For he had entered the city called Persepolis, and attempted to rob the temples and control the city: The logical connector For may be left implied (see the model below). Persepolis was a city in southern Persia, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of modern Shiraz in Iran. While Revised Standard Version speaks of temples, Good News Bible refers to “a temple.” The Greek cannot decide the issue, because to rob the temples renders a verb that means “to commit sacrilege, rob temples.” Goldstein translates “to plunder its sacred treasures,” and this is a good translation; temples do not have to be mentioned at all. Translators can make their own choice here.

Therefore the people rushed to the rescue with arms, and Antiochus and his men were defeated: The people of Persepolis took up weapons (arms) to defend their temple and city, and succeeded. For Antiochus and men were defeated, the Greek says only “they were defeated,” but clearly the pronoun “they” refers to Antiochus and his soldiers. Goldstein follows one Greek manuscript and divides the letters so that this clause reads “the king could have been routed.” The idea is that no battle was fought; the king simply retreated. This makes good sense, but the manuscript evidence is slender. We recommend the more conservative approach of Revised Standard Version here.

With the result that Antiochus was put to flight by the inhabitants and beat a shameful retreat: Put to flight and beat a shameful retreat refer to the same action. The shameful thing is that Antiochus was forced to retreat not by an army, but by the people of the city. Translators should make this clear. The following model for this verse attempts to do this not only by the wording but by the punctuation as well:

• He had gone into the city of Persepolis, intending to rob some temples and take control of the city. But the people who lived there took up weapons and defended their city. Antiochus was defeated and forced to retreat in shame—by local people!

It is also possible to combine verses 1 and 2 as Contemporary English Version does. Here is a another model that does this:

• While Nicanor was fleeing Judea, King Antiochus and his soldiers had gone into the land [or, country] of Persia. There they entered the city of Persepolis, intending to rob its temples [or, steal its sacred treasures] and take control of the city. But the people that lived there took up weapons and defended their city. These ordinary people defeated Antiochus and his soldiers and forced them to retreat in shame.

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.