So he quickly gave orders to depart: Lysias’ orders for departure are separate from what he says to the young king and the commanders of the troops in the remainder of this verse. So Good News Bible is right in connecting this clause with the last one of verses 55-56: “When Lysias heard this news, 57 he made rapid preparations to depart.” Another way to phrase this clause is “he quickly prepared his army to leave for Antioch.”

And said to the king, to the commanders of the forces, and to the men: The Greek text does not say “young king” (Good News Bible), but this addition helps the reader to understand why Lysias, not the king, is making the decisions here.

We daily grow weaker: Good News Bible‘s model is a good one here.

Our food supply is scant may be expressed as “We don’t have much food left” or “We’re short of food.”

The place against which we are fighting is strong may be rendered “This place we are besieging [or, fighting against] has strong defenses.”

And the affairs of the kingdom press urgently upon us may be expressed as “Besides, we have urgent government business to take care of in Antioch.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• … he quickly prepared his army to leave for Antioch. He said to the young king, his commanders and his fighting men, “We are getting weaker every day. We don’t have much food left. This place we are besieging [or, fighting against] has strong defenses. Besides, we have urgent government business to take care of in Antioch.

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.