Then the Jews, upon hearing what the king had said … : The Greek text does not exactly refer to what the king had said, only that the Jews heard how the king had behaved or that they heard about the incident just narrated. The beginning of this verse may be translated “When the Jews heard what had just happened….”

Praised the manifest Lord God, King of kings: Manifest Lord God is the author’s way of saying that God had revealed himself in the incident concerning the king. King of kings may be expressed as “who rules over all kings” or “who is the greatest of all kings.”

Since this also was his aid which they had received may be rendered “for showing his power in such a way,” “they knew at once that God had rescued them again” (Contemporary English Version), or “they realized that God was helping them again.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• When the Jews heard what had happened [or, what the king had said], they realized that God was helping them again. So they praised the Lord God, who rules over all kings [or, the greatest of all kings], for showing his power in such a way.

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.