Howbeit in the land of the people he shall have no inheritance, And he has no portion among the people: For he himself is your portion and inheritance.
Therefore was there a covenant of peace established for him, That he should be leader of the saints and of his people; That he and his seed Should have the dignity of the priesthood forever.
Also he made a covenant with David the son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah; The inheritance of the king is his alone from son to son; So the inheritance of Aaron is also to his seed.
As is the fat when it is separated from the peace offering, So was David separated from the children of Israel.
The Lord took away his sins, And exalted his horn forever; And gave him a covenant of kings, And a throne of glory in Israel.
By the name of the Lord God, Which is called the God of Israel, You did gather gold as tin, And did multiply silver as lead.
But the Lord will never forsake his mercy; And he will not destroy any of his works, Nor blot out the posterity of his elect; And the seed of him that loved him he will not take away; And he gave a remnant to Jacob, And to David a root out of him.
and shall know that I am the Lord their God: and I will give them a heart, and ears to hear:
And I will bring them again into the land which I sware to their fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and they shall be lords of it: and I will increase them, and they shall not be diminished.
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God, and they shall be my people: and I will no more remove my people of Israel out of the land that I have given them.
Deliver us not up utterly, for your name’s sake, neither disannul you your covenant:
and cause not your mercy to depart from us, for the sake of Abraham that is beloved of you, and for the sake of Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one;
to whom you did promise, that you would multiply their seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is upon the sea shore.
In those days came there forth out of Israel transgressors of the law, and persuaded many, saying, let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles that are round about us; for since we were parted from them many evils have befallen us.
and they made themselves uncircumcised, and forsook the holy covenant, and joined themselves to the Gentiles, and sold themselves to do evil.
And wherever was found with any a book of the covenant, and if any consented to the law, the king’s sentence delivered him to death.
And they chose to die, that they might not be defiled with the meats, and that they might not profane the holy covenant: and they died.
yet will I and my sons and my kindred walk in the covenant of our fathers.
Heaven forbid that we should forsake the law and the ordinances.
And Mattathias cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying, Whosoever is zealous for the law, and maintains the covenant, let him come forth after me.
and they circumcised by force the children that were uncircumcised, as many as they found in the coasts of Israel.
And now, my children, be you⌃ zealous for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of your fathers.
Phinehas our father, for that he was zealous exceedingly, obtained the covenant of an everlasting priesthood.
And now let us cry to heaven, if he will have us, and will remember the covenant of our fathers, and destroy this army before our face today:
and covenant with them, that they shall walk after their own laws, as aforetime: for because of their laws which we abolished they were angered, and did all these things.
And the king and the princes sware to them: thereupon they came forth from the stronghold.
And the fear and the dread of them fell upon all the people, for they said, There is neither truth nor judgement in them; for they have broken the covenant and the oath which they sware.
And they ordained to keep this day year by year, to wit, the thirteenth day of Adar.
And Judas chose Eupolemus the son of John, the son of Accos, and Jason the son of Eleazar, and sent them to Rome, to make a league of amity and confederacy with them,
Judas, who is also called Maccabaeus, and his kindred, and the people of the Jews, have sent us to you, to make a confederacy and peace with you, and that we might be registered your confederates and friends.
And this is the copy of the writing which they wrote back again on tables of brass, and sent to Jerusalem, that it might be with them there for a memorial of peace and confederacy:
Good success be to the Romans, and to the nation of the Jews, by sea and by land forever: the sword also and the enemy be far from them.
the nation of the Jews shall help them as confederates, as the occasion shall prescribe to them, with all their heart:
In the same manner, moreover, if war come first upon the nation of the Jews, the Romans shall help them as confederates with all their soul, as the occasion shall prescribe to them:
and to those who are confederates with their foes there shall not be given food, arms, money, or ships, as it has seemed good to Rome; and they shall keep these ordinances, and that without deceit.
According to these words have the Romans made a covenant thus with the people of the Jews.
But if hereafter the one party and the other shall take counsel to add or diminish anything, they shall do it at their pleasure, and whatever they shall add or take away shall be established.
And he accepted the thing, and did according to his words, and sware to him that he would not seek his hurt all the days of his life.
And he said, Shall we find such another man? and now we will make him our Friend and confederate.
And Jonathan put on the holy garments in the seventh month of the hundred and sixties year, at the feast of tabernacles, and he gathered together forces, and provided arms in abundance.
And he sent to them according to these words: King Demetrius to the nation of the Jews, greeting:
Forasmuch as you⌃ have kept your covenants with us, and continued in our friendship, and have not joined yourselves to our enemies, we have heard hereof, and are glad.
I yield up also my authority over the citadel which is at Jerusalem, and give it to the high priest, that he may appoint in it such men as he shall choose to keep it.
And they were well pleased with Alexander, because he was the first that spoke words of peace to them, and they were confederate with him always.
now also let us establish amity one with the other, and give me now your daughter to wife: and I will make affinity with you, and will give both you and her gifts worthy of you.
And now will I do to you, as you have written: but meet me at Ptolemais, that we may see one another; and I will make affinity with you, even as you have said.
And he sent ambassadors to king Demetrius, saying, Come, let us make a covenant with one another, and I will give you my daughter whom Alexander has, and you shall reign over your father’s kingdom;
And the king consented, and wrote letters to Jonathan concerning all these things after this manner:
King Demetrius to his brother Jonathan, and to the nation of the Jews, greeting:
And not one of these things shall be annulled from this time forth and forever.
Give us your right hand, and let the Jews cease from fighting against us and the city.
and they made request to him that he would give them his right hand, and he gave it to them; and he put them out from thence, and took possession of the city, and set a garrison over it.
And Jonathan saw that the time served him, and he chose men, and sent them to Rome, to confirm and renew the friendship that they had with them.
And they went to Rome, and entered into the senate house, and said, Jonathan the high priest, and the nation of the Jews, have sent us, to renew for them the friendship and the confederacy, as in former time.
And this is the copy of the letters which Jonathan wrote to the Spartans:
Jonathan the high priest, and the senate of the nation, and the priests, and the rest of the people of the Jews, to their kindred the Spartans, greeting:
Even before this time were letters sent to Onias the high priest from Arius, who was reigning among you, to signify that you⌃ are our kindred, as the copy here underwritten shows.
And Onias entreated honorably the man that was sent, and received the letters, wherein declaration was made of confederacy and friendship.
have assayed to send that we might renew our brotherhood and friendship with you, to the end that we should not become estranged from you altogether: for long time is passed since you⌃ sent to us.
We chose therefore Numenius the son of Antiochus, and Antipater the son of Jason, and have sent them to the Romans, to renew the friendship that we had with them, and the former confederacy.
We commanded them therefore to go also to you, and to salute you, and to deliver you our letters concerning the renewing of friendship and our brotherhood.
And this is the copy of the letters which they sent to Onias:
Arius king of the Spartans to Onias the chief priest, greeting:
It has been found in writing, concerning the Spartans and the Jews, that they are kindred, and that they are of the stock of Abraham:
And we moreover do write on our part to you, that your cattle and goods are ours, and ours are yours. We do command therefore that they make report to you on this wise.
King Demetrius to Simon the high priest and Friend of kings, and to the elders and nation of the Jews, greeting:
The golden crown, and the palm branch, which you⌃ sent, we have received: and we are ready to make a stedfast peace with you, yes, and to write to our officers, to grant immunities to you.
And whatever things we confirmed to you, they are confirmed; and the strongholds, which you⌃ have built, let them be your own.
And the people began to write in their instruments and contracts, In the first year of Simon, the great high priest and captain and leader of the Jews.
And they cried out to Simon, that he should give them his right hand; and he gave it to them: and he put them out from thence, and he cleansed the citadel from its pollutions.
they wrote to him on tables of brass, to renew with him the friendship and the confederacy which they had confirmed with Judas and Jonathan his kindred;
And this is the copy of the letters which the Spartans sent: The rulers of the Spartans, and the city, to Simon the high priest, and to the elders, and the priests, and the residue of the people of the Jews, our kindred, greeting:
and we did register the things that were spoken by them in the public records after this manner: Numenius son of Antiochus, and Antipater son of Jason, the Jews’ ambassadors, came to us to renew the friendship they had with us.
And it pleased the people to entertain the men honorably, and to put the copy of their words in the public records, to the end that the people of the Spartans might have a memorial thereof: moreover they wrote a copy of these things to Simon the high priest.
After this Simon sent Numenius to Rome with a great shield of gold of a thousand pound weight, in order to confirm the confederacy with them.
And they wrote on tables of brass, and set them upon pillars in mount Sion: and this is the copy of the writing: On the eighteenth day of Elul, in the hundred and seventy and second year, and this is the third year of Simon the high priest,
in Asaramel, in a great congregation of priests and people and princes of the nation, and of the elders of the country, was it notified to us:
and king Demetrius confirmed to him the high priesthood according to these things,
and that the Jews and the priests were well pleased that Simon should be their leader and high priest forever, until there should arise a faithful prophet;
All the people consented to ordain for Simon that he should do according to these words;
and Simon accepted hereof, and consented to be high priest, and to be captain and governor of the Jews and of the priests, and to be protector of all.
and moreover to put the copies thereof in the treasury, to the end that Simon and his sons might have them.
And Antiochus son of Demetrius the king sent letters from the isles of the sea to Simon the priest and governor of the Jews, and to all the nation;
and the contents thereof were after this manner: King Antiochus to Simon the chief priest and governor, and to the nation of the Jews, greeting:
moreover, when we shall have established our kingdom, we will glorify you and your nation and the temple with great glory, so that your glory shall be made manifest in all the earth.
The Jews’ ambassadors came to us as our friends and confederates, to renew the old friendship and confederacy, being sent from Simon the high priest, and from the people of the Jews:
But the copy hereof they wrote to Simon the high priest.
And he would not receive them, but set at nothing all the covenants which he had made with him aforetime, and was estranged from him.
and may God do good to you, and remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants;
Plant your people in your holy place, even as Moses said.
Howbeit the Lord did not choose the nation for the place’s sake, but the place for the nation’s sake.
For these our kindred, having endured a short pain that brings everlasting life, have now died under God’s covenant; But you, through the judgement of God, shall receive in just measure the penalties of your arrogancy.
and this, if not for their own sakes, yet for the covenants made with their fathers, and because he had called them by his reverend and glorious name.
So when these covenants had been made, Lysias departed to the king, and the Jews went about their husbandry.
So when he had with many words confirmed the agreement to restore them without hurt, they let him go that they might save their kindred.
came to Ptolemais. The men of Ptolemais were displeased at the treaty, for they had exceeding great indignation against the Jews: they desired to annul the articles of the agreement.
So when these proposals had been long considered, and the leader had made the troops acquainted therewith, and it appeared that they were all of like mind, they consented to the covenants.
But Alcimus, perceiving the good will that was between them, and having got possession of the covenants that had been made, came to Demetrius and told him that Nicanor was ill affected toward the state, for he had appointed that conspirator against his kingdom, Judas, to be his successor.
And the king, falling into a rage, and being exasperated by the calumnnies of that most wicked man, wrote to Nicanor, signifying that he was displeased at the covenants, and commanding him to send Maccabaeus prisoner to Antioch in all haste.
And when this message came to Nicanor, he was confounded, and was sore troubled at the thought of annulling the articles that had been agreed upon, the man having done no wrong;












