For with such a harsh and ruthless spirit were they being sent off, all together, by the generals in the several cities: Harsh means “in a cruel way,” and the phrase ruthless spirit means “without mercy.” Translators may want to render this clause as a separate sentence. It will also help the reader to specify that Alexandria is the destination for the captive Jews. Possible models are “The army commanders in the various cities rounded the Jews up, harshly and without mercy, to send them all off together to Alexandria” and “The military commanders in the various cities showed no mercy to the Jews as they harshly rounded them up and sent them all off together to Alexandria.”

That at the sight of their unusual punishments, even some of their enemies may be rendered “When some of their enemies saw how severely the Jews were suffering.”

Perceiving the common object of pity before their eyes may be translated “they were filled with pity” or “they felt very sorry for them.” The common object of pity is the Jews. The author mentions the sympathetic Gentiles probably not so much to point out that any of them had regrets about what was happening, but rather to underscore the suffering the Jews were undergoing.

Reflected upon the uncertainty of life: The cruel treatment of the Jews that the Gentiles saw made them think about the uncertainty of life, something that applied to themselves as well as the Jews. So we may render this clause as “They thought about how quickly things in life can change.”

And shed tears at the most miserable expulsion of these people may be translated “and they wept [or, shed tears] when they saw how miserably these people were being treated.”

Here is an alternative model for verses 1-4:

• 1 Everywhere [or, In every town where] the king’s letter went, the government paid for feasts where the happy Gentiles [or, Greeks] could celebrate noisily. They had hated the Jews bitterly for a long time, but now they could express it [or, their hatred] openly. 2 However, the Jews everywhere in Egypt were astounded when they got the sudden news that they were to be killed [or, that the Gentiles were going to kill them], and they could not stop mourning, and weeping, and wailing. They were so frightened that their bodies ached [or, burned/shook]. 3 In every district and town in the country—every place where people lived—Jews mourned with loud wailing [or, loud cries] for those who were taken captive [or, whom the Gentiles had taken captive]. 4 The army commanders in the various cities rounded the Jews up, harshly and without mercy, to send them all off together to Alexandria. The Jews were suffering so severely that even some of their enemies felt sorry for them and shed tears when they saw how miserably [or, cruelly] the Jews were being treated [or, their people were treating the Jews]. They all saw what was happening to the Jews, and thought about how quickly things in life can change.

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.