11 He directed the workers to build the walls and encircle Mount Zion with squared stones for better reinforcement, which they did.
12 Then from the fortress that Bacchides had built, the foreigners fled.
13 All of them left their places and returned to their own lands.
14 Only in Beth-zur did some Jews remain who had neglected the Law and the commandments, because Beth-zur was a place of refuge.
15 Now King Alexander heard about all the promises that Demetrius made to Jonathan. He also heard about the battles that Jonathan and his brothers had fought, the brave deeds they had done, and the troubles they had endured.
16 He said to himself, Will we find another man like this? We should make him our friend and ally.
17 So he wrote a letter to Jonathan: