1 King Ptolemy the Sixth of Egypt assembled an army of soldiers more numerous than the grains of sand along the seashore, and he also gathered a great fleet of ships. He intended to trap Alexander, take his kingdom, and add it to his own,
2 so he went to Syria with promises of peace, and the citizens opened their gates to him and welcomed him. King Alexander had ordered them to do this because Ptolemy was his father-in-law.
3 But as Ptolemy moved north, he stationed a detachment of troops in each town.
4 When he reached Azotus, the people there showed him the burnt ruins of the temple of Dagon and all the destruction in the city and the surrounding towns. There were corpses everywhere. The bodies of the men Jonathan had burnt to death during the battle were now stacked up along Ptolemy's route.
5 The people told him what Jonathan had done, hoping that he would hold him responsible, but Ptolemy said nothing.
6 Jonathan, with all the proper ceremony, went to Joppa to meet him. They exchanged greetings and spent the night there.