Their food supply is exhausted and their water has almost given out is more simply rendered “They are almost out of food and water” (Contemporary English Version) or “They have very little food and water left.”

They have planned to kill their cattle and have determined to use all that God by his laws has forbidden them to eat: The reader who has even a vague knowledge of Jewish dietary law may here wonder what’s wrong with killing the livestock for food. The law doesn’t forbid eating the flesh of any clean animals, which their livestock would surely be. True, but the law does forbid the consumption of certain parts of the animals: the fat (Lev 3.14-16) and the blood (Lev 17.10-14). The verse does not have to be taken as referring to all kinds of unclean food in the clause all that God by his laws has forbidden them to eat. The next verse will speak of food allowed the priests but not the people. This verse refers apparently to food set aside for God: the fat and blood of their animals. The crucial word is all. If one assumes it refers to all parts of the animal, which seems natural in context, there is no problem. One way to render the last half of this verse is as follows: “They have made the decision [the Greek word implies careful deliberation] to resort to eating their cattle, and have determined to consume them completely [consume all things], which God’s Law forbids them to do.”

An alternative translation model for the whole verse is:

• They have very little food and water left, so they have decided to eat their cattle, even those parts of the animals which God’s law forbids them to eat.

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.