Exodus 23:7

Posted on March 14, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

7 Mendacium fugies. Insontem et iustum non occides: quia aversor impium.

You shall flee falsehood. You shall not kill the innocent and the just, for I reject the wicked.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Mendacium falsehood ACC.SG.N 2ND DECL
2 fugies you shall flee 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
3 Insontem innocent (person) ACC.SG.M 3RD DECL
4 et and CONJ
5 iustum just (person) ACC.SG.M 2ND DECL
6 non not ADV
7 occides you shall kill 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
8 quia because CONJ
9 aversor I reject / turn away from 1SG.PRES.DEP.IND
10 impium the wicked one ACC.SG.M 2ND DECL

Syntax

Clause 1: Mendacium fugies — direct prohibition: “You shall flee falsehood.”

Clause 2: Insontem et iustum non occides — coordinated objects (“innocent and just person”) negated with future indicative of command.

Causal Clause: quia aversor impium — “because I reject the wicked,” explaining why killing the innocent is forbidden.

Morphology

  1. Mendacium — Lemma: mendacium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter, 2nd declension; Function: direct object of fugies; Translation: falsehood; Notes: denotes deceit or lying.
  2. fugies — Lemma: fugio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative, 2nd person singular; Function: main verb of command; Translation: you shall flee; Notes: expresses a moral imperative.
  3. Insontem — Lemma: insons; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: accusative singular masculine, 3rd declension; Function: object of occides; Translation: innocent (man); Notes: ethical/legal term for one without guilt.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: links coordinated objects; Translation: and; Notes: joins insontem + iustum.
  5. iustum — Lemma: iustus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: accusative singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: object of occides; Translation: just (man); Notes: moral/legal term for one who is righteous.
  6. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: negation; Translation: not; Notes: negates occides.
  7. occides — Lemma: occido; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative, 2nd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: you shall kill; Notes: legal prohibition against bloodguilt.
  8. quia — Lemma: quia; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces causal clause; Translation: because; Notes: gives divine rationale.
  9. aversor — Lemma: aversor (deponent); Part of Speech: verb; Form: present indicative, 1st person singular, deponent; Function: verb of causal clause; Translation: I reject / I turn away from; Notes: deponent but active meaning, spoken by God.
  10. impium — Lemma: impius; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: accusative singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: object of aversor; Translation: the wicked one; Notes: expresses divine moral judgment.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Exodus. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.