When the king returned from the region of Cilicia: For the region of Cilicia, see the comments on verse 30. This clause may be rendered “When King Antiochus returned from the cities of Tarsus and Mallus.”

The Jews in the city appealed to him with regard to the unreasonable murder of Onias: In the city is read by some as “in each city” (Revised Standard Version footnote), but we prefer Revised Standard Version‘s rendering. For the Jews in the city, Good News Bible has “the Jews of Antioch,” which is a good translation. Appealed to him with regard to the unreasonable murder of Onias means they formally asked the king to do something to punish the murderer.

And the Greeks shared their hatred of the crime means they shared the Jews’ hatred of the murder. Good News Bible says “Many Gentiles felt the same way about the crime,” and Contemporary English Version has “Many Greeks also told the king how much they despised this brutal murder.” Good News Bible renders Greeks as “Gentiles,” since they refer to the same people in this book. However, we prefer “Greeks” here.

Alternative models for this verse are:

• When King Antiochus returned from [the cities of] Tarsus and Mallus, the Jews of Antioch urged him to do something about the senseless killing of Onias; many Greeks felt the same way as the Jews.

• … the Jews in Antioch urged him, “Please do something about the senseless killing of Onias.” Many Greeks….

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.