Translation commentary on Judith 8:13

You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test: For Lord Almighty see 4.13. Good News Translation is correct in bringing “Lord Almighty” forward in the sentence; it preserves the emphasis in Greek, which is on “Lord Almighty” rather than “putting to the test.”

You will never know anything!: Revised Standard Version translates the last sentence in this verse as an exclamation; Good News Translation renders it as an exclamatory question (not a request for information). Either will work though “understand” is better than know. The next verbs help clarify what Judith means by “understand.” A human being cannot read the mind of another person; how can one expect to tell what God is thinking? So Contemporary English Version carries this clause into the next verse with “… You can never know what goes on….” This is also possible.

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.

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