And he sent him, and with him the ungodly Alcimus: The ungodly Alcimus may be rendered “the godless Alcimus” or “that Alcimus who had turned against Heaven [or, the One in Heaven].” The writer is showing his disdain of this man, and this should be brought out in the translation.

Whom he made high priest: Demetrius probably “confirmed [Alcimus] in the high priesthood” (Goldstein; see the comments on verse 5), but Good News Bible is closer to the Greek with “whom the king had appointed High Priest,” so its rendering is adequate.

And he commanded him to take vengeance on the sons of Israel: He commanded him refers to the king commanding (giving instructions/orders) to Bacchides, not Alcimus, as Good News Bible has it. New English Bible has the orders given to both Bacchides and Alcimus by rendering the whole verse as “He sent him and the godless Alcimus, on whom he had conferred the high-priesthood, with orders to take vengeance on Israel.” A better approach might be as follows:

• The king ordered Bacchides to go and take revenge on the Jews. He sent Alcimus along too, that godless man whom he had appointed High Priest.

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.