Now that our father has gone on to the gods: The plural pronoun our is the king’s way of referring to himself, so Good News Bible renders our father as “my father,” which may be helpful in other languages. For gone to the gods, most languages will have euphemisms for death; for example, “passed away” or “reached his kharma” (Thai). Such expressions will be helpful in this context.

We desire that the subjects of the kingdom be undisturbed in caring for their own affairs: The king states a general policy that native peoples of his empire may have authority to conduct their own affairs (so long as it does not interfere with government business, of course). We is another plural pronoun the king uses to refer to himself. Good News Bible provides a good model for this clause.

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.