All his brothers and all who had joined his father helped him may be rendered “His four brothers and all his father’s soldiers helped him.”

They gladly fought for Israel: Good News Bible gives a good model for this clause, although “happy” may be a misleading choice of words. These men were not “happy”; they were grimly determined. A better model is “and they eagerly helped him fight for Israel” (similarly 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.