And to the enemy who makes war they shall not give or supply grain, arms, money, or ships: Grain refers to “food” (Good News Bible), while arms are “weapons” (Contemporary English Version). In many languages it will be necessary to reorder this sentence as follows: “You [the Jews] must not give or supply grain [or, food/rice], weapons, money, or ships to enemies who are attacking us [the Romans].”

As Rome has decided: This clause may be interpreted as in Good News Bible, which has “as was agreed in Rome” (similarly Goldstein). However, we prefer to follow Revised Standard Version. The literal meaning of this clause is “So Rome thinks best,” but it is simply a polite legal expression for what Rome demanded. Translators may say “These are the terms Rome has laid down” or “This is what Rome has determined.” If it proves awkward to have a city as subject of the verb, they may say “This is what the Roman senate has decided” or “… the Roman senators have decided.”

And they shall keep their obligations without receiving any return: The idea here is that the treaty does not obligate the Romans to reward the Jews in any way for coming to Rome’s assistance. That is not to say the Romans would not reward the Jews, but that the Jews had no right to expect it. An alternative model is “so keep your part of this agreement and don’t expect us [or, Rome] to reward you for it.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• You [the Jews] must not give or supply grain [or, food/rice], weapons, money, or ships to enemies who are attacking us [or, Rome]. This is what we [or, the Roman senators] have decided. So keep your part of this agreement and don’t expect us [or, Rome] to reward you for it.

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.