The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “alarmed,” “shaken,” “panicked,” “confounded,” “confused” or similar in English is translated in the Catholic Mandarin Chinese Sigao version with historical Chinese idioms: jīnghuāng shīcuò (驚慌失措 / 惊慌失措) and jīnghuáng shīcuò (驚惶失措 / 惊惶失措): “panicked and at a loss.” (Source: Toshikazu S. Foley in Hong Kong Journal of Catholic Studies, 2011, p. 45ff.)
Translation commentary on 2 Maccabees 13:16
In the end they filled the camp with terror and confusion and withdrew in triumph: This verse describes the situation in the Syrian camp when the Jews halted the attack and withdrew. The phrase In the end may be rendered “Finally” or “The result was.” They filled the camp with terror and confusion may be translated “Judas and his men terrified and confused the enemy soldiers.” Withdrew in triumph may be expressed as “they left the enemy camp knowing that they had won [or, beaten the enemy].”
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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