It will be helpful for translators to begin a new paragraph here (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible).
So Ptolemy set out from Egypt, he and Cleopatra his daughter, and came to Ptolemais in the one hundred and sixty-second year: Good News Bible has a long footnote here, identifying Cleopatra. This is extremely helpful for most English-speaking readers. If they know anything of the history of the ancient Mediterranean, they will know about the relationship between Julius Caesar and the very famous Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. Good News Bible makes it clear that 1Maccabees is not talking about this person. Some translators will feel that this information is useless in their situation, so they do not need to include it. This is the only Cleopatra mentioned in 1Maccabees. At this time she was about 15 years old. The one hundred and sixty-second year corresponds to 150 b.c. (see the comments on 1Macc 1.10). Some translators will find it helpful to put this final phrase at the beginning of the verse as Good News Bible and Contemporary English Version do. Contemporary English Version restructures the whole verse in a helpful way, saying “In the year 162 of the Syrian Kingdom, Ptolemy and his daughter Cleopatra left Egypt and went to the city of Ptolemais” (similarly Good News Bible).
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.
