Joseph in the time of his distress probably refers to his service as a slave in the house of Potiphar (Gen 39.1-6). An alternative model may be “When Joseph was going through a time of trouble.”

Kept the commandment may refer to the commandment against adultery (Gen 39.7-18), in which case Good News Bible‘s plural “commands” is not correct. Again, in some languages it will be impossible to avoid stating who gave Joseph the commandment. In such cases translators may say “he obeyed the One in Heaven [God].”

And became lord of Egypt: Joseph became the Egyptian king’s prime minister in Gen 41.39-46. Good News Bible‘s “ruler” is a better choice of terms than lord.

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.