1 Maccabees 14 — Greek text and reception

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In the one hundred and seventy-second year, King Demetrius gathered his forces and went to Media to obtain help for himself so that he might fight Tryphon.

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Arsaces king of Persia and Media heard that Demetrius had entered his territory, and sent one of his commanders to seize him alive.

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He went, struck Demetrius's army, seized him, and brought him to Arsaces, who put him under guard.

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The land of Judah was quiet all the days of Simon. He sought good things for his nation, and his authority and glory pleased them all his days.

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Among all his glorious deeds he took Joppa as a harbor and made an entrance to the islands of the sea.

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He enlarged the borders of his nation and gained control of the country.

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He gathered many who had been captive and gained control of Gazara, Beth-zur, and the citadel. He removed its uncleannesses, and there was no one to oppose him.

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They cultivated their land in peace. The land gave its produce, and the trees of the plains their fruit.

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Elders sat in the squares, all conversing about good things; the young men clothed themselves in splendor and garments of war.

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He supplied food to the cities and equipped them with means of defense, until the fame of his glory reached the end of the earth.

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He made peace upon the land, and Israel rejoiced with great gladness.

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Each sat beneath his vine and his fig tree, and no one made them afraid.

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Those who fought them ceased from the land, and the kings were crushed in those days.

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He strengthened all the lowly of his people. He sought out the law and removed every lawless and wicked person.

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He glorified the holy places and multiplied the vessels of the holy places.

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It was heard in Rome, and as far as Sparta, that Jonathan had died, and they were greatly grieved.

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When they heard that Simon his brother had become high priest in his place and was in control of the country and its cities,

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they wrote to him on bronze tablets to renew with him the friendship and alliance they had established with Judas and Jonathan his brothers.

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The letters were read before the assembly in Jerusalem.

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This is the copy of the letters the Spartans sent: “The rulers of the Spartans and the city to Simon the great priest, the elders, the priests, and the rest of the Jewish people, their brothers, greetings.

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The envoys sent to our people reported to us concerning your glory and honor, and we rejoiced at their arrival.

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We entered what they said in the resolutions of the people as follows: ‘Numenius son of Antiochus and Antipater son of Jason, envoys of the Jews, came to us to renew friendship with us.

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The people resolved to receive the men with honor and to place a copy of their words in the designated public records, so that the Spartan people might have a memorial.’” They wrote a copy of these things to Simon the high priest.

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After this Simon sent Numenius to Rome carrying a great golden shield weighing a thousand minas to establish the alliance with them.

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When the people heard these things, they said, “What thanks shall we return to Simon and his sons?

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For he, his brothers, and his father's house stood firm, fought off Israel's enemies, and established freedom for Israel.” They inscribed it on bronze tablets and placed them on pillars on Mount Zion.

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This is the copy of the inscription: “On the eighteenth of Elul, in the one hundred and seventy-second year, which is the third year under Simon the great high priest, in Asaramel,

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in a great assembly of priests, people, rulers of the nation, and elders of the country, a declaration was made to us:

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‘Since wars have often occurred in the country, Simon son of Mattathias, a priest of the sons of Joarib, and his brothers exposed themselves to danger and resisted their nation's adversaries, so that their holy places and the law might stand. They honored their nation with great glory.

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Jonathan gathered their nation, became their high priest, and was gathered to his people.

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Their enemies wished to invade their country and stretch out their hands against their holy places.

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Then Simon resisted and fought for his nation. He spent much of his own money, supplied the men of his nation's force with weapons, and gave them pay.

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He fortified the cities of Judea and Beth-zur on Judea's border, where the enemies' weapons had formerly been, and stationed Jewish men there as a garrison.

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He fortified Joppa by the sea and Gazara on the borders of Azotus, where the enemies had formerly lived. He settled Jews there and provided everything necessary for their restoration.

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The people saw Simon's faithfulness and the glory he had resolved to bring to his nation. They made him their leader and high priest because he had done all these things, because of the righteousness and faithfulness he maintained toward his nation, and because he sought in every way to exalt his people.

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In his days it prospered in his hands to remove the nations from their country, including those in the city of David at Jerusalem who had made themselves a citadel. From it they used to go out and defile the surroundings of the holy places, inflicting a great blow upon purity.

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He settled Jewish men in it, fortified it for the security of the country and city, and raised Jerusalem's walls.

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King Demetrius accordingly confirmed him in the high priesthood,

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made him one of his Friends, and honored him with great glory.

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For he had heard that the Jews had been addressed by the Romans as friends, allies, and brothers, and that they had received Simon's envoys with honor;

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and that the Jews and priests had agreed that Simon should be their leader and high priest forever, until a faithful prophet should arise;

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that he should be their general, and take care of the holy places, appointing through his authority those in charge of their works, the country, the weapons, and the strongholds;

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that he should take care of the holy places, be obeyed by everyone, have all documents in the country written in his name, and wear purple and gold ornaments;

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and that no one among the people or priests should have authority to annul any of these things, contradict what he should say, convene a gathering in the country without him, wear purple, or fasten on a golden clasp.

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Whoever acts contrary to these provisions or annuls any of them shall be liable.’

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All the people agreed to establish Simon to act according to these terms.

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Simon accepted and agreed to serve as high priest, to be general and ethnarch of the Jews and priests, and to preside over them all.

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They directed that this inscription be placed on bronze tablets and that these be set up within the enclosure of the holy places in a conspicuous place,

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and that copies be placed in the treasury so that Simon and his sons might possess them.”