In Malay, the pronoun beta for the royal “I” (or “my” or “me”) that is used by royals when speaking to people of lower rank, subordinates or commoners to refer to themselves in these verses. This reflects the “language of the court because the monarchy and sultanate in Malaysia are still alive and well. All oral and printed literature (including newspapers and magazines) preserve and glorify the language of the court. Considering that the language of the court is part of the Malaysian language, court language is used sparingly where appropriate, specifically with texts relating to palace life.” (Source: Daud Soesilo in The Bible Translator 2025, p. 263ff.)
Translation commentary on 1 Maccabees 7:3
But when this act became known to him: The contrastive connector But fits well here. An alternative model for this clause is “But when Demetrius heard what they had done.”
He said, “Do not let me see their faces!”: Do not let me see their faces is literally “Do not show me their faces.” Demetrius was letting his soldiers know that he wanted the two men killed, without actually saying so. New Jerusalem Bible translates “Keep them out of my sight,” and New English Bible has “Do not let me set eyes on them.” Other possible models are “I don’t want anything to do with them,” “I don’t even want to look at those men,” and “I don’t want to see them—ever!”
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.
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