complete verse (Leviticus 18:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 18:9:

  • Kupsabiny: “Do not sleep with your sister when both come from the same stomach or your sister whom your mother came with (stepsister).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “’Do not have intercourse with your elder [or] younger sister, born by your own mother-father or [lit.: and] with the daughter of your father’s first wife. It is not OK to do like that [regardless of] whether she was born in your house or was born and grew up elsewhere [lit.: outside]. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “[You (sing.)] do- not -have-sexual-intercourse with your (sing.) female sibling, even if she (is) just your (sing.) sibling through your (sing.) father or your (sing.) mother, and whether she has-grown-up with you (plur.) or not.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Do not have sex with your sister or your stepsister; it does not matter whether she was born in your house or somewhere else.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 18:9

Uncover the nakedness: this expression is repeated more than twenty times in chapters 18 and 20. If such repetition is not natural in the receptor language, it is possible to omit it in some cases (“nor your sister … nor your granddaughter … nor your aunt…” and so forth), or a synonymous expression may be used. But if the repetition is acceptable, it should be retained.

The daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother: these words serve to further define what is meant by the term sister. In some languages sister can only mean a girl born of the same father and mother. If this is the case, it will be necessary to translate here in such a way that the following are included: (1) the person’s full sister, that is, a girl born of both the same parents as the man involved; (2) the person’s half-sister, that is, a girl born of the same father as the man but of a different mother, or a girl born of the same mother as the man, but of a different father. All three cases are covered here.

The relationship between the expression the daughter of your mother here and “your father’s wife’s daughter” in verse 11 is important and has been much debated by scholars. It is unlikely that the second expression is merely a repetition of the first. Good News Translation has taken the words in this verse to mean “stepsister” (the daughter of one married to the man’s own father) and in verse 11 as “half sister” (that is, a sister who has only one parent in common with the man). This appears to have the two reversed. Translators are therefore advised to convey the idea of half-sister in this verse and stepsister in verse 11 below.

Whether born at home or born abroad: a number of English versions (Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible) take the verb “to be born” in its literal sense. Others broaden the meaning to include the upbringing of the girl, with the birth being left implicit (Good News Translation and New English Bible). The word translated abroad in Revised Standard Version simply means anywhere other than in the home. It would be a mistake to translate simply “outside” as in New American Standard Bible, giving the impression that it might have taken place just outside the house or in a nearby field. The term is meant to be much broader than this. Wenham translates “whether she belongs to local kindred or distant kindred,” and this may provide a good model for some languages.

An example of disobedience to this commandment is found in 2 Samuel 13.1-14.

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 .