Leviticus 26:8

Posted on April 26, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 26:8 persequentur quinque de vestris centum alienos, et centum de vobis decem millia: cadent inimici vestri gladio in conspectu vestro.

Five of yours will pursue a hundred foreigners, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand; your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 persequentur will pursue 3PL.FUT.IND.DEP
2 quinque five NUM.INDECL
3 de from PREP+ABL
4 vestris yours ABL.PL.M.POSS.ADJ
5 centum a hundred NUM.INDECL
6 alienos foreigners ACC.PL.M.ADJ
7 et and CONJ
8 centum a hundred NUM.INDECL
9 de from PREP+ABL
10 vobis you ABL.PL.PERS.PRON
11 decem ten NUM.INDECL
12 millia thousand ACC.PL.N.2ND.DECL
13 cadent will fall 3PL.FUT.IND.ACT
14 inimici enemies NOM.PL.M.2ND.DECL
15 vestri your NOM.PL.M.POSS.ADJ
16 gladio by the sword ABL.SG.M.2ND.DECL
17 in in PREP+ABL
18 conspectu presence ABL.SG.M.4TH.DECL
19 vestro your ABL.SG.M.POSS.ADJ

Syntax

First Promise: persequentur quinque de vestris centum alienos — deponent future with partitive construction expressing disproportionate victory.
Escalated Parallel: centum de vobis decem millia — numerical amplification reinforcing divine empowerment.
Outcome Clause: cadent inimici vestri gladio — future indicative declaring decisive defeat.
Locative Phrase: in conspectu vestro — victory occurs openly, before the people.

Morphology

  1. persequentur — Lemma: persequor; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural future indicative deponent; Function: main verb; Translation: will pursue; Notes: Deponent with active sense, stressing assured action.
  2. quinque — Lemma: quinque; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: subject with partitive phrase; Translation: five; Notes: Small number highlighting imbalance.
  3. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: partitive; Translation: from; Notes: Indicates subset.
  4. vestris — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: object of de; Translation: yours; Notes: Refers to members of the community.
  5. centum — Lemma: centum; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: object of pursuit; Translation: a hundred; Notes: Magnifies disparity.
  6. alienos — Lemma: alienus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies centum; Translation: foreigners; Notes: Non-covenant opponents.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: and; Notes: Links parallel statements.
  8. centum — Lemma: centum; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: subject with partitive phrase; Translation: a hundred; Notes: Escalates the pattern.
  9. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: partitive; Translation: from; Notes: Indicates subset.
  10. vobis — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: ablative plural; Function: object of de; Translation: you; Notes: Addresses the people directly.
  11. decem — Lemma: decem; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifier; Translation: ten; Notes: Forms a compound numeral.
  12. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter, second declension; Function: object of pursuit; Translation: thousand; Notes: Extreme numerical contrast.
  13. cadent — Lemma: cado; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural future indicative active; Function: main verb; Translation: will fall; Notes: Idiom for defeat.
  14. inimici — Lemma: inimicus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine, second declension; Function: subject; Translation: enemies; Notes: Hostile forces opposed to the people.
  15. vestri — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies inimici; Translation: your; Notes: Personalizes the threat and victory.
  16. gladio — Lemma: gladius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine, second declension; Function: ablative of means; Translation: by the sword; Notes: Instrument of warfare.
  17. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: location; Translation: in; Notes: Spatial relation.
  18. conspectu — Lemma: conspectus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine, fourth declension; Function: object of in; Translation: presence; Notes: Public visibility of victory.
  19. vestro — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies conspectu; Translation: your; Notes: Victory witnessed by the people.

 

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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