Genesis 19:14

Posted on January 19, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 19:14 Egressus itaque Lot, locutus est ad generos suos qui accepturi erant filias eius, et dixit: Surgite, egredimini de loco isto: quia delebit Dominus civitatem hanc. Et visus est eis quasi ludens loqui.

So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were to take his daughters, and said: “Rise up, go out from this place, for the LORD will destroy this city.” But he seemed to them as one speaking in jest.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Egressus having gone out NOM.SG.M.PERF.PART.DEP
2 itaque therefore / so CONJ
3 Lot Lot NOM.SG.M
4 locutus est spoke 3SG.PERF.DEP.IND
5 ad to PREP+ACC
6 generos sons-in-law ACC.PL.M
7 suos his ACC.PL.M.POSS.ADJ
8 qui who NOM.PL.M.REL.PRON
9 accepturi about to take NOM.PL.M.FUT.PART.ACT
10 erant were 3PL.IMPF.ACT.IND
11 filias daughters ACC.PL.F
12 eius his GEN.SG.M.PRON
13 et and CONJ
14 dixit said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
15 Surgite rise up 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
16 egredimini go out 2PL.PRES.DEP.IMP
17 de from / out of PREP+ABL
18 loco place ABL.SG.M
19 isto this ABL.SG.M.DEM.PRON
20 quia because CONJ
21 delebit will destroy 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
22 Dominus the LORD NOM.SG.M
23 civitatem city ACC.SG.F
24 hanc this ACC.SG.F.DEM.PRON
25 Et and / but CONJ
26 visus seemed NOM.SG.M.PERF.PART.PASS
27 est was 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
28 eis to them DAT.PL.M.PRON
29 quasi as if ADV
30 ludens joking / playing NOM.SG.M.PRES.PART.ACT
31 loqueretur were speaking 3SG.IMPF.DEP.SUBJ
32 loqui to speak PRES.DEP.INF

Syntax

Main Clause: Egressus itaque Lot, locutus est ad generos suos — The participle Egressus denotes antecedent action (“having gone out”). The deponent locutus est forms the main predicate: “spoke to his sons-in-law.”
Relative Clause: qui accepturi erant filias eius — A periphrastic future expressing intent: “who were about to take his daughters.” This phrase identifies the intended family relations.
Direct Speech: Surgite, egredimini de loco isto — Imperatives commanding haste and departure from danger. The prepositional phrase de loco isto marks separation.
Causal Clause: quia delebit Dominus civitatem hanc — Explains the necessity of escape: “because the LORD will destroy this city.”
Result Clause: Et visus est eis quasi ludens loqui — Literally “And he appeared to them as if joking while speaking.” visus est governs the infinitive loqui, expressing perceived speech. The imperfect subjunctive loqueretur (variant reading) underlines ongoing perception of mockery.

Morphology

  1. Egressus — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: verb (deponent participle); Form: perfect participle, nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies “Lot”; Translation: “having gone out”; Notes: Marks transition to action outside his house.
  2. itaque — Lemma: itaque; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: introduces consequence; Translation: “so / therefore”; Notes: Logical progression in the narrative.
  3. Lot — Lemma: Lot; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Lot”; Notes: Central figure of this event.
  4. locutus est — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: verb (deponent); Form: perfect deponent indicative, third person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “spoke”; Notes: Deponent form with active meaning.
  5. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: marks recipient; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces the object of address.
  6. generos — Lemma: gener; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of “ad”; Translation: “sons-in-law”; Notes: Indicates family members warned by Lot.
  7. suos — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies “generos”; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive to Lot as subject.
  8. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces identifying clause.
  9. accepturi — Lemma: accipio; Part of Speech: verb participle; Form: nominative plural masculine, future active participle; Function: predicate of periphrastic; Translation: “about to take”; Notes: Denotes intention of marriage.
  10. erant — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect indicative, third person plural; Function: auxiliary in periphrasis; Translation: “were”; Notes: Creates continuous state of expectation.
  11. filias — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of “accepturi erant”; Translation: “daughters”; Notes: Lot’s unmarried daughters.
  12. eius — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers back to Lot.
  13. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: introduces direct speech; Translation: “and”; Notes: Signals quotation.
  14. dixit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, third person singular; Function: verb of speaking; Translation: “said”; Notes: Introduces the quoted exhortation.
  15. Surgite — Lemma: surgo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active imperative, second person plural; Function: imperative command; Translation: “rise up”; Notes: Urgent call to act immediately.
  16. egredimini — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: verb (deponent); Form: present deponent imperative, second person plural; Function: imperative; Translation: “go out”; Notes: Urgent warning of imminent destruction.
  17. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses motion from; Translation: “from / out of”; Notes: Spatial separation.
  18. loco — Lemma: locus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of “de”; Translation: “place”; Notes: Refers to the doomed city Sodom.
  19. isto — Lemma: iste; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies “loco”; Translation: “this”; Notes: Emphasizes nearness and immediacy.
  20. quia — Lemma: quia; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: subordinating; Function: introduces cause; Translation: “because”; Notes: Connects to divine judgment reason.
  21. delebit — Lemma: deleo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative, third person singular; Function: main verb of subordinate clause; Translation: “will destroy”; Notes: Declares future certainty of divine action.
  22. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “delebit”; Translation: “the LORD”; Notes: Refers to YHWH, the divine judge.
  23. civitatem — Lemma: civitas; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of “delebit”; Translation: “city”; Notes: Denotes Sodom itself.
  24. hanc — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies “civitatem”; Translation: “this”; Notes: Specifies the particular city doomed.
  25. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: introduces contrastive result; Translation: “and / but”; Notes: Connects Lot’s seriousness to others’ disbelief.
  26. visus — Lemma: videor; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine, perfect passive; Function: predicate of “est”; Translation: “seemed”; Notes: Describes perception by others.
  27. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, third person singular; Function: auxiliary with “visus”; Translation: “was”; Notes: Forms periphrastic passive construction.
  28. eis — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to them”; Notes: Refers to his sons-in-law.
  29. quasi — Lemma: quasi; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: comparative marker; Function: introduces comparison or appearance; Translation: “as if”; Notes: Softens the perception, indicating the hearers’ misjudgment of Lot’s tone as playful rather than serious.
  30. ludens — Lemma: ludo; Part of Speech: verb participle; Form: nominative singular masculine, present active participle; Function: predicate complement of “visus est”; Translation: “joking / playing”; Notes: Suggests the mockery they perceived, contrasting their disbelief with Lot’s sincerity.
  31. loqueretur — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: verb (deponent); Form: imperfect subjunctive, third person singular; Function: verb of dependent clause; Translation: “was speaking / might speak”; Notes: Subjunctive used within the quasi-clause to indicate reported or perceived speech.
  32. loqui — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: verb (deponent); Form: present infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive to “visus est”; Translation: “to speak”; Notes: Completes the construction “visus est loqui” — “he seemed to speak,” describing the perception of Lot’s speech as jesting.

 

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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