Bathe his body in water: literally “bathe his flesh in water.” The reference to water will be superfluous in many languages. And in others there may exist a verb like bathe which implies “to wash one’s body.” See verse 4.

A holy place: this is not the Holy Place as in verses 2 and 17 above, but rather a special place set aside for this purpose. Compare also 6.16.

His garments: some sort of adjustment may be necessary in order to avoid leaving the impression that it is the priestly clothing which is put back on. Good News Translation has “his own clothes.” An American Translation and Moffatt have “his other clothes.” Still others suggest “his usual (or, everyday) clothing.” Jerusalem Bible has “he is to put the vestments on again,” but this is not recommended.

His burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people: Bible en français courant proposes “the two burnt offerings.” Given the context, this would lighten the otherwise heavy structure of the verse and lose nothing of the meaning. But it is important to make it clear that the priest’s offering is separate from that of the people. For this reason Good News Translation is not a good model at this point.

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 .