It may be necessary in many languages to restructure this verse in a way similar to the Good News Translation rendering. Verses 22-24 constitute a kind of closing statement describing the conclusion to the first sacrifices for the community. The first word and the final clauses in Revised Standard Version are translated in the beginning of the Good News Translation rendering to set the stage for the final blessing: “When Aaron had finished all the sacrifices….” This presumably refers to the sacrifices of the people as well as to Aaron’s sacrifices.

Lifted up his hands: in many languages it is considered redundant and unnatural to say “his hands.” The pronoun may be left implicit, as with “his finger” in verse 9. In the Jewish tradition the idea of lifting the hands was not necessarily associated with blessing, as it is in many Christian groups today. The Hebrew expression corresponds rather to a gesture of prayer or of an oath. In this verse the addition of toward the people shows the special character of the expression, which is clarified by what follows. The gesture was probably accompanied by words similar to those in Numbers 6.22-27, but this is not stated in the text and is not certain.

Blessed them: this idea is very difficult to translate in many languages since it is used in so many different ways in the Old Testament. It is quite possible that an entirely different word should be used, depending on whether the object is a thing, a person, or God himself. In this case the object of the blessing is “the people.” So it may be translated “asked God to give them prosperity,” or “wished them well” (although this may be too weak), or “asked for peace [in the sense of health, wisdom, prosperity, and general well-being] on them.” Translators should carefully seek a term that is commonly understood and that gives the idea of conferring total well-being on persons.

Came down: in some languages it will be more natural to say “came back down,” and in other cases it may be necessary to add “from the altar.” In some languages it may be necessary to say “come down from the place where the altar was,” in order to avoid giving the impression that Aaron was on top of the altar. The use of this verb seems to indicate that there was some sort of elevation in the tabernacle where sacrifice was made. And this was certainly the case later, in the Temple.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .