Elijah because of great zeal for the law was taken up into heaven: For Elijah’s zeal, see 1~Kgs 18.17-40 and 19.10. For taken up into heaven, see 2~Kgs 2.11-12. By contesting the claims of the prophets of Baal and confronting King Aha, Elijah was doing much the same as Mattathias’ family in resisting the demands of King Antiochus. An alternative model is for this verse is:

• Elijah zealously [or, devotedly] obeyed the Law [or, our religion], so the One in Heaven took him up into 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.