37. Let some of them be stationed in the king’s great fortress. Let some of them be placed in trustworthy positions in the kingdom. Let their officers and leaders come from their own people, and let them live by their own laws, just as the king has commanded in the land of Judah.
38. As for the three districts that have been added to Judea from the country of Samaria, let them be annexed to Judea so that they may be considered under one ruler and obey no other authority than the high priest.
39. I give Ptolemais as a gift and the land adjoining it to the sanctuary in Jerusalem, to provide the necessary expenses of the sanctuary.
40. I also grant fifteen thousand silver shekels annually out of the king’s revenues from appropriate places.
41. All the additional funds that the government officials haven’t paid as they used to, they will give from now on for the service of the temple.
42. Moreover, the five thousand silver shekels that my officials have received annually from the income of the services of the temple, this too is canceled, because it belongs to the priests who minister there.
43. As for all who have taken refuge on the grounds of the temple in Jerusalem because they owe money to the king or are in debt, they are released from debt and I will restore all their property in my kingdom.
44. Let the cost of rebuilding and restoring the structures of the sanctuary be paid from the king’s revenues.
45. And let the cost of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and revitalizing it all round, and the cost of rebuilding the walls in Judea, also be paid from the king’s revenues.
46. When Jonathan and the people heard these words, they didn’t believe or accept them. They remembered vividly the great wrongs Demetrius had done in Israel and how much he had oppressed them.
47. They preferred Alexander because he had been the first to speak peaceful words to them. So they remained his allies all of his days.