Gathered about eighty thousand men and all his cavalry and came against the Jews: Revised Standard Version makes these clauses part of the sentence begun in verse 1. It is possible to have two sentences for verses 1-2a by saying:

• 1 Lysias, the royal official who was the young king’s guardian, and the head of the government, was very angry at what had happened to Timothy. Very soon 2 he led 80,000 foot soldiers and all his cavalry [or, soldiers on horseback] out [from Antioch] to attack the Jews.

He intended to make the city a home for Greeks: The city is Jerusalem. As the next verse makes clear, Lysias did not intend to empty the city of Jews. His intent was to transform Jerusalem into a dwelling place for Greeks or other Gentiles, to open the city to Gentile settlers. Good News Bible says “with the intention of turning Jerusalem into a Greek city,” which is too restrictive. Translators will find Revised Standard Version an easier model than Good News Bible, but the city should be identified as “Jerusalem.” Good News Bible joins this clause with the previous sentence, but we prefer to join it with the next verse, as in Revised Standard Version.

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.