Then Joseph and Azariah were routed, and were pursued to the borders of Judea; as many as two thousand of the people of Israel fell that day: The would-be heroes were of course “defeated” (Good News Bible), but that is not quite how the Greek puts it. Their attack was broken and they fell back in disorder. Better models for this verse are:

• He [Gorgias] and his soldiers attacked the army of Joseph and Azariah and forced them to turn and run in disorder [or, in all directions]. As many as [or, At least] 2,000 [or, two thousand] Jewish soldiers were killed that day. Gorgias and his army pursued the Jews as far as the Judean border.

• He [Gorgias] and his soldiers forced the army of Joseph and Azariah to turn and run. As the Jews fled to the Judean border, his soldiers killed as many as 2,000 [or, two thousand] of them.

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.