28 Jonathan asked the king to exempt Judea and the three districts of Samaria from tribute, promising him in return three hundred talents.
29 The king agreed and wrote a letter to Jonathan about all these matters as follows:
30 “King Demetrius sends greetings to his brother Jonathan and to the Jewish nation.
31 We are sending you, for your information, a copy of the letter that we wrote to Lasthenes our Kinsman concerning you.
32 ‘King Demetrius sends greetings to his father Lasthenes.
33 Upon the Jewish nation, who are our friends and observe their obligations to us, we have decided to bestow benefits because of the good will they show us.
34 Therefore we confirm their possession, not only of the territory of Judea, but also of the three districts of Aphairema, Lydda, and Ramathaim. These districts, together with all their dependencies, are hereby transferred from Samaria to Judea for those who offer sacrifices in Jerusalem in lieu of the royal taxes the king used to receive yearly from the produce of earth and trees.