The books of the law which they found they tore to pieces: The books of the law refers to the five books of Moses (the Torah) and may be translated “Any copies of the books of the Law of Moses.” New English Bible has “All scrolls of the law,” and Goldstein says “Whatever scrolls of the Torah.” The pronoun they still refers to King Antiochus’ officials.

And burned with fire: In many languages it will not be necessary to use the phrase with fire, since the verb burned implies it (so Good News Bible).

An alternative model for this verse is:

• The king’s officials [or, They] also tore up and burned any copies of the books of the Law of Moses that they found.

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.