Having success at arms in everything he undertook, he destroyed more than twenty thousand in the two strongholds: Having success at arms refers to success in battle. In everything he undertook may be rendered “in every battle he and his soldiers fought.” Destroyed may be translated “killed” (Good News Bible). By reversing the clauses this verse may be joined to the previous one as follows:

• 22~He put the traitors to death, and then quickly captured the two towers, 23~where he killed more than 20,000 men. Judas won every battle he fought.

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.