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When Jonathan and his partners had received this letter, they
wrote me no more answers, but called a council of their friends
together; and taking John into their consultation, they took
counsel together by what means they might attack me. John's
opinion was, that they should write to all the cities and
villages that were in Galilee; for that there must be certainly
one or two persons in every one of them that were at variance
with me, and that they should be invited to come to oppose me as
an enemy. He would also have them send this resolution of theirs
to the city of Jerusalem, that its citizens, upon the knowledge
of my being adjudged to be an enemy by the Galileans, might
themselves I also confirm that determination. He said also, that
when this was done, even those Galileans who were well affected
to me, would desert me out of fear. When John had given them this
counsel, what he had said was very agreeable to the rest of them.
I was also made acquainted with these affairs about the third
hour of the night, by the means of one Saccheus, who had belonged
to them, but now deserted them and came over to me, and told me
what they were about; so I perceived that no time was to be lost.
Accordingly, I gave command to Jacob, an armed man of my guard,
whom I esteemed faithful to me, to take two hundred men, and to
guard the passages that led from Gahara to Galilee, and to seize
upon the passengers, and send them to me, especially such as were
caught with letters about them: I also sent Jeremias himself, one
of my friends, with six hundred armed men, to the borders of
Galilee, in order to watch the roads that led from this country
to the city Jerusalem, and gave him charge to lay hold of such as
traveled with letters about them, to keep the men in bonds upon
the place, but to send me the letters.
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