But when Ptolemy entered the cities he stationed forces as a garrison in each city: Beginning this sentence with the connector But shows that Ptolemy’s visit was not friendly at all. This is a helpful connector. The Good News Bible clause “as Ptolemy moved north” corresponds to nothing specific in the Greek, but we may assume the first readers would have known this; Good News Bible merely makes this explicit, and it would be helpful to many readers. He stationed forces as a garrison means that as he left each town on his way north, he left some troops behind, in effect taking them over. A possible translation for this verse is:

• But as Ptolemy moved north, he left troops behind in each of these towns [or, cities].

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.