They shouted to their fellows to take arms and die courageously for the ancestral law: The bolder men shouted a challenge for courageous Jews to join them in stopping Philopator by force, dying in the attempt if necessary. Contemporary English Version begins this verse with “They told the soldiers in the city to get their weapons,” which is incorrect. They were shouting to other Jews right there in the Temple courtyard. So it is more accurate to say “They shouted to other brave men in the Temple courtyard to get their weapons.” Their action created a dramatic scene, which older, wiser leaders tried to calm down. The ancestral law is the Law of Moses. We suggest the following model for these two clauses:

• They shouted to other Jews in the Temple courtyard, urging them to get their weapons and die bravely for the religion of their ancestors [or, the ancient law of Moses].

And created a considerable disturbance in the holy place: As the Revised Standard Version footnote points out, the holy place is literally “the place,” which refers to the Temple. This clause can be rendered as a separate sentence by saying “This [or, Their shouts] created a disturbance [or, an uproar] in the Temple.”

And being barely restrained by the old men and the elders: It is possible that two different groups are meant by the old men (men who are old) and the elders (community leaders); Contemporary English Version takes it this way. However, it is more likely that this is another example of the author saying the same thing twice, and translators could deal responsibly with this by saying simply “respected leaders” or “community leaders.” Instead of elders, some Greek manuscripts have “priests,” which was probably an attempt of scribes to keep from repeating themselves with old men and elders. We think a textual note is not needed here. Being barely restrained by the old men and the elders means the community leaders had a difficult time convincing the brave men not to fight.

They resorted to the same posture of supplication as the others means the men who wanted to fight calmed down, and fell to the ground, praying like the others (see verse 16). The elders managed to convince these men, who were ready to attack the king and his men, to give up the effort and get down on the ground with everyone else. So this clause and the previous one may be rendered “The community leaders were barely able to keep them from fighting. And finally they joined the others lying on the ground in prayer.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 3-4 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2018. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.