I have informed the king of everything that needed to be brought before him may be rendered “I have consulted with the king on the points [or, matters] that he must decide.”

And he has agreed to what was possible: There is a textual problem here. Instead of he has agreed, some Greek manuscripts have “I have agreed,” which changes the meaning considerably. We prefer this reading (see the model below), and it is followed by New English Bible, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Abel, Doran, and Goldstein. Unless there was a very long gap of time between the receipt of Judas’ letter and Lysias’ writing of this letter, it is the only approach that makes much sense (see verse 36).

We may reverse the order of the clauses in this verse as follows:

• Some of these points I have the authority to decide, and I agree to them. I have consulted the king on the matters that he must decide.

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.