Accept the words of your servant, and let your maidservant speak in your presence, and I will tell nothing false to my lord this night: Judith begins speaking with great modesty. She literally calls herself “your slave … your maidservant.” Referring to oneself in the third person is awkward in English, and Good News Translation combines the two into a simple “me.” It inserts the idea of submission by moving my lord from below in verse 5 to near the beginning of the verse. Contemporary English Version has a similar rendering: “Sir, I am your servant. Please listen to what I have to say.” There is a problem here, however, that goes beyond not using words to represent “slave … maidservant.” My lord comes from the clause I will tell nothing false to my lord this night. This is a delightful irony. She is going to be lying to Holofernes, but then, Holofernes is not her Lord. The ambiguity of the word lord is deliberate and important. As Holofernes hears what he wants to hear, he never suspects the truth in the deceitful words, that is, she will indeed be true to her Lord—the God of Israel.

If you follow out the words of your maidservant may be rendered more simply “If you follow my advice” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version).

God will accomplish something through you, and my lord will not fail to achieve his purposes: As Judith speaks the words in verse 6, Holofernes hears her say, “Do what I say and God will give my Lord [or, Master] the victory; you will get what you want.” But Judith is really saying, “Do what I say and God will see that you are defeated; God, my Lord, always achieves his purposes.” The irony comes over very well in Good News Translation in verse 6, although it is obscured in verse 5.

An alternative translation model for verses 5-6 is:

• Judith answered Holofernes, “Sir, please listen to what I have to say. I will tell you the truth. If you follow my advice, God will use my Lord [or, Master] to accomplish something great, and the plan that you have made will not fail.

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.