Translators should begin a new paragraph here, because the scene changes to the battle between Alexander and Demetrius (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible).

Now Alexander the king assembled large forces and encamped opposite Demetrius: For assembled large forces, Good News Bible has “raised a large army,” and Contemporary English Version says “built up a mighty army.” Both these renderings are not quite right; they suggest that Alexander created an army where he earlier had none at all. However, Alexander already had soldiers, though Josephus tells us that he hired many foreign soldiers to fight Demetrius. A better model for this verse is:

• King Alexander assembled [or, gathered together] a huge number of soldiers and took up positions facing the soldiers [or, army] of King Demetrius.

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.