Therefore: Good News Translation begins with “No!” This conveys the tone felt by the translators rather than the meaning of some particular word. If one thinks that Judith at this point is simply reasoning with the three men, one could begin with Good News Translation‘s “Instead…” and convey a different tone. The Greek simply says Therefore, which could be represented by a simple “So….”

While we wait for his deliverance may be placed after the clause let us call upon him to help us; for example, “So all we can do is pray for God to help, and wait for him to rescue us.”

He will hear our voice, if it pleases him: Good News Translation has “If he wants to, he will answer our cry for help,” or we may reverse the order of the clauses with “God will answer us only if he chooses.”

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.