But we very severely threatened them for these acts: The pronoun we refers to the king, so this clause may be rendered “But I reprimanded my advisers harshly [or, severely] for doing this.”

And in accordance with the clemency which we have toward all men we barely spared their lives: For the king’s claim to clemency or kindness, see the comments on 3 Macc 3.15, 20. And in accordance with the clemency we have toward all men may be rendered “But since it is my policy to be kind to everyone.” We barely spared their lives refers to the king not putting his own advisers to death, so a possible model for this clause is “I did not put my advisers to death.” We may reorder these two clauses as follows: “I came very close to putting them to death. But since it is my policy to be kind to everyone, I did not do so [or, I spared their lives].”

Since we have come to realize that the God of heaven surely defends the Jews, always taking their part as a father does for his children: In Greek these clauses are part of the next sentence (whose main verb is “have acquitted”), but many translators will find it easier to express them as a separate sentence (see the model below).

Here is an alternative model for this verse:

• But I reprimanded my advisers harshly for doing this. I came very close to putting them to death. But since it is my policy to be kind to everyone, I did not do so [or, I spared their lives]. I now realize that the God of heaven is sure to protect the Jews. He defends them as a father would defend his children.

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.