Keeping before their eyes …: Judas urged his men to remember what the Gentiles had done against the Temple, Jerusalem, and Jewish traditions. He was not keeping it before their eyes; he was urging them to keep it before their eyes, so the beginning of this verse may be rendered “Don’t ever forget how…” (Contemporary English Version).

The lawless outrage which the Gentiles had committed against the holy place refers to the desecration the Temple (see 2Macc 6.15).

And the torture of the derided city is a figure of speech in which the city of Jerusalem is considered a person; New Jerusalem Bible avoids the personification with “and the infamous and scornful treatment inflicted on the city.”

And besides, the overthrow of their ancestral way of life refers to King Antiochus’ attempt to convert the Jews to a Greek style of life, which would mean ignoring ancient Jewish law.

Here is a model that uses direct speech for verse 17 to follow the one for the previous verse:

• Don’t ever forget how the Gentiles defiled [or, disgraced] God’s Temple! Remember the scornful and cruel way they treated Jerusalem! Remember how they have tried to abolish our ancient traditions!

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.