And the LORD said to Moses: See the comments on 1.1. This verse introduces the LORD’s instructions to Moses in verses 2-21. Good News Translation again shifts the entire discourse into indirect speech, which in many languages is not as natural for giving instructions.

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 .