The king’s letter ran thus: Good News Bible may be followed here.

King Antiochus to his brother Lysias, greeting: Brother is here a title of honor, not a term of family relationships. For his brother Lysias, Good News Bible uses “the honorable Lysias.” Translators should consider any expression known in their culture which a person in a high position might use in addressing a person of authority, but one below him on the social or political scale. As in verse 16, the order of the elements in this opening to the letter can be arranged in any way that is natural.

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.