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Judea Gains Independence

31 Trypho dealt treacherously with the young King Antiochus; he killed him ³²and became king in his place, putting on the crown of Asia; and he brought great calamity on the land. ³³But Simon built up the strongholds of Judea and walled them all round, with high towers and great walls and gates and bolts, and he stored food in the strongholds. ³⁴Simon also chose emissaries and sent them to King Demetrius with a request to grant relief to the country, for all that Trypho did was to plunder. ³⁵King Demetrius sent him a favourable reply to this request, and wrote him a letter as follows, ³⁶‘King Demetrius to Simon, the high priest and friend of kings, and to the elders and nation of the Jews, greetings. ³⁷We have received the gold crown and the palm branch that you^* sent, and we are ready to make a general peace with you and to write to our officials to grant you release from tribute. ³⁸All the grants that we have made to you remain valid, and let the strongholds that you have built be your possession. ³⁹We pardon any errors and offences committed to this day, and cancel the crown tax that you owe; and whatever other tax has been collected in Jerusalem shall be collected no longer. ⁴⁰And if any of you are qualified to be enrolled in our bodyguard,^* let them be enrolled, and let there be peace between us.’

41 In the one hundred and seventieth year^* the yoke of the Gentiles was removed from Israel, ⁴²and the people began to write in their documents and contracts, ‘In the first year of Simon the great high priest and commander and leader of the Jews.’