Every bridegroom took up the lament; she who sat in the bridal chamber was mourning: Even those with the most cause to be happy, young newlyweds, were reduced to sorrow over what was happening (compare Joel 2.16). We may assume that since the scene is the bridal chamber, the place where the marriage was consummated, that these people are newly married, and not about to be married. For this reason bridegroom may be misleading since it suggests a man about to be married. Bridal chamber is a difficult concept in English since marriage customs are so different from culture to culture. But if the translation shows clearly that the bridegroom and she who sat in the bridal chamber are newlyweds, then the phrase the bridal chamber may be omitted. The lament refers to wailing in grief, but Good News Bible is not wrong in saying “a funeral song.” She who sat in the bridal chamber is singular expression in Greek, but it has a plural sense, which Good News Bible makes clear.

We suggest the following model for this verse:

• Every new husband wailed for the dead,
while their young brides sat mourning.

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.