And they took captive the women and children: Good News Bible renders this clause well with “He and his army took the women and children as prisoners.”

And seized the cattle: The Greek word for cattle refers to any domestic herd animals such as cows, sheep and goats, so it is better rendered “livestock.” Translators in languages with no general term such as “livestock” may need to be specific and say, for example, “cows, sheep, and goats” (but not ritually unclean animals such as pigs), or perhaps “large animals that the people owned.”

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.