Rulers and elders groaned: Rulers refers to local rulers or chieftains in Israel, rather than to kings and other royalty. Elders may refer to leaders in an area whom the people respected, or it may refer in a more literal sense to old people. We prefer to understand it as old people in contrast to the young people in the next line. Good News Bible adds “in sorrow” to indicate why these people were groaning—they were not in physical pain. This line may be rendered “Israelite rulers [or, chieftains] and old people groaned because of their sorrow” or “… and old people were so sad that they groaned.”

Maidens and young men became faint: Became faint should not be taken to mean that the young men and women actually fainted. Instead, we understand it to mean that they lost their vigor, their vitality. Being young and vigorous did them no good in this situation where the whole nation was reduced to shame. Good News Bible renders this line as “Young men and young women grew weak,” which is a valid model.

The beauty of the women faded: When enemies pillaged the Temple, the Jewish women lost their beauty because their faces were contorted in grief (see the next verse). Good News Bible renders the women as “our women” since Jewish women are in view.

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.