But the Jews called upon the Sovereign who with power shatters the might of his enemies: Sovereign refers to God as the supreme ruler (see 2Macc 3.24). This clause may be expressed as “but the Jews prayed for help to the mighty Lord, who crushes the power of his enemies.”

And they got the city into their hands may be translated “and they captured the city.”

And killed as many as twenty-five thousand of those who were within it: This clause may be rendered as a separate sentence; for example, “They killed about 25,000 people there.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• … but the Jews prayed for help to the mighty Lord, who crushes the power of his enemies, and they captured the city. They killed about 25,000 people there.

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.