Took her into custody: Good News Translation has “They arrested Judith.”

To what people do you belong?: Good News Translation has “What is your nationality” (similarly Contemporary English Version), or one may translate “What country do you belong to?”

I am a daughter of the Hebrews is literal, but is only a Hebrew idiom for a woman to use when saying “I am a Hebrew” (Good News Translation). The significant point here is that she describes herself as a Hebrew rather than an Israelite. When the word “Hebrew” is used in the Old Testament, it is almost always a term used by foreigners to refer to the Israelites. Its use in Judith is consistent with that; compare 12.11; 14.18. It also seems to have been a natural term for Israelites to use in identifying themselves to foreigners, perhaps with a hint of submissiveness. In Jonah 1.8-9, the sailors ask Jonah almost the same questions the Assyrians put to Judith here, and Jonah, who like Judith is running away, answers, “I am a Hebrew.” In Php 3.5 Paul refers to himself as a “Hebrew of the Hebrews.” Judith’s choice of words here seems deliberate. To describe herself as a Jew would be out of the question; she is from the tribe of Simeon, not Judah.

They are about to be handed over to you to be devoured: The men have probably heard these words before. Judith is echoing the words of Holofernes’ officers in 5.24 (see the note there). Literally, she says “they are about to be given to you as food.” Good News Translation here is too weak, and suffers from not reflecting in some way the phrase be devoured from 5.24. Not all translations make the connection, but it is surely intentional on the author’s part, and if the translator can preserve it, it would serve the narrative well. Judith does not actually say that God is going to let the Assyrians use the Israelites for food; there is simply a passive verb here with no agent expressed. But it certainly helps to express the agent, and there is no reason not to, as will be necessary in languages that do not have the passive voice. Judith will be quite explicit about God’s part when she speaks with Holofernes in 11.6. It is not part of the built-in suspense. An alternative model introducing the agent is “Because God is going to let you swallow them alive.”

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.