The life of the flesh is in the blood: the word flesh is to be understood as referring to living beings in general, including humans, animals, birds, etc. New English Bible has “the life of a creature,” and the Good News Translation rendering “every living thing” is similar in meaning. New American Bible reads “every living body.” In some languages one may say “everything that breathes.”

I: if indirect speech is used, this pronoun must be translated once again by the noun “the LORD,” as in Good News Translation.

For your souls: or simply “for you,” referring to all the people of Israel, not just the priests. This is why Good News Translation has “the people’s sins.”

Have given it for you upon the altar: the pronoun it refers to the blood. The verb given has the meaning of “appointed” (New English Bible). That is, God has arranged or ordered that blood be used as the means of taking away sins.

By reason of the life: the sense of this expression is that blood and life are equated. This does not differ from the meaning already expressed in the beginning of this verse, but it is added for emphasis and should be retained in the receptor language, unless the repetition of the same idea is stylistically unacceptable. In some translations the wording is even more explicit because the implied subject of the verb “take away sins” is the priest: “it is because blood carries life that the priest can use it in the ritual of pardoning sins.” Others refer to the action of God rather than the priest as intermediary: “it is because blood is life that God can use it to pardon our sins.”

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 .