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Apocrypha. 16 Now when it was heard at Rome, and as far as Sparta, that Jonathan was dead, they were very sorry.

17 But as soon as they heard that his brother Simon was made high priest in his stead, and ruled the country, and the cities therein :

18 They wrote unto him in tables of brass, to renew the friendship and league which they had made with Judas and Jo nathan his brethren :

19 Which writings were read before the congregation at Jerusalem.

20 And this is the copy of the letters that the Lacedemonians sent j The rulers of the Lacedemonians, with the city, unto c Simon the high priest, and the elders, and priests, and residue of the p'eople of the Jews, our .brethren, send greeting :

21 The ambassadors that were sent unto our people certified us of your glory and honour : wherefore we were glad of their coming,

22 And did register the things that they spake in the H council of the people in this manner, Numenius son of Antiochus, and Antipater son of Jason, the Jews' ambassa dors, came unto us to renew the friendship they had with us.

23 And it pleased the people to entertain the men honourably, and to put the copy of their ambassage in publick records, to the end the people of the Lacedemonians might have a memorial thereof : further more we have written a copy thereof unto Simon the high priest.

24 After -this Simon sent Numenius to Rome with a great shield of gold of a thousand pound weight, to confirm the league with them.

25 Whereof when the people heard, they said, What thanks shall we give to Simon and his sons ?

26 For he and his brethren and the house of his father have established Israel, and chased away in fight their enemies from them, and confirmed their liberty.

27 So then they wrote it in tables of brass, which they let upon pillars in mount Sion : and this is the copy of the writing ; The eighteenth day of the month Elul, in the hundred threescore and twelfth year, being the third year of Simon the high priest,

28 At || Saramel in the great congregation of the priests, and people, and rulers of the common nation, and elders of the country, were ballwhere, r ,. these things notified unto us.

29 Forasmuch as oftentimes there have been wars iivthe country, wherein for the II Or, Je rusalem, peradven- ture by corrupti on and transposi tion of letters, or, as some think, the they met ti consult of smitten oj dilute. Before II Or, ike men as ivar. II Or, Gaza.

maintenance of their sanctuary, and the law, Simon the son of Mattathias, of the posterity of Jarib, together with his bre thren, put themselves in jeopardy, and re sisting the enemies of their nation did their nation great honour :

30 ( For after that Jonathan, having ga thered his nation together, and been their high priest, was added to his people,

31 Their enemies purposed to invade their country, that they might destroy it, and lay hands on the sanctuary :

32 At which time Simon rose up, and sought for his nation, and spent much of his own substance, and armed || the valiant men of his nation, and gave them wages,

33 And fortified the cities of Judea, to gether with Bethsura, that lieth upon the borders of Judea, where the || armour of I 0r» the enemies had been before ; but he set a garrison of Jews there :

34 Moreover he fortified Joppe, which lieth upon the sea, and || Gazara, that bor- dereth upon Azotus, where the enemies had dwelt before : but he placed Jews there, and furnished them with all things convenient for the reparation thereof.)

35 The people therefore, seeing the acts of Simon, and unto what glory he thought to bring his nation, made him their governor and chief priest, because he had done all these things, and for the justice and faith which he kept to his nation, and for that he sought by all means to exalt his people.

36 For in his time things prospered in his hands, so that the heathen were taken out of their country, and they also that were in the city of David in Jerusalem, who had made themselves a tower, out of which they issued, and polluted all about the sanctuary, and did much hurt II in the H or. unto holy place:

37 But he placed Jews therein, and forti fied it for the safety of the country and the city, and raised up the walls of Jerusalem.

38 King Demetrius also " confirmed him in the high priesthood according to those things,

39 And made him one of his friends, and honoured him with great honour. 40 For he had heard fay, that e the Romans had called the Jews their friends and confederates and brethren ; and that they had entertained the ambassadors of Simon -honourably ;

41 Also that the Jews and priests were well pleased that Simon should be their governor and high priest for ever, ' until there should arise a faithful prophet ;