Thus the people suffered a great rout because, thinking to do a brave deed, they did not listen to Judas and his brothers: The Greek of this verse is not at all clear. It sounds like the people (the Jewish army) disobeyed Judas because they wanted to do something really great. But the narrative puts the blame only on Joseph and Azariah. It is possible to interpret the Greek in such a way that thinking to do a brave deed, they did not listen to Judas and his brothers refers to Joseph and Azariah rather than to everyone. Verse 62 is consistent with this. Good News Bible, New English Bible, and Goldstein go this way, and we believe this is correct. They did not listen to Judas and his brothers refers to the orders given in verse 19. An alternative model for this verse is:

• The Jewish army was defeated completely [or, The Gentiles defeated the Jewish army completely] because Joseph and Azariah wanted to be heroes [or, make a name for themselves], and did not follow the orders that Judas and his brothers had given.

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.