And when they had collected the arms of the enemy and stripped them of their spoils: The victorious Jews returned to the scene of the battle and took weapons (arms) from the enemy dead as well as anything else of value (their spoils).

They kept the sabbath, giving great praise and thanks to the Lord: Good News Bible provides a good model here.

Who had preserved them for that day means that God had kept them alive, so that they could fight the battle against Nicanor’s army. That day refers to the day of battle.

And allotted it to them as the beginning of mercy: God gave them victory as the first sign that the time of his anger was over and that he was going to have mercy on his people (see verse 5). Contemporary English Version has a helpful model here, saying “This victory meant that God was being kind to our nation once again.”

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.