So Antiochus carried off eighteen hundred talents from the temple, and hurried away to Antioch: The logical connector So is not needed at the beginning of this new section. For the value of the “talent,” see the comments on 1Macc 11.28. Eighteen hundred talents is approximately 61,200 kilograms or 135,000 pounds. Good News Bible says this was silver, but the Greek does not say that. We suggest saying “61,200 kilograms of precious objects” or “… kilograms of gold and silver.” The first half of this verse may be rendered “After King Antiochus had taken [or, stolen] 61,200 kilograms [or, 135,000 pounds] of precious objects [or, gold and silver] from the Temple, he hurried off [or, rushed back] to Antioch.”

Thinking in his arrogance that he could sail on the land and walk on the sea, because his mind was elated: It may be difficult in some languages to express thinking in his arrogance and because his mind was elated (compare verse 17) with two different clauses. Good News Bible combines both into “Such was his arrogance that he felt.” However, it will be possible in other languages to keep the two clauses by saying “He was so arrogant, and his heart so puffed up with pride” or “He was so proud and conceited.” In translating he could sail on the land and walk on the sea, Good News Bible removes attention from Antiochus by having him think he could make armies sail on land and walk on the sea. Translators may follow this model. However, we prefer to keep the focus on Antiochus himself and his own arrogance. Models that do this for the last half of this verse are “He was so proud of what had done in Jerusalem that he thought he could sail on land and walk on the sea” and “He was so proud and conceited! He thought he could sail on land, and walk on the sea!”

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.