The scene now changes to Alexander contacting Jonathan, so translators should begin a new paragraph at this point (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version).

Then Alexander the king wrote to Jonathan to come to meet him: Good News Bible omits the connector Then (literally “And”), but for many languages it will be appropriate to keep it. Jonathan was now much in demand. The kings of Egypt and Syria were traditional rivals, and even though an alliance now existed between them, Alexander probably wanted to impress on Ptolemy that Jonathan was his ally, and an important one. It is not clear whether the letter was an invitation or a command. It was probably worded as an invitation, but one that Jonathan knew he should accept. Not only did he not want to anger Alexander unnecessarily, but also Ptolemy might someday prove useful to Jonathan. An alternative model for this verse is:

• Then King Alexander wrote to Jonathan the High Priest inviting him to come to Ptolemais to meet him.

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.