Exodus 21:11

Posted on March 12, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 21:11 Si tria ista non fecerit, egredietur gratis absque pecunia.

If he does not do these three things, she shall go out freely without payment.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Si if CONJ INDECL
2 tria three ACC.PL.N ADJ 1ST/2ND DECL
3 ista these things ACC.PL.N DEM.PRON
4 non not ADV INDECL
5 fecerit does 3SG.FUTP.ACT.SUBJ VERB
6 egredietur she shall go out 3SG.FUT.DEP.IND VERB
7 gratis freely ADV INDECL
8 absque without PREP+ABL PREP
9 pecunia payment ABL.SG.F 1ST DECL NOUN

Syntax

Conditional clause:
Si tria ista non fecerit — “If he does not do these three things.”
• tria ista refers to the three obligations listed in the previous verse.
• fecerit (future perfect subjunctive) expresses a legal future condition, rendered in English as a simple present.

Main clause:
egredietur — deponent verb in the future indicative (“she shall go out”).
gratis — adverb modifying the verb (“freely”).
absque pecunia — prepositional phrase meaning “without payment,” indicating that no redemption price is required for her release.

Morphology

  1. Si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces conditional clause; Translation: if; Notes: legal conditional marker.
  2. tria — Lemma: tres; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object; Translation: three; Notes: refers to the three requirements named previously.
  3. ista — Lemma: iste; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun/adjective; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: modifies tria; Translation: these things; Notes: indicates items immediately preceding in the law.
  4. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negation; Translation: not; Notes: negates fecerit.
  5. fecerit — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future perfect active subjunctive 3rd singular; Function: verb of conditional protasis; Translation: does; Notes: future perfect subjunctive used for future legal conditions.
  6. egredietur — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: future indicative 3rd singular; Function: main verb of the legal consequence; Translation: she shall go out; Notes: subject is the girl previously discussed.
  7. gratis — Lemma: gratis; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: adverbial modifier; Translation: freely; Notes: indicates no compensation is required.
  8. absque — Lemma: absque; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces ablative of exclusion; Translation: without; Notes: conveys exemption from payment.
  9. pecunia — Lemma: pecunia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine 1st declension; Function: object of absque; Translation: payment; Notes: specifies that no monetary redemption is owed.

 

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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