A new paragraph should be started here as Uzziah speaks again.

And the rulers may be rendered “and the other city leaders.”

Go in peace is a common Hebrew idiom, expressing good wishes to someone departing. “You have our blessing” (Good News Translation) shifts the focus, but it is entirely consistent with the context.

May the Lord God go before you: Good News Translation has “May the Lord our God guide you” (compare Jdg 4.14).

To take revenge upon our enemies: Revenge here means to “punish” or even “kill” (see 1.12). The men are referring to God, rather than Judith, as the one who will do this.

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.

Good News Translation does well to use this verse to end the preceding paragraph, rather than using it to open the following paragraph.

They chose from their number … they brought them …: Revised Standard Version‘s third person pronouns are not clear in this verse. They chose refers to the whole group of Assyrian soldiers whom the two women met in verse 11. But in they brought them, they refers to the 100-man escort, and them to the women. Revised Standard Version‘s problems with pronouns continue into the next verse. Good News Translation solves this neatly and efficiently. Good News Translation does not say, as the Greek does, that the escort actually took Judith to Holofernes, but this really does go without saying. Contemporary English Version eliminates the first pronoun by using a passive verb: “One hundred men were assigned to take Judith and her servant to the tent of Holofernes.” In languages that do not have the passive, we may say “The soldiers assigned one hundred from their group to take Judith….”

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.

Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation begin a new paragraph here since the subject matter changes.

Into the tent: The only tent mentioned so far has been Holofernes’ tent, the one they are already in. Good News Translation properly translates “a tent.” Even “another tent” would be allowable here since we are explicitly told in 14.17 that Judith had been staying in a different tent from Holofernes.

According to the Greek text, Judith apparently lies awake awhile. She sleeps until midnight, but she does not rise until just before the morning watch. She is carefully awaiting her time. In Old Testament times the night (6 p.m. until 6 a.m.) was divided into three watches of four hours each (see Jdg 7.19). (In New Testament times the Roman system of four watches of three hours each would be adopted; see Mark 13.35.) The morning watch the author speaks of here would begin about 2 a.m. At the time of the exodus, God acted against Pharaoh’s army in the morning watch (Exo 14.24). Perhaps this was thought of as a time of revelation. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version have some errors in this verse. Judith does not sleep until just before dawn. She sleeps until midnight, and rouses Holofernes (see verse 6) around 2 a.m. As Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version have it, Judith would be going into the valley at daylight, which is not the intention of the story as she states in 11.17. She does this at night, and starting out at the beginning of the morning watch, about 2 a.m., would allow this. The division of sentences in Revised Standard Version is more helpful than in Good News Translation. She sleeps until midnight. Time passes with a sentence break. Then she gets up…. One could say “About two hours later she got up,” or even “About two o’clock…” if one does not mind bringing in modern terminology.

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.

O daughter: Judith is not Uzziah’s daughter; this was the ordinary way of fond address to a young woman by an older person. While it expresses fondness, it carries respect with it, and does not sound condescending. The translator’s problem is to catch that nuance. Good News Translation runs the danger of sounding condescending with “my dear.” Perhaps “Judith, dear Judith, you are…” would not be overdoing it. But this is a problem translators must solve for the individual languages with which they work.

You are blessed by the Most High God above all women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God: Most High God may also be expressed as “God who is greater than [or, above] all other gods.” Blessed is used in two different senses in this verse, as in Melchizedek’s blessing on Abraham in Gen 14.19-20 (see the note on 13.17 and Tob 3.11). The first use of blessed in this verse refers to God’s blessing on Judith. He favors her. You are blessed by the Most High God above all women on earth sounds like “Blessed are you among women” in Luke 1.42, but the Greek wording is quite different. Blessed in this context means “God has favored you more than…” or “God has been kinder to you than….” See also the blessing on Ruth (Ruth 3.10) and Jael (Jdg 5.24). The second use of blessed in this verse refers to praise given to God, as in the previous verse. Blessed be the Lord God may be rendered “may people praise the Lord God.”

Who created the heavens and the earth: Heavens here refers to the sky along with the heavenly bodies (see Gen 1.1). So created the heavens and the earth may also be rendered “created the sky with the sun, moon, and stars in it, and the earth” or “created the universe.”

Who has guided you to strike the head of the leader of our enemies: The Greek uses an understatement with to strike the head. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version abandon the figure and simply say “you cut off the head.” Good News Translation interprets the leader of our enemies figuratively as “our deadliest enemy,” rather than literally as “the commander of our enemies,” that is, the Assyrians. Most translations take it in the latter sense, but this Handbook recommends Good News Translation‘s interpretation.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Then Uzziah said, “Dear Judith, the Most High God has favored you more than all the other women in the world. May people praise the Lord God who created the sun, moon, and stars, and the earth. He guided you as you cut off the head of our deadliest [or, cruelest] enemy.”

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.

All the people plundered the camp for thirty days: This information follows on verse 7. Good News Translation is to be commended for saying “It took the Israelites thirty days to finish looting the camp of the Assyrians.” For plundered see 1.14.

They gave Judith the tent of Holofernes and all his silver dishes and his beds and his bowls and all his furniture: For silver dishes see 12.1. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version interpret his beds as “his couches.” It means not just his bed, but also the other furniture that he used for reclining or sitting on. The bowls are not described, as to size or material. The word translated furniture refers to any household objects that were in the tent. Judith gets it all. Good News Translation has reversed the order of beds and bowls, probably because beds go naturally with furniture and bowls go naturally with silverware.

Loaded her mule: Good News Translation has “loaded as much as she could on her mule.” “As much as she could” does not appear in the Greek text, but it is the clear reason for her bringing the wagons to be loaded as well. For mule see 2.17.

Contemporary English Version has a helpful alternative model for this verse:

• For thirty days, the Israelites carried off the wealth of the Assyrian camp. They gave Judith the tent of Holofernes and everything in it, including his silver dinnerware, his bowls, his couches, and the rest of his furniture. She loaded down her mule, and filled her carts with these things.

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.

Go and attack the whole west country: Holofernes is to attack all “the lands to the west” (Good News Translation).

Because they disobeyed my orders: My orders is literally “the word of my mouth.” Good News Translation translates this “my appeal for help.” This suggests that Nebuchadnezzar had been in trouble and was begging for someone to help him out. That was not the case. He, “lord of the whole earth,” had given orders, and these little states (1.7-10) had been rash enough to defy his imperial majesty and disobeyed him. It is possible to begin a new sentence here; for example, “I ordered them to help me, but they refused.” The whole verse may be alternatively rendered:

• Then attack all the lands of the west. I ordered them to help me, but they refused.

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.

They were therefore greatly terrified at his approach, and were alarmed: When the people of Judah heard what Holofernes had done to the Gentile temples, their faith wavered. Maybe the same plunder and destruction could even happen to their God’s temple since it happened before (see Jer 9.11; 26.6; Micah 3.12; contrast with 2 Sam 7.13-16; Psa 46; 48). A connector like therefore is needed to stress that their fear is the result of hearing what had happened to the others; for example, “So they were terribly afraid….” Terrified … alarmed is a weak statement. In the Greek text the people are frantic with terror at the prospect of his coming their way. Another way to show this is: “their hearts were full of fear and their bodies shook with terror.” At his approach means “when they heard that Holofernes was coming.”

Temple of the Lord their God: This phrase can also be expressed “the place where they worshiped the Lord their God.” For a comment on the translation of Lord, see Tob 3.2.

There is a chiastic structure in the verse. It begins and ends with strong passive verbs expressing fear. In the middle of the chiasmus that fear focuses inward on Holofernes’ coming, and what that might mean for the holy sites. The chiasmus can be diagramed as follows:

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.

But if there is no transgression in their nation: The term used for transgression is specifically “lawlessness” or “violation of law.” So Good News Translation has “But if they have not disobeyed the law of their god….”

Then let my lord pass them by; for their Lord will defend them, and their God will protect them: There is irony in the use of my lord … their Lord. Good News Translation (and Contemporary English Version) loses it by deleting both my lord and their Lord. The irony should be maintained. Let my lord pass them by may also be rendered “you, my Master, should leave them alone.” Their Lord will defend them may also be expressed as “their Master will defend them.” Good News Translation (and again Contemporary English Version) appears to combine the two clauses their Lord will defend them, and their God will protect them, but in fact Revised Standard Version has expanded the text. The Greek reads literally “lest their Lord and their God put a shield over them.” If possible the original image of the “shield” should be kept in translation or an equivalent image should be used. The figure of the “shield” also can be expressed with nonfigurative language, and most translations, like Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, do so. However, combining Lord and God into one term may be sacrificing some of Achior’s insistence. New American Bible reads “otherwise their Lord and God will shield them.” New Revised Standard Version has “for their Lord and God will defend them.” These first four clauses may also be expressed “But if they have not disobeyed the law of their god, then you, my Master, should leave them alone; for their Lord [or, Master] and god will protect them.”

We shall be put to shame before the whole world: For shame Good News Translation has “disgraced.” In a number of languages one may say, for example, “we will lose face.” An alternative model for this clause is “every nation in the world will make fun of us.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• But if they are innocent, you, my Master, should leave them alone, or their Lord [or, Master] and god will defend them. Then every nation in the world will make fun of us.

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.