And the LORD said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel …: this is identical with verses 1 and 2a at the beginning of this chapter. Naturalness in the receptor language will determine whether or not these words need to be repeated here. The Good News Translation translators decided it would be more natural in English to omit them. This version has also continued the indirect discourse rather than using direct discourse as in Revised Standard Version.

Which I give you: when indirect discourse is used it will be necessary to change I to “the LORD.” On the tense of the verb, see 14.34.

The sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest: compare Exodus 23.19; 34.26. In ancient cultures the first crops harvested and the firstborn animal of a flock were offered to the deity as a sign of thanksgiving. But it is unnecessary to create a special technical term like first fruits. The “first sheaf” is quite adequate. The word sheaf may present a problem in some cultures where the practice of tying grain into bundles is unknown. Some languages may have to say something like “the first bunch of grain you tie together.” And in those cases where it is necessary to specify what kind of grain is involved, one may say “the first bundle of barley that you assemble.”

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 .