And since we have taken into account the friendly and firm goodwill which they had toward us and our ancestors: The king refers to the Jews always being friendly and loyal to himself and the previous kings in his family. We may translate the first half of this verse as follows: “The Jews have always been friendly to me and my ancestors who were kings before me. We can always rely on their support [or, loyalty]. Taking all this into account….”

We justly have acquitted them of every charge of whatever kind means the king has declared the Jews not guilty, not subject to any further legal action. The idea of justly may be moved to the end of the verse as a new sentence by saying “This was the right thing to do” (see the model below).

An alternative model for this verse is:

• The Jews have always been friendly to me and to my ancestors who were kings before me. We could rely on their support. Taking all this into account, I have found them not guilty of any of the charges against them. This was the right thing to do.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 3-4 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2018. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.