complete verse (Leviticus 15:23)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 15:23:

  • Kupsabiny: “Whether it is the sleeping place or anything the woman has sat on and a person touches those things, that person is unclean until sunset.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “If anyone touches the bed she sleeps on or the thing she sits on, he/she will be unclean until evening time.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Any one who touches her bed/[lit. place-where-(she)-has-laid-down] or place-where-(she)-sat must launder his clothes and bathe, but he is- still -to-be- considered dirty/unclean until (it) becomes-twilight/dusk.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Anyone who touches something that she has been sitting on, a bed or anything else, must wash his clothes, and no one should touch that person until that evening.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 15:21 - 15:23

Verses 21 and 22 correspond to verses 5 and 6 earlier in this chapter. Again it will be noted that Good News Translation has avoided needless repetition and thereby produces a much shorter rendering while retaining the same meaning. Verse 23 is a kind of summary of the two previous verses; it is similar to verse 10a, but it is not identical with 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 .