This verse forms a separate paragraph (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible).

But Judas Maccabeus, with about nine others, got away to the wilderness, and kept himself and his companions alive in the mountains as wild animals do: There is a textual problem here. The phrase to the wilderness does not occur in all the Greek manuscripts, and when it does, it appears just before the phrase in the mountains. Good News Bible combines these two phrases, saying “into the barren mountains,” which works very well. For wilderness see the comments on 1Macc 2.29. For kept himself … alive … as wild animals do, Good News Bible has “lived like wild animals,” which is not correct. It suggests that the men became wild and fierce themselves. However, in Greek it simply means they lived outdoors or found shelter wherever they could, and ate whatever they could find to eat. A better model is “kept themselves alive [or, stayed alive] by living like wild animals” or even “survived like wild animals” (Contemporary English Version).

They continued to live on what grew wild, so that they might not share in the defilement: Good News Bible omits the idea in they continued to live. Goldstein keeps it by saying “There they stayed.” Another possibility is “As long as they were in the mountains.” What grew wild refers to wild plants. The men lived on plants, not meat. Certain kinds of meat were forbidden by Jewish law; eating them would defile a person, that is, make the person ritually unclean (unfit to worship God). However, any type of plant could be eaten. Defilement refers to any impurity that would make a person unfit to worship God. The clause so that they might not share in the defilement raises a problem; it suggests that others were defiled. Indeed, Tedesche translates “in order that they might not be defiled as the others were.” But what others? It would be well to remember at this point that what we have before us is an abridgement, an abbreviated version, of a much longer work (see 2Macc 2.23). It is quite likely that Jason, the original author, included some material here that has been omitted in this abbreviated version. In order not to confuse the reader, Good News Bible translates in such a way that the question is not raised: “In order not to defile themselves.” Goldstein is similar with “in order to keep clear of defilement.” An alternative model for the whole sentence is “As long as they were there in the mountains, they lived only on [or, ate only] wild plants, so that they would not become ritually unclean [or, make themselves unfit to worship God].”

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.