Nevertheless: the transition word is important here. It marks a sharp contrast between what may be eaten (verse 3) and what must not be eaten (verses 4-6). An American Translation and New Jerusalem Bible have “However,” while New American Bible and Good News Translation have “but.” New International Version attempts to mark the contrast by beginning a new paragraph at this point, but a good translation of the transition word will probably be better in most languages.

You shall not eat: used with the negation, this verb form takes the character of a strong prohibition (compare verse 2), which is made clearer in Good News Translation, “you must not eat.”

The camel: the use of the singular to represent the entire class of animals is common in Hebrew but unnatural and unacceptable in many other languages. It will give the wrong impression if used in translation.

Since camels are unknown in many parts of the world, a borrowed word may have to be used and explained in a footnote or glossary. It is also advisable to use illustrations in order to help the reader. Technically, the word used here refers to a “dromedary,” which has only one hump on its back and is somewhat smaller than a camel. But in ordinary English the term “camel” is used for both the dromedary and the camel. If the receptor language distinguishes between the two, then the word for dromedary should be used.

The animal referred to in English as rock badger is a small grass-eating animal found in the Near East and North Africa. It is about the size of a rabbit and normally lives in groups in rocky terrain. Neither the badger nor the hare actually chew the cud as cows do, but by the way their jaws move they give the appearance of doing so, and for this reason they are excluded from the edible animals. On the other hand, some writers have suggested that the word usually translated hare is really some other animal that actually does “chew the cud.” But this not taken seriously by Old Testament scholars.

There were several species of hare or “rabbits” in Palestine. They are members of the rodent family and have ears that are longer than those of other rodents.

The three animals mentioned here do not constitute a complete list but merely serve as examples. For this reason, in some languages it may be advisable to add “for example” at the most natural place in verses 4-6.

Is unclean to you: this expression is found in verses 5 and 6 in Revised Standard Version but is rendered only once in Good News Translation. The passive construction of Good News Translation leaves implicit the words to you. But this may be translated as in New English Bible, “you shall regard it as unclean.”

Verses 4-6 contain a great deal of repetition which may be eliminated in languages where such style is considered heavy or awkward. Good News Translation provides a good model for reducing the repetition.

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 .