And what they said we have recorded in our public decrees, as follows: Our public decrees (literally “the counsels of the people”) refers to some archive or place where important government documents were stored. Good News Bible translates “our public records,” Contemporary English Version has “our record books,” and New Jerusalem Bible says “the minutes of our public assemblies.” Another possibility is “our official documents.” An alternative model for the first half of this verse is “We have recorded [or, written down] a report of their visit in our record books [or, official documents] as follows:….”

Numenius the son of Antiochus and Antipater the son of Jason, envoys of the Jews, have come to us to renew their friendship with us: Numenius and Antipater were introduced to the Spartans earlier (see 1Macc 12.16). Good News Bible renders envoys of the Jews as “honored representatives of the Jews,” which is certainly not wrong, but this may be translated “ambassadors from Judea.” For renew their friendship with us, see the comments on 1Macc 12.16. The pronoun their refers to the Jews.

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.