They remained resolutely hopeful of obtaining help: Philopator later refers back in a letter to this attitude on the part of the faithful Jews (see 3 Macc 3.22-23). They remained resolutely hopeful may be translated “These faithful Jews firmly believed” (Contemporary English Version). Obtaining help is better rendered by Anderson as “that they would obtain relief.” The text does not really say that someone is going to act on their behalf to help them. It amounts to saying that they believed these hard times would not last long. Contemporary English Version has “that someone would soon rescue them.”

And they abhorred those who separated themselves from them, considering them to be enemies of the Jewish nation: Meanwhile the faithful Jews hated those who had betrayed Judaism, actually considering them enemies. As the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, the Jewish nation is literally “the nation” in the Greek text (compare verse 27). Here this phrase refers to all the Jewish people.

And depriving them of common fellowship and mutual help: The faithful Jews also refused to have anything to do with them. Common fellowship refers to ordinary everyday social relations. Depriving them of … mutual help means the faithful refused to give the others the assistance that might be ordinarily given to fellow Jews in time of need.

Here is an alternative model for this verse:

• They [or, These faithful Jews] were absolutely confident that this bad situation would not last long [or, someone would soon come and help them]. They hated the Jews who had turned away from their religion. They thought of them as enemies of the Jewish people, and refused to associate with them, or to help them in anyway.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 3-4 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2018. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.