At the command of the leader, they set out from there immediately: Since Judas is the leader, and since they set out is literally “he set out,” it makes good sense to translate this clause as Good News Bible has done, making Judas the subject. Good News Bible omits from there, which refers to Jerusalem. A better model for this whole clause is “Then Judas, their leader, gave the orders, and they immediately marched from Jerusalem.”

And engaged them in battle at a village called Dessau: The pronoun them refers to Nicanor’s army, so Good News Bible says “the enemy,” which is helpful. Revised Standard Version has a serious problem with pronouns in this verse. The name of the village here is a problem. It occurs in the Greek manuscripts in several different forms, indicating a lack of certainty on the part of the scribes. However, none of the manuscripts have “Adasa” (Good News Bible). It is a widely accepted conjecture that Dessau is a scribal error for Adasa, which was the site of Nicanor’s last battle (see 1Macc 7.40). Since some manuscripts read “Lessau” or some variation, the conjecture is also made that it is an error for the town of Laish. We are not convinced that either of these conjectures has much merit, but we are convinced that Dessau is wrong. Consequently, we suggest that translators follow Good News Bible with “Adasa.” There is at least a chance that it is right. However, those who wish to follow Revised Standard Version may certainly do so without apology.

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.