They hurled themselves like lions against the enemy: Revised Standard Version creates a problem by putting like lions before against the enemy. It suggests that the Jewish soldiers are like lions going against an enemy, which is not what the Greek says. (Lions may charge into a fight, but they do not exactly have enemies.) The Greek word rendered like lions is actually an adverb meaning “in a lion-like way,” and here it describes how the Jews attacked the Syrians. This clause may be translated “They attacked the enemy fiercely like lions.”

And slew eleven thousand of them and sixteen hundred horsemen: The Jews killed 11,000 foot soldiers and 1,600 horsemen of the Syrian army.

And forced all the rest to flee: For flee Good News Bible uses the idiomatic English expression “run for their lives” (that is, run in order not to be killed).

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.