Verses 45-46 describe the behavior required of the person who has been declared unclean by the priest.

The leper: that is, the diseased person. The term “leprosy” has already been dealt with at the beginning of this chapter. But it should be stressed here that the word leper in particular is to be avoided, since it marks out individuals as outcasts from society and has a particularly devastating effect on their lives.

Wear torn clothes: see 10.6. The tearing of clothing is a traditional way of showing that a person is in mourning. Since the person with the dreaded skin disease is considered almost dead, he is required to mourn. In some translations this may be explained in a footnote (as in Bible en français courant), but in others it may be possible to say “wear torn clothes to show his sadness” or something similar.

Let the hair of his head hang loose: see 10.6. The words of his head are unnecessary in most languages since they would be implied in hair. Some scholars understand this to mean “his head shall be left bare” (New Jerusalem Bible), but this is unlikely. Most experts follow the interpretation “to leave the hair uncared for.” This may be translated in some languages as “must not comb his hair.”

Cover his upper lip: the word translated upper lip has been understood by some as referring to a “moustache” (New American Standard Bible, An American Translation, Moffatt), while others translate as Revised Standard Version (New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Jerusalem Bible). But the meaning seems to be the entire lower part of the face (see Good News Translation, New International Version). In some languages translators will be required to indicate what is used to cover the lower part of the face. In those cases, the hand is probably the most logical thing to be used.

Unclean, unclean: in many languages it will be wise to use a complete sentence to translate these words: “Unclean, I am unclean,” or “I am unclean, I am unclean,” or “Look out, I am unclean.” This was to serve as a warning to any other members of the community who might accidentally approach the diseased person.

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 .