Exodus 34:16

Posted on March 25, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

16 Nec uxorem de filiabus eorum accipies filiis tuis: ne, postquam ipsæ fuerint fornicatæ, fornicari faciant et filios tuos in deos suos.

Nor shall you take a wife from their daughters for your sons, lest, after they themselves have prostituted themselves, they cause your sons also to prostitute themselves to their gods.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Nec nor CONJ
2 uxorem wife ACC.SG.F 3RD DECL
3 de from PREP+ABL
4 filiabus daughters ABL.PL.F 1ST DECL (IRREG FORM)
5 eorum their GEN.PL.M PERS.PRON
6 accipies you shall take 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND 3RD CONJ
7 filiis for (your) sons DAT.PL.M 2ND DECL
8 tuis your DAT.PL.M POSS.PRON
9 ne lest CONJ
10 postquam after CONJ (TEMPORAL)
11 ipsæ they themselves NOM.PL.F PERS.PRON
12 fuerint they shall have been 3PL.FUTP.ACT.IND IRREG
13 fornicatæ having prostituted themselves NOM.PL.F PERF.PASS.PTCP DEP
14 fornicari to prostitute PRES.PASS.INF DEP
15 faciant they make 3PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ 3RD CONJ
16 et and CONJ
17 filios sons ACC.PL.M 2ND DECL
18 tuos your ACC.PL.M POSS.PRON
19 in to / into PREP+ACC
20 deos gods ACC.PL.M 2ND DECL
21 suos their ACC.PL.M POSS.PRON

Syntax

Main Prohibition:
Nec uxorem … accipies filiis tuis — “Nor shall you take a wife … for your sons.”
• uxorem = direct object.
• filiis tuis = dative of advantage.
• de filiabus eorum = ablative of source.

Negative Purpose Clause:
ne … fornicari faciant — “lest they cause your sons to prostitute themselves.”
• faciant governs complementary infinitive fornicari.

Temporal Clause:
postquam ipsæ fuerint fornicatæ
— “after they themselves have prostituted themselves.”
• Perfect periphrastic future indicating completed idolatry prior to corrupting Israel.

Final Result:
in deos suos — “to their gods.”
• Expresses direction and spiritual defection.

Morphology

  1. Nec — Lemma: nec; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connects prohibitions; Translation: nor; Notes: continues the series of covenant restrictions.
  2. uxorem — Lemma: uxor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine, third declension; Function: direct object of accipies; Translation: wife; Notes: marriage alliance causing covenantal danger.
  3. de — Lemma: dē; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: source; Translation: from; Notes: indicates origin.
  4. filiabus — Lemma: fīlia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine, first declension (irregular form: filiabus instead of filiis to avoid ambiguity with filiis ‘sons’); Function: ablative of source; Translation: daughters; Notes: special form in Latin.
  5. eorum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: possession; Translation: their; Notes: refers to foreign peoples.
  6. accipies — Lemma: accipiō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: you shall take; Notes: covenant law directive.
  7. filiis — Lemma: fīlius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative plural masculine, second declension; Function: indirect object of accipies; Translation: for (your) sons; Notes: denotes beneficiaries.
  8. tuis — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: modifies filiis; Translation: your; Notes: emphatic.
  9. ne — Lemma: nē; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces negative purpose clause; Translation: lest; Notes: expresses feared outcome.
  10. postquam — Lemma: postquam; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces a temporal clause; Translation: after; Notes: requires perfect/periphrastic constructions.
  11. ipsæ — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: intensive pronoun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject; Translation: they themselves; Notes: emphatic contrast with Israel.
  12. fuerint — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural future perfect active indicative; Function: auxiliary for periphrastic perfect; Translation: they shall have been; Notes: indicates completed prior action.
  13. fornicatæ — Lemma: fornicor; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: nominative plural feminine perfect passive participle (active meaning); Function: predicate in periphrastic construction; Translation: having prostituted themselves; Notes: metaphor for idolatry.
  14. fornicari — Lemma: fornicor; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present passive infinitive (active meaning in deponents); Function: complementary infinitive of faciant; Translation: to prostitute; Notes: moral corruption applied metaphorically.
  15. faciant — Lemma: faciō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural present active subjunctive; Function: verb of negative purpose clause; Translation: they make; Notes: subjunctive expresses possible consequence.
  16. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connects objects; Translation: and; Notes: simple connective.
  17. filios — Lemma: fīlius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine, second declension; Function: direct object of faciant; Translation: sons; Notes: refers to Israelite sons.
  18. tuos — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies filios; Translation: your; Notes: emphasizes familial risk.
  19. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses direction; Translation: to; Notes: movement toward foreign gods.
  20. deos — Lemma: deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine, second declension; Function: object of in; Translation: gods; Notes: pagan deities.
  21. suos — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies deos; Translation: their; Notes: reflexive to foreign women.

 

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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