Removed the sackcloth … her widow’s garments: Sackcloth is discussed at 4.10, but see also the note at 8.5 for the problem of whether she wears it under her clothes or over them, as she apparently does here. If translators have considered that the sackcloth is under her clothes, an alternative translation model is the following: “After taking off her widow’s clothes, and the sackcloth around her waist….”
Bathed her body with water: Good News Translation‘s “took a bath” makes short work of a long clause in Greek. It is deliberately drawn out and sensuous: “she washed her body all over with water.” New English Bible makes it even shorter: “washed.” To convey the mood of the original, one should move in the opposite direction and linger over the action.
Anointed herself with precious ointment: “Rich” (Good News Translation) or “expensive” (Contemporary English Version) is a good word to describe the ointment; literally, it is described as “thick, heavy.” It is an ointment that she rubs on her skin (anointed herself) rather than a substance like a modern perfume, which one dabs on. Ointments were used to soften the skin and protect it against the hot, dry climate, as well as to mask body odor with a pleasant fragrance. Since Judith is doing this to be sexually seductive, translations are right to emphasize the fragrance of the substance. In this respect, “perfume” is not wrong.
Combed her hair: The variations in the translations as to what Judith does with her hair (combed, brushed, braided, fixed, arranged, did, dressed, vamped up) reflect a similar uncertainty in the manuscripts. Enslin probably shows insight in attributing this to “uncertainty by the masculine scribe as to the precise action involved.” In the absence of reliable information, anything reasonable will work.
Put on a tiara: There is just about as much variation in the designation of the object she puts on her head (turban, tiara, fillet, headband, ribbon, even tire). No one really knows. “Headband” (Contemporary English Version) is probably best. The problem with “tied a ribbon around it” (Good News Translation) is that it may suggest she pulled her hair back and tied it into a ponytail. A thin band of some material may have been tied around the head at the forehead so as to hold the hair in place and serve as a decoration.
Arrayed herself in her gayest apparel …: Gayest apparel is literally “garments of gladness,” and refers to clothes appropriate for special occasions when something bright and showy would be worn. Moore has a nice approach to this by shifting the element of gladness to the next clause: “dressed herself in the clothes she used to wear on the joyous occasions when her husband Manasseh was alive.” This is a good solution, although the sentence would be much improved without “the” before “joyous occasions.” As it stands it makes it sound as if Manasseh were alive only now and then. At 16.8 the garment she puts on is said to be of “linen,” which was considered a luxurious fabric.
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.