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[566]
Yet did the army that was under John raise a sedition against him,
and all the Idumeans separated themselves from the tyrant, and attempted
to destroy him, and this out of their envy at his power, and hatred of
his cruelty; so they got together, and slew many of the zealots, and drove
the rest before them into that royal palace that was built by Grapte, who
was a relation of Izates, the king of Adiabene; the Idumeans fell in with
them, and drove the zealots out thence into the temple, and betook themselves
to plunder John's effects; for both he himself was in that palace, and
therein had he laid up the spoils he had acquired by his tyranny. In the
mean time, the multitude of those zealots that were dispersed over the
city ran together to the temple unto those that fled thither, and John
prepared to bring them down against the people and the Idumeans, who were
not so much afraid of being attacked by them (because they were themselves
better soldiers than they) as at their madness, lest they should privately
sally out of the temple and get among them, and not only destroy them,
but set the city on fire also. So they assembled themselves together, and
the high priests with them, and took counsel after what manner they should
avoid their assault. Now it was God who turned their opinions to the worst
advice, and thence they devised such a remedy to get themselves free as
was worse than the disease itself. Accordingly, in order to overthrow John,
they determined to admit Simon, and earnestly to desire the introduction
of a second tyrant into the city; which resolution they brought to perfection,
and sent Matthias, the high priest, to beseech this Simon to come ill to
them, of whom they had so often been afraid. Those also that had fled from
the zealots in Jerusalem joined in this request to him, out of the desire
they had of preserving their houses and their effects. Accordingly he,
in an arrogant manner, granted them his lordly protection, and came into
the city, in order to deliver it from the zealots. The people also made
joyful acclamations to him, as their savior and their preserver; but when
he was come in, with his army, he took care to secure his own authority,
and looked upon those that had invited him in to be no less his enemies
than those against whom the invitation was intended.
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