complete verse (Leviticus 21:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 21:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “It must not be a person whose hand or leg is twisted,” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “one who has curled up hands and feet,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “someone-who fractured/twisted/bent his foot or hand,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “no man with a crippled foot or a crippled hand,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 21:19

An injured foot or an injured hand: some take this as a permanent deformity (New English Bible “a man deformed in foot or hand”), while others see it as a temporary problem (New Jerusalem Bible “a broken leg or a broken arm”). The text may be understood in either way, but there is nothing that forces us to interpret it as something permanent.

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 .