God of our fathers may be rendered “God whom our ancestors worshiped.”
Grant you favor and fulfil your plans may be translated “be kind to you and cause your plan to be successful.”
That the people of Israel may glory and Jerusalem may be exalted: The Greek reads literally “for the glory of the sons of Israel and the exaltation of Jerusalem.” Good News Translation‘s “so that you may bring glory … and victory…” focuses inappropriately on Judith. The sense is “so that the people of Israel may be proud and Jerusalem be glorious.” This verse must be translated with 15.9 in mind. There, after Judith accomplishes her plans and returns, the elders, with great exuberance, praise her as “the exaltation of Jerusalem” and “the great glory of Israel.” The elders there use exactly the same nouns as are used here. But they had really not expected her to succeed in anything; in 13.13 they find it hard to believe that she has returned. At this point in 10.8, the men really do not expect much. They don’t inquire into what her plan is; from her seductively beautiful appearance they probably don’t want to know. The blessing they give is proper, but there is not any enthusiasm—in contrast to the welcome she will receive later. They really expect no heroic acts from Judith, but simply hope for the restored pride and glory of Israel and Jerusalem. When they watch her walk out of the city in 10.10, it is with sadness, not expectation. The phrase “for the exaltation of Jerusalem” occurs one other time in the book. Judith repeats it in silent prayer when she stands ready to kill Holofernes in 13.4. While be exalted can mean “be victorious,” as Good News Translation takes it, it is better to take it as parallel to glory in the previous clause, so it has the meaning “be honored.” We could even combine the two clauses; for example, “so that the people of Israel and Jerusalem may be proud and honored.” Another alternative is “so that the people of Israel may be proud, and people everywhere give honor to Jerusalem.”
She worshiped God is literally “she bowed to God” (Good News Translation “Judith prayed”). This clause seems abrupt and obtrusive in the narrative, and must have bothered the scribes, for there are several variants. One conjecture has been made that is highly attractive and probably right. Instead of “she bowed to God,” one can read “she bowed to them.” Moore adopts this in his translation. There is no Greek manuscript evidence for this, but in Hebrew there is only a slight difference between the two, so scribal error is very possible. “She bowed down to them” makes perfect sense in the context—Judith politely acknowledges the elders’ blessing. In 10.23 she will bow down (the same word is used) to Holofernes. Enslin, on the other hand, sees nothing obtrusive about the text as it is; he sees Judith as simply giving a pious Amen. The translator who stays with the text must wrestle with the problem of fitting the brief remark into the narrative. The bolder translator who is willing to adopt the conjectural reading should have no problem keeping the narrative moving. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version begin a new paragraph here, but this is not necessary.
Alternative translation models following the two interpretations above are:
• “May God be kind to you and cause your plan to be successful, so that the people of Israel may be proud and people everywhere honor Jerusalem.” Judith bowed down and worshiped God.
• “May God….” Judith bowed to the three town officials.*
* Probable text The three town officials; Greek God.
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.