All the men standing around the tent began to complain: For tent see 2.26. The tent here belongs to Holofernes, but up to this point we have not been told that he is staying in a tent while on the march. It is not clear from the text whether the men standing around the tent are the council of war, or whether they are observers. Most likely they are the council of war (see the note on the section heading above). Complain is hardly the reaction to Achior’s words. The word is literally “muttered” or “murmured,” but “protest” is a better choice. “Began to protest” (Good News Translation) helps convey a convincing picture of the scene.

All the men from the seacoast and from Moab: The places mentioned here are those of 5.2. Once again the seacoast is that of the Mediterranean Sea.

Insisted that he must be put to death: What they propose to do to Achior is not precisely clear. The verb chosen is more descriptive than simply be put to death. If it refers to death at all, it means “cut to pieces” (New English Bible, New American Bible) or, as New Jerusalem Bible has it, “tear him limb from limb.” But the Greek verb does not necessarily involve death. It can mean “thrash, beat unmercifully,” and Moore and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible go this way. Translators may choose between these two interpretations.

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.