And: some versions leave the transition implicit here (Good News Translation, New English Bible). Both New International Version and New Jerusalem Bible have “then.” Moffatt has “Moses further said….” But since this is considered the last in a long series of events, the most imaginative transition is found in New American Bible, “Finally….” This solution may well commend itself to those working in other languages.

Boil: this verb has a causative sense here, and some translators may prefer to say something like “Make (or, Cause) the meat to boil (in water)….” In some languages logic may require that the meat be taken to the entrance of the Tent before mentioning the boiling (Good News Translation). The Hebrew verb is a general term for “cooking” and does not actually indicate whether it is boiled, roasted, or fried. However, in most cases it is associated with some kind of container which would suggest boiling, and the majority of versions interpret it in this way. But it is also possible in some languages to use a more general term meaning simply “prepare for eating.”

The flesh: this refers to the meat of the second ram (verse 22). In some cases it may be wise to make this information explicit in the receptor language, as in Bible en français courant “the meat of the second ram.”

As I commanded …: the following direct quotation (‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it’) seems to emphasize the exclusiveness of the order. However, in many languages this emphasis may be better conveyed by means other than a direct quotation within another direct quotation. One may say, for example, “you alone are to eat it there….”

The use of the first person pronoun, as in 6.17 and 7.34, may be confusing in many languages. In most cases it is clearer to revert to “as the LORD commanded.”

Some scholars have proposed that the text may be understood in a passive sense, “I have been commanded” (as in verse 35 below), but this is rejected by HOTTP.

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 .