OET interlinear NUM 8:25

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

וּ⁠מִ⁠בֶּן֙ חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה יָשׁ֖וּב מִ⁠צְּבָ֣א הָ⁠עֲבֹדָ֑ה וְ⁠לֹ֥א יַעֲבֹ֖ד עֽוֹד

and,from,a_son_of fifty year retire from,the_service_of of,the_service and=not serve again/more

Yahweh is not referring to a specific Levite. He means Levites who meet this qualification in general. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use an expression that would be more natural in your language. See how you chose to translate [8:24](../08/24.md). Alternate translation: [And from sons of 50 years old they shall return from the army of service, and they shall not serve more]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

וּ⁠מִ⁠בֶּן֙ חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה יָשׁ֖וּב

and,from,a_son_of fifty year retire

The phrase a son of 50 years is a common expression of this culture that means that a person has the characteristic of being at least 50 years old. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use an equivalent expression from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [Those who are 50 years old or older shall return] or [Those aged 50 and above shall return]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

יָשׁ֖וּב מִ⁠צְּבָ֣א

retire from,the_service_of

Yahweh is using he shall return from the army as a common expression of this culture to mean “he cannot be in the army.” If this phrase does not have that meaning in your language, you could use a comparable expression from your language that does have that meaning, or you could state the meaning plainly. See how you translated the opposite figure of speech in [8:24](../08/24.md). Alternate translation: [he cannot be in the army]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

מִ⁠צְּבָ֣א הָ⁠עֲבֹדָ֑ה

from,the_service_of of,the_service

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the idea of service, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [from the army that serves]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מִ⁠צְּבָ֣א הָ⁠עֲבֹדָ֑ה

from,the_service_of of,the_service

Here, Yahweh is speaking of the group of workers as if it were an army. Your language may have a comparable expression that you can use in your translation, or you could state the meaning plainly. See how you translated the similar figure of speech in [8:24](../08/24.md). Alternate translation: [from being part of the group of workers for]