And all who were troubling their people joined him: The troublemakers were the Jews who were sympathetic with the Syrians, who sided with Alcimus because they thought he would eventually be successful, and wanted to be on the winning side. The word “troublemaker” in Good News Bible shows the proper contempt, but it must be taken in a narrow sense. It does not refer to common criminals or to difficult people who cause other people trouble. Joined him may be rendered “came to help him” or “sided with him.”

They gained control of the land of Judah and did great damage in Israel: The pronoun They refers to Alcimus and the other Jewish troublemakers. Israel refers to all the Jewish people, and is not simply a geographical term, as is Judah. Good News Bible expresses this sentence correctly with “They gained control of the land of Judea and caused great difficulties for the Jews.”

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.