For when he heard the shouting and saw them all fallen headlong to destruction … : While all this commotion was going on, with elephants killing the soldiers, the Jews saw nothing to make them think that they were not next (see verse 18). This first half of the verse describes the horror felt by the Jews as they waited for their turn to die. The connector For may be omitted. The pronoun them refers to the Jews. Saw them fallen headlong to destruction does not mean the Jews were actually falling. We may render this first half of this verse as “When he heard the Jews shouting, and saw them sitting on the ground waiting to die.”

He wept and angrily threatened his friends, saying: For the king’s friends, see the comments on 3 Macc 2.23.

Here are alternative models for this verse:

• When he heard the Jews shouting, and saw them sitting on the ground waiting to die, he turned to his advisers, with tears rolling down his cheeks, and angrily threatened them. He said….

• … he began weeping, and angrily threatened his advisers, saying….

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.