And Judas encamped in Adasa with three thousand men: The connector And is better translated “Meanwhile” (Good News Bible) or “While he [Nicanor] was doing this.” Adasa was a village between Beth Horon and Jerusalem, about 8 kilometers (5 miles) northwest of Jerusalem.

Then Judas prayed and said: The verbs prayed and said refer to the same thing, so Good News Bible translates simply “prayed.” The author of 1Maccabees never refers directly to God, which creates a problem in the next verse, where Good News Bible inserts “Lord.” Translators who are following the author in avoiding direct references to God might render this clause as “There Judas prayed to Heaven [or, the One in Heaven].”

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.