Another paragraph break is appropriate here (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible).

After him they brought forward the sixth. And when he was about to die, he said: We suggest joining these two sentences as in Good News Bible, which may serve as a model. However, it is possible to say “tortured” rather than “took.” “Took” is more literal, but “tortured” is clearly implied in the context, and it may help some readers. Both these verbs can be used by saying “Next they took the sixth boy and tortured him, and just before he died he said.”

Do not deceive yourself in vain: “Make no mistake” (Good News Bible) is a good English equivalent of this sentence. Other idiomatic renderings are “Don’t fool yourself” and “Get this straight.” The young man is telling the king that he is not really accomplishing anything. God is simply using the occasion to punish them for their sins, but God is going to hold Antiochus responsible for his sins also.

For we are suffering these things on our own account may be rendered “Our suffering is our own fault.”

Because of our sins against our own God: God brought these sufferings on them as punishment for their own sins.

Therefore astounding things have happened: The three Greek words translated here are difficult. As Revised Standard Version‘s footnote says, the connector Therefore (Good News Bible “That’s why”) does not occur in the Greek. Revised Standard Version inserts it for essentially translational reasons rather than textual; it seems to be needed to help the sense. But not necessarily. The addition of this connector makes the young man say that because they have sinned, these astounding things (their persecution by Antiochus) have happened. This is the likely explanation. Translators may certainly follow Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible, but we offer an alternative in the following model for this verse which we prefer, and some translators may find it easier:

• Next they took the sixth boy and tortured him, and just before he died he said, “Don’t fool yourself. You’re not accomplishing anything. This is our own fault; our God is punishing us for the sins we have committed against him. That may be hard to believe, but it is true.

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.