The whole throng of infants and their parents entreat you with tears: The Jewish gathering (The whole throng) consisted of people of all ages, but Eleazar mentions in particular parents and infants—those too young to speak. This verse serves to emphasize how pitiful the situation was, and this is the effect the translator should strive for. The phrase entreat you with tears may be placed at the beginning of the verse. Contemporary English Version, inexplicably, omits with tears. It should be included. Models of this verse that include it are:

• We beg you to do this with tears running down our cheeks—this whole crowd of parents [or, mothers and fathers] and their little babies.

• With tears running down our cheeks, all of us—this whole crowd of parents and their little babies—beg you to do this.

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.