And every day, literally “for a day,” means “each day” (Good News Translation) of the seven-day period. You shall offer a bull as a sin offering is literally “a young bull a sin offering you [singular] shall do.” (See the comment on sin offering at verse 14.) For atonement, literally “upon the coverings-over,” means, as Good News Translation translates, that this “sacrifice” is to be offered “so that sin may be forgiven,” or one may say “… so that I may forgive their sin.”

Also you shall offer a sin offering is just one word, literally “and you [singular] shall sin-offer.” Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version interpret the “and” here as Also, which means that two sin offerings were to be made each day. Most translations, however, interpret the verse to refer to just one offering. For the altar means that any impurities in the altar itself needed to be removed in order for it to be consecrated. Good News Translation combines this with the following clause and has “This will purify the altar.” Contemporary English Version has “as a way of purifying the altar.”

When you make atonement for it, literally “in your covering over upon it,” refers to the altar. The verb is a different form of the same word for atonement. And shall anoint it also refers to the altar. Good News Translation adds “anoint it with olive oil,” but this was probably the special anointing oil described in 30.23-25. (See the comment on “oil” at 29.7 and on “anoint” at 28.41.) To consecrate it is literally “to make it holy.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Each day you must slaughter a bull and offer it to me so that I may forgive their [Aaron’s and his sons’] sin and purify the altar. In addition you must take the special oil and anoint the altar to make it holy.

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 .