The subject changes to the fear of the Israelites, and both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation begin a new paragraph here.
Saw their vast numbers may be translated “saw the size of the army” (Good News Translation), “saw how many Assyrians were ready to attack” (Contemporary English Version), or “saw the huge number of soldiers.”
They were greatly terrified may be rendered “their hearts [or, livers] were full of fear” or “they were so afraid their bodies trembled.”
Every one said to his neighbor: This simply means, as Good News Translation has it, “they … said to one another.”
These men will now lick up the face of the whole land: This is a metaphor comparing the vast army to grazing cattle. The image is used in Num 22.4. Good News Translation interprets this to mean that the foraging army will live off the land and consume all food for miles around. So New English Bible has “These men will strip the whole country bare.” This is consistent with the context in Numbers as well. Other interpreters take it more vaguely as a reference to the destruction of the whole countryside (so Contemporary English Version). It is difficult to see what danger this could involve other than depriving the local population of food.
Neither the high mountains nor the valleys nor the hills will bear their weight: This sentence speaks of the land not being able to bear their weight. This is a difficult and distracting figure. It does not agree with the former image, so this verse has a mixed metaphor. Good News Translation (and New American Bible) does well to abandon this figure and incorporate its meaning into that of the army stripping the countryside of its produce. While Good News Translation is surely on good ground in the interpretation, it is less convincing in tone. The Israelites speak these lines as they look on the plain below and see enemy formations as far as the eye can see. They are terror-stricken. They know they are the target. In Good News Translation their words sound more awe-stricken, without a sense of impending danger. Fear could be expressed by reversing the clauses and adjusting the first one: “There’s not enough food in the mountains, valleys, and hills put together to feed an army like that. They are going to starve us!”
Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.