Exodus 5:11

Posted on February 24, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 5:11 ite, et colligite sicubi invenire poteritis, nec minuetur quidquam de opere vestro.

go, and gather wherever you shall be able to find, nor shall anything be diminished from your work.’”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 ite go 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
2 et and CONJ
3 colligite gather 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
4 sicubi wherever ADV
5 invenire to find PRES.ACT.INF
6 poteritis you shall be able 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
7 nec nor CONJ
8 minuetur shall be diminished 3SG.FUT.PASS.IND
9 quidquam anything ACC.SG.N.INDEF
10 de from PREP+ABL
11 opere work ABL.SG.N
12 vestro your ABL.SG.N

Syntax

Imperatives:
• ite — command of movement.
• colligite — command of labor.

Indefinite clause: sicubi invenire poteritis — “wherever you shall be able to find,” expressing unrestricted location.

Negative future: nec minuetur quidquam — prohibition framed as future passive indicative (“nothing will be reduced”).

Prepositional phrase: de opere vestro — refers to the required output; no reduction allowed.

Overall structure: Harsh instruction demanding Israelites find their own materials, while maintaining full brick quota.

Morphology

  1. ite — Lemma: eo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present active imperative; Function: direct command; Translation: go; Notes: plural order addressed to the workers.
  2. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links two imperatives; Translation: and; Notes: equal force linkage.
  3. colligite — Lemma: colligo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present active imperative; Function: command; Translation: gather; Notes: refers to collecting stubble for bricks.
  4. sicubi — Lemma: sicubi; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indefinite locative; Function: introduces a general condition; Translation: wherever; Notes: expands the search area without restriction.
  5. invenire — Lemma: invenio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: complements poteritis; Translation: to find; Notes: expresses capacity/possibility.
  6. poteritis — Lemma: possum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural future active indicative; Function: verb of capability; Translation: you shall be able; Notes: future tense underscores expectation.
  7. nec — Lemma: nec; Part of Speech: conjunction; Function: introduces negative addition; Translation: nor; Notes: joins two prohibitive thoughts.
  8. minuetur — Lemma: minuo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future passive indicative; Function: main verb of negative future assertion; Translation: shall be diminished; Notes: passive form stresses the unchanging quota.
  9. quidquam — Lemma: quidquam; Part of Speech: indefinite pronoun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of minuetur; Translation: anything; Notes: expresses absolute degree.
  10. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses separation or deduction; Translation: from; Notes: introduces area from which reduction is forbidden.
  11. opere — Lemma: opus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of de; Translation: work; Notes: refers to imposed production target.
  12. vestro — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: modifies opere; Translation: your; Notes: indicates the Israelites’ assigned labor.

About Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Born around 346 A.D. in Stridon, St. Jerome was a scholar fluent in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew whose ascetic discipline and deep engagement with Scripture prepared him for a monumental task: translating the Bible into Latin. Commissioned by Pope Damasus I around 382 A.D., Jerome began by revising the flawed Old Latin Gospels, then expanded his work to the entire Bible. For the New Testament, he corrected Latin texts using Greek manuscripts; for the Old Testament, he translated most books directly from Hebrew—a controversial but principled choice. His final Psalter, however, followed the Greek Septuagint tradition for liturgical use. This composite translation, later known as the Vulgate (editio vulgata), became the authoritative biblical text of the Western Church, formally endorsed at the Council of Trent in 1546. The Vulgate’s influence extends beyond theology into textual criticism and Latin education. As one of the earliest translations grounded in original-language scholarship, it offers a vital witness to the state of biblical texts in late antiquity. Jerome’s lexical and syntactic decisions are studied to trace manuscript history and assess variant readings. Its elegant Latin, consistent in grammar and rich in vocabulary, became a model for medieval and Renaissance learning, bridging classical and ecclesiastical Latin. More than a translation, the Vulgate helped define Christian doctrine, preserved the Latin language, and laid essential groundwork for the critical study of Scripture—remaining indispensable to students of Latin, theology, and textual history.
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