complete verse (Leviticus 11:33)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 11:33:

  • Kupsabiny: “But if what has died falls on/in a (water) pot it makes everything inside the pot unclean. Therefore, that pot is to be broken.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “If the carcass of any of these falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean. And that clay pot must be completely broken to pieces.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If their dead bodies of the animal fall-into a clay- pot, everything that is inside of this will-become dirty/unclean, and this must be-broken/smashed.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it becomes defiled, and you must break that pot into pieces.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 11:33

In contrast with the objects mentioned in the previous verse, an earthen vessel into which an unclean animal falls is considered impossible to be purified and must therefore be destroyed. The words may be rendered “a container made of clay” in some languages. The term earthen implies the molding and baking of the clay, and many languages have special terms for such containers that may be used here.

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 .