After Mattathias finishes his destructive work, he speaks again. So a new paragraph should begin at this point.

Then Mattathias cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying: Good News Bible has a good model here, and so does Contemporary English Version with “Mattathias shouted to everyone in Modein.”

Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!: Mattathias is urging the townspeople to join him in an armed rebellion against the king. Come out with me is literally “come out behind me.” An alternative model for Mattathias’ challenge is “Do you love the Law? Will you remain faithful to the covenant? Then follow me! Let’s go!” In some languages it will be necessary to show that it was God who made the covenant with Israel, even though the writer is attempting to avoid mentioning him directly. So another possible model is “Follow me, if you truly love the Law of Moses and want to keep the covenant our ancestors made with the One in Heaven.”

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.