Verses 24-28 make up the second paragraph in this section, and they deal with burns.

When the body has a burn on its skin: this construction is awkward in English. The translators should try to find the most natural way of speaking of a person who has injured his or her skin through contact with fire.

Raw flesh: see verse 10.

Reddish-white or white: this word order reflects the Hebrew but is unnatural in English. Good News Translation has reversed the order of these two elements, because good English style seems to require the mention of the better-known color before the mixture of red and white. Many other languages will require the same kind of order.

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 .

This verse is a summary statement regarding the instructions about mildew on clothing. The word law should probably be translated as a plural in many languages, since there are a number of different regulations involved. New International Version reads “These are the regulations,” while New Jerusalem Bible has “This is the procedure.” See 6.8 and 11.46-47.

To decide whether it is clean or unclean: this element was omitted in earlier editions of Good News Translation but is now included in “this is how … unclean.” It may be rendered in a separate sentence saying “These regulations allow you [Israelites] to determine whether these things are clean or unclean.”

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 .

Those stones: that is, the stones that had been thrown into the unclean place.

He: the use of the singular pronoun in the last part of this verse has led some to suggest that the priest himself was required to put the new plaster (or mud) on the walls. But this is unlikely. This is probably another case of the third person singular pronoun being used to refer to some unknown person.

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 .

This verse corresponds to verse 4 concerning men, but it is not a word-for-word repetition. (Compare also verse 26.) Note that Good News Translation has restructured and simplified this verse.

During her impurity: that is, during her time of menstruation. See the discussion under “a discharge of blood” in the previous verse.

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 .

Then: see the remarks at the end of the previous verse.

Come into the tent: in many languages the verb come can only be used if the writer were himself inside the tent at the time of writing. In such cases it is much better to use the verb “to go,” as in Good News Translation, or “enter” (New English Bible and Moffatt). New Jerusalem Bible emphasizes the fact that he is actually returning to the tent, by saying “Aaron will go back into the Tent….”

Tent of meeting: see 1.1.

The linen garments: see verse 4 and 6.10.

The holy place: as elsewhere in this account, this refers to the Most Holy Place.

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 .

Uncover the nakedness: this expression is repeated more than twenty times in chapters 18 and 20. If such repetition is not natural in the receptor language, it is possible to omit it in some cases (“nor your sister … nor your granddaughter … nor your aunt…” and so forth), or a synonymous expression may be used. But if the repetition is acceptable, it should be retained.

The daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother: these words serve to further define what is meant by the term sister. In some languages sister can only mean a girl born of the same father and mother. If this is the case, it will be necessary to translate here in such a way that the following are included: (1) the person’s full sister, that is, a girl born of both the same parents as the man involved; (2) the person’s half-sister, that is, a girl born of the same father as the man but of a different mother, or a girl born of the same mother as the man, but of a different father. All three cases are covered here.

The relationship between the expression the daughter of your mother here and “your father’s wife’s daughter” in verse 11 is important and has been much debated by scholars. It is unlikely that the second expression is merely a repetition of the first. Good News Translation has taken the words in this verse to mean “stepsister” (the daughter of one married to the man’s own father) and in verse 11 as “half sister” (that is, a sister who has only one parent in common with the man). This appears to have the two reversed. Translators are therefore advised to convey the idea of half-sister in this verse and stepsister in verse 11 below.

Whether born at home or born abroad: a number of English versions (Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible) take the verb “to be born” in its literal sense. Others broaden the meaning to include the upbringing of the girl, with the birth being left implicit (Good News Translation and New English Bible). The word translated abroad in Revised Standard Version simply means anywhere other than in the home. It would be a mistake to translate simply “outside” as in New American Standard Bible, giving the impression that it might have taken place just outside the house or in a nearby field. The term is meant to be much broader than this. Wenham translates “whether she belongs to local kindred or distant kindred,” and this may provide a good model for some languages.

An example of disobedience to this commandment is found in 2 Samuel 13.1-14.

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 .

Do no injustice: literally “Do not make a perversion of justice.” The Revised Standard Version rendering reflects the Hebrew, which has a negative formulation of this requirement. Good News Translation has stated the same truth in a positive manner. The decision about which model to follow should be based on what is most natural in the receptor language.

In judgment: this term is used here in its stricter sense, meaning “legal rulings” or “in a court of law,” rather than the general sense of an opinion expressed on any kind of subject.

Be partial to the poor: literally “lift up the face of the poor.” Some other languages have similar expressions for showing partiality or playing favorites, such as “to look at the face of…” or “treat … with special care.”

Defer to the great: the great in the context of this verse clearly refers to those who are the opposite of the poor, that is, “the rich.” This is made explicit in New Jerusalem Bible as well as Good News Translation. Moffatt has “the powerful man” (similarly An American Translation). New American Bible renders the same word “the mighty.”

In righteousness shall you judge your neighbor: since this is a repetition of the same idea that is presented in negative form at the beginning of this verse, it may be left implicit at the end. On the word neighbor, see 6.2 and verse 13 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 .

Lies with: that is, “has sexual intercourse with.” See 15.18. Compare also 18.8.

Has uncovered his father’s nakedness: see 18.7.

Shall be put to death: again the emphatic construction seen in verses 2, 4, 9, and 10 above.

Their blood is upon them: in contrast with verse 9, where the singular his and him are found, the plural pronouns are used here. But the expression still emphasizes the responsibility of the persons involved.

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 .