Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011.
Israel mourned deeply in every community may be expressed as “So people everywhere in the land of Israel mourned greatly.”
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.
Rulers and elders groaned: Rulers refers to local rulers or chieftains in Israel, rather than to kings and other royalty. Elders may refer to leaders in an area whom the people respected, or it may refer in a more literal sense to old people. We prefer to understand it as old people in contrast to the young people in the next line. Good News Bible adds “in sorrow” to indicate why these people were groaning—they were not in physical pain. This line may be rendered “Israelite rulers [or, chieftains] and old people groaned because of their sorrow” or “… and old people were so sad that they groaned.”
Maidens and young men became faint: Became faint should not be taken to mean that the young men and women actually fainted. Instead, we understand it to mean that they lost their vigor, their vitality. Being young and vigorous did them no good in this situation where the whole nation was reduced to shame. Good News Bible renders this line as “Young men and young women grew weak,” which is a valid model.
The beauty of the women faded: When enemies pillaged the Temple, the Jewish women lost their beauty because their faces were contorted in grief (see the next verse). Good News Bible renders the women as “our women” since Jewish women are in view.
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.
Every bridegroom took up the lament; she who sat in the bridal chamber was mourning: Even those with the most cause to be happy, young newlyweds, were reduced to sorrow over what was happening (compare Joel 2.16). We may assume that since the scene is the bridal chamber, the place where the marriage was consummated, that these people are newly married, and not about to be married. For this reason bridegroom may be misleading since it suggests a man about to be married. Bridal chamber is a difficult concept in English since marriage customs are so different from culture to culture. But if the translation shows clearly that the bridegroom and she who sat in the bridal chamber are newlyweds, then the phrase the bridal chamber may be omitted. The lament refers to wailing in grief, but Good News Bible is not wrong in saying “a funeral song.” She who sat in the bridal chamber is singular expression in Greek, but it has a plural sense, which Good News Bible makes clear.
We suggest the following model for this verse:
• Every new husband wailed for the dead,
while their young brides sat mourning.
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.
Even the land shook for its inhabitants: The literal force of this line would suggest that an earthquake occurred. However, the writer is simply saying that the Jews were so miserable that they felt even the earth was shaking and sobbing. Good News Bible misses the point in this line. A better model is “The people of the land were so miserable that they felt even the earth was shaking and sobbing.”
And all the house of Jacob was clothed with shame: All the house of Jacob refers to all the Jewish people, which Good News Bible renders as “All our people” since the author is Jewish. Clothed with shame means that they felt shame and disgrace.
As noted above, Good News Bible‘s rendering of the first line of this verse is not helpful, but its reversal of the two lines is a good one, and may be followed by saying:
• Our whole nation [or, All our people] felt disgraced,
and the earth itself agonized [or, shook with sobs] in sympathy.
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.
Two years later the king sent to the cities of Judah a chief collector of tribute: Good News Bible renders the king as “Antiochus,” which other languages may find helpful. We may also say “King Antiochus.” Where Revised Standard Version uses the name Judah, Good News Bible uses the name “Judea.” The two names refer to the same area. The phrase a chief collector of tribute is almost certainly a misunderstanding on the part of the Greek translator of the Hebrew for “a commander of the Mysians.” In Hebrew the two phrases would be almost identical, and in light of 2Macc 5.24-26, we strongly recommend that translators follow Good News Bible (also New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Abel, Goldstein) in making this correction. Some scholars think the Mysian commander in view here is the person named Apollonius in 1Macc 3.10-12. Mysia was an area in the northwestern part of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) that had a reputation for providing good mercenary soldiers.
He came to Jerusalem with a large force may be expressed as “Antiochus’ man [or, This man] brought a large army [or, a great number of soldiers] into Jerusalem.”
An alternative model for this verse is:
• Two years later King Antiochus ordered the Mysian commander [or, the commander/general of the Mysian army] to move against [or, attack] the cities of Judea. This man came marching into Jerusalem with a large army.
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.
Deceitfully he spoke peaceable words to them, and they believed him: New English Bible translates “His language was friendly, but full of guile. For, once he had gained the city’s confidence.” A model for this part of the verse that continues the one for the previous verse is “and deceived the people with friendly speeches [or, words].” “Deceived the people” covers both Deceitfully and they believed him.
But he suddenly fell upon the city, dealt it a severe blow, and destroyed many people of Israel: Good News Bible provides a helpful model here, and so does Revised English Bible with “[then] he launched a sudden and savage attack. Many of the Israelites were killed.” However, if these renderings will sound to readers like the Mysian general did all the fighting, translators may say “Then suddenly the general and his soldiers attacked the city savagely [or, with great ferocity/cruelty], and killed many Israelite people.”
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.
He plundered the city: For plundered see verse 3. This clause may be rendered “His army took all the valuable possessions from the people in the city.”
Burned it with fire: Good News Bible says “set it on fire,” which is more idiomatic English, but the reader should understand that the city was not only set on fire, it actually burned. The fire did considerable damage. In some languages translators may say “used fire to burn down the city” or simply “burned it.”
And tore down its houses and its surrounding walls: Its houses and its surrounding walls refers to Jerusalem’s buildings and the walls that surrounded it.
An alternative model for this verse is:
• The general’s army took all the valuable possessions of the people and set the city on fire [or, used fire to burn it down]. They tore down its buildings [or, houses] and also the walls surrounding the city.
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.
And they took captive the women and children: Good News Bible renders this clause well with “He and his army took the women and children as prisoners.”
And seized the cattle: The Greek word for cattle refers to any domestic herd animals such as cows, sheep and goats, so it is better rendered “livestock.” Translators in languages with no general term such as “livestock” may need to be specific and say, for example, “cows, sheep, and goats” (but not ritually unclean animals such as pigs), or perhaps “large animals that the people owned.”
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.