When he suddenly fell to the ground and deep darkness came over him: For suddenly Good News Bible has “immediately,” which does not fit this context well. Heliodorus suffered a series of blows before he fell. Suddenly is better. Deep darkness came over him means that he became “unconscious” (Good News Bible) or “fainted” (Contemporary English Version). So we may change the order of the clauses here, saying “Suddenly he became unconscious [or, fainted] and fell to the ground” (similarly Contemporary English Version).

His men took him and put him on a stretcher: Took him means they picked him up. A stretcher is a device that enables two people to carry a sick or injured person who cannot walk. Today it may consist of two poles with strong cloth between. It could be anything large enough and strong enough to transport a person.

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.