The letter written to the Jews by Lysias was to this effect: The letter that follows is Lysias’ response to the requests that Judas made to him as conditions for accepting the peace proposals. Good News Bible introduces the letter with “Here is a copy of the letter which Lysias wrote to the Jews,” which is a good model. As in Good News Bible, we recommend that translators indent this letter and the following ones to help the reader see that they are quoted material.

Lysias to the people of the Jews, greeting: Translators may follow Good News Bible here. Other possible models are “Greetings to the Jewish people, from Lysias” and “I, Lysias, write this letter to the Jews.”

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.