With a second group of messengers arriving, Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible, and Contemporary English Version begin a new paragraph here. We advise translators to do the same.

While the letter was still being read may be rendered “Before Judas had finished reading this letter” or “While Judas was still reading this letter.”

Behold, other messengers, with their garments rent: The word behold calls attention to a new element in the story, that is, that other messengers were arriving with much the same message. In modern English we might say at a colloquial level, “and would you believe it” or even “lo and behold.” But since there is no real equivalent in English, modern versions, such as Good News Bible, do not normally try to express it. Translators must decide whether their language will use an attention-getting expression here. Other messengers may be expressed as “some other messengers.” For with their garments rent, it will be necessary in a number of languages to indicate that tearing (rending) one’s garments was a traditional sign of sorrow or distress (see 1Macc 2.14); for example, Contemporary English Version has “They had torn their clothes to show their sorrow.”

Came from Galilee and made a similar report: Galilee was the northern part of Palestine. It will be helpful to identify Galilee as a “region,” otherwise readers may think it’s a city. Made a similar report may be rendered “carried a report much like the one from Gilead.”

Another way to render this verse is:

• Judas was still reading this letter when some more messengers arrived, this time from the region of Galilee. They had torn their garments as a sign of distress and carried a report much like the one from Gilead [or, much like the first one].

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.