Take this holy sword, a gift from God, with which you will strike down your adversaries: The sword is called holy because it belongs to God; it has been given by God to be used for God’s purposes. God has given it power. It is taboo. Good News Bible provides a good model for this verse. It may also be rendered as follows:

• “This sword has power from God, and is a gift from God. Take it, and use it to destroy your enemies.”

It is possible to translate verses 12-16 in the first person, with Judas as the speaker. This may be a good approach for some languages. Here is a model that does this:

• 12 Judas said, “I once saw Onias, that noble and good man, that gentle and humble man, that fine speaker, that man who had been an example of virtue ever since he was a boy. I saw him standing with his hands raised, praying for Jews everywhere. 13 Then another man appeared with Onias. He was an impressive gray-haired [or, white-haired] man who showed great dignity and authority. 14 Then Onias spoke to me. He said, ‘This man loves the Jewish people and prays for them often. He also prays for Jerusalem, the holy city. This is Jeremiah, a prophet from God.’”
15 Judas continued, “Jeremiah stretched out his right hand and gave me a sword made of gold. He told me, 16 ‘This sword has power from God, and is a gift from God. Take it, and use it to destroy your enemies.’”

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.