How will we be able to withstand them, if thou dost not help us?: Good News Bible‘s reversal of these two lines will be a helpful solution in many languages. Another possible model is:

• If you don’t help us, how can we defend ourselves against them?”

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.