Exodus 20:6

Posted on March 11, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 20:6 et faciens misericordiam in millia his qui diligunt me, et custodiunt præcepta mea.

and showing mercy to thousands for those who love Me and keep My commandments.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 et and CONJ INDECL
2 faciens doing / showing PRES.ACT.PTCP.NOM.SG.M
3 misericordiam mercy ACC.SG.F 1ST DECL
4 in to / unto PREP+ACC
5 millia thousands ACC.PL.N 3RD DECL
6 his for those DAT.PL.M/N PRON.DEM
7 qui who NOM.PL.M PRON.REL
8 diligunt love 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
9 me me ACC.SG.PERS
10 et and CONJ INDECL
11 custodiunt keep 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
12 præcepta commandments ACC.PL.N 2ND DECL
13 mea my ACC.PL.N POSS

Syntax

Participial Clause: faciens misericordiam describes the continuing divine action: “showing mercy.”

Prepositional Phrase: in millia — expresses extent: “to thousands.”

Relative Clause: qui diligunt me, et custodiunt præcepta mea characterizes the beneficiaries of divine mercy.

Morphology

  1. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connects this clause to the previous one; Translation: “and”; Notes: Standard connective.
  2. faciens — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies the implied subject (Dominus Deus); Translation: “showing / doing”; Notes: Expresses continuous divine action.
  3. misericordiam — Lemma: misericordia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine, 1st declension; Function: direct object of faciens; Translation: “mercy”; Notes: The virtue shown to the obedient.
  4. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses extent; Translation: “to / unto”; Notes: Different nuance than locative in with ablative.
  5. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of in; Translation: “thousands”; Notes: Used idiomatically for multitudes.
  6. his — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: dative plural masculine/neuter; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to those”; Notes: Refers to those described in the following clause.
  7. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to his.
  8. diligunt — Lemma: diligo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third person plural; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “love”; Notes: Indicates covenant loyalty.
  9. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of diligunt; Translation: “me”; Notes: Refers to the LORD.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: links coordinated verbs; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects the two marks of covenant love.
  11. custodiunt — Lemma: custodio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third person plural; Function: second verb of the relative clause; Translation: “keep”; Notes: Common verb for observing commandments.
  12. præcepta — Lemma: præceptum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter, 2nd declension; Function: direct object of custodiunt; Translation: “commandments”; Notes: Refers specifically to divine statutes.
  13. mea — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: modifies præcepta; Translation: “my”; Notes: Completes the object phrase.

 

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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