Therefore all men prayed that the apparition might prove to have been a good omen: The connector Therefore may be rendered “The sight of this [or, What they saw] led [or, caused].” The people of Jerusalem saw these armies fighting in the sky, and believed that it must be an omen (sign) of some kind, so they prayed that it be a good omen and not a bad one.

Here is an alternative model for this verse:

• All the people [or, Everyone in the city] saw this, and prayed that the visions [or, what they saw] might be a good sign [or, an indication of something good].

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.