Then a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it …: If translators already had to make the subject a clean person explicit in verse 17 (so Contemporary English Version), here they may say “That same person” (Contemporary English Version). For the Hebrew word rendered hyssop, see verse 6. As noted there, this word probably refers to the marjoram plant. This plant has a many-branched hairy stem. The hairs make it good as a brush, so it can be used to dip in water and then sprinkle the water. For the Hebrew verb rendered sprinkle, see verse 4 and 8.7.

Upon the tent, and upon all the furnishings, and upon the persons who were there refers to the first case of pollution mentioned in verses 14-15 (see the comments there). Furnishings translates a general Hebrew term for domestic utensils, equipment, and vessels, so other possible renderings for all the furnishings are “all that belongs to it [the tent]” and “everything in it” (Good News Translation).

And upon him who touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave refers to the second case of pollution mentioned in verse 16 (see the comments there). Revised English Bible provides a good model for this part of the verse, saying “or anyone who has touched a human bone, a corpse (whether the person was killed or died naturally), or a grave.”

Good News Translation clearly separates the two cases of pollution in this verse, but the purification procedure is the same for both. “The first case” refers to being in a tent where there is a human corpse (verses 14-15), while “the second case” refers to touching any human remains, even a grave, outdoors (verse 16).

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 .