Menelaus left his own brother Lysimachus as deputy in the high priesthood: His own brother may be rendered simply “his brother.” The Greek word for deputy ordinarily means “successor,” but here it refers to a person appointed to act on behalf of another. Menelaus appointed Lysimachus to serve as High Priest while he was away in Antioch. A possible model for this clause is “Menelaus let his brother Lysimachus act as high priest while he was away” (Contemporary English Version) or “Menelaus had his brother Lysimachus serve as substitute High Priest while he was away.”

While Sostratus left Crates, the commander of the Cyprian troops: It is clearly implied here that Sostratus appointed Crates to fill in for him while he was away, so translators should make this explicit. Scholars agree that the Cyprian troops were “mercenaries” (Good News Bible), but this is not essential to the meaning. They were a unit of soldiers from the island of Cyprus (see 1Macc 15.23), who were stationed in Jerusalem under the command of Crates.

Here are possible alternative models for this verse:

• Menelaus had his brother Lysimachus serve as substitute High Priest while he was away, and Sostratus left the fort under the command of Crates, commander of the troops from Cyprus.

• … and Sostratus appointed Crates, the commander of the soldiers from Cyprus, to be in charge of the fort.

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.