Compare 25.25-28.

The priest shall compute the valuation for it: this may also be understood to mean “the priest shall calculate the value for him,” but this is followed only by New Jerusalem Bible. Actually the calculation is both “of it [the field]” and “for him [the owner].” In some languages it will be possible to make these both explicit in translation.

The man: literally “he,” but the pronoun needs to be made more explicit, because there may be a danger of confusion with the priest mentioned at the beginning of the verse.

On that day: on the same day that the price was fixed by the priest, the man was expected to make the payment.

A holy thing to the LORD: or “belonging to the LORD.” See 19.8.

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 .

The field shall return: in some languages it may be necessary to reword this to say “they [indefinite] must return the field…” or “the man who bought the field must give it back….” It may not be possible for the field to be the subject of the verb “return.” Good News Translation puts the verb in the passive form, but this is not a realistic solution for those languages that do not commonly use passives. Compare 25.28.

Him from whom it was bought: or “the man who sold it to him,” or simply “the seller.”

To whom the land belongs as a possession by inheritance: this is taken by Good News Translation as a reference to the descendants of the man who originally sold the property. The assumption is that in some cases the original seller would have died before the land could be returned. While there are few other versions that follow this interpretation, it has much to commend it.

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 .

The shekel of the sanctuary: that is, the official rate of value. See verse 3.

Gerahs: a unit of weight which was, according to this verse, one twentieth of a shekel. Compare also Exodus 30.13. A literal translation as in Revised Standard Version is meaningless to today’s reader, who is ignorant of the fact that the “gerah” was the smallest unit of measurement in the system used at that time. It was equivalent to about a half a gram. This information is, however, retained in Bible en français courant, with “of which the basic unit weighs 10 grams.” Another possible translation of this verse is “Every amount shall be decided according to the official measure, which may be divided into twenty parts.”

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 .

But: in Hebrew this verse begins with an adverb which indicates at the same time contrast and emphasis. This has been left implicit in Good News Translation because a new paragraph begins here. It is possible in some languages to convey the essential idea of this adverb by beginning “However…” (An American Translation) or “Note that…” (New American Bible). New Jerusalem Bible has “A firstling of animals, however….” And Jerusalem Bible restructures the verse somewhat, to begin the verse “No one, however, may consecrate the first-born of his cattle, for it belongs to Yahweh by right….”

Firstling: this refers to the first offspring born of a female animal. If the receptor language has a special term for the first-born animal, it should be used here.

Belongs to the LORD: Good News Translation brings out the underlying fact that the animal “already” belongs to God. This is why it could not be further “dedicated.” Compare Exodus 13.2 and 34.19.

Whether ox or sheep: for the terminology used to refer to these animals, see 1.2, 10 and 4.10. If the receptor language has specific terms for the newborn or the very young of these animals (male and female), they should be used here. Compare 7.23.

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 .

It: the pronoun here refers to any first-born animal. In some cases one will have to say “If the first-born animal happens to be unclean, then…” or, as in Good News Translation, the conditional may be transformed to a direct statement.

He shall buy it back: the pronoun he refers to the original owner. This should probably be made explicit in most languages. The verb buy … back has the same meaning as redeemed, so they may be translated the same, if synonyms are not available.

Your valuation: see verse 3.

Add a fifth: see verse 13 and 5.16.

Be sold: the passive formulation may be changed to say “they [indefinite] shall sell it,” or “the priest may sell it to someone else,” or simply “someone else may buy it.”

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 .

Devoted thing that a man devotes: the noun is the same as seen in verse 21 above. But the verb also has the same root, and the use of the two together simply reinforces the meaning. The use of the word thing may be misleading in some languages since, according to the context, human beings and animals are included. One way to avoid this problem is to restructure as New Jerusalem Bible has done: “But of all that a man owns, be it man or beast or land of his holding, nothing that he has proscribed for the LORD may be sold or redeemed; every proscribed thing is totally consecrated to the LORD.”

Inherited field: the idea of inherited is again left implicit in Good News Translation, but since there is a clear distinction between land received by inheritance and land bought from another person, this detail should be included in the receptor-language translation.

Is most holy to the LORD: literally “is holy of holy things to the LORD.” This may be rendered “definitely (or, surely) belongs to the LORD.”

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 .

No one devoted: here the reference is definitely to a human being. This should be made clear in translation. Compare verses 21 and 28 above. Good News Translation adds the word “even,” to reinforce the importance of the act and stress the fact that it was absolutely final and could not be changed.

Utterly destroyed: the word used here has the same root as devoted above and is virtually synonymous with be put to death at the end of the verse. For this reason it is left implicit in Good News Translation and New English Bible. Compare Exodus 22.20.

Ransomed: this is different from the word translated “redeemed” in verses 27, 28, and elsewhere, but the meaning is essentially the same.

Be put to death: literally “dying he shall die.” The passive formulation of Revised Standard Version may be translated “they must certainly kill him” or “he must surely die” in many languages. See 20.2.

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 .

The tithe: with the possible exception of Genesis 14.20, this is the first clear reference to a tithe to the LORD in the Old Testament (unless Jacob’s bargaining position in Gen 28.22 is taken as a kind of tithe). In this verse it refers to that part of what the soil produces (one tenth of the total) that the Israelites dedicated to God as a sign of their gratitude to him. It provided the basic revenue of the priests and Levites serving God in the sanctuary. Compare Numbers 18. In some languages the idea of the tithe in this verse may have to be translated by an expression like “One kilogram [or whatever measure is commonly used] of grain for every ten produced, and one piece of fruit of every ten produced belongs to the LORD.”

The seed of the land: most versions take this to refer to “grain” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New American Bible, An American Translation, Moffatt). But the rendering of New Jerusalem Bible is even more general, “the produce of the soil.” It would probably be misleading in most languages to translate seed literally.

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 .