Take a wife: marry a woman. See 18.17.

In her virginity: in some languages it may be better to say “He must marry only a woman who is still a virgin” or “He must take for his wife a woman who has never had sexual relations with another man.” In some cases the word “virgin” may have to be translated by a longer expression meaning “who has never slept with a man” or “who has maintained her sexual purity.”

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 .

Bruised or crushed or torn or cut: any problem with organs that have to do with producing life would make an animal unfit to be used as a sacrifice. This included both accidental damage to the testicles and intentional castration. In some languages it may be necessary to say simply “damaged in any way” or “damaged in an accident or removed intentionally (by castration).”

You shall not offer … or sacrifice within your land: literally “you must not offer to Yahweh and in your land you must not do.” The last clause may be understood in two different ways: (a) it may be a way of insisting on what has just been said, by repeating the same idea in different words (Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation); or (b) the intention of the writer may have been to add another idea, namely, that castration as such must not be practiced in Israel. Thus Bible en français courant begins a new sentence: “Do not perform such mutilations when you are in your land.” Compare also New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible.

Once again the structure of this verse has been altered in Good News Translation in order to make the meaning clearer. However, the Good News Translation rendering at the end of this verse may be ambiguous. To avoid misunderstanding, it may be better to translate “This” of Good News Translation more explicitly as “To sacrifice such an animal….”

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 .

It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest: this special day is likened to the regularly observed Sabbath. Good News Translation attempts to convey the meaning with “a special day of rest,” but others have proposed to make the comparison more explicit, saying “this shall be a rest day like the Sabbath.” The expression sabbath of solemn rest is literally “sabbath of sabbathing,” with the two words having the same root. Some versions see this as a kind of superlative indicating “complete rest” (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, An American Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, and Moffatt).

Afflict yourselves: see verse 27 and 16.29.

From evening to evening: in the Old Testament the day begins at sunset (compare Gen 1.5). Notice that Good News Translation has radically restructured this verse and reduced some of the repetition to make it sound more natural in English.

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 .

You shall not reap … you shall not gather: some translators have been perplexed by the seeming inconsistency between these prohibitions and the statement in verse 7 indicating that the food produced during the rest year could be eaten. “How can you eat what you don’t reap or harvest?” they ask. The solution lies in the fact that these verbs seem to refer to farming and harvesting organized by the owner of the land. But individuals—whether masters, servants or visitors—were still permitted to pick and gather whatever produce they could find.

What grows of itself: even though no new seeds were sown, some grain would be produced from seed that had fallen to the ground during the previous harvest. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation may give some readers the impression of some kind of spontaneous plant life. New English Bible makes the meaning clearer with “the crop that grows from fallen grain.”

Undressed vine: that is, a vine that has not been pruned or tended in the normal fashion. The word used here is related to the word for “Nazirite” or “consecrated one” (Num 6), since a part of the vow of a Nazirite involved not cutting the hair. New Jerusalem Bible has “your untrimmed vines” (compare also New Jerusalem Bible).

A year of solemn rest: or “complete rest.” See 16.31 and 23.3 as well as verse 4 above.

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 .

They: the third person plural pronoun actually refers to the people of Israel, as indicated by the context that follows. The Good News Translation rendering makes this reference clear from the beginning, and this should probably be followed in most other languages.

My servants: the Hebrew word used here is actually “slave,” as in verse 39, and should be so translated so that the connection between this statement and the previous verses may be clear. The people of Israel had been slaves of the Egyptians, but when they were delivered they became the property of the one who redeemed them, the LORD himself. If indirect discourse is being used, the pronoun my should be changed to “the LORD’s,” as in Good News Translation.

I brought forth: the pronoun I should become “he” in indirect discourse.

Slaves: this is the same word as translated servants at the beginning of this verse. The two should be translated similarly.

The last sentence in this verse may be introduced with a more explicit “This is why they must not be sold as slaves.” This will clarify the relationship between what was said previously and this statement.

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 .

Walk contrary to me: literally “if you walk with me in opposition.” The Hebrew expression (also used in verses 23, 24, 27, 28, 40, and 41) indicates an attitude of hostility or resistance. It may be rendered “if you oppose me,” or “if you remain hostile to me” (compare New Jerusalem Bible and New International Version), or “if you still defy me” (New English Bible).

Will not hearken to me: this may be taken as parallel to the previous expression, or as an explanation of the actual way in which they showed their opposition. In the latter case, the two may be connected as follows: “if you continue to oppose me by refusing to listen to me….”

Bring more plagues upon you: the word translated plagues actually refers to “punishment.” Since this is the second increase in their punishment (see verse 18), it may be helpful to add the word “again” as in Good News Translation, or to use an expression like New Jerusalem Bible, “I will go on smiting you….”

Sevenfold as many as your sins: compare verse 18.

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 .

Dedicates: see 22.3.

To be holy to the LORD: or “to belong to the LORD.”

As either good or bad: see verse 12. In the case of a house, the value was apparently set with a view to the state of the building at the time it was offered, rather than the good and bad points of the original construction.

So it shall stand: although the verb (“remain” in Hebrew) differs from the expression found at the end of verse 12 (“be”), the meaning is practically the same. If the translator wishes to make a distinction, this one may be rendered “the price will remain as the priest decides.”

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 .

It will be noted that the structures of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation in this verse differ considerably. In Hebrew the direct discourse begins at the beginning of verse 2, as in Revised Standard Version. In many languages it is not good to have a direct quotation (verse 2b) within another direct quotation (verse 2a). Good News Translation has adopted the solution of not marking anything at all as a direct quotation. The equivalent of the Revised Standard Version direct quotation is preceded in verse 1 by the words “gave him the following rules” in Good News Translation. At this point the translator should take into account what is most natural in the receptor language, either maintaining the direct discourse in verse 2a or shifting to indirect discourse.

Revised Standard Version includes within direct quotes certain information found in the introductory statement in Good News Translation. Good News Translation, on the other hand, leaves implicit the fact that sacrifices are made to the LORD, which the more literal Revised Standard Version makes explicit. If the translation uses direct speech for the rules, it may seem unnatural for the LORD to refer to himself, in “sacrifices to Yahweh,” and it may be better to follow Good News Translation as model. Translators should consider the requirements of their own language with regard to the arrangement of this verse and translate the meaning as naturally as possible. It should also be noted that this problem appears frequently throughout the book of Leviticus (compare, for example, the first verse in chapters 4, 11, 12, 15, 17, 18, and elsewhere).

Speak to the people of Israel, and say to them: in most languages such repetition is unnecessary after the three similar verbs in the previous verse. It should be adequate to say simply “say to the people of Israel.”

When …: in the first five chapters of Leviticus, there are two different words that may be translated “when” or “if.” The Hebrew word ki, normally translated “when,” is found here and in 2.1, 4; 5.1, 3, 4, 5, 15; 6.1, 4. The Hebrew word ʾim, usually rendered “if,” occurs in this chapter in verses 3, 10, and 14, as well as at 2.5, 7; 3.1, 6, 12; 4.3, 13, 27, 32; 5.5, 11, 17. These two words seem to be used almost interchangeably, but they serve as markers indicating paragraph breaks in the discourse. For example, the chapter begins by defining the general case, using the Hebrew conjunction ki, and then three subordinate cases introduced by ʾim (verses 3-9, 10-13, and 14-17), as indicated by Wenham. It is probably best to follow the example of Good News Translation, using “when” at the beginning of each section and “if” to introduce the paragraphs within the section, unless the receptor language has a better way of marking such features of discourse.

Brings an offering: the noun and the verb have the same root, literally “offer an offering.” Good News Translation has “offer their sacrifices.” In Numbers and Ezekiel as well as Leviticus, the Hebrew word for offering is a very general term used to designate anything given as a sacrifice to God. In Nehemiah 10.35 and 13.31 it is even used of nonsacrificial offerings made to God. In this context it should normally be translated by a very generic term in the receptor language rather than using terminology for a specific kind of sacrifice. Whatever term is chosen must cover both animals and plant products that may be burned or given to the priests.

Any man of you: this may be better translated in many languages as “anyone” or “a person.” This will leave implicit the words of you, meaning “among you [Israelites].”

Offering of cattle from the herd or from the flock: literally “offering from the animals from the herd or from the flock.” To translators who do not speak English as their first language, Revised Standard Version may give the impression that the offering only includes cattle. The word herd is usually used to refer to larger animals such as cattle or oxen. On the other hand, flock normally refers to smaller animals such as sheep or goats. And the word translated cattle in Revised Standard Version is actually a very generic word that can refer to domestic animals of any kind. By translating “one of his cattle or one of his sheep or goats,” Good News Translation has made explicit the fact that the larger animals are cattle and the smaller animals refer to sheep or goats. Naturalness in the receptor language should be the determining factor in deciding whether to translate using more specific terms such as cattle, sheep, and goats, or more generic expressions such as “larger animals and smaller animals.” While the terms herd and flock do not appear in Fauna and Flora of the Bible (FFB), the animals included in these groups are discussed.

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 .