Leviticus 23:3

Posted on April 23, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

3 Sex diebus facietis opus: dies septimus, quia sabbati requies est, vocabitur sanctus. omne opus non facietis in eo. sabbatum Domini est in cunctis habitationibus vestris.

For six days you shall do work; the seventh day, because it is the rest of the sabbath, shall be called holy. You shall do no work in it. It is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Sex six INDECL.NUM
2 diebus days ABL.PL.M
3 facietis you shall do 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
4 opus work ACC.SG.N
5 dies day NOM.SG.M
6 septimus seventh NOM.SG.M.ADJ
7 quia because CONJ
8 sabbati of the sabbath GEN.SG.N
9 requies rest NOM.SG.F
10 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
11 vocabitur shall be called 3SG.FUT.PASS.IND
12 sanctus holy NOM.SG.M.ADJ
13 omne all ACC.SG.N.ADJ
14 opus work ACC.SG.N
15 non not ADV
16 facietis you shall do 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
17 in in PREP+ABL
18 eo it ABL.SG.M.DEM
19 sabbatum sabbath NOM.SG.N
20 Domini of the LORD GEN.SG.M
21 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
22 in in PREP+ABL
23 cunctis all ABL.PL.F.ADJ
24 habitationibus dwellings ABL.PL.F
25 vestris your ABL.PL.F.POSS

Syntax

Temporal Framework: Sex diebus facietis opus — ablative of time setting the normal work period with a legislative future.
Designation Clause: dies septimus, quia sabbati requies est, vocabitur sanctus — nominative subject with causal explanation and future passive naming.
Absolute Prohibition: omne opus non facietis in eo — total ban on work for the specified day.
Identity Statement: sabbatum Domini est — defines ownership and sacred status.
Scope of Observance: in cunctis habitationibus vestris — universal application across all dwellings.

Morphology

  1. Sex — Lemma: sex; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies diebus; Translation: “six”; Notes: Fixed numeral.
  2. diebus — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative masculine plural; Function: ablative of time; Translation: “days”; Notes: Sets the work period.
  3. facietis — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: second person plural future active indicative; Function: principal verb; Translation: “you shall do”; Notes: Legislative future.
  4. opus — Lemma: opus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative neuter singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “work”; Notes: General labor.
  5. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject; Translation: “day”; Notes: Introduces the exception.
  6. septimus — Lemma: septimus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: modifies dies; Translation: “seventh”; Notes: Ordinal marker.
  7. quia — Lemma: quia; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: causal; Translation: “because”; Notes: Gives rationale.
  8. sabbati — Lemma: sabbatum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive neuter singular; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of the sabbath”; Notes: Specifies the kind of rest.
  9. requies — Lemma: requies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative feminine singular; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “rest”; Notes: Core concept of cessation.
  10. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: copula; Translation: “is”; Notes: States identity.
  11. vocabitur — Lemma: voco; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular future passive indicative; Function: naming action; Translation: “shall be called”; Notes: Formal designation.
  12. sanctus — Lemma: sanctus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “holy”; Notes: Ritual consecration.
  13. omne — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: accusative neuter singular; Function: modifies opus; Translation: “all”; Notes: Exhaustive scope.
  14. opus — Lemma: opus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative neuter singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “work”; Notes: Repeated for emphasis.
  15. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: Absolute prohibition.
  16. facietis — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: second person plural future active indicative; Function: prohibition verb; Translation: “you shall do”; Notes: Legislative future.
  17. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: location/time; Translation: “in”; Notes: Specifies the day.
  18. eo — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: ablative masculine singular; Function: object of in; Translation: “it”; Notes: Refers to the seventh day.
  19. sabbatum — Lemma: sabbatum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative neuter singular; Function: subject; Translation: “sabbath”; Notes: Sacred day of rest.
  20. Domini — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of the LORD”; Notes: Refers to YHWH.
  21. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: copula; Translation: “is”; Notes: Identity statement.
  22. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: location; Translation: “in”; Notes: Scope marker.
  23. cunctis — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: ablative feminine plural; Function: modifies habitationibus; Translation: “all”; Notes: Universal inclusion.
  24. habitationibus — Lemma: habitatio; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative feminine plural; Function: object of in; Translation: “dwellings”; Notes: Places of residence.
  25. vestris — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: Possessive adjective; Form: ablative feminine plural; Function: modifies habitationibus; Translation: “your”; Notes: Addresses the covenant community.

 

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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