And when you prepare a bull for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice, to fulfil a vow, or for peace offerings to the LORD: The Hebrew pronoun for you is singular again. Here it refers to each Israelite who sacrifices a bull. Bull is literally “son of cattle” (compare 7.15). When the largest animal, a bull, is sacrificed, the portions of the added offerings are still greater. For burnt offering, sacrifice and to fulfil a vow, see verse 3. For peace offerings, see the comments on 6.14. The Hebrew form for peace offerings (shelamim) is better rendered as singular (so Good News Translation with “fellowship offering”).

Then one shall offer with the bull a cereal offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with half a hin of oil, and you shall offer for the drink offering half a hin of wine: See verses 4-5. The Hebrew text shifts here from second person to third person to refer to each Israelite, saying one shall offer. Some languages may prefer to keep the second person by saying “you shall offer” (similarly New Living Translation). For three tenths of an ephah, Good News Translation has “6 pounds” and Bible en français courant says “nine kilos.” Half a hin is equivalent to about 2 liters or “4 pints” (Good News Translation). The Hebrew pronoun for you is singular again (see the comments above).

As an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the LORD: See verse 3. The general Hebrew term for offering by fire comes at the beginning and the end of the specific discussion about supplemental offerings (verses 3 and 10). It is often regarded as synonymous with a pleasing odor to the LORD. For this reason Good News Translation has left it untranslated (so also Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bijbel in Gewone Taal, De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling). The word as wrongly suggests that the offering by fire is the same as the drink offering. It is much more likely that the offering by fire refers to the bull sacrifice and its supplemental cereal offering and drink offering. This is why Good News Translation has a separate sentence here, saying “The odor of this sacrifice is pleasing to the LORD,” which is a helpful model.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .