But some one ran ahead and reported to John at Gazara that his father and brothers had perished, and that “he has sent men to kill you also”: Some one ran ahead means that a messenger ran ahead of the men sent to kill John. The quotation marks in Revised Standard Version are an attempt to deal with an awkwardness in the text, where part of the messenger’s report is given indirectly (his father and brothers had perished) and part is given directly (he has sent men to kill you also). The problem is more easily solved in a number of languages by putting the entire report in indirect discourse, as does Good News Bible. However, in some languages direct discourse will be more natural as in the following model for this verse:

• But someone ran to Gezer ahead of Ptolemy’s men and warned John saying, “Ptolemy has already murdered your father and brothers. And now he has sent soldiers to kill you.”

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.