Said to Moses: see 4.1.

The law: a collective singular which should probably be translated as a plural in most languages. See the comments on 6.8.

The day of his cleansing: while the actual process of being cured of the skin disease would take a long time, this phrase refers to the day when the priest declares that he is ritually clean and is no longer to be isolated. This comes at the end of the healing process.

He shall be brought to the priest: this apparently simple phrase is the cause of numerous difficulties for the translator. First, the exact meaning is questionable. While most versions go along with the interpretation of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, some feel that this does not present a logical progression of events. As long as the diseased person is not definitely cured, he should not be brought into the camp. And since the pronoun translated He may also be understood as referring to the problem rather than the person, the translation can be “When the matter has been brought to the attention of the priest…,” or “When it [the case] has been reported to the priest…” (New Jerusalem Bible), or “His case must be brought to the priest…” (An American Translation). In either case, it is probably better to consider this as a relative clause which is connected with the beginning of verse 3. Finally, the verb is passive in form and must be rendered actively in many languages. The subject should then be an indefinite “they” or “someone.” When all of these problems have been considered, the recommended rendering will be something like “When someone reports the matter to the priest, he shall go out….”

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 .