And he said to the men of his forces may be rendered “so he told [or, commanded] his soldiers.”

Fight today for your brethren!: Good News Bible renders your brethren as “our fellow Jews,” and Contemporary English Version has “your people.” Translators may use “our” or “your” without changing the meaning. For this whole command New English Bible has “Now is the time to fight for our brothers.” New Jerusalem Bible reads “Into battle today for your brothers!” Other possible models are “Jews are in danger here. This is the time to fight for them!” and “Now! Let’s fight for our fellow Jews!”

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.