Was not Abraham found faithful when tested…?: Compare Gen 15.6; Rom 4.3. The implied answer to this rhetorical question is “yes.” It may be restructured as a strong statement; for example, “Abraham was faithful when God tested him…” (Contemporary English Version). All the other names in this list (verses 52-60) appear in statements. The question form only serves to introduce the series. Good News Bible has “Remember how Abraham put his trust in the Lord when he tested him…,” which serves this same function, and would be even more helpful if translators follow the first model for the previous verse.

And it was reckoned to him as righteousness is a direct quotation from the Greek of Gen 15.6 as well as the quotation of it in Rom 4.3. Translators should consult their renderings of those passages, and assuming they are still acceptable, translate here in accordance with them.

Here is a verse where translators in languages with no passive voice will find it difficult to avoid using “Lord” or “God,” but it is possible to use the author’s device of “Heaven” when referring to God, and say something like the following:

• Abraham was faithful when the One in Heaven tested him and so that One was pleased with him and accepted him.

However, if this usage will seem strange to readers, translators will need to make “God” explicit. Another way of sidestepping this problem would be to quote the translation of Gen 15.6 and place it in quotation marks. This at least avoids representing the author of 1Maccabees as using these terms which he in fact studiously avoids. A possible model that does this is:

• Remember how faithful Abraham was when he was tested; “the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him.”

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.