Why should we live any longer?: This rhetorical question is an expression of despair, which could be expressed as a statement by saying “We no longer have any reason to live,” “Life no longer has any meaning for us,” or “We’d be better off dead” (Contemporary English Version).

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.