Now, my children: Now may be rendered “So” or “Therefore.” Children means “sons” (Good News Bible).

Show zeal for the law: Mattathias wants his sons to be devoted to the Torah (or, the Law of Moses) with enthusiastic fervor. It is difficult to find a natural way to express this command in English using an imperative verb. That is why Good News Bible has “you … must be devoted to the Law.” Contemporary English Version says “you … should be faithful to God’s Law.” Other languages may have no problem.

And give your lives for the covenant of our fathers: In English give your lives sounds like Mattathias is telling his sons to go out and die, which is not the case. He is urging them to fight for their ancestral religion and not hesitate to go into situations where they might be killed in defense of the Torah. “Be … ready to die” (Good News Bible), “be ready to give your lives” (Goldstein), and “be willing to die for” (Contemporary English Version) express the idea accurately. For the covenant of our fathers, see the comments at verse 20. Translators who are following our author in not using the words “God” or “Lord” must be careful not to follow Good News Bible too closely here. A better model for this phrase is “the religion of our ancestors” or “the agreement that our ancestors made with the One in Heaven.”

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.