Let it be shown to all the Gentiles that you are with us, O Lord, and have not turned your face from us: In some languages this sentence will be more easily expressed as an imperative in the second person (see the model below). That you are with us may be translated “that you are on our side” (Contemporary English Version). Have not turned your face from us is a figurative way of saying that the Lord has not rejected or ignored his people. A more natural English idiom is “have not turned your back on us.” Here is an alternative model for these first two clauses: “Lord, please show these Gentiles [or, foreigners] that you are with us [or, on our side], and that you have not rejected us.”

But just as you have said, ‘Not even when they were in the land of their enemies did I neglect them,’ so accomplish it, O Lord: The connector but may be omitted, and we may begin here with “Once [or, At one time] you said [or, promised]….” Not even when they were in the land of their enemies did I neglect them may be expressed as “I did not neglect them even when they were in the land of their enemies.” The reference here is to Lev 26.44, although it is not an exact quotation. So accomplish it, O Lord may be rendered “So, Lord, please make this happen again.”

Here is an alternative model for this verse:

• Lord, please show all these Gentiles [or, foreigners] that you are with us, and that you are not rejecting us. Once [or, At one time] you said, ‘I did not neglect them even when they were in the land of their enemies.’ So, please Lord, make this happen once again.”

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.