Simon also chose men and sent them to Demetrius the king with a request to grant relief to the country, for all that Trypho did was to plunder: Simon now opened up negotiations with an old enemy, Demetrius~II. Demetrius had no particular reason to show kindness to Simon, and we suspect that these negotiations were not quickly resolved, that they were delicate and time-consuming. Simon asked Demetrius to grant Judea relief from taxes. If Demetrius granted such a request, Judea would have a legal basis to refuse payment to Trypho. Good News Bible combines the verbs chose and sent, simply saying “sent,” which is adequate. For the sense of men in this context, compare 1Macc 12.1. As there, we would hesitate to call these men “ambassadors” (Good News Bible). An alternative model for this verse is:

• Simon also sent some men to King Demetrius~II, and they begged him, “Please stop taxing us. All Trypho does is rob us.”

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.