So they said, “Let us also make a name for ourselves: In a number of languages the use of name as an image for “fame” (Good News Bible) will be natural style; for example, the first half of this verse may be rendered “So they said to each other, ‘Let’s also get a great name [or, much face] for ourselves.’”

Let us go and make war on the Gentiles around us may be expressed as “let’s go and fight against the Gentiles around us.”

This verse is not so much a report of what Joseph and Azariah actually said, but the writer’s way of letting the reader know what they were thinking. A model that uses indirect speech is:

• They wanted to be famous [or, gain much face] too, so they decided to fight [or, attack] the Gentiles in their area.

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.