John and Absalom, who were sent by you, have delivered your signed communication and have asked about the matters indicated therein: The only John may be the brother of Judas (1Macc 2.2), but this is not certain. There is an Absalom mentioned at 1Macc 11.70 and 1Macc 13.11. Conceivably they could be the same person but we cannot know. Whoever John and Absalom are, they delivered to Lysias the Jewish reply to Lysias’ message of verse 14. That reply was in writing. Good News Bible and New English Bible translate who were sent by you as “Your representatives.” This rendering may be a bit better than the one in Revised Standard Version, since it identifies the two men before they are named. Good News Bible translates your signed communication as “the official document you sent,” and although several versions say something similar, it appears to be the wrong understanding. The correct understanding is “your letter copied below.” Compare the use of the Greek word for “copied below” in 2Macc 9.18, where it is rendered “following,” and in 2Macc 9.25, where it is rendered “what is written here.” As in 9.25 (see the comments there), the letter mentioned here is not in fact preserved in 2Maccabees. Apparently John and Absalom returned to Judas with a copy or the original of Judas’ letter to Lysias. It seems that Lysias had written on that letter, in the margins perhaps, his reactions to specific points. In our judgment it is unnecessary to pass on the information about an accompanying letter. It will be sufficient to render your signed communication as “your letter.” Here is a model for this whole verse:

• Your representatives, John and Absalom, have delivered your letter [to me], and have asked me to reply to specific points.

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.