As he was entering the royal palace of his fathers, the army seized Antiochus and Lysias: It is not at all certain that the Greek refers to the royal palace (literally “house of [the] kingdom of [his] fathers”). It may. But Goldstein and Starcky believe it refers to the city of Antioch (which Fairweather and Black allow for). Goldstein begins this verse with “As he was marching on the Seleucid capital….” In our judgment, Antioch is intended. It seems highly unlikely that Lysias and the young king Antiochus would be on the palace grounds while Demetrius and his army were actually entering the building. Lysias would certainly be off gathering his forces. What happens in these verses makes sense if Demetrius was marching on the capital to take over, and his men had gone ahead of him to seize his rivals Antiochus and Lysias. We would prefer “As he was going to Antioch [or, the capital city], his soldiers arrested [or, caught] Antiochus~V and Lysias.”

To bring them to him: The soldiers planned to give them over to Demetrius when he arrived. So Good News Bible‘s translation, “planning to take them to Demetrius,” is correct.

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.