And they threw down their arms and made peace: The pronouns they and their refer to the Syrians who were in rebellion against the king (verses 43, 45). It is quite legitimate to render they as “The rebels” (Good News Bible). Their arms refers to “their weapons” (Contemporary English Version). Here made peace is a literal translation. It simply means they “surrendered” (Good News Bible).

So the Jews gained glory in the eyes of the king and of all the people in his kingdom: This obviously does not mean that the Syrians, especially the rebels, honored the Jews or had any affection for them. Rather, they realized that Judea was a power to be reckoned with, whose military might could not be ignored. Gained glory in the eyes of may be rendered “earned the respect of” or “gained much face with.” It may be helpful to move this clause to the end of the verse (see the model below).

And they returned to Jerusalem with much spoil: The Jewish soldiers took a lot of plunder with them when they went back to Jerusalem.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• So the rebels surrendered and laid down their weapons, and the Jews went back to Jerusalem with the many valuable things they had taken. King Demetrius and everyone in his kingdom [now] realized that the Jews were a powerful people [or, nation].

The word “nation” must be used with some caution, since even at this point Judea was still not an independent state. It was still subject to the King Demetrius, but Jonathan had clearly shown that he could do as he wished, and that the king should not press things too far.

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.