We therefore have chosen Numenius the son of Antiochus and Antipater the son of Jason, and have sent them to Rome to renew our former friendship and alliance with them: As in verse 11, the connector therefore does not sound quite right. New English Bible and Goldstein begin with “Accordingly.” Other possible ways to begin are “This being the situation” and “Since this is the way things stand.” Good News Bible uses only “So,” which is sufficient. Numenius and Antipater are not known elsewhere. (The Antiochus mentioned here is not a member of the Seleucid royal family.) It is interesting that these are Greek names. Surely these Maccabean sympathizers, opponents of Hellenization, would have been known by Hebrew names, but using Greek names was very wise diplomacy when dealing with Greeks such as the Spartans. Once again, translators avoid using the word “ambassadors” (Good News Bible) to refer to these men (see the comments on verse 1). The verb have chosen may be left implied in the verb have sent (see the model below). The perfect tense used by both Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible for these verbs is appropriate here, since, as we learn in the next verse, Numenius and Antipater also delivered a letter to the authorities at Sparta. Although this is not clear, we would understand from verses 1-4 that the two men went to Rome first. When the Spartans read the letter, the mission to Rome was already over. To renew our former friendship and alliance with them may be expressed as “to renew our friendship with the Romans and to make sure that we remain allies.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• So we have sent Numenius son of Antiochus and Antipater son of Jason to Rome in order to renew our friendship with the Romans and to make sure that we remain allies.

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.