Leviticus 1:16-17

1:16 Then the priest ¹  must remove its entrails by cutting off its tail feathers, ²  and throw them ³  to the east side of the altar into the place of fatty ashes, 1:17 and tear it open by its wings without dividing it into two parts. ⁴  Finally, the priest must offer it up in smoke on the altar on the wood which is in the fire – it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.

[1:16]  ¹ tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (apparently still the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ² tn This translation (“remove its entrails by [cutting off] its tail feathers”) is based on the discussion in J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:169-71, although he translates, “remove its crissum by its feathers.” Others possibilities include “its crop with its contents” (Tg. Onq., cf. NIV, NRSV; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 23) or “its crop with its feathers” (LXX, NASB, RSV; “crop” refers to the enlarged part of a bird’s gullet that serves a pouch for the preliminary maceration of food).

[1:16]  ³ tn The pronoun “them” here is feminine singular in Hebrew and refers collectively to the entrails and tail wing which have been removed.

[1:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “he shall not divide it.” Several Hebrew mss, Smr, LXX, and Syriac have a vav on the negative, yielding the translation, “but he shall not divide it into two parts.” Cf. NIV “not severing it completely” (NRSV similar).