A sabbath of solemn rest: see 16.31 and 23.3.

For the land: in some languages the verb “to rest” will be inappropriate to use with land. So it may be more natural to say something like “a year when the land is not cultivated at all.”

You: as in the previous verse, the pronouns here are singular but should be translated as plurals in most languages, since they refer to the whole people of Israel.

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: while the Hebrew text has only the common conjunction usually translated “and,” most versions recognize that the context requires something stronger at this point. Good News Translation has “At that time,” referring to the Year of Restoration.

He and his children: the children are not necessarily slaves with their father. They may be children born during the time that the father was serving as a slave.

Go back to his own family: this does not simply indicate a change of address or a moving from one house to another. It involves the liberation from slavery (however benevolent that slavery may have been) and a return to the status of a free person. Compare verse 10.

Return to the possession of his fathers: the word fathers is to be understood in the more general sense of all those who have gone before in the family line. Hence Good News Translation has “ancestors.” The possession refers to the family property. New English Bible translates the last two phrases as “he shall … go back to his family and to his ancestral property.”

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 .

Your strength shall be spent in vain: a literal rendering of this phrase may be misleading in some languages. Another way of saying this is “No matter how hard you work, it will be for nothing…” or “You will wear yourselves out and become exhausted, but you efforts will be worthless.”

Yield its increase … their fruit: compare verse 4.

Of the land: some texts read “of the field,” but this is of minor significance in a dynamic-equivalent translation. Several versions, including Good News Translation, simply leave this detail implicit, since land has already been mentioned earlier in this same 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 .

But: there seems to be no reason for a strong contrasting conjunction here. In most versions this word is either translated “and” or omitted altogether.

Wishes to redeem it: or “wants to buy it back.” Compare 25.25. This is intended to respond to the question of what to do in case the person offering such an animal changes his mind and decides he wants it back.

Add a fifth: see 5.16 and 22.14.

The valuation: that is, the price. See verse 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 .

Baked on a griddle: a thick plate made of pottery (and later of metal) with small depressions similar to a modern waffle iron. In some languages one may have to say “a flat cooking pan” or “a flat iron for baking.” This object was placed on three stones between which a fire was built. The dough was then put on the surface of the pan or disk and cooked.

Fine flour: see verse 1.

Mixed with oil: see verse 4.

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 horns of the altar: while the Hebrew term is the same as the one used to refer to the horns of animals (cattle or oxen, for example), it is not necessary to retain this image in translation. In some languages this may be the natural thing to do, but in others it will probably be preferable to use a word like “projections” (Good News Translation), or “knobs” (Moffatt), or “protruding corners.” Some scholars maintain that the horns were intended to represent the animals sacrificed, but others feel that they originally functioned as points on which cooking utensils rested (see 1 Sam 2.14).

The altar of fragrant incense: the writer carefully distinguishes the incense altar from the altar of sacrifice which is at the entrance to the Tent of the LORD’s presence (see diagram on page 8 and the discussion under 1.5). On the terms for incense, see 2.1.

Before the LORD: the phrase is again repeated for emphasis, and unless the repetition is considered awkward, it should probably also be repeated in the receptor language.

Pour out: this is the ordinary word for pouring; it is not the same as “tossing” (in 1.5, 11; 3.2 and elsewhere) or “sprinkling” (in 4.6 above).

At the base of the altar: elsewhere the word translated base means “foundation” (Micah 1.6; Psa 137.7) or “beginning.” Here it refers to the bottom part of the altar. It may be equally well translated “at the foundation of the altar.” New Jerusalem Bible has “at the foot of the altar….”

Altar of burnt offering: this is the altar of sacrifice, as opposed to the altar of incense mentioned 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 .

Any one: see verse 1.

Unwittingly: see 4.2.

Commits a breach of faith: literally “frauds a fraud.” The noun and the verb have the same root. This is a rather emphatic addition to sins unwittingly and should probably be retained in translation, unless the receptor language has strong reasons for leaving it implicit. But care should be taken not to give the impression that two separate and distinct acts are intended. This expression conveys the idea of an affront to authority (in most cases, the authority of God himself who is wronged either directly or indirectly by an affront to the priests or Levites). Taking the two expressions together, some languages may prefer to translate “sins unintentionally by not paying…,” or “commits a sin by failing to pay…,” or “sins by breaking his promise to pay….”

In any of the holy things of the LORD: this expression includes the following: 1. the offerings of the first grain harvested (2.14; 23.9-14); 2. the first-born animals (27.26-27); 3. the tithe (27.30-33; Deut 14.22-29); 4. offerings promised in a vow (27.1-25; Num 30.1-16); and 5. things unconditionally dedicated to God (27.28-29; Num 18.14). All these constitute the income of the priests and the Levites (22.1-16; Num 18.8-24). It may be translated “the payments that are sacred to the LORD,” or “the things that are due only to God,” or “the revenue that belongs to the LORD.” Another way of wording the overall expression sins unwittingly in any of the holy things of the LORD may be “to prove himself unfaithful by neglecting to give the LORD what belongs to him” or “to neglect one’s obligations to the LORD without realizing it.”

Ram: a male sheep.

Without blemish: see 1.3 and 22.17-25.

Out of the flock: see 1.2.

Valued by you: literally “of your value (or, evaluation).” But other uses of the expression seem to indicate that the possessive “your” had in fact lost any personal meaning, and that the idea is simply “value.” So the words by you may be omitted in translation as has been done by Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and others. This expression is used very frequently in the final chapter of Leviticus.

In shekels of silver: the value of the ram is to be measured in terms of the silver coins of the time which were called shekels. But there is no indication in the text as to how many shekels the ram should be worth. Some scholars have assumed that the number has dropped out of the text, since elsewhere the term “shekel” occurs with a specific number. The ancient LatinVulgate has “two shekels” (see New American Bible), but most versions take this simply as an indication that the value is to be set in money and not paid in kind. If this interpretation is correct, then there was no intent of setting a specific amount. New Jerusalem Bible has “convertible into payment in silver.” Another model might be Bible en français courant: “a certain number of pieces of silver.” Transliteration of the term shekel should be avoided if at all possible, since it would be meaningless in the receptor language. If used, the term should certainly be explained in the glossary.

According to the shekel of the sanctuary: the shekel is either a standard weight or a coin heavier than the one ordinarily used at the time. The way this phrase is worded seems to presuppose the existence of at least two different systems of weight, one for the sanctuary and another for ordinary commercial transactions. But the relationship between the two systems is unknown. The significance of this phrase is to insist that the system of the sanctuary be used in determining the value of the ram. Good News Translation takes the whole expression valued by you in shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary to mean “Its [the ram’s] value is to be determined according to the official standard.” But it is probably better to add to this “… of the sanctuary” for the sake of clarity. Also, the religious component may have been significant in that some degree of consistency would have been used in such measures.

A guilt offering: this is the first technical use of the term which causes confusion in verses 6 and 7, where it is used in its nontechnical sense. The actual ritual of this sacrifice is not described here. In 7.7 the writer seems to indicate that it is quite similar to that of the sin offering. The rendering of Good News Translation, “repayment offering,” is therefore better, since compensation had to be made. New Jerusalem Bible speaks of “the sacrifice of reparation.”

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 .

A new paragraph is required here because a new subject is introduced. What follows in verse 7 deals with the sin offering and the repayment offering.

There is one law for them: in some languages this verse may require restructuring so that one law, or “the same rule,” is the subject of the sentence. If so, Good News Translation will serve as a good model. But ultimately, naturalness in the receptor language will determine whether and how the restructuring is to be done.

It … it: the pronouns refer to the sacrificial animal in the first case and the meat of the animal (see 6.26) in the second. Clarity in translation may require that they both be made explicit.

In addition to the meat of the sacrifice mentioned in verse 7, the priest is also to receive certain other items. For this reason verses 8-10 are inserted here in order that all the various things that belong to the priests may be discussed together. Then the final kind of sacrifice—the fellowship offering—is taken up in verse 11. That is the only case where a part of the offering goes back to the lay 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 .