UTN uW Translation Notes:

Leviticus 19 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

This chapter contains various laws about how to live a holy life. The structure of this chapter is as follows:

1. Basic rules about holiness (19:1–8)
2. Laws about treating others fairly (19:9–18)
3. Various other laws (19:19–37)
   1. Laws about mixing things (19:19)
   2. Laws about sexual purity (19:20–22)
   3. Laws about food and worship (19:23–31)
   4. Laws about respecting others (19:32–37)

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Holiness in daily life

This chapter shows that being holy means:

• Being fair in business
• Helping poor people
• Respecting parents and elderly people
• Being honest in court
• Using correct measurements
• Not spreading rumors

Treatment of others

The chapter gives rules about:

• Leaving food for poor people to gather
• Paying workers on time
• Being fair to everyone in court
• Not hating others secretly
• Loving neighbors
• Respecting the elderly

Proper worship

The chapter includes rules about:

• Keeping the Sabbath
• Not worshiping idols
• Proper sacrifices
• Not consulting fortune-tellers
• Not following pagan practices

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Metaphors and figures of speech

The chapter uses several word pictures that might be hard to translate:

• “Turn to idols” means “start worshiping idols”
• “Hate in your heart” means “continue to hate”
• “The land will practice prostitution” means “the people will become unfaithful”
• “Carry his iniquity” means “be responsible for his sin”

Special terms for measurements

The chapter mentions specific measurements that might need explanation:

• “Ephah”, a measurement for dry things like grain
• “Hin”, a measurement for liquids

Your language might need to use general terms like “measure” or explain these in a note.

Double negatives and emphasis

Some commands use special ways to make them stronger:

• “Not do injustice” means “always judge fairly”
• “Keep and do” means the same thing, repeated for emphasis
• “Poor and great” means “anyone, regardless of wealth”

(See: holy, righteous, and justice)