Except: an exception is made to the general rule given in the previous verse. If the dead person is a member of the immediate family as defined here, then permission is granted to come in contact with the corpse. To express this idea, some languages will have to begin a new sentence and say something like “However (or, But) if the dead person is…, then he may approach that person and make himself unclean.” The last part of this sentence will, of course, be a part of verse 3 below.

His nearest of kin: literally “his flesh” as in 18.12. In some languages this may be translated “his immediate family” or by a similar expression. But translators should be careful that the term used here is in keeping with the list that follows. Another possibility is to leave this general term implicit, since the persons involved are listed separately (compare Good News Translation). Note that his wife is not specifically included in the list, but she may well be implied in his nearest of kin (“his flesh”), since the two are said to become “one flesh” (Gen 2.24).

His mother: as above, some languages will require that this be translated “the mother that bore him.”

His father: in some languages “the father that bore him” or “the father that engendered (or, sired) him,” since the term father may have a broader meaning.

His son, his daughter: these two terms may be translated by a single word in some languages. In others one must say “any children that he himself has begotten (or, borne).”

His brother: since the word brother may be understood in a very broad sense in many languages, this may have to be translated as “his brother borne by the same father and same mother.” And if the word does not indicate the sex of the brother or sister, then it will also include the sister mentioned in verse 3. But at some point the translation should make it clear that a married sister is excluded from those whose body the priest is allowed to approach.

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 .