Any one: see verse 1.
Unwittingly: see 4.2.
Commits a breach of faith: literally “frauds a fraud.” The noun and the verb have the same root. This is a rather emphatic addition to sins unwittingly and should probably be retained in translation, unless the receptor language has strong reasons for leaving it implicit. But care should be taken not to give the impression that two separate and distinct acts are intended. This expression conveys the idea of an affront to authority (in most cases, the authority of God himself who is wronged either directly or indirectly by an affront to the priests or Levites). Taking the two expressions together, some languages may prefer to translate “sins unintentionally by not paying…,” or “commits a sin by failing to pay…,” or “sins by breaking his promise to pay….”
In any of the holy things of the LORD: this expression includes the following: 1. the offerings of the first grain harvested (2.14; 23.9-14); 2. the first-born animals (27.26-27); 3. the tithe (27.30-33; Deut 14.22-29); 4. offerings promised in a vow (27.1-25; Num 30.1-16); and 5. things unconditionally dedicated to God (27.28-29; Num 18.14). All these constitute the income of the priests and the Levites (22.1-16; Num 18.8-24). It may be translated “the payments that are sacred to the LORD,” or “the things that are due only to God,” or “the revenue that belongs to the LORD.” Another way of wording the overall expression sins unwittingly in any of the holy things of the LORD may be “to prove himself unfaithful by neglecting to give the LORD what belongs to him” or “to neglect one’s obligations to the LORD without realizing it.”
Ram: a male sheep.
Without blemish: see 1.3 and 22.17-25.
Out of the flock: see 1.2.
Valued by you: literally “of your value (or, evaluation).” But other uses of the expression seem to indicate that the possessive “your” had in fact lost any personal meaning, and that the idea is simply “value.” So the words by you may be omitted in translation as has been done by Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and others. This expression is used very frequently in the final chapter of Leviticus.
In shekels of silver: the value of the ram is to be measured in terms of the silver coins of the time which were called shekels. But there is no indication in the text as to how many shekels the ram should be worth. Some scholars have assumed that the number has dropped out of the text, since elsewhere the term “shekel” occurs with a specific number. The ancient LatinVulgate has “two shekels” (see New American Bible), but most versions take this simply as an indication that the value is to be set in money and not paid in kind. If this interpretation is correct, then there was no intent of setting a specific amount. New Jerusalem Bible has “convertible into payment in silver.” Another model might be Bible en français courant: “a certain number of pieces of silver.” Transliteration of the term shekel should be avoided if at all possible, since it would be meaningless in the receptor language. If used, the term should certainly be explained in the glossary.
According to the shekel of the sanctuary: the shekel is either a standard weight or a coin heavier than the one ordinarily used at the time. The way this phrase is worded seems to presuppose the existence of at least two different systems of weight, one for the sanctuary and another for ordinary commercial transactions. But the relationship between the two systems is unknown. The significance of this phrase is to insist that the system of the sanctuary be used in determining the value of the ram. Good News Translation takes the whole expression valued by you in shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary to mean “Its [the ram’s] value is to be determined according to the official standard.” But it is probably better to add to this “… of the sanctuary” for the sake of clarity. Also, the religious component may have been significant in that some degree of consistency would have been used in such measures.
A guilt offering: this is the first technical use of the term which causes confusion in verses 6 and 7, where it is used in its nontechnical sense. The actual ritual of this sacrifice is not described here. In 7.7 the writer seems to indicate that it is quite similar to that of the sin offering. The rendering of Good News Translation, “repayment offering,” is therefore better, since compensation had to be made. New Jerusalem Bible speaks of “the sacrifice of reparation.”
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 .