He dared to designate as a plotter against the government the man who was the benefactor of the city means that Simon was so bold as to call Onias, who did nothing but good for the city, a rebel plotting to overthrow the king. Translators should make it clear that the government is not the Jewish one, but the government of King Seleucus. So we may begin this verse with “Simon even dared to accuse Onias of plotting against King Seleucus.” Good News Bible interprets who was the benefactor of the city as saying that Onias gave money to Jerusalem. This is quite possible, but we prefer to take this clause in a broader sense by saying “even though he worked for the good of Jerusalem.”

The protector of his fellow countrymen: Onias always acted to protect Jewish interests, especially on behalf of the Jews in Judea. It is hard to see how Good News Bible derives “and had protected the Temple,” and we do not recommend following it. We suggest “he protected the rights [or, interests] of his people [or, our people].”

And a zealot for the laws: This phrase is ambiguous. Our first inclination is to take it to mean that Onias was absolutely devoted to keeping the Torah, the Law that God had given Moses. But the Greek word for laws is plural. This is highly unusual, and suggests that the reference may be to Onias being a preserver of “law and order,” determined to maintain the laws of the kingdom. This would show clearly that he was not a rebel. We prefer this interpretation, and suggest the following model: “and was completely devoted to keeping law and order.” Translators who disagree with this interpretation can say “and was completely devoted to keeping God’s laws.”

An model that reorders this verse is:

• Onias was a man who worked for the good of Jerusalem. He protected the rights [or, interests] of his people, and was absolutely [or, completely] devoted to maintaining law and order. Simon had the nerve to say [or, was so sure of himself that he said; or, was arrogant enough to say] that Onias was a rebel who was plotting to overthrow the king.

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.