Literally, this verse reads “As the action [deeds] of the land of Egypt where you lived in it you must not do, and as the action of the land of Canaan where I am bringing you there, you must not do. And the practices of them you must not follow.” The repetitive elements in this verse may be eliminated as in Good News Translation, if they are stylistically unacceptable in the receptor language. The Israelites are forbidden to imitate what they had seen in the past (in Egypt) or what they would see in the future (in Canaan). The Egyptians practiced intermarriage of near relatives, which is forbidden in verse 6. And Canaan often symbolizes sexual perversion in the Old Testament (see verse 22 and Gen 19.4-9). Rather they are to follow the rules set down for them by the LORD himself.

Walk: as in many other passages of Scripture, this verb is used to speak of conduct or behavior in general. A literal rendering of Revised Standard Version may be very misleading in many languages.

Statutes: in this context the word seems to refer more to the customs or practices of an alien culture than to any specific written law code. Hence the Good News Translation rendering “practices” (also found in New International Version and Moffatt). New American Bible reads “customs.”

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 .