Contemporary English Version makes it clear that this section also continues the letter started at 2Macc 1.10 by inserting again the subheading The Letter Continues before this verse. Other languages may find this helpful.

Since, therefore, we are about to celebrate the purification, we write to you: This takes up where 2Macc 1.18 left off. For the festival of the purification (Good News Bible “Rededication”) of the Temple, see the comments on 1.18. The Greek pronoun for you is plural. Translators may clarify that this pronoun refers to the Jews in Egypt by saying “you in Egypt.” This sentence may be rendered “Since we are about to celebrate the festival in which we remember when we made the Temple suitable for worship again, we are writing to you in Egypt.”

Will you therefore please keep the days?: The pronoun you is plural again. The days refers to the eight days of the festival. This clause is not necessarily a question in Greek, and should be taken more closely with the preceding sentence than is the case in Revised Standard Version (so Good News Bible). New English Bible does this by saying “… we are writing to impress upon you the duty of celebrating this festival.” We may also say “… we are writing to you in Egypt to convince you to also observe [or, celebrate] this festival.”

Alternative models for this verse are:

• So then, since we are about to celebrate the rededication of the Temple, we are writing to urge you in Egypt to celebrate this occasion [or, festival] also.

• So then, since we are about to celebrate the festival in which we remember when we made the Temple suitable for worship again, we are writing to you in Egypt to convince you to observe [or, celebrate] this festival also.

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.