The servants in charge of the Jews went out in the evening and bound the hands of the wretched people: The servants in charge of the Jews refers to the people who were guarding them at the stadium. The wretched people may be rendered “the poor unfortunate people” (Anderson).

And arranged for their continued custody through the night means these guards made sure that the Jewish prisoners would not get away during the night.

Convinced that the whole nation would experience its final destruction may be rendered “They believed all the Jews would die the next day.”

Here is a model for this whole verse:

• That evening, the servants who were guarding the Jews tied the hands of these pitiful people, and made sure that they would not escape during the night. They were convinced that all the Jews would die the next day.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 3-4 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2018. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.