Said to Moses: see 4.1. But note that, contrary to most other occurrences of this phrase, in this case the location is also specified (Mount Sinai). Some translators may wish to change the structure of verse 1 by saying something like “When Moses was on Mount Sinai, the LORD said….”

Say to the people of Israel …: see 1.2.

When you come into the land …: see 14.34; 19.23; 23.10.

The land shall keep a sabbath to the LORD: this phrase contains several problems for the translator. The singular sabbath is surely intended to have a plural meaning and should be so translated in many languages. New English Bible has “keep sabbaths.” But it is far better to translate its root meaning (seven or seventh) than to transliterate it. The construction of the sentence in Hebrew (and thus Revised Standard Version) makes the land the subject of the verb, as if the land actually performs some action by itself. In reality it is the people of Israel that must act (or refrain from acting) in order to fulfill this rule. They must stop their usual practice of cultivating the land and so allow it to rest in order to honor the LORD. Therefore it will be necessary in many languages to restructure the sentence, making the people of Israel the subject (perhaps using the pronoun “you”); for example, “you must refrain from cultivating the land every seventh year, in order to honor the LORD.”

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 .