Meanwhile the crowd, as before, was engaged in prayer: Translators may deal with this verse as a separate, short sentence, saying “The crowd [or, Everyone] kept praying.” Alternatively, it can be joined with the following verse (so Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version).

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 3-4 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2018. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.