And the LORD said to Moses: see 4.1. But in the context of this story, it may be better to say “Then the LORD said…,” in order to highlight the continuation of the story.

Him who cursed: this refers to the man whose father was Egyptian and whose mother was Israelite. He may be referred to in many different ways, depending on the habits of the receptor language, but it is important that the idea of cursing be maintained somewhere in this verse. Good News Translation refers to him simply as “that man” but includes the crucial idea later in the verse with “who heard him curse.” The Jewish law forbids blasphemy (see Exo 22.28, where “revile” translates the same word). This verse makes clear that the law applies to a half-Israelite as well as to full-blooded Israelites.

Lay their hands upon his head: see 16.21. In the Old Testament the laying on of hands usually indicates the transmission of holiness or of sin. Here it probably means that the man is responsible for his own death, and that those who stone him do not share in the responsibility simply because they heard the curse. They had become impure by hearing the curse, but the laying on of hands transmitted the sin back to the person who caused it. The Good News Translation rendering, “to testify that he is guilty,” should probably be understood in the sense “to show that he [and not they] is the person who committed the sin.”

All the congregation: that is, all those members of the Israelite community who were present at the time.

Stone him: or “kill him by throwing stones at him.” See 20.2.

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 .