Still alive and aflame with anger, he rose, and though his blood gushed forth and his wounds were severe he ran through the crowd: Aflame with anger is a figurative expression, meaning Razis was very angry. Many translators will have vivid idioms to describe such extreme anger; for example, “his blood was boiling with anger.” His blood gushed forth and his wounds were severe may be rendered “blood was gushing out of his terrible wounds.” We suggest this alternative model for the whole sentence:

• Razis was still alive, but he was also very angry [or, his blood was boiling]. He got to his feet and ran through the crowd [of soldiers], even though he was badly wounded and blood was gushing out of his terrible [or, severe] wounds.

And standing upon a steep rock: If we are right in picturing this scene occurring in the courtyard of Razis’ home, we have to wonder where the steep rock came from. Actually, the Greek word for steep does not have this sense, but it suggests that this rock was broken off something, presumably the wall itself. Again, in the absence of information to the contrary, we suggest that translators render this clause clearly by saying “He stood on top of a big rock that had broken off the wall.”

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.