Then the priest shall write these curses in a book: Next the priest must write down the spoken words for the curse for added effect. The Hebrew word for book probably refers to a piece of parchment or a scroll here. The Hebrew only refers to a written record in some form, so New Revised Standard Version renders this clause as “Then the priest shall put these curses in writing” (similarly Good News Translation).

And wash them off into the water of bitterness: Next he must wash off the words of the curse from the scroll into the dust-filled, bitter water. Bijbel in Gewone Taal renders wash them off as “dissolve the writing of the ink” (similarly De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling), and NET Bible has “scrape them off.” The Hebrew verb rendered wash … off is very generic, meaning “wipe off.” It does not specify in what way the curses were to be removed. For the water of bitterness, see verse 18.

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 .