Of the animals that live in the water, only those that have fins and scales are considered clean, that is, can be eaten; all others are unclean and cannot be eaten.

These two verses may be introduced by the statement “These are the sea creatures that you are allowed to eat:….”

Fins and scales: since fish are known in almost every culture in the world, most languages will have suitable terms for these words. However, in the case of a culture where fish are unknown, it will be helpful to borrow terms from some other language and add a footnote or glossary item explaining these words.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .