Exodus 23:9

Posted on March 14, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 23:9 Peregrino molestus non eris. scitis enim advenarum animas: quia et ipsi peregrini fuistis in Terra Ægypti.

You shall not be troublesome to the foreigner. For you yourselves know the souls of sojourners, because you also were foreigners in the Land of Egypt.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Peregrino to the foreigner DAT.SG.M 2ND DECL
2 molestus troublesome NOM.SG.M ADJ POS 2ND DECL
3 non not ADV
4 eris you will be 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
5 scitis you know 2PL.PRES.ACT.IND
6 enim for CONJ
7 advenarum of sojourners GEN.PL.M 2ND DECL
8 animas souls ACC.PL.F 1ST DECL
9 quia because CONJ
10 et also CONJ
11 ipsi you yourselves NOM.PL.M PRON DEM
12 peregrini foreigners NOM.PL.M 2ND DECL
13 fuistis you were 2PL.PERF.ACT.IND
14 in in PREP+ABL
15 Terra land ABL.SG.F 1ST DECL
16 Ægypti of Egypt GEN.SG.F 1ST DECL (proper)

Syntax

Main Clause: Peregrino molestus non eris — “You shall not be troublesome to the foreigner,” with Peregrino as the dative of disadvantage and molestus as the predicate adjective.

Explanatory Clause: scitis enim advenarum animas — “for you know the souls of sojourners,” meaning “you know the inner life and hardship of foreigners.”

Causal Clause: quia et ipsi peregrini fuistis in Terra Ægypti — “because you also were foreigners in the land of Egypt,” grounding the command in Israel’s past experience.

Morphology

  1. Peregrino — Lemma: peregrinus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: dative of disadvantage; Translation: to the foreigner; Notes: indicates the person who must not be mistreated.
  2. molestus — Lemma: molestus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: predicate adjective with eris; Translation: troublesome; Notes: describes the prohibited behavior.
  3. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: negation; Translation: not; Notes: negates the future indicative command.
  4. eris — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative, 2nd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: you will be; Notes: future indicative used as legal prohibition.
  5. scitis — Lemma: scio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, 2nd person plural; Function: main verb of explanatory clause; Translation: you know; Notes: appeals to shared experience.
  6. enim — Lemma: enim; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: explanatory particle; Translation: for; Notes: gives the basis for the prohibition.
  7. advenarum — Lemma: advena; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine, 2nd declension; Function: possessive genitive with animas; Translation: of sojourners; Notes: expresses whose “souls” are known.
  8. animas — Lemma: anima; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine, 1st declension; Function: object of scitis; Translation: souls; Notes: idiomatically means “inner life,” “experience,” or “condition.”
  9. quia — Lemma: quia; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces causal clause; Translation: because; Notes: explains Israel’s obligation.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: intensifier of inclusion; Translation: also; Notes: emphasizes shared experience.
  11. ipsi — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject modifier; Translation: you yourselves; Notes: adds emphasis to the subject.
  12. peregrini — Lemma: peregrinus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine, 2nd declension; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: foreigners; Notes: identifies Israel’s former status.
  13. fuistis — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 2nd person plural; Function: verb of causal clause; Translation: you were; Notes: refers to Israel’s historical experience in Egypt.
  14. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: spatial marker; Translation: in; Notes: introduces the location.
  15. Terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine, 1st declension; Function: object of in; Translation: land; Notes: part of a fixed geographic phrase.
  16. Ægypti — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of place; Translation: of Egypt; Notes: specifies which land.

 

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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