Imamat 1:15

1:15 The priest must present it at the altar, pinch off ¹  its head and offer the head ²  up in smoke on the altar, and its blood must be drained out against the side of the altar.

Imamat 13:33

13:33 then the individual is to shave himself, ³  but he must not shave the area affected by the scall, ⁴  and the priest is to quarantine the person with the scall for another seven days. ⁵ 

Imamat 26:30

26:30 I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars, ⁶  and I will stack your dead bodies on top of the lifeless bodies of your idols. ⁷  I will abhor you. ⁸ 

[1:15]  ¹ tn The action here seems to involve both a twisting action, breaking the neck of the bird and severing its vertebrae, as well as pinching or nipping the skin to sever the head from the main body. Cf. NASB, NRSV “wring off its head”; NAB “snap its head loose”; NLT “twist off its head.”

[1:15]  ² tn Many English versions have “it” here, referring to the head of the bird, which the priest immediately tossed on the altar fire. However, “it” could be misunderstood to refer to the bird’s body, so “head” is repeated in the present translation for clarity. As the following lines show, certain things needed to be done to the body of the bird before it could be placed on the altar.

[13:33]  ³ tn The shaving is done by the one who has the infection. Although KJV, ASV have the passive “he shall be shaven” here, most modern English versions have the reflexive “shall shave himself” (so NAB).

[13:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “but the scall shall he not shave” (so KJV, ASV); NIV “except for the diseased area.”

[13:33]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the priest will shut up the scall a second seven days.”

[26:30]  ⁶ sn Regarding these cultic installations, see the remarks in B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 188, and R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:903. The term rendered “incense altars” might better be rendered “sanctuaries [of foreign deities]” or “stelae.”

[26:30]  ⁷ tn The translation reflects the Hebrew wordplay “your corpses…the corpses of your idols.” Since idols, being lifeless, do not really have “corpses,” the translation uses “dead bodies” for people and “lifeless bodies” for the idols.

[26:30]  ⁸ tn Heb “and my soul will abhor you.”