Exodus 34:13

Posted on March 25, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

13 sed aras eorum destrue, confringe statuas, lucosque succide:

but their altars you shall destroy, you shall break their statues, and their groves you shall cut down;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 sed but CONJ
2 aras altars ACC.PL.F 1ST DECL
3 eorum their GEN.PL.M 3RD.PERS.PRON
4 destrue destroy 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP 3RD CONJ
5 confringe break 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP 3RD CONJ
6 statuas statues ACC.PL.F 1ST DECL
7 lucosque and groves ACC.PL.M 2ND DECL + ENCLITIC
8 succide cut down 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP 3RD CONJ

Syntax

Coordinated Imperative Commands:
Four imperatives govern the structure:

1. destrue — “destroy”
2. confringe — “break”
3. succide — “cut down”

Each has its own direct object:

• aras eorum — “their altars”
• statuas — “statues”
• lucosque — “and groves,” with enclitic -que attaching to lucos

sed introduces the contrast with the preceding prohibition clause, marking the shift from forbidding alliances to commanding destructive action against idolatrous structures.

Morphology

  1. sed — Lemma: sed; Part of Speech: coordinating conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces a contrasting commandment; Translation: but; Notes: marks strong contrast between the forbidden alliances and the required destruction of idolatrous objects.
  2. aras — Lemma: ara; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine, first declension; Function: direct object of destrue; Translation: altars; Notes: refers specifically to pagan sacrificial altars.
  3. eorum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: personal/demonstrative pronoun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: possessive modifier of aras; Translation: their; Notes: identifies the altars as belonging to the inhabitants previously mentioned.
  4. destrue — Lemma: destruō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person singular present active imperative; Function: first imperative command; Translation: destroy; Notes: one of several destructive imperatives targeting idolatrous objects.
  5. confringe — Lemma: confringō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person singular present active imperative; Function: imperative command coordinating with destrue; Translation: break; Notes: emphasizes physical demolition of cultic objects.
  6. statuas — Lemma: statua; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine, first declension; Function: direct object of confringe; Translation: statues; Notes: idols or cultic images forbidden by the covenant.
  7. lucosque — Lemma: lucus; Part of Speech: noun with enclitic; Form: accusative plural masculine, second declension; Function: direct object of succide, connected with enclitic -que; Translation: and groves; Notes: sacred groves common in pagan worship; enclitic -que joins this object to the preceding list.
  8. succide — Lemma: succīdō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person singular present active imperative; Function: final imperative command; Translation: cut down; Notes: emphasizes total removal of idolatrous sites.

 

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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