May God do good to you: Good News Bible has “May God be good to you,” New American Bible says “May God bless you,” and New Jerusalem Bible translates “May God prosper you.” New English Bible takes the idea of “peace” from the previous verse and places it here, saying “May God give you peace and prosperity” All these models are possible ways to express this clause.

And may he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants: For covenant see the comments on 1Macc 1.11. Here the word is used of the agreement God made with the great ancestors of the Jewish people, that is, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In this verse these three individuals represent the Jewish people. May he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob is a request that God keep his promises with the ancestors that their descendants would be a great people. We may reorder this whole clause as follows: “and may he keep the promises he made to his faithful servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

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.