Any man also of the people of Israel: literally “and any man of the sons of Israel.” This expression is slightly different from the similar one in verses 3, 8, and 10 (“any man of the house of Israel”). But the meaning seems to be identical, so it is unnecessary to search for a separate expression here.

Strangers: see verses 8, 10, and 16.29.

Who takes in hunting: this is a rather odd expression in the English of Revised Standard Version. But it simply means “who hunts.” In some languages there may be completely different words for hunting animals and hunting birds. If this is the case the logical adjustments must be made, and the two verbs will appear in the receptor-language rendering. Good News Translation‘s “catches” implies hunting.

That may be eaten: this refers to those animals and birds considered “clean” according to chapter 11. If necessary the translator may want to say “an animal or a bird which is ritually clean” (Good News Translation). This is one way to avoid the passive form of Revised Standard Version.

Shall pour out its blood: in some languages it will be clearer to say “shall pour the blood of the animal on the ground.”

Cover it with dust: the Hebrew word here translated dust does not emphasize the powdery nature of the material as the Revised Standard Version rendering would lead us to believe. It is rather a more general term for loose, dry earth. In 14.41-45 it is used three times and translated “plaster.” Here it is better to translate “earth” or “dirt.”

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 .

Every one of you: the text emphasizes the fact that this rule applies to every individual. Although there are some versions that do not underline this fact (New American Bible), it would probably be a mistake to omit this emphasis in the receptor language.

Revere: literally “fear” as in King James Version. But the meaning is “to show respect for.” It is used most frequently with the deity as object, as in the expressions “fear the LORD” or “fear God.” It is different from the word used in Exodus 20.12, which may be translated “honor,” but the sense is virtually identical. Compare verse 14.

His mother and his father: this is not the usual order when the two parents are mentioned. So the writer must have changed the order intentionally. Therefore the unusual order should probably be maintained in translation, unless it is completely unnatural in the receptor language. The “holiness laws” show a particular concern for the mother by mentioning her first also in 20.19 and 21.2. If this is the natural order in the receptor language, it should be retained here.

Keep my sabbaths: it is a mistake to translate the verb literally in many languages. The idea is to obey the law concerning rest on the seventh day. The use of the plural sabbaths merely points up the habitual nature of the requirement. See Exodus 20.8-11. Some suggested renderings are “honor my Day of Rest,” “observe the rules about the Day of Rest which I have ordained,” or “do as I have commanded on the Day of Rest.”

I am the LORD your God: this statement, or the shortened form “I am the LORD,” is found 15 times in this chapter alone and many more times throughout the book of Leviticus. The repetition is a constant reminder of the basis of all laws and regulations. It should also be repeated in translation, unless it clearly violates the norms of the receptor language. See 11.44 and 18.2.

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 .

Just…: this adjective is repeated four times in this verse, but it would be unnatural to do so in many languages. Good News Translation, translating it “honest,” reduces it to three. In other languages once will be sufficient, but if the repetition does not violate the norms of the language, it serves to reinforce the idea.

Balances … weights: a balance is a device used by the ancient Jews to measure the weight of an object by balancing it against another object or set of objects having a known weight. It was possible to cheat a person either by tampering with the device itself or by falsifying the weights used (see Pro 11.1 and 16.11). Where such a system is unknown, the translation will have to be adapted to the system used in the receptor-language culture to measure weight.

Ephah … hin: the ephah (see 5.11) was a measure of capacity used for grain, and the hin (found also in 23.13) measured liquids. The terms are used here as general references to measurements and not for precise amounts. No useful purpose is served by transliterating these terms. The more general term “measures” is quite adequate in this context. Others may want to use a verbal expression like “when you measure grain or liquid.”

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 .

The meaning of this verse is unclear, since the identification of the referents of certain pronouns is not certain. A literal rendering of the text reads as follows: “and they [meaning, the priests] cause them [meaning, the Israelites] to bear the iniquity of the guilt offering, when they [priests, or Israelites?] eat their [the priests, or the Israelites in general?] holy things; for I am Yahweh who sanctifies them [the priests, Israelites, or holy things?].” The parentheses indicate just how difficult the pronouns are in this verse.

Cause them to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating: as indicated in the literal rendering above, it is not absolutely clear who does the eating. Most English versions either state explicitly that it is the non-priests, or at least they imply this by the way the rendering is structured. In addition to Good News Translation, which states explicitly “any unauthorized person,” New English Bible has “men,” and the Revised English Bible (Revised English Bible) avoids charges of sexism by changing to “anyone.” It should be noted, however, that several non-English versions, including Bible en français courant and La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée, indicate or at least imply that it is the priests who eat the holy offerings, and that the fault lies in the fact that they do so in an impure state. This possibility may be given in a footnote, if this is thought to be necessary.

Their holy things: once again the pronoun is vague. The holy things may be seen as belonging to the Israelites who bring them, or to the priests who receive them. It is probably better to depict them as belonging to the Israelites, if the receptor language requires something explicit here.

Who sanctify them: see 21.15, 23; 22.9. The pronoun them may refer to the priests or to the offerings, or possibly even to the Israelites in general. Most English versions indicate either implicitly or explicitly that it is the offerings that are sanctified (see New Jerusalem Bible as well as Good News Translation), but certain non-English versions indicate that the priests are the object of the verb. Bible en français courant, for example, says “It is I who consecrate the priests to my service.” Whichever solution is adopted, the receptor language should have a noun rather than an ambiguous pronoun here, and it should probably be consistent with what is done in 21.23.

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 .

Make proclamation: the Revised Standard Version rendering may be misleading. The idea here is better communicated by New Jerusalem Bible “hold a celebration,” or New Jerusalem Bible “hold an assembly.” It is practically synonymous with the expression hold a holy convocation, which follows.

Holy convocation: this is an assembly of people specifically for worship (see verse 3). It further defines the “celebration” mentioned in the previous phrase. Perhaps the two together may be translated something like “an announcement must be made and people must gather for worship.”

Laborious work: see verses 7 and 8.

A statute for ever: see verse 14 as well as 3.17 and 10.9.

In all your dwellings throughout your generations: compare verse 14, where the order of these two phrases is reversed. There seems to be no significance in the reversal of the order. Whichever is natural in the receptor language should be used here.

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 .

The wording of Revised Standard Version follows very closely that of the Hebrew. Good News Translation has chosen to render this more explicitly by making a separate sentence out of each phrase, thus describing three possible examples. The three examples are then followed by a general rule that is the same as expressed in a slightly different way in verse 19.

If the Good News Translation model is followed, the passive structure in the last half of each of the examples may have to be rendered “they [indefinite] shall break … blind … knock out a tooth….”

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 .

The Hebrew text of this verse is very confused, and most English translations as well as the ancient versions have made some changes in order to make sense of it. Two textual problems exist: (1) The Hebrew has no negative and reads “If a Levite does redeem….” But the Latin adds the negation which may well have been a part of the original: “If a Levite does not redeem….” So Revised Standard Version has does not exercise his right of redemption. (2) Further in this same verse the Hebrew has “… a house and a town,” but the Greek version reads “a house in a town” (compare Revised Standard Version the house … in a city). The copyist must have become very tired while working on this verse and therefore made some mistakes. For this reason most modern versions have acknowledged the difficulties in the Hebrew text and have made both of the corrections suggested above.

If one of the Levites does not exercise his right of redemption: this phrase, corrected according to what the original is assumed to have been, is still subject to more than one interpretation. Good News Translation takes it to mean “If a house … is sold by a Levite and is not bought back….” But it is possible that by not accepting the first of the two suggested textual changes (the addition of the negative) to understand “If a Levite buys a house … and its original owner buys it back from him, it returns to the Levite in the Year of Jubilee” (Bible en français courant; see also Noth’s commentary, page 191). This solution has the advantage of making less changes in the Hebrew text and follows the recommendation of HOTTP (pages 201-202).

Shall be released in the jubilee: see verse 28.

Among the people of Israel: literally “among the sons of Israel.” But this may be better translated in this context “among the other Israelites.” This will avoid the danger of giving the impression to untrained readers that Levites were not Israelites.

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 .