The meaning of this verse is unclear, since the identification of the referents of certain pronouns is not certain. A literal rendering of the text reads as follows: “and they [meaning, the priests] cause them [meaning, the Israelites] to bear the iniquity of the guilt offering, when they [priests, or Israelites?] eat their [the priests, or the Israelites in general?] holy things; for I am Yahweh who sanctifies them [the priests, Israelites, or holy things?].” The parentheses indicate just how difficult the pronouns are in this verse.
Cause them to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating: as indicated in the literal rendering above, it is not absolutely clear who does the eating. Most English versions either state explicitly that it is the non-priests, or at least they imply this by the way the rendering is structured. In addition to Good News Translation, which states explicitly “any unauthorized person,” New English Bible has “men,” and the Revised English Bible (Revised English Bible) avoids charges of sexism by changing to “anyone.” It should be noted, however, that several non-English versions, including Bible en français courant and La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée, indicate or at least imply that it is the priests who eat the holy offerings, and that the fault lies in the fact that they do so in an impure state. This possibility may be given in a footnote, if this is thought to be necessary.
Their holy things: once again the pronoun is vague. The holy things may be seen as belonging to the Israelites who bring them, or to the priests who receive them. It is probably better to depict them as belonging to the Israelites, if the receptor language requires something explicit here.
Who sanctify them: see 21.15, 23; 22.9. The pronoun them may refer to the priests or to the offerings, or possibly even to the Israelites in general. Most English versions indicate either implicitly or explicitly that it is the offerings that are sanctified (see New Jerusalem Bible as well as Good News Translation), but certain non-English versions indicate that the priests are the object of the verb. Bible en français courant, for example, says “It is I who consecrate the priests to my service.” Whichever solution is adopted, the receptor language should have a noun rather than an ambiguous pronoun here, and it should probably be consistent with what is done in 21.23.
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 .