But the men of the city shut them out and blocked up the gates with stones: Given what happened to the other cities in Gilead, the people of Ephron had good reason to be afraid of this large group of Jewish people on the move, escorted by a victorious army. Contemporary English Version has a good translation:

• But the people of Ephron piled up stones in front of the town gates and refused to let them pass through.

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.