Judith is in fact accepting none of Holofernes’ hospitality. She consumes only the food and wine brought with her from Bethulia. It was prepared for her here by her maid. Good News Translation‘s “But even then Judith ate and drank only…” greatly helps the reader in grasping this point. The Jewish reader would have understood that Judith, even in the midst of moral threat, is holding fast to ritual purity.

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.