And so we have appointed you today to be the high priest of your nation: There had been no High Priest among the Jews for seven years, since the death of Alcimus (1Macc 9.56). Since the time of the Jewish return from exile, the High Priest had been thought of as a local secular leader as well as a religious leader. The office was hereditary, and the imperial rulers (the Persians, the Ptolemies, the Seleucids) had generally refrained from interfering with it. With Antiochus~V this changed, and the king assumed for himself the responsibility to make whomever he wanted the Jewish High Priest. Beginning in 175 b.c., Antiochus took bribes from people who wanted to be the High Priest, and at one point appointed someone who was not even of a priestly family. Now Alexander, who claimed to be king, appointed Jonathan who was indeed from a priestly family, but not the high-priestly family. It may be significant that the author says nothing about how he was regarded by the Jews themselves when he assumed the office. Many Jews probably thought he held the office illegitimately.

You are to be called the king’s friend: The king’s friend is clearly an official title in this context (see the comments on 1Macc 2.18). Good News Bible has a helpful model for this clause.

Good News Bible and Contemporary English Version reverse the order of the last two clauses in this verse. We will discuss them in that order.

And you are to take our side and keep friendship with us: In return for the secular (King’s Friend) and religious (High Priest) honors, Jonathan was expected to side with Alexander in the struggle for power against Demetrius. Most translators will find it helpful to follow Good News Bible and Contemporary English Version by placing this clause before the one in parentheses in Revised Standard Version, which is not part of the letter. This allows the text of the letter to be unbroken. Good News Bible has “You are to be our ally and give us your support,” and Contemporary English Version translates “This means that you must be a very loyal follower.”

(And he sent him a purple robe and a golden crown): By moving this clause from after the text of the letter, Good News Bible eliminates the need for parentheses. The purple robe and golden crown were signs of Jonathan’s official appointment. Good News Bible renders purple robe as “royal robe” (compare 1Macc 8.14), but this may be misleading since Jonathan was not being made a king. Purple robes were worn by the officials known as Friends of the King.

While Good News Bible and Contemporary English Version‘s reordering of this verse is worth following, here is another possible model that keeps the original order by using indirect discourse for the last clause:

• I have this day appointed you as High Priest of your nation and given you the title ‘Friend of the King.’”

Alexander sent him a purple robe and a gold crown as signs of office, and let Jonathan know that he expected his support and loyalty in the expected fight [or, struggle] against Demetrius.

If translators follow the order in Good News Bible and Contemporary English Version, we suggest this wording for the parenthetical expression: “He sent Jonathan a purple robe and a gold crown as official signs of his new positions.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.