What is left of the cereal offering: the part of the grain offering (and of certain animal sacrifices) that was not burned was considered as belonging to the priestly class.

Aaron and his sons: although the wording is slightly different in this verse, the meaning is the same as “Aaron’s sons the priests” (see 1.5, for example). It includes Aaron’s descendants as well as his immediate sons. In this context it may be translated simply “the priests.”

A most holy part: literally “holiest of holy ones,” a construction often used in Hebrew to express the idea of the superlative. These same words are frequently used in the Old Testament with reference to a particular place—“the most holy place”—within the Tent of the LORD’s presence and later in the Temple (see Exo 26.33; 1 Kgs 8.8). In this verse, however, this is not the case. In Leviticus it is used only to designate that which comes from offerings consecrated to God and can only be used for sacred purposes. In this case they were reserved for the priests and their families.

The preposition of which links a most holy part with the offerings by fire should not be translated literally. Here it has the meaning “selected from.” Good News Translation makes the meaning clearer by showing the causal relationship: “since it is taken from the food offered to the LORD.”

The translation of the word holy is particularly difficult in some languages. It is used throughout the Old Testament to qualify more than fifty different nouns. In most cases the primary component of meaning is “set apart from ordinary use” or “dedicated to God.” The idea of moral purity is a secondary component in some contexts, but this is clearly not the case here. The Revised Standard Version addition of part is not recommended. The Good News Translation rendering “it is very holy” is better, but in the receptor language it may be necessary to say something like “it is strictly set apart from ordinary use,” or “… for God’s purposes,” or “… for them [the priests] alone.” Translators should try to avoid using terms meaning physically “clean” or “white” to express the idea of holiness. Some languages have a word for ritual purity which may be adequate if it is accompanied by a proper explanation in the glossary giving details of the Jewish system.

Offerings by fire: see 1.9.

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 .

He shall kill: literally “he shall slaughter.” While the general term kill is used by both Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version, other translations seek to capture the special meaning of this word by using such terms as “slaughter” (New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, and New Jerusalem Bible) or “immolate” (Jerusalem Bible). According to ancient Jewish custom, it was the lay person who offered the sacrifice that actually cut the throat of the animal. But in the ancient Greek translation rendering of this verse, and in 2 Chronicles 29.22-24, this rite is reserved for the priests. In Ezekiel 44.11 and 2 Chronicles 35.6 it is the responsibility of the Levites.

The bull: literally “a son of the herd.” See verse 2 on “herd” and “flock.” In expressions of this type the Hebrew word that usually means “son” or “child” expresses the idea of membership in a group. Compare the very frequent Old Testament expression “children of Israel,” which means simply “Israelites,” or the expression “son of a prophet,” indicating membership in a group of prophets (see, for example, 1 Kings 20.35 and Amos 7.14). The idea of youth (translated “young bull” in New International Version) is not an essential component of the meaning here. What is important in this context is that a male animal of the category of larger animals must be sacrificed.

Before the LORD: in this context the expression before the LORD refers to a particular place which is made clear in 17.3-5. In Good News Translation the adverb “there” simply refers to “at the entrance of the Tent of the LORD’s presence” in verse 3. A literal translation as in Revised Standard Version runs the risk of hiding from the reader the implied reference to the location at the entrance to the Tent. In some languages this may be translated “there in my presence,” if direct discourse is being used. It should be noted that the aspect of physical location is of less importance than the fact of the presence of the LORD.

Aaron’s sons the priests: the expression “sons of Aaron” may be understood in its more literal sense as referring to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, the four sons born of Aaron’s wife Elisheba (see Exo 6.23; Lev 10.1, 6). Or it may refer more generally to “members of the group of Aaron’s descendants” (see the explanation above on “son of the herd”). It is very likely that the more general meaning is to be understood here. In some languages it may be necessary to say “priests in the order of Aaron” or “Aaron’s descendants who serve as priests.” This expression also occurs in verses 8 and 11 of this chapter as well as in 2.2; 3.2; 7.35; 13.2; and 21.1. The plural “priests” occurs without mention of Aaron in 6.29; 7.6; 16.33; and 22.15. All other occurrences of the word (about 175 of them in Leviticus) are singular in form. In some cases there is no obvious reason for the selection of the plural form, but usually it appears where more general statements are being made.

The term priest may present special difficulties in some languages. The Levitical priests were representatives of the people, and thus their position involved great responsibility as well as honor and certain privileges. The primary duty of the priest was to serve as an intermediary between the LORD and his people. The means by which this was done was sacrifice. Thus in some languages this word has been translated “sacrificer” or “intermediary.” But care should be taken to avoid negative connotations of a word like “sacrificer.” If it evokes ideas of pagan sacrifice quite different from those of the people of Israel, then another term should be sought; for example, “one who offers gifts to God (for the people).”

Present the blood: the expression “to the LORD” is added in Good News Translation because it is implied in the original. The Hebrew verb may be understood in the more technical sense of making a ritual presentation, or in the general sense of “take” or “bring.” Probably this was a separate ritual act done before the blood was thrown on the altar. In some languages one may have to say “hold the blood up before the LORD” or something similar.

Throw the blood …: this is different from placing the blood on the corners of the altar (4.25). In this case the priest caught the blood in a container as it flowed from the arteries of the animal. According to later Jewish tradition it was then tossed against the northeast corner in order to cover the north and east sides. Next he threw the remainder against the opposite corner to cover the other two sides so that all four sides were covered. The use of the verb “sprinkle” (as in the King James Version, New American Standard Bible, and New International Version) is probably somewhat off the mark. But if throw implies indiscriminate or accidental scattering of the blood in the receptor language, it will be necessary to find a verb meaning “deliberately pour out.”

Round about: the word translated round about may be understood in the sense of “in the general vicinity” (as in Exo 7.24), but in this context it almost certainly has reference to the four sides of the altar. See the comments in the previous paragraph, which explains how this was done.

Altar that is at the door of the tent of meeting: the Hebrew word for altar comes from the verb “to slaughter.” Eventually, however, it took on a more general meaning that included any place where any kind of sacrifice was offered to God. There are two altars related to the Tent of the LORD’s presence: (1) the altar of sacrifice, which stood directly in front of the entrance to the Tent (Exo 27.1-8; 38.1-7), and (2) the altar of incense, which was inside the Tent just in front of the “Holy of Holies.” Some languages require completely different words for these two objects. In this verse it is clearly the altar of sacrifice that the writer has in mind. In some cases a descriptive phrase may be required: “the place where offerings are given to God” or “the table where sacrifices are burned for God.”

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 .

He: the reference here is to the lay person who is making the offering and not to the priests mentioned in verse 5, since that would require a plural subject.

Flay the burnt offering: the reference is clearly to the bull which has not yet been burned, so Good News Translation says “the animal.” It also has the common language “skin” in place of the technical term flay. But in other languages it will be clearer to say “remove the skin of the animal” or “take away the skin from the animal.”

Cut it into pieces: the animal is simply cut into quarters, with the head and the suet (or fat) as separate pieces, so the translation should not give the impression that it is carved into many small pieces as if preparing to cook it for eating. Since it would be difficult to place the entire bull on the altar, it was a matter of practical necessity to cut it into manageable parts, but it was not necessary to cut it into small pieces.

The actions of verses 6 and 7 are probably simultaneous so that it is also possible to translate “While the man skins the animal … the priests light the fire….”

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 .

The sons of Aaron the priest: or “the sons of the priest named Aaron.” Some Hebrew manuscripts and several ancient versions have the plural “sons of Aaron, the priests,” but the singular “priest” is recommended by the committee for the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (HOTTP). Nevertheless the meaning of the expression is not essentially different. Throughout this chapter there is an unusual alternation between the expression “the sons of Aaron, the priests” (found in verses 5, 8, and 11) and “the sons of Aaron, the priest” with the final word in the singular instead of the plural (here and in verses 9, 12, 13, and 15). But it is unnecessary to maintain this singular/plural distinction in translation. In most cases it is also pointless to repeat the expression Aaron’s sons every time priests are mentioned.

Put fire on the altar, and lay wood in order upon the fire: the Good News Translation has seen fit to reorder these two verbs (“arrange … and light…”), probably because it seems more logical (and less dangerous!) to arrange the wood before lighting the fire. But it is possible that the priest(s) placed hot coals on the altar of sacrifice and then put wood on top of them.

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 .

Note that the Good News Translation rendering is recast so that the various elements in the sentence are ordered differently. In order to give more prominence to the “head” and the “fat” which are focused on in the Hebrew, another possible structure for this verse can be “The head and the fat, along with the other parts of the animal, must be put in order on the fire by the priests” or “They [the priests] must put the head and the fat together with the other pieces of the animal on the fire.”

Aaron’s sons the priests: the repetition of the entire formula (see verses 5 and 7) is unnecessary and stylistically unacceptable in many languages. The pronoun “they,” as in Good News Translation, is sufficient to convey the meaning.

Upon the wood that is on the fire upon the altar: Good News Translation avoids this awkward and possibly misleading construction by mentioning only the essential element “fire” and leaving the rest implicit. It may be wise to do something like this in many other languages. The word translated fire may be rendered “burning coals” in many cases.

Lay the pieces … in order: this is the same Hebrew verb that is translated “arrange” in the previous verse. It seems to indicate that the priests could not be satisfied with simply piling wood or pieces of meat in bulk on the altar; they had to be arranged in the proper manner, although we do not know precisely how this was done.

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 .

Its entrails: it was necessary to wash the stomach and intestines, because their contents were in the process of being digested and could not be a part of what was offered on the altar. The expression “the internal organs” in Good News Translation is probably too general here, although this meaning fits the context much better in 4.12. Most versions retain the word entrails here. In some languages it will be necessary to translate “intestines.”

Its legs: the Hebrew word here has been variously understood as referring to “hind legs” (as in Good News Translation), “shins” (New English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible), or simply legs (Revised Standard Version and Jerusalem Bible). What is clear is that these parts, like the internal organs, were most likely to be unclean, both ritually and in fact. They must therefore be washed.

He: according to Good News Translation, the washing is the responsibility of the person bringing the sacrifice, while the priest is charged with the actual burning. However, the Hebrew text is ambiguous and can be interpreted to mean that the priest performs this task as a part of his duties. It is probably best to follow Good News Translation, which renders the pronoun he as “The man” and shifts the subject to the beginning of the sentence to make it more natural English. But in some languages it may be possible to use a passive or indefinite form which does not clearly define the subject: “The internal organs and hind legs must be washed, and then….”

Wash with water: in most languages it is redundant to add the words “with water” since this is already implied in the verb “to wash.”

The priest: some Septuagint manuscripts have the plural “priests,” as in the preceding verse. However, the singular is recommended here.

Burn: the corresponding Hebrew verb is a technical term used in the language of sacrifice. It evokes the idea of smoke going up from the altar toward heaven. See the discussion under the section heading for this section.

As a burnt offering, an offering by fire: these words translate two Hebrew technical terms that are simply put together in this verse. The first term is discussed under the title of this section, “Sacrifices Burnt Whole” or “holocaust.” The precise meaning of the second term is not known, but it is similar to the word for “fire” and has sometimes been translated “an offering by fire.” It is used of whole burnt offerings and of fellowship offerings alike (see chapter 3). Both Good News Translation and New English Bible take it to refer to “a food offering.” This may be taken, then, not as a separate sacrifice, but as another way of referring to the burnt offering already mentioned. See the discussion of the different types of sacrifice in the introduction, “Translating Leviticus,” page 5.

A pleasing odor to the LORD: this is a dynamic rendering of another technical term which is placed alongside the two preceding words. The phrase may be literally translated “aroma appeasing to the LORD.” However, it is unnecessary to think of appeasement in the sense that God, angered by the sins of the people, had to be appeased by sacrifices. This expression is, in fact, used almost always of the whole burnt offerings (chapter 1), of the grain offerings (chapter 2) and of the fellowship offerings (chapter 3), but only once of a sacrifice in order to obtain God’s pardon (4.31). It is possible therefore to translate this expression as “It is a whole burnt sacrifice with a pleasant odor which the LORD accepts gladly” or “in which the LORD takes pleasure and which he accepts.”

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 .

Verses 10-13 describe the sacrifice of the whole burnt offering of a smaller animal. Since these verses repeat the text of verses 3-9 almost word for word, in the following section it is necessary only to point out the significant differences that exist.

From the sheep or goats: in this verse the expression from the flock (see verse 2) is made explicit in the Hebrew text, so that it is quite clear that the flock refers to sheep or goats. In some languages it may be necessary to use terms that imply maleness from the beginning of this section. The New English Bible, for example, uses the word “rams” instead of “sheep.” On the identity of these animals, see the references to FFB in verse 2 above. There is no indication in the text as to why one would offer one of these smaller animals rather than the larger one, but presumably this depended upon a person’s possessions and what one was able to bring as a sacrifice.

In the Hebrew text of verses 10-13, there is no equivalent of the phrase found in verse 4, “The man shall put his hand on its head,” but this gesture is added in the Septuagint. The absence of any mention of the gesture does not necessarily indicate that it was omitted in the sacrifice of sheep or goats. It is possible that the author simply decided not to repeat all the mechanical details of the ritual. But in the case of the offering of a bird (verse 15), the reason for the omission is probably different. In any case, the translator is well advised not to follow the Septuagint in adding the gesture here, since it is not in the Hebrew text at this point.

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 .