Then Ptolemy wrote a report about these things and sent it to the king may be expressed as “Then Ptolemy wrote a letter to King Antiochus~VII telling him that Simon was now dead.”

Asking him to send troops to aid him and to turn over to him the cities and the country may be rendered “In the letter he asked the king for troops to help him, and asked that the king put him in control of Judea and its cities.”

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.