Therefore he never withdraws his mercy from us: Therefore may be expressed as “So” (Good News Bible) or even “So, you see.” He never withdraws his mercy from us may be rendered “Our God never stops being kind to us” (Contemporary English Version). Good News Bible moves his own people from the end of the verse to this point. This is not necessary, but it works well, and translators should consider doing this.

Though he disciplines us with calamities, he does not forsake his own people: As in verse 12, the Greek word for disciplines means more than “punishment” (so Good News Bible). The idea of “education” is also involved here. God punishes his people with the idea of teaching them to do better. So Contemporary English Version renders this sentence as “He lets our sufferings teach us to do right, but he never deserts us.”

Here is an alternative model for this verse:

• So you see, when God sends a disaster, it is to teach us a lesson [by punishing us], but he never abandons us, his own people.

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.