Lysias was to send a force against them may be rendered “He ordered Lysias to send an army to fight against Judas and his men.”

To wipe out and destroy the strength of Israel and the remnant of Jerusalem: The strength of Israel refers to the ability of the Jewish rebels to continue their resistance. Good News Bible renders to wipe out and destroy the strength of Israel as “to break their power and destroy them.” Translators may also say “to break down the Jewish resistance” or “to destroy Judas and his soldiers.” For the remnant of Jerusalem, see the comments on “those that are left in Jerusalem” in 1Macc 2.18.

Alternative models for the first half of verse 35 are “He ordered Lysias to send an army to destroy the Jews who were rebelling and to wipe out [or, kill] any Jews who were still in Jerusalem” and “… to destroy Judas and his army and to kill any….”

He was to banish the memory of them from the place: Lysias was to destroy them so utterly that no one in the future would ever associate Jerusalem with Jews. Good News Bible expresses the general idea by shifting the image: “so that no trace of them would remain.” Contemporary English Version has “Make the whole world forget that those Jews ever lived.” The clause may work better if it is moved to the end of the next verse (see the model below).

Settle aliens in all their territory, and distribute their land: These two clauses can be reversed, since redistribution of the land would precede settlement (so Good News Bible).

The following model combines verses 35 and 36, since it places the last clause of verse 35 at the end:

• He also ordered Lysias to send an army to destroy Judas and his soldiers and to kill any Jews who were still in Jerusalem. He wanted Lysias to give the Jewish land to foreigners so that they could settle there. He wanted it to be as if [or, to look like] the Jews had never lived there at all.

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.