And the incense which you shall make uses the singular you again, referring to the special incense that Moses is to make. According to its composition is literally “in its mixture,” using the same word as verse 32. (See the comment there.) You shall not make for yourselves, surprisingly, switches again to the plural you in both instances. And then in the final clause, it shall be for you uses the singular you. Holy to the LORD is simply “holy to [or, for] Yahweh,” meaning either “set apart” (Durham) or “reserved for Yahweh” (New Jerusalem Bible). Contemporary English Version has “It is truly holy because it is dedicated to me.”

The problem of the pronoun you in this verse is that it alternates from singular to plural, and then back to singular again. English translations, of course, do not show this, and it is debatable whether this shifting back and forth is intentional. In both instances of the singular you, there are textual variants in some of the ancient versions and manuscripts that have the plural instead. Therefore it may be easier to use the plural pronoun throughout this verse. A footnote may be added to explain that the Hebrew uses the singular you in the first and last instance.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .