Take vengeance: this verb gives the idea of retaliating against someone who has committed a wrong. In some languages it may be rendered “Do not repay evil for evil” or something similar.

Bear any grudge against: New English Bible has “cherish anger towards.” The idea is one of holding inside a feeling of dislike for another person over a long period of time without expressing the feeling. Some languages will have a single verb to convey this idea, but in others it will require a longer expression. There seems to be very little difference between this and the verb translated “hate” by Revised Standard Version in verse 17.

The sons of your own people: this is yet another expression that should probably be taken in its most general sense, referring to fellow members of the Israelite community. Probably there is no difference in meaning between this and the word translated neighbor in the second part of the verse. On the use of “sons of…,” see 1.5.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself: as quoted in the New Testament (Matt 22.39; Rom 13.9; James 2.8), this is taken to mean “as you love yourself,” but in this context some scholars have interpreted it to mean “as a man like yourself” (New English Bible) or “as one of your own” (An American Translation). However, the more traditional understanding of this expression is probably the correct one.

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 .