1 Three years later, Judas and his army learned that Demetrius, the son of King Seleucus, had sailed into the port city of Tripolis with a powerful army and navy.
2 They also found out that Demetrius had put to death both King Antiochus and Lysias his guardian and was now ruling the country.
3 A man named Alcimus had earlier been appointed high priest, but when our nation was at war, he eagerly adopted the Greek way of life. Because of this, Alcimus knew he was in danger from our people and would never be high priest again.
4 So in about the year 151 of the Syrian Kingdom, Alcimus went to King Demetrius and presented him with a gold crown and a palm branch. He also handed him some olive branches from the temple area, as was the custom. However, Alcimus did not mention his desire to be high priest.
5 Some time later, Demetrius invited Alcimus to a meeting of the royal council and asked him to explain what the Jewish people were planning. Alcimus immediately took this chance to express his own crazy ideas, and he said: