This is a good place to begin a new paragraph, since the correspondents change from the Romans to the Spartans (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible).

This is a copy of the letter which Jonathan wrote to the Spartans: Jonathan himself wrote the letter to the Spartans, but he might not have written the letters to the other countries, so Contemporary English Version renders this verse as “Jonathan himself wrote a letter to the people of Sparta in which he said:….”

We suggest that the long letter that follows in verses 6-18 be indented as in Good News Bible (compare 1Macc 8.23-32 and 10.25-45).

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.