May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his will with a strong heart and a willing spirit: Give you all a heart to worship him means “give you all the desire to worship him.” To do his will with a strong heart means “a strong desire to do what he wants you to do.” A willing spirit emphasizes what has just been said by repeating the same thought in different words. Good News Bible expresses this well in English with the idiom “with all your heart and soul,” and many languages will have equally useful idioms.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• May he cause each of you to want to worship him, and have a great eagerness to do his will [or, what he wants you to do].

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.