Tell them to prepare earth and water: Good News Translation builds into the text necessary information that earth and water are signs of surrender: “they must prepare their offerings of earth and water to show that they have surrendered unconditionally.” This in fact seems to have been a Persian custom; there is no known record of it in Babylonia or Assyria.

I am coming against them in my anger: Moore comments that this clause is a forceful threat. Good News Translation begins this strong threat with “I will make them feel the full force of my anger.” It adds “and completely destroy them,” but this may weaken the threat by too much plain speaking; it does not appear in the Greek. “They will find out just how angry I am” is a possible alternative.

Cover the whole face of the earth with the feet of my armies: The language here recalls the imagery of the plagues on Egypt in Exo 8.6 and 10.15. The plagues narrative is another biblical story where the God of Israel combats an earthly would-be god, the king of Egypt. Good News Translation has “My armies will march over every foot of their land,” and Contemporary English Version has “I will command my troops to invade every inch of their land.” These express well the meaning of the phrase the whole face of the earth.

Hand them over to be plundered by my troops: Plundered will need to be in the active voice in a number of languages; for example, “and will let my soldiers take all their possessions.” The Revised Standard Version footnote on my troops simply advises the reader that the Greek text literally has “them”; the translators have rightly supplied my troops for clarity.

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.