He chose blameless priests devoted to the law: Blameless is a bad choice of words; it is not a matter of blame or guilt but of being physically fit. Contemporary English Version says “honest,” but this rendering is also not correct. These were priests “without blemish,” as described in Lev 21.16-23. No one could function as a priest who had one of the physical defects listed there. Those without the defects were “qualified” (Good News Bible). Devoted to the law may be rendered “who carefully followed [or, obeyed] the Law of Moses.”

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.