And he said to Korah and all his company: Company renders the same Hebrew word (ʿedah) translated “congregation” in verses 2-3. Here it refers to Korah’s “followers” (Good News Translation), not to the whole Israelite community. However, there is a note of sarcasm with the use of the standard term ʿedah here (so Sherwood, page 164). With his disloyal group Korah created a caricature of a true “community.” He believed that he could thereby speak for the community of Israel as a whole (so Noth, page 124). Korah’s community was a rebellious threat to the real community. To highlight this sarcasm, translators should use the same rendering for ʿedah here as in verses 2-3, if possible. Some languages may be able to mark the sarcasm through the use of selected pronominal and/or demonstrative forms; for example, Korah and all his company may be rendered “Korah and all that community/company of his.” If such a rendering does not convey sarcasm in the target language, an alternative may be to put the term for company between quotation marks as a signal to the reader at least. If none of these models will preserve the sarcasm, it is acceptable to follow Good News Translation‘s model here.

In the morning the LORD will show who is his, and who is holy …: The clauses who is his and who is holy refer to the same person, so in some languages it may be better to delete the connector and or to render it “that is to say.” This person and him whom he will choose are the same person. To make it clear that only one person is in view here, Good News Translation renders these three clauses as “the one who belongs to him, that is, the one he has chosen.” For the concept of holy, see verse 3 and the comments on 6.5.

And will cause him to come near to him … he will cause to come near to him: The repetition of this clause is for emphasis. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh keeps the repetition by saying “and will grant him access to Himself; He will grant access to the one He has chosen.” Good News Translation translates “he will let … the one he has chosen, approach him at the altar,” which refers to the task of the High Priest alone. This rendering implies that Moses is not referring to his own position; he is referring to Aaron’s position of authority as High Priest. This interpretation fits best in the context (see verses 10-11). New Living Translation renders this last half of the verse as “The LORD will allow only those whom he selects to enter his own presence,” which we do not recommend as a model. New Living Translation uses the demonstrative plural pronoun “those” where the Hebrew has a singular pronoun. As a result, this sentence in New Living Translation refers to more than just the High Priest.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .