And for the pyramids he devised an elaborate setting, erecting about them great columns, and upon the columns he put suits of armor for a permanent memorial, and beside the suits of armor carved ships, so that they could be seen by all who sail the sea: This verse and the previous one are unclear in Greek (so Good News Bible footnote). It is not clear how the memorial, the pyramids, and the columns were connected to each other. According to one guess, the pyramids were erected on top of the memorial, and the base of the memorial was carved with vertical columns, some depicting suits of armor and some depicting ships. According to another guess, the columns were free-standing and surrounded the pyramids; the suits of armor and carvings of ships were placed on top of the columns, or carved onto the columns (so Good News Bible). Even the meaning of so that they could be seen by all who sail the sea is unclear. The monument could conceivably have been large enough and high enough to be seen from the Mediterranean Sea, but certainly no carvings of ships could be discerned at that distance. Good News Bible understands this clause to refer to overseas travelers. Why ships should be pictured is odd in itself; the Maccabees had no navy. Maybe Simon was anticipating being master of the seas as well as of Judea. Maybe it was simply a traditional ornamentation; suits of armor were customary decorations for monuments. For suits of armor, see the comments on the synonymous expression “coats of mail” in 1Macc 6.35.

There is no need for translators to spend large amounts of time on verses 28 and 29, since there is simply no way we can know what the author was trying to describe. In the interest of making the task of translators easier, we offer the following tentative model for these verses:

• 28~He constructed [or, had them construct] two parallel rows of three pyramids for his father, his mother, and his four brothers. They also made a seventh pyramid that stood alone. 29~He surrounded these pyramids with tall columns. On top of each column they placed suits of armor and carvings of ships. Simon intended this memorial to remain for all time, and wanted people to see it from the sea.*
* Verses 28-29 in Greek are unclear.

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.