And: in some languages it will probably be advisable to use a different transition word here. “Then” is used in New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, and An American Translation as well as Good News Translation.

Shall command them: the problem here is identical with the one in verse 4 above. Although there is doubt about whether the pronoun in the original was singular or plural, there is no doubt that it is indefinite in meaning. See HOTTP, page 179.

In an earthen vessel: the preposition “in” is not to be taken literally. The translator should certainly be careful not to give the impression that the person killing the bird is inside the clay pot. The Hebrew preposition implies that the action is rather to be performed over the clay pot so that the blood of the bird falls into the pot and is mixed with the spring water.

Running water: literally “living water.” This refers to water from a spring rather than from a cistern or a well. Flowing water, which would have been considered fresh and clean, is what is called for in this ritual.

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 .