Because of his intolerable stench no one was able to carry the man: Antiochus was carried from the scene of the accident on a stretcher (verse 8), but then he lay helpless on the stretcher. No one was able to come close enough to him to carry him around because his body smelled so bad.

Who a little while before had thought that he could touch the stars of heaven may be rendered “who recently had thought that he could reach up and touch the stars” (similarly Contemporary English Version).

The clauses in this verse may be reordered by saying:

• This was a man who just a little while earlier thought that he was so great he could touch the stars in the sky, but now his body smelled so bad that no one could stand to be near him. No one could get close enough to carry him [on his stretcher].

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.