The attention is now on Trypho again, so it will be helpful to begin a new paragraph at this point (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible).

After this Trypho came to invade the country and destroy it: We were told in verse 1 that this was Trypho’s intent. We were told in verse 12 that he set out from Ptolemais, and in verse 13 that Simon had moved his forces to Adida, but we were not told how far south Trypho had come, whether he had gotten as far as Adida or not. But at this point, after receiving the money and Jonathan’s two sons, he and his army set out to invade Judea and destroy it. Good News Bible says “Then Trypho made his move to invade the land and destroy,” which is rather idiomatic. We may also say “After Jonathan’s sons and the money were sent to him, Trypho and his soldiers set out to invade Judea and destroy it as they had planned.”

And he circled around by the way to Adora: He circled around means Trypho’s army marched as if they were going to make a circle around Jerusalem. Adora was a town about 13 kilometers (8 miles) southwest of Bethzur. Trypho probably went between Joppa and Adida, trying to find a clear route into Jerusalem. Lysias had tried much the same tactic (see 1Macc 4.29; 6.31). Trypho was only on the way to Adora (Good News Bible “the road to Adora”); he probably never reached Adora itself, since Adora was in the hills and Simon was trying to deny him access to high ground.

But Simon and his army kept marching along opposite him to every place he went means that as Trypho moved his forces, Simon, in the hills, moved his own forces to stand between Trypho and Jerusalem, keeping Trypho’s army in the plains, where it would be at a disadvantage. New English Bible has “Simon and his army marched parallel with him everywhere he went.”

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.