Behold: see verse 16.

Its blood: it may be clearer to say “the blood of the animal” or “the blood of the animal that was sacrificed.”

The inner part of the sanctuary: the inner part of the sanctuary area was the actual tent.

Certainly is used here to translate a common Hebrew construction made up of two forms of the same verbal root (literally “eating you do eat”). This construction is used for strong emphasis (compare Gen 3.4). Some languages may have similar constructions to add emphasis; otherwise, some emphatic particle or other construction may be used.

Eaten it: the pronoun it refers to the sacrificial animal and not to the blood, as one might possibly imagine on reading Revised Standard Version.

In the sanctuary: the term sanctuary is used in a very broad sense here. It refers to the whole area where the Tent of the LORD’s presence was put up and not just to the Tent itself. These words may be translated by an adverb such as “there,” depending on how the preceding context has been handled.

As I commanded: the verb commanded may require an object in some languages. If this is the case, it is probably best to say “as I commanded you.” Some versions (New English Bible, New American Bible) alter the text slightly to read as a passive verb, “as I was commanded,” but this seems unnecessary and should be avoided in the receptor language. HOTTP recommends that the text not be altered in this fashion.

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 .