Pharaoh with his abundance of chariots, the former ruler of this Egypt … : See 3 Macc 2.6-7. The reference here is to the Pharaoh, or king of Egypt, in the time of Moses, in the book of Exodus. Pharaoh is the grammatical direct object of the verb destroyed in the main clause later in this verse. Through verse 6, the author uses this same pattern. The direct object of the main verb appears in the first of a series of dependent clauses. Then the main verb is found in the final clause—the main clause. In a number of languages this is a very common style. In fact, in some languages it is part of the grammar. Chariots were wheeled vehicles pulled by horses and used in warfare (see the comments on 3 Macc 2.7). The expression this Egypt sounds strange in English, since in English it implies that there was more than one Egypt. The following model for the beginning of this verse avoids this problem: “A long time ago, Pharaoh ruled [or, was king] here in Egypt, and he had many chariots in his army….”

Exalted with lawless insolence and boastful tongue describes how Pharaoh dealt with Moses in their face-to-face encounters in Exodus. Exalted renders a Greek participle describing Pharaoh. Translators may render this description of him as a separate sentence by saying “He boasted [boastful tongue] that he was a great man [exalted], and was very insolent [lawless insolence]” or even “He proudly [or, insolently] boasted that he was a great man.”

You destroyed together with his arrogant army by drowning them in the sea: As noted above, the direct object of destroyed is Pharaoh, but destroyed may be combined with drowning by saying “You drowned him in the sea along with his arrogant army [or, soldiers].”

Manifesting the light of your mercy upon the nation of Israel: This clause uses the image of light to refer to God’s mercy. Contemporary English Version removes this image by saying “You showed the greatness of your mercy for the people of Israel,” which some languages may find helpful. The following model for this verse keeps the image:

• “A long time ago, Pharaoh was ruler here in Egypt, and he had many chariots in his army. He proudly [or, insolently] boasted that he was a great man. You drowned him in the sea, along with his arrogant army. As if you were shining a light on the people of Israel, you showed them your mercy.

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.