Upon receiving this letter the Jews did not immediately hurry to make their departure, but they requested of the king … : The king’s letter was not addressed to the Jews (see 3 Macc 6.41–7.1), but the author presumes that the Jews received a copy of it. The letter gave the Jews protection as they returned home, but there was unfinished business. They wanted to put to death the Jews who had not been faithful during the persecution. To put people to death, they had to get permission from the king. This probably involved a trip to the palace, and we suggest saying that here to help the reader understand the difficult course of events in the following verses. A possible model for the first half of this verse is “When the Jews read King Philopator’s letter, they did not hurry to return home [or, to leave Alexandria]. They went to the king and asked permission….”

That at their own hands those of the Jewish nation who had willfully transgressed against the holy God and the law of God should receive the punishment they deserved: That at their own hands may be expressed as “if they could punish” (Contemporary English Version) or “if they could deal with.” Those of the Jewish nation who had willfully transgressed against the holy God and the law of God may be rendered “the Jews who had deliberately broken the Law of the holy God” or “the other Jews in Alexandria who had sinned against God and rejected his Law” (Contemporary English Version). For holy God, see 3 Macc 2.2. Should receive the punishment they deserved may be translated “and make sure that they were punished as they should be.”

We suggest reordering this verse as follows:

• When the Jews read this letter, they were in no hurry to leave Alexandria. They wanted to deal with the Jews who had deliberately broken the Law of the holy God, and make sure that they got the punishment they deserved. So they went to the king and asked permission to do this.

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.