A paragraph break is appropriate here (so Revised Standard Version).

When the action was over refers to the end of the battle. This clause may be expressed as “After the battle” (Contemporary English Version) or “When they had stopped fighting.”

And they were returning with joy: It will be necessary in a number of languages to state the place to which Judas’ soldiers were returning. We may say “and they were joyfully returning home” or “… returning to Jerusalem.”

They recognized Nicanor, lying dead, in full armor: The writer wants us to know that not even full armor could protect Nicanor from God’s action. Good News Bible adds the phrase “on the battlefield” for effect, and also for clarity, since the victorious Jews would not have gone very far before seeing Nicanor’s body. It lay “on the battlefield,” not somewhere along the way to Jerusalem.

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.