And some of the people eagerly went to the king: Some of the Jews who were misled went eagerly to King Antiochus to make an agreement with him that would allow them to follow Gentile customs. Good News Bible renders this clause well, but other possible models are “and some of them eagerly went to the king,” “… went with great enthusiasm to King Antiochus,” and even “The hearts of some of them were filled with such enthusiasm that they went to….”

He authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles: For this clause Good News Bible has “and received from him permission to follow Gentile customs.” It may also be rendered “who gave them permission to follow Gentile customs” or “who gave them permission to live as non-Jews lived.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• and some of them eagerly went to the king [or, to King Antiochus], who gave them permission to live as non-Jews lived [or, follow the same customs as the non-Jews].

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.