In Praise of Simon

¹In the year 172 King Demetrius the Second gathered his army and went to Media to seek additional help for his war against Trypho.

²When King Arsaces the Sixth of Persia and Media heard that Demetrius had entered his territory, he sent one of his commanders with some troops to capture Demetrius alive.

³They attacked and defeated the army of Demetrius, took him captive, and brought him back to King Arsaces, who threw him in prison.

⁴The land of Judea was at peace as long as Simon lived. During his entire reign, he used his position of power and influence to do what was good for his people, and they were always pleased with him as their ruler.

⁵He added to his reputation when he captured the port of Joppa and opened up the route to the Greek islands.

⁶He not only enlarged the territory of his nation and gained control of the whole country,

⁷but he brought back many prisoners of war and captured Gezer, Bethzur, and the fort in Jerusalem. He purified the fort, and there was no one to oppose him.

⁸The Jews farmed their land in peace; the land produced its crops and the trees bore fruit.

⁹The young men showed off their splendid military uniforms, while the old men sat around the city squares and talked about the great things that had happened.

¹⁰Simon supplied the cities with food and provided them with weapons of defense. His fame spread everywhere.

¹¹He brought peace to the country, and Israel's joy knew no bounds.

¹²Everyone lived in peace among his own grapevines and fig trees, and no one made them afraid.

¹³In those days all the enemy kings had been defeated, and there was no one left in the land to fight the Jews.

¹⁴Simon provided help for all the poor among his people, and guided by the Law of Moses, he eliminated all wicked and lawless men.

¹⁵He provided the Temple with splendid furnishings and added a large number of utensils for use in worship.

¹⁶When the news that Jonathan had died reached Rome and Sparta, it brought great sorrow.

¹⁷But when the Spartans heard that Simon had succeeded his brother as High Priest and that he was in control of the country and its towns,

¹⁸they engraved on bronze tablets a renewal of the treaty of friendship which they had made with his brothers Judas and Jonathan and sent the tablets to him.

¹⁹These were read to the assembly in Jerusalem.

²⁰What follows is a copy of the letter sent by the Spartans: The people of Sparta and their rulers to Simon the High Priest, to the leaders and the priests of the Jews, and to all our Jewish brothers, greetings.

²¹The delegation that you sent to our people has told us how respected and renowned you are. Their visit has been a source of joy for us,

²²and a report of their visit has been written down in our public records, as follows: Numenius son of Antiochus and Antipater son of Jason, honored representatives of the Jews, appeared before us to renew their treaty of friendship.

²³The assembly of the people was pleased to receive these men with all honors and to place a copy of their report in the public archives, so that the people of Sparta may have it on record. A copy of this document has been made for the High Priest Simon.

²⁴Later, Simon sent Numenius to Rome with the gift of a large gold shield weighing half a ton, to confirm the Jews' alliance with the Romans.

²⁵When the people of Israel heard about all this, they asked themselves, How can we express our thanks to Simon and his sons?

²⁶He, his brothers, and his father's whole family have been towers of strength for our nation. They have fought off our enemies and set the nation free. So they recorded this on bronze tablets and set them up on columns on Mount Zion.

²⁷The inscription read as follows: On the eighteenth day of the month of Elul in the year 172, that is, in the third year of Simon, the High Priest,

²⁸at a great assembly of priests, people, officials, and national leaders the following facts were made known to us:

²⁹Often when wars broke out in the country, Simon son of Mattathias, a priest of the Jehoiarib family, and his brothers risked their lives in protecting our nation, our Temple, and our Law against our enemies. They have brought great glory to our nation.

³⁰Jonathan united our people and became the High Priest before he died.

³¹The enemies of the Jews plotted to invade the land and defile the Temple.

³²Then Simon assumed command and fought for his country. He spent a large amount of his own money to provide weapons and wages for his nation's armed forces.

³³He fortified the towns of Judea, and especially Bethzur on the border, where enemy weapons had previously been stored. He stationed a detachment of soldiers there.

³⁴He fortified the seaport of Joppa and the city of Gezer on the border of Azotus, which was previously occupied by enemy soldiers. He settled Jews there and provided the towns with everything that the people needed.

³⁵When the people saw Simon's patriotism and how he wanted to bring glory to his nation, they made him their leader and High Priest. They did this because of all that he had accomplished through his loyalty and because he had brought about justice and had tried in every way to bring glory to his nation.

³⁶Under his leadership the Gentiles were driven out of the land. Enemy soldiers were forced out of the area north of the Temple, where they had built the fort, from which the soldiers used to go out and defile the holy Temple.

³⁷Simon settled Jews in the fort, strengthened it for the security of the country and the city of Jerusalem, and increased the height of the city walls.

³⁸As a result, King Demetrius confirmed him as High Priest,

³⁹gave him the title of Friend of the King, and treated him with great honor.

⁴⁰Demetrius did this because he had heard that the Romans were calling the Jews their friends, allies, and brothers and that they had received Simon's delegation with full honors.

⁴¹Therefore, the Jews and their priests are happy to have Simon and his descendants as their leaders and High Priests, until a true prophet appears.

⁴²Simon shall govern their country, have charge of the Temple, and shall be their military commander. He shall be in charge of military supplies, fortifications, and public works.

⁴³The people must obey him in everything. All government contracts shall be drawn up in his name. He shall have the right to wear royal robes with the gold shoulder buckle.

⁴⁴No one, priest or people, shall have the legal right to annul any of these decisions, to alter or change any of Simon's orders, to convene any assembly in the country without his permission, or to wear royal robes with the gold shoulder buckle.

⁴⁵Anyone who disobeys or disregards these regulations shall be subject to punishment.

⁴⁶The people gave their unanimous approval to grant Simon the right to act in accordance with these regulations.

⁴⁷Simon consented and agreed to be supreme leader: High Priest, commander of the armies, and governor of the Jews and the priests.

⁴⁸It was decided that this declaration should be engraved on bronze tablets and set up in a prominent place within the Temple area

⁴⁹and that copies should be placed in the Temple treasury, where Simon and his sons would have access to them.

Dreams Mean Nothing

¹Foolish people are deceived by vain hopes, and dreams get them all excited.

²A person who pays any attention at all to dreams is like someone who tries to catch shadows or chase the wind.

³What you see in a dream is no more real than the reflection of your face in a mirror.

⁴What is unreal can no more produce something real than what is dirty can produce something clean.

⁵Dreams, divination, and omens are all nonsense. You see in them only what you want to see.

⁶Unless the Most High has sent you the dream, pay no attention to it.

⁷Dreams have misled many people; they put their faith in them, only to be disappointed.

⁸The Law is complete without such falsehood. Wisdom, as spoken by the righteous, is also complete without it.

Travel

⁹A well-traveled person with wide experience knows many things and talks sense.

¹⁰You can't know much if you haven't experienced much, but travel can make you more clever.

¹¹In my own travels I have seen many things and learned more than I can put into words.

¹²I have been in danger of death many times, but I have always been able to escape by relying on past experience.

Fear the Lord

¹³Those who fear the Lord will live, because they have put their trust in the one who can save them.

¹⁴Fear the Lord, and you will have nothing else to fear. If your trust is in him, you will never act like a coward.

¹⁵People who fear the Lord are fortunate, because they know where they can look for help.

¹⁶The Lord watches over those who love him; he is their strong protection and firm support. He shelters them from the heat, shades them from the noonday sun, and keeps them from stumbling and falling.

¹⁷He makes them cheerful and puts a sparkle in their eyes. He blesses them with life and health.

Offering Sacrifices

¹⁸If you offer as a sacrifice an animal that you have obtained dishonestly, it is defective and unacceptable.

¹⁹The Most High gets no pleasure from sacrifices made by ungodly people; no amount of sacrifices can make up for their sins.

²⁰Anyone who steals an animal from the poor to offer as a sacrifice is like someone who kills a boy before his father's eyes.

²¹Food means life itself to poor people, and taking it away from them is murder.

²²It is murder to deprive someone of his living or to cheat an employee of his wages.

²³When one person builds and somebody else tears down, has anything been accomplished but hard work?

²⁴When one person blesses and somebody else curses, which one is the Lord going to listen to?

²⁵If you touch a dead body and then purify yourself by washing, but then go and touch it again, what good did the washing do?

²⁶If you fast because of your sins, and then go out and commit the same sins over again, what have you gained by going without food? Who do you think is going to listen to your prayers?

¹Keeping the Law is worth many offerings; it is a fellowship offering in itself.

²Returning a kindness is like a grain offering; giving to the poor is like a thanksgiving offering.

³Keeping away from sin will please the Lord and make atonement for sin.

⁴But don't come to the Temple without an offering;

⁵the Law requires that you bring one.

⁶When someone righteous offers a sacrifice and the fat drips down on the altar, a pleasant smell rises to the Most High.

⁷The Lord will accept the offerings made by a righteous person and will not forget them.

⁸Praise the Lord by making generous offerings to him; don't be stingy with the first of your crops.

⁹Be cheerful with every gift you make, and when you pay your tithes, do it gladly.

¹⁰Give to the Most High as he has given to you, just as generously as you can.

¹¹The Lord always repays and will do it many times over.

God's Justice

¹²But don't try to bribe him or rely on offerings that you have obtained dishonestly. He will not accept them. The Lord is fair and does not show partiality.

¹³He is not prejudiced against the poor; when someone prays who has been wronged, the Lord listens.

¹⁴When orphans and widows pour out their prayers, he does not ignore them.

¹⁵The tears running down a widow's cheek cry out in accusation against the one who has caused her distress.

¹⁶Serve the Lord willingly, and the Lord will accept you; your prayers will reach the skies.

¹⁷The prayer of a humble person goes past the clouds and keeps on going until it reaches the Lord Most High, where it stays until he answers by seeing that justice is done and that the guilty are punished.

¹⁸And the Lord will act quickly. He will show no patience with wicked people. He will take vengeance by crushing the heathen. He will completely wipe out the merciless and the arrogant, and will destroy the authority of the wicked.

¹⁹He will give each of us what our thoughts and actions deserve. Because of the Lord's mercy, his people will be happy when he has judged their case.

²⁰In times of trouble his mercy is as welcome as rain after a long drought.

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²²Listen to your father; without him you would not exist. When your mother is old, show her your appreciation.

²³Truth, wisdom, learning, and good sense—these are worth paying for, but too valuable for you to sell.

²⁴A righteous person's parents have good reason to be happy. You can take pride in a wise child.

²⁵Let your father and mother be proud of you; give your mother that happiness.