We recommend beginning a new paragraph here, as in Good News Bible and Contemporary English Version.

He saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem: This does not mean that Mattathias actually saw any of these things with his own eyes, but rather that he learned or “found out” (Contemporary English Version) about them. The blasphemies refers to the profane events described in 1Macc 1.41-61. Alternative models for this verse are:

• Mattathias heard about all the things being done in Jerusalem and [the rest of] Judah against their religion [or, the Law of Moses].

• Mattathias learned [or, found out] about what people were doing in Jerusalem and in [the rest of] Judea against the Jewish religion.

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 said: Since what Mattathias says is a lament, the verb said may be rendered “lamented,” “sang sorrowfully,” or “sang these mournful words.”

There is no universal agreement concerning where the poetry of this lament ends or begins. New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, and Abel begin it at verse 8. We suggest that translators who wish to place it in poetic form begin at this point and end at verse 13, as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible. This makes the first and last lines refer to preferring death or nonexistence. However, our real feeling is that the entire passage is best rendered as prose—it is not entirely convincing as poetry.

Alas! Why was I born to see this: The Greek word rendered Alas is an expression of discouragement or despair. Alas is not used in modern English, and has no good equivalent, other than perhaps “Oh” (New English Bible). That is why Good News Bible omits it. Other languages may have good natural equivalents indicating grief or despair. The question Why was I born to see this is, of course, not a request for information, but another expression of despair. Mattathias is saying that, rather than live to see what was then happening in the land, it would better if he had never been born. This is better rendered “these terrible things” (Good News Bible).

The ruin of my people, the ruin of the holy city: Ruin does not mean destroyed. The point is that the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem are no longer a light to the world, a witness to God and his Law. This line may be expressed as exclamations by saying “My people are ruined! The holy [or, the One in Heaven’s] city is ruined!” Another possible model is “Enemies have crushed my people and the holy [or, the One in Heaven’s] city.”

And to dwell there when it was given over to the enemy, the sanctuary given over to aliens?: This concludes the rhetorical question begun with Why was I born. There is a textual problem with the Greek verb rendered to dwell. Some evidence suggests that the true reading is “they dwelled” (literally “they sat”; so Kappler’s Greek text, New English Bible, Goldstein). We recommend following this reading as consistent with our interpretation of verse 1 (see the comments there). The pronoun it refers to Jerusalem. New English Bible provides a helpful model for the third line of this verse, saying “They sat idly by when it was surrendered.” Goldstein is similar with “The people sat idle there as the city fell into the hands of enemies.” The sanctuary refers to the Temple (see 1Macc 1.21). An alternative model for the last two lines is:

• The people there [or, in the city] did nothing* when the enemy soldiers captured the city [or, it], and took possession of the Temple.
* The people there did nothing; some manuscripts read Why did I live there

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.

Her temple has become like a man without honor: Some manuscripts read “Her people” instead of Her temple, and the majority of manuscripts read “with honor” instead of without honor. Most scholars would agree with the reading in Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible, and we recommend following them. The idea of without honor might be better conveyed by referring to “disgrace” or “shame.”

An alternative model for verses 7-8 is:

• 7 and he lamented, “Why was I born to see these terrible [or, horrible] things happen? Our enemies have crushed [or, ruined] my people and the holy [or, the One in Heaven’s] city. The people there did nothing when the enemies captured the city and took possession of the Temple. 8 The Temple is now like a person who has been disgraced [or, completely lost face].

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.

Her glorious vessels have been carried into captivity: Her glorious vessels refers to the Temple objects mentioned in 1Macc 1.21-23. Good News Bible and Goldstein translate vessels as “furnishings,” which is better, since it refers to both Temple containers and equipment. Good News Bible translates carried into captivity as “carried away as loot,” focusing on the stolen objects. New Jerusalem Bible is similar with “carried off as booty.” In languages that do not have the passive voice, this line may be rendered “Our enemies have carried away all the furnishings that had brought the Temple such great honor.”

Her babes have been killed in her streets: The pronouns Her and her in this line and her in the next one refer to Jerusalem. This reference to Jerusalem emphasizes the preciousness of the holy city in Jewish thought, but for most translators the deep feeling may be better reflected by following Good News Bible, which uses the first person pronoun “Our,” making the loss more personal: “Our children have been killed in the streets.” Another possible model is “They have killed our children in the streets.”

Her youths by the sword of the foe: Her youths refers to the “young men” (Good News Bible) of the city. Their enemies mostly used swords to kill them, but by the sword could include killing by any means. Alternative models for this line are “Enemy swords have killed our young men,” “The enemies have slaughtered our young men with their swords,” and “The enemies have used their swords to slaughter our young men.”

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.

What nation has not inherited her palaces and has not seized her spoils?: The text of this verse is difficult. There are several problems, and the differences are subtle. Basically, they involve the ambiguous grammatical form of a Greek noun, and the presence or absence of the preposition “in.” Reading the preposition and interpreting the noun to mean “kingdom” yields the translation in the Revised Standard Version footnote: “has not had a part in her kingdom” (so Kappler’s Greek text). Omitting the preposition and understanding the noun in a different way yields the translation in the Revised Standard Version text: has not inherited her palaces (so Rahlfs’ Greek text). However, New Jerusalem Bible has a slightly different rendering: “has not claimed a share of her royal prerogatives.” This interpretation is also possible, since the problem noun, once identified grammatically to mean “kingdom,” can still be understood with a slightly different meaning. Even though the precise meaning of this verse is hard to determine, the general meaning is clear enough. Passages in the prophets, such as Isa 60.12 and Oba 19-21, promised that Israel would rule many other nations, but as Mattathias sees it, the people of Israel are the ones who have been ruled by others: Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and now the Seleucid Syrians. What he says is a rhetorical overstatement: Is there any nation anywhere that hasn’t come in and helped itself to the royal status that should rightfully be Israel’s? It may be best to work from that starting point, and say something like the following:

• It seems like every nation in the world has claimed a share of Israel’s [or, our] kingdom and stolen its [or, our] possessions.

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.

All her adornment has been taken away: The enemy has robbed Jerusalem of the things (adornment) that made the city beautiful. This line may be rendered “Our enemies have stolen all the things that made the city beautiful.”

No longer free, she has become a slave: Compare Lam 1.1. Once a free city, Jerusalem is now under the control of foreign soldiers. If necessary, the slave metaphor could be eliminated by rendering this line as “Her [or, Jerusalem’s] people were once free, but now they are forced to obey foreigners” or “… but now foreigners are controlling them.”

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 behold, our holy place, our beauty, and our glory have been laid waste; the Gentiles have profaned it: The Greek word translated behold marks a special call for the audience’s attention to the words that follow. This word does not require a literal translation in the sense of “Look!” although this may be the most natural way of rendering it in many languages. Other natural ways for catching the readers’ attention may be available in the receptor language. The holy place, the beauty, and the glory are the same thing, the Temple. For Gentiles see 1Macc 1.11. Good News Bible has a good approach here, but if translators have adopted the suggestion above for verse 11, this verse could continue as follows:

• They have profaned [or, made bad taboo] our beautiful Temple, the holy place where we worshiped [the One in Heaven]. Once it was full of glory, but look at it now! They have ruined it.

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.

Why should we live any longer?: This rhetorical question is an expression of despair, which could be expressed as a statement by saying “We no longer have any reason to live,” “Life no longer has any meaning for us,” or “We’d be better off dead” (Contemporary English Version).

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.