It shall not be poured upon the bodies of ordinary men is literally “upon a human body it will not pour.” The passive form is generally understood, “It must not be poured” (Good News Translation), but in languages that do not use the passive voice, one may translate, for example, “You [or, They] must not pour it.” And “a human body” may be understood either as “ordinary men,” or as “any ordinary anointing of the body” (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible). Contemporary English Version has “Don’t ever use it for everyday purposes.” The following verses support both interpretations. And you shall make no other like it in composition is literally “and in its measurement you shall not make like it.” The you is plural here, since this is what Moses is to say to the people. The word for “measurement” also means “proportion,” so Good News Translation has “and you must not use the same formula to make any mixture like it.” This will be difficult to translate in some languages. In such a case another way to express it is “Do not mix any of this oil in this way for any other use.”

It is holy, and it shall be holy to you is literally “holy it [is], holy it shall be to [or, for] you [plural].” The last part may be rendered as “you are to consider it sacred” (New International Version), “to be held sacred by you” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or “you must treat it as holy” (Good News Translation). It is possible to restructure the verse by placing this final sentence at the beginning, since it naturally follows the final sentence of verse 31: “So treat it as holy [or, taboo]. You must not pour it on other people or mix it and use it for your own purposes.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .