We suggest beginning a new paragraph at this point (so Good News Bible).

When the king assented: We suggest translating this clause as a short sentence, for example, “The king agreed to this.”

And Jason came to office, he at once shifted his countrymen over to the Greek way of life: The connector and may be omitted (see the model below). Jason is not named in the Greek text, but should be in the translation for clarity, especially at the beginning of this new paragraph. Jason came to office means he became High Priest. Good News Bible has “Jason took over the office of High Priest,” but we may say simply “Jason became High Priest.” He at once shifted his countrymen over to the Greek way of life means he immediately began to try to break down traditional Jewish culture, and substitute Greek customs. The phrase at once may be expressed in the previous clause, as in Good News Bible with “just as soon as” and Contemporary English Version with “no sooner” (see also the model below). For his countrymen, Good News Bible has “the people of Jerusalem,” but this rendering is too narrow. Jason would have tried to force other Jews outside of Jerusalem to also become like Greeks. So we suggest the following model for this verse:

• The king agreed to this. Just as soon as Jason became High Priest, he forced his fellow countrymen [or, the Judeans] to adopt the Greek way of life [or, to begin living/acting like Greeks].

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.