The disease: literally “the mark (or, spot).” The priest actually inspects the affected area of the house. In some languages it may be wise to say this directly.

And if: literally “and behold” as in King James Version. But the obvious meaning is conditional.

Greenish or reddish: see 13.49.

Deeper than the surface: this corresponds to the depressions in the skin mentioned in 13.3. Here the idea may be expressed in a variety of ways. Moffatt has “below the surface of the plaster.” New Jerusalem Bible speaks of the walls of the house being “pitted.” And Good News Translation depicts the fungus as actively “eating into the wall.”

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 .