Then said Judas and his brothers: The narrative has been concentrating on Judas, but his brothers are still very much involved in the struggle (see 1Macc 2.1-5; 3.1-2). With the beginning of a new section, it will be helpful to start this verse with “After defeating Lysias’ army, Judas and his brothers said” or “After Judas and his brothers defeated Lysias and his soldiers, they said.”

Behold, our enemies are crushed: In some languages there will be similar interjections for Behold such as “See!” but in others translators may use “Now that” (Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version). Our enemies are crushed may be rendered “we have completely defeated our enemies.”

Let us go up refers to going to Jerusalem, so Good News Bible accurately says “let’s go to Jerusalem.” Since Jerusalem was on a high hill, it also correct to say “let’s go up to Jerusalem.”

To cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it: To cleanse or “purify” (Good News Bible) the Temple refers to taking whatever practical matters were necessary to restore the site to its correct physical appearance. The run-down appearance of the Temple is described in verse 38. Since part of the work involved in this task would consist of removing all traces of the pagan worship that had defiled the Temple, there is something of a religious idea involved in the cleansing, but the primary focus should be on getting the site ready for use again. The Greek word translated dedicate simply means “initiate, inaugurate, put in use.” An alternative model incorporating both the ideas of cleaning and making the Temple ready for use is “make the temple an acceptable place for worship” (Contemporary English Version).

The words put into the mouths of Judas and his brothers are not so much a report of anything they actually said as the author’s way of indicating to the reader what is happening. It would be natural in some languages to translate this verse as follows:

• After Judas and his brothers had completely defeated Lysias’ army, they decided that the time was right to go up to Jerusalem, get the Temple ready for use, and begin worshiping there again.

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.