They came to her, and she said to them may be rendered “When the officials/leaders arrived, Judith said to them.”
Listen to me, rulers of the people of Bethulia: The overriding translation problem in the rest of chapter 8 has to do with information not explicit in the Greek text—the social relation of Judith to the three elders, and the attitude of each to the other. Even in English, Listen to me, rulers of the people of Bethulia sounds defiant and challenging, and “Please listen to me…” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) sounds submissive. Some languages are more sensitive to this kind of thing than others, but all translators must communicate some kind of interpersonal dynamic here. This much guidance can be had from the text: Judith and the elders are respectful of one another. She admonishes them, yes, but with reasoning. She does not talk down to them. When she uses the word “we/us/our,” she includes herself and her three listeners with the body of all Israelites. Uzziah’s reply to Judith in verses 28-31 is, as Alonso-Schökel (1988) points out, ambiguous in tone. It can be understood as talking down to Judith: “With all due respect, you don’t understand. You run along and pray for rain, and we’ll do what we have to do.” More likely, however, Uzziah is sincere and is honestly asking help from this woman whom everyone respects (see 8.8). Although Uzziah and the other two are town officials and Judith is technically only a citizen, she has earned such a reputation that the men, at least in private, may address her as an equal. Whether she presumes to address them as their equal is another matter, but the content of her speech would suggest as much.
For rulers of the people of Bethulia, Good News Translation has “You are the leaders of the people of Bethulia….” This sounds a bit condescending, but it avoids making a direct address of rulers of … Bethulia, which is awkward in English. Contemporary English Version‘s translation is more respectful: “I realize that you are the leaders of Bethulia, but please listen to me.” This is better.
What you have said today is not right; you have even sworn and pronounced this oath between God and you: You have even sworn and pronounced this oath between God and you is literally “You [plural] have stood this oath which you have spoken between God and you.” “Between God and you” apparently modifies “stood,” not “spoken.” The meaning seems to be that the oath (although no oath is mentioned in 7.29-31) now interferes with relations between God and the elders since it tests God which is improper. This idea comes out in New Jerusalem Bible: “You were wrong to speak to the people as you did today and to bind yourself [yourselves] by oath, in defiance of God….” The idea is not that the oath was made “before God” (Good News Translation), but that it now stands between God and the town—it defies God. A rewording could be “… you were wrong to speak to the people as you did today. You have defied God by making a solemn promise that you would….”
Promising to surrender … unless the Lord turns and helps us within so many days: Turns and helps us is literally “turns to your aid”; notice that it is “your,” not “our.” Changing it to “our/us” may change the tone of the text. Judith is making a point that borders on sarcasm: “You have promised to surrender the city to our enemies unless the Lord comes to your aid in a few days.” This sarcasm continues into the next verse with its tone of “Who do you think you are, anyway?” Within so many days is literally “in them,” that is, “within the time limit you set.” Good News Translation‘s “within a few days” captures the right tone.
An alternative model for this verse is:
• They came to her, and she said to them, “I realize that you are the leaders of Bethulia, but please listen to me. You were wrong to speak to the people as you did today. You have defied God by making a solemn promise to surrender the city to our enemies unless the Lord decides to help you out within a few days.”
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.