To the nation the king’s letter was as follows: Translators may word this clause as they worded the introduction to the letter at verse 16. It introduces another quoted document that can be indented.

King Antiochus to the senate of the Jews and to the other Jews, greeting: For senate see the comments on 2 Macc 1.10. 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.