complete verse (Ezekiel 44:26)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 44:26:

  • Kupsabiny: “But if he happens to touch (them), a cleansing sacrifice must be prepared and he is to stay for seven days so he can become clean.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If he can-touch the corpse, he needs to-be-cleansed and wait first for seven days.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But even if a priest touches the corpse of a close relative, he must perform the rituals to become acceptable to serve me again. After he performs those rituals, he must wait seven days.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 44:26

After he is defiled, he shall count for himself seven days, and then he shall be clean: For this verse Revised Standard Version follows the ancient Syriac translation, as do Revised English Bible and Moffatt for some parts. Translators should not follow this model. The Hebrew text reads literally “And after his purification, they shall count seven days for him” (similarly New King James Version , English Standard Version). In some languages, the phrase “after his purification” may be too abrupt, and the steps of touching a dead body, becoming defiled, and then being made clean may need to be made clear; for example, Contemporary English Version says “If a priest touches a dead body, he is unclean and must go through a ceremony to make himself clean.” “They shall count seven days for him” is the equivalent of the passive clause “seven days shall be counted off for him” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). This clause may be rendered “he must wait seven days” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Century Version; similarly New Living Translation, Complete Jewish Bible). A model for this verse is:

• If a priest touches the dead body of a relative, he becomes ritually unclean. He must then go through the ceremony to become clean again. After he has become clean again, he must wait for seven days [or, one week].

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .