Exodus 12:16

Posted on March 3, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 12:16 Dies prima erit sancta atque sollemnis, et dies septima eadem festivitate venerabilis: nihil operis facietis in eis, exceptis his, quæ ad vescendum pertinent.

The first day shall be holy and solemn, and the seventh day likewise venerable with the same festival; you shall do no work in them, except those things which pertain to eating.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Dies day NOM.SG.M
2 prima first NOM.SG.F
3 erit shall be 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
4 sancta holy NOM.SG.F
5 atque and also CONJ
6 sollemnis solemn NOM.SG.F
7 et and CONJ
8 dies day NOM.SG.M
9 septima seventh NOM.SG.F
10 eadem the same NOM.SG.F.DEM
11 festivitate with the festival ABL.SG.F
12 venerabilis venerable NOM.SG.F
13 nihil nothing ACC.SG.N
14 operis of work GEN.SG.N
15 facietis you shall do 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
16 in in PREP+ABL
17 eis in them ABL.PL.PRON
18 exceptis except ABL.PL.PTCP.PERF.PASS
19 his those things ABL.PL.DEM
20 quæ which NOM.PL.N.REL
21 ad toward PREP+ACC
22 vescendum eating ACC.SG.N.GERUND
23 pertinent pertain 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND

Syntax

First declaration: Dies prima erit sancta atque sollemnis — “The first day shall be holy and solemn.”
• Dies prima = subject
• erit = verb
• sancta atque sollemnis = predicate adjectives

Second declaration: et dies septima eadem festivitate venerabilis — “and the seventh day, with the same festival, venerable.”
• dies septima = subject
• venerabilis = predicate adjective
• eadem festivitate = ablative of attendant circumstance

Prohibition:
nihil operis facietis in eis — “you shall do no work in them.”
• nihil operis = “no work at all”
• facietis = main verb

Exception clause:
exceptis his, quæ ad vescendum pertinent — “except those things which pertain to eating.”
• exceptis his = ablative absolute functioning as exception
• quæ … pertinent = relative clause defining the allowed items

Morphology

  1. Dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “day”; Notes: liturgical day marker.
  2. prima — Lemma: primus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: modifies dies; Translation: “first”; Notes: ordinal listing.
  3. erit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative third singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “shall be”; Notes: liturgical designation.
  4. sancta — Lemma: sanctus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “holy”; Notes: ritual requirement.
  5. atque — Lemma: atque; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: intensifying coordination; Translation: “and also”; Notes: stronger than et.
  6. sollemnis — Lemma: sollemnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “solemn”; Notes: indicates sacred status.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple addition.
  8. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of second clause; Translation: “day”; Notes: parallel to first clause.
  9. septima — Lemma: septimus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: modifies dies; Translation: “seventh”; Notes: ordinal parallel.
  10. eadem — Lemma: idem; Part of Speech: demonstrative; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: modifier of festivitate; Translation: “the same”; Notes: shows continuity.
  11. festivitate — Lemma: festivitas; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: ablative of circumstance; Translation: “with the festival”; Notes: feast context.
  12. venerabilis — Lemma: venerabilis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “venerable”; Notes: expresses reverence.
  13. nihil — Lemma: nihil; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of facietis; Translation: “nothing”; Notes: total prohibition.
  14. operis — Lemma: opus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: partitive genitive; Translation: “of work”; Notes: specifies type of activity.
  15. facietis — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative second plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “you shall do”; Notes: legal prohibition.
  16. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative; Translation: “in”; Notes: indicates days.
  17. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative plural; Function: object of in; Translation: “them”; Notes: refers to the two feast days.
  18. exceptis — Lemma: excipio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: ablative plural perfect passive; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: “except”; Notes: specifies exception.
  19. his — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: ablative plural; Function: object of exception; Translation: “these things”; Notes: refers to actions allowed.
  20. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of relative clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: introduces defining clause.
  21. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates purpose; Translation: “for / toward”; Notes: expresses intended purpose.
  22. vescendum — Lemma: vescor; Part of Speech: gerund (verbal noun); Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of ad; Translation: “eating”; Notes: refers to food preparation.
  23. pertinent — Lemma: pertineo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third plural; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “pertain”; Notes: defines permitted activities.

 

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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