2. And king Demetrius heard of it, and he gathered together an exceedingly great army, and he went forth to meet him in battle.
3. And Demetrius sent a letter to Jonathan, with peaceful words, to magnify him.
4. For he said, "Let us first make a peace with him, before he makes one with Alexander against us.
5. For he will remember all the evils that we have done to him, and to his brother, and to his nation."
6. And he gave him the authority to gather together an army, and to fabricate weapons, so that he would be his associate. And the hostages who were in the stronghold, he ordered to be handed over to him.
7. And Jonathan came to Jerusalem, and he read the letters in the hearing of all the people and of those who were in the stronghold.
8. And they were struck with a great fear, because they heard that the king gave him the authority to gather together an army.
9. And the hostages were handed over to Jonathan, and he restored them to their parents.
10. And Jonathan lived in Jerusalem, and he began to rebuild and repair the city.
11. And he told those doing the work to build up the walls, and mount Zion, all around, with square stones, as a fortification. And they did so.
12. Then the foreigners, who were in the fortifications that Bacchides had built, fled away.
13. And each one abandoned his place and departed into his own land.
14. Only in Bethzur did there remain some others of these, who had forsaken the law and the precepts of God. For this was a refuge for them.
15. And king Alexander heard of the promises that Demetrius promised to Jonathan. And they described the battles to him, and the virtuous deeds that he and his brothers had done, and the hardships that they had endured.
16. And he said: "Would we ever find another such man? And so now, let us make him our friend and our associate."
17. And so, he wrote a letter, and he sent it to him, according to these words, saying:
18. "King Alexander to his brother, Jonathan: greetings.