Leviticus 18:5

Posted on April 18, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 18:5 Custodite leges meas atque iudicia, quæ faciens homo, vivet in eis. Ego Dominus.

Keep my statutes and my judgments, which a man doing them, shall live in them. I am the LORD.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Custodite keep 2PL.PRES.IMP.MOOD.ACT
2 leges laws ACC.PL.F
3 meas my ACC.PL.F.PRON.POSS
4 atque and-also CONJ
5 iudicia judgments ACC.PL.N
6 quæ which ACC.PL.N.REL
7 faciens doing NOM.SG.M.PTCP.PRES.ACT
8 homo man NOM.SG.M
9 vivet will-live 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
10 in in PREP+ABL
11 eis them ABL.PL.PRON.PERS
12 Ego I NOM.SG.PRON.PERS
13 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M

Syntax

Main Command: Custodite — direct imperative addressed to the people
Direct Objects: leges meas + iudicia — divine statutes and judgments
Relative Clause: quæ faciens homo — defining the ordinances by human obedience
Main Result: vivet — consequence of faithful observance
Prepositional Sphere: in eis — life found within the statutes
Authority Clause: Ego Dominus — covenantal self-identification grounding the command

Morphology

  1. Custodite — Lemma: custodio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present imperative active; Function: command; Translation: keep; Notes: Ongoing obligation of careful observance.
  2. leges — Lemma: lex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine plural, third declension; Function: direct object; Translation: laws; Notes: Binding statutes.
  3. meas — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: accusative feminine plural; Function: modifies leges; Translation: my; Notes: Indicates divine origin.
  4. atque — Lemma: atque; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: and also; Notes: Strong connective joining parallel items.
  5. iudicia — Lemma: iudicium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative neuter plural, second declension; Function: direct object; Translation: judgments; Notes: Judicial decisions and ordinances.
  6. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative neuter plural; Function: object of faciens; Translation: which; Notes: Refers to statutes and judgments.
  7. faciens — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative masculine singular present active participle; Function: circumstantial participle; Translation: doing; Notes: Expresses habitual obedience.
  8. homo — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular, third declension; Function: subject; Translation: man; Notes: Generic human subject.
  9. vivet — Lemma: vivo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future indicative active; Function: main predicate; Translation: will live; Notes: Life promised as covenantal result.
  10. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing ablative; Function: sphere; Translation: in; Notes: Indicates domain of life.
  11. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: ablative plural; Function: object of in; Translation: them; Notes: Refers back to the statutes and judgments.
  12. Ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: emphatic subject; Translation: I; Notes: Emphasizes divine speaker.
  13. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular, second declension; Function: predicate noun; Translation: LORD; Notes: Refers to YHWH.

 

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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