We on our part write to you that your cattle and your property belong to us, and ours belong to you: Sparta and Judea were nowhere close to each other, and the reference to property being held in common cannot be intended literally, but it is probably not a meaningless exchange of pleasantries either. What is surely being proposed is a mutual defense treaty: your property belongs to us (therefore if anyone threatens it, we will act to protect your interests) and our property is yours (therefore if anyone threatens it, you will act to protect our interests). It is not clear whether this is a message sent to the Jews with this letter (so Revised Standard Version), or whether it is an indication of what the Spartans’ response will be to a favorable reply from the Jews (so Good News Bible). In our opinion the evidence is slightly in favor of Good News Bible‘s approach. However, it is also possible to translate this as a proposal for a mutual defense treaty by saying “We are prepared to agree that each of us will consider an attack on the other as an attack on oneself.”

We therefore command that our envoys report to you accordingly: As Revised Standard Version‘s footnote indicates, our envoys is simply “they” in Greek, but Revised Standard Version is surely right in taking it to refer to those who delivered the letter. Good News Bible has “our ambassadors,” which is correct also, but clearer models for this clause are “We have ordered those who deliver this letter to you to explain things more fully” and “We have given those who deliver this letter the authority to negotiate these matters.”

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.