A creeping thing: see 5.2 and 11.10, where the same word is translated “swarming things.” Although New Jerusalem Bible takes it in the more restricted sense of “reptile,” here it should be taken as referring more generally to any unclean animal (whether dead or alive), since it stands in contrast with man. And it should be noted that in this context man is used in the sense of any human being—not just the male of the species. This is why it has been translated “person” in Good News Translation and New International Version, and “human being” in New English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible.

Note also that Good News Translation has restructured this verse and eliminated needless repetition.

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 .