complete verse (Leviticus 15:16)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 15:16:

  • Kupsabiny: “If a man has an emission of semen alone/by itself, he needs to wash himself and he is unclean until sunset.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Anyone who emits semen a normal way, must bathe his whole body. Then he will be unclean until evening time.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If semen goes-out from a man, he must bathe, but he is- still -to-be-considered dirty/unclean until (it) becomes-twilight/dusk.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Then semen accidentally flows from a man’s sexual organs , he must bathe his whole body, and no one should touch him until that evening.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 15:16

An emission of semen: this is not an infectious disease as in verses 2-12. What is involved here is an involuntary act (as opposed to verse 18) in which the sperm of any male is emitted. Languages typically have very different ways of referring to such matters. The translation should be meaningful but should avoid shocking the reader or hearer unnecessarily.

His whole body: the context seems to indicate that the word body is probably to be taken in its more literal sense here rather than as a euphemism for the sexual organ. However, it is true that the expression used for bathing here differs somewhat from “bathe in water” used earlier in this chapter. This leads some commentators to believe that this is a euphemistic expression. The word translated body here is the same as the one rendered “flesh” in verse 7.

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 .