all these we shall grant them release.
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And not one of these grants shall be canceled from this time forth for ever.
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Now therefore take care to make a copy of this, and let it be given to Jonathan and put up in a conspicuous place on the holy mountain.'"
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Now when Demetrius the king saw that the land was quiet before him and that there was no opposition to him, he dismissed all his troops, each man to his own place, except the foreign troops which he had recruited from the islands of the nations. So all the troops who had served his fathers hated him.
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Now Trypho had formerly been one of Alexander's supporters. He saw that all the troops were murmuring against Demetrius. So he went to Imalkue the Arab, who was bringing up Antiochus, the young son of Alexander,
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and insistently urged him to hand Antiochus over to him, to become king in place of his father. He also reported to Imalkue what Demetrius had done and told of the hatred which the troops of Demetrius had for him; and he stayed there many days.
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Now Jonathan sent to Demetrius the king the request that he remove the troops of the citadel from Jerusalem, and the troops in the strongholds; for they kept fighting against Israel.
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And Demetrius sent this message to Jonathan, "Not only will I do these things for you and your nation, but I will confer great honor on you and your nation, if I find an opportunity.
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Now then you will do well to send me men who will help me, for all my troops have revolted."
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So Jonathan sent three thousand stalwart men to him at Antioch, and when they came to the king, the king rejoiced at their arrival.
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Then the men of the city assembled within the city, to the number of a hundred and twenty thousand, and they wanted to kill the king.
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But the king fled into the palace. Then the men of the city seized the main streets of the city and began to fight.
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So the king called the Jews to his aid, and they all rallied about him and then spread out through the city; and they killed on that day as many as a hundred thousand men.
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They set fire to the city and seized much spoil on that day, and they saved the king.
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When the men of the city saw that the Jews had gained control of the city as they pleased, their courage failed and they cried out to the king with this entreaty,
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"Grant us peace, and make the Jews stop fighting against us and our city."
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And they threw down their arms and made peace. So the Jews gained glory in the eyes of the king and of all the people in his kingdom, and they returned to Jerusalem with much spoil.
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So Demetrius the king sat on the throne of his kingdom, and the land was quiet before him.
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But he broke his word about all that he had promised; and he became estranged from Jonathan and did not repay the favors which Jonathan had done him, but oppressed him greatly.
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After this Trypho returned, and with him the young boy Antiochus who began to reign and put on the crown.
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All the troops that Demetrius had cast off gathered around him, and they fought against Demetrius, and he fled and was routed.
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And Trypho captured the elephants and gained control of Antioch.
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Then the young Antiochus wrote to Jonathan, saying, "I confirm you in the high priesthood and set you over the four districts and make you one of the friends of the king."
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And he sent him gold plate and a table service, and granted him the right to drink from gold cups and dress in purple and wear a gold buckle.
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Simon his brother he made governor from the Ladder of Tyre to the borders of Egypt.
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Then Jonathan set forth and traveled beyond the river and among the cities, and all the army of Syria gathered to him as allies. When he came to Askalon, the people of the city met him and paid him honor.
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From there he departed to Gaza, but the men of Gaza shut him out. So he beseiged it and burned its suburbs with fire and plundered them.
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Then the people of Gaza pleaded with Jonathan, and he made peace with them, and took the sons of their rulers as hostages and sent them to Jerusalem. And he passed through the country as far as Damascus.
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Then Jonathan heard that the officers of Demetrius had come to Kadesh in Galilee with a large army, intending to remove him from office.
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He went to meet them, but left his brother Simon in the country.
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Simon encamped before Beth-zur and fought against it for many days and hemmed it in.
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Then they asked him to grant them terms of peace, and he did so. He removed them from there, took possession of the city, and set a garrison over it.
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Jonathan and his army encamped by the waters of Gennesaret. Early in the morning they marched to the plain of Hazor,
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and behold, the army of the foreigners met him in the plain; they had set an ambush against him in the mountains, but they themselves met him face to face.
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Then the men in ambush emerged from their places and joined battle.
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All the men with Jonathan fled; not one of them was left except Mattathias the son of Absalom and Judas the son of Chalphi, commanders of the forces of the army.
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Jonathan rent his garments and put dust on his head, and prayed.
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Then he turned back to the battle against the enemy and routed them, and they fled.
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When his men who were fleeing saw this, they returned to him and joined him in the pursuit as far as Kadesh, to their camp, and there they encamped.
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As many as three thousand of the foreigners fell that day. And Jonathan returned to Jerusalem.