Thus says the Great King: This royal pronouncement is parallel to the passages in the prophets beginning with the formula: “Thus says the Lord.” The words of the Lord are then given in the first person singular. The model for this prophetic form may well have been the royal proclamation, in which the monarch is identified by title in the third person at the beginning, but the content of the message is spoken in the first person. In this long declaration, only the introductory Thus says clause and the phrase “your sovereign” in verse 13 are in the third person. Everywhere else the king speaks for himself in the first person. The translator has the choice of preserving this device or of blending the announcement with the content. One might begin “Here is what the Great King … says/has to say/has decreed” or “These are the words of the Great King….” Good News Translation takes the other option by casting everything in the first person and beginning, “I, Nebuchadnezzar, the great king … command you to…” (similarly Contemporary English Version). It makes for an effective statement, suitably formal and solemn.
The lord of the whole earth: Lord in this context means “the one who rules” or “the master of” (so also Tob 3.2, 14). It amplifies the meaning of the phrase Great King. It implies a contrast with God. The claim will be made later (3.8) that Nebuchadnezzar is to be worshiped as a god, and in this whole passage Nebuchadnezzar is speaking as if he were omnipotent. In the last verse of this speech, Nebuchadnezzar will once again use this word to refer to himself as lord (“sovereign” in verse 13). With all this in mind, an alternative translation model for the first part of this verse is: “I am Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest king [or, high chief] and ruler on earth….”
When you leave my presence: This clause implies that the following command is to be carried out immediately and makes a firm connection between the king and the action ordered. So one may translate “As soon as you leave here….”
Take with you men confident in their strength: Take with you implies “choosing” (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). Men confident in their strength is the literal Greek. It refers to “experienced soldiers” (Good News Translation). They are “seasoned troops” (New English Bible), “of proven valor” (New American Bible), “brave and experienced in war” (Contemporary English Version). The value of the literal phrase, however, is that they trust in themselves rather than in God. Compare Isa 31.1. So we may translate “choose soldiers who know that they are brave and strong.”
One hundred and twenty thousand foot soldiers and twelve thousand cavalry: As usual Good News Translation uses Arabic numerals rather than the full numbers. Translators should do what is natural in the receptor language. For cavalry see 1.13.
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.