And you shall set it means “you [singular] shall place the net.” Under the ledge of the altar is literally “under the karkov of the altar below.” The word karkov is found only here and in 38.4, so its meaning is unclear. Some think of it as a kind of “rim” (Good News Translation) around the altar that could also support the weight of the altar when lifted by the rings on the grating (verse 4). Others imagine that it may have been a ledge wide enough for the officiating priests to stand on, but this is unlikely, since the altar itself was to be only 4½ feet high.

It is not clear whether this karkov was at the top, the middle, or the bottom of the altar. Neither is it clear whether it was on the inside or the outside. New American Bible translates it simply as “around,” since its root meaning may have been to surround or encircle: “Put it down around the altar, on the ground.”

Note that the Hebrew phrase uses both the words “under” and “below,” possibly for emphasis or clarity. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “Set the mesh below, under the ledge of the altar,” and New Jerusalem Bible has “You will put it below the ledge of the altar, underneath.” Since there is so much uncertainty about the meaning of these terms, one must choose either the idea of a ledge or a “rim.” We may assume that it was a structural rim located probably around the top of the altar, but on the inside.

So that the net shall extend halfway down the altar is literally “and the net will be until half of the altar.” This does not indicate whether it means halfway down or “halfway up the altar” (Good News Translation). Most translations have “halfway up,” suggesting that the grating was placed in some way at the lower half of the altar. But Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version suggest that this ledge was near the top. It is probably better for translators to follow this interpretation.

A possible translation model for verses 4-5 is:

• Make a bronze grating, like a strainer, and attach a bronze ring at each of its four corners. Then place the grating under the rim that goes around the altar, so that it extends halfway down inside the altar.

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 .