The women … her: Here Revised Standard Version fell into a trap from which New Revised Standard Version did not escape. The Greek says “they went,” meaning of course, The women went. But then the Greek says the patrol met her (“and took her into custody”—verse 12), meaning of course, Judith. In English one cannot keep the plural subject with the singular object. Good News Translation handles this in a skillful way: 11 “As the two women were walking through [across] the valley, an Assyrian patrol met them. 12 They arrested Judith and questioned her….” Since the two women were together, obviously the patrol met both of them, although the Greek only mentions Judith. Maybe they arrested and questioned both of them, but the text does not say that.

There is a problem with the word patrol used by both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. It suggests a small number of soldiers. But in 10.17 this group of men is going to select 100 of their number to escort Judith to Holofernes. This is not a small patrol sent to spy, but a detachment of some size. New Jerusalem Bible translates “advance unit.” If translators do not have a term that shows this distinction, one may translate “a group of Assyrian soldiers patrolling the area…” (Contemporary English Version) or “a group of Assyrian soldiers who were regularly inspecting [or, watching] the area.”

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.