All who heard the noise made by their multitude, by the marching of the multitude and the clanking of their arms, trembled, for the army was very large and strong: All who heard the noise probably refers to the Jewish soldiers; no one else is said to be around. The clanking of their arms refers to the sound made by the weapons and armor of the Syrian soldiers as they marched (see verse 35 for some of the armor that could clang). Good News Bible renders trembled as “terrified,” which is not quite the right word; it suggests that those who were terrified were about to turn and run. Not so here; the Jews were very scared; they knew they had a stiff fight ahead of them, but they were not struck with terror. They felt a shiver go down their backs; the hair on their arms stood on end; they felt butterflies in their stomachs—all these are English idioms expressing this feeling in terms of a physical reaction. Most languages will have some such equivalent. In many languages it will be helpful to begin this verse with the verb trembled; for example, “All the Jews were scared when they heard the noise…” or “All the Jewish soldiers shook with fear when….” But it is also possible to combine multitude with the army was very large and strong before trembled and render the whole verse as follows:

• The clanging of the weapons and armor of this huge and powerful army as it approached them made all the Jewish soldiers shake with fear.

• As this huge and powerful army marched toward the Jewish army, the weapons and armor of the Syrian soldiers clanked loudly. This loud noise caused all the Jews to shake with fear.

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.