Genesis 8:21

Posted on January 8, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 8:21 Odoratusque est Dominus odorem suavitatis, et ait: Nequaquam ultra maledicam terræ propter homines: sensus enim et cogitatio humani cordis in malum prona sunt ab adolescentia sua: non igitur ultra percutiam omnem animam viventem sicut feci.

And the LORD smelled a pleasing odor and said: By no means will I again curse the earth on account of men; for the inclination and the thought of the human heart are prone toward evil from their youth; therefore I will not again strike every living soul as I have done.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Odoratusque and smelled VERB.PERF.PTCP.NOM.SG.M (DEP)
2 est has / was VERB.3SG.PRES.IND.ACT (AUX)
3 Dominus LORD NOUN.NOM.SG.M
4 odorem odor NOUN.ACC.SG.M
5 suavitatis of sweetness NOUN.GEN.SG.F
6 et and CONJ
7 ait said VERB.3SG.PERF.IND.ACT
8 Nequaquam by no means ADV.NEG
9 ultra again / any longer ADV
10 maledicam I will curse VERB.1SG.FUT.IND.ACT
11 terræ the earth NOUN.DAT/GEN.SG.F
12 propter because of PREP+ACC
13 homines men NOUN.ACC.PL.M
14 sensus inclination NOUN.NOM.SG.M
15 enim for PART
16 et and CONJ
17 cogitatio thought NOUN.NOM.SG.F
18 humani of the human ADJ.GEN.SG.M
19 cordis heart NOUN.GEN.SG.N
20 in toward PREP+ACC
21 malum evil NOUN.ACC.SG.N
22 prona inclined ADJ.NOM.PL.N
23 sunt are VERB.3PL.PRES.IND.ACT
24 ab from PREP+ABL
25 adolescentia youth NOUN.ABL.SG.F
26 sua their own ADJ.ABL.SG.F.POSS
27 non not ADV.NEG
28 igitur therefore ADV.CONCL
29 ultra again ADV
30 percutiam I will strike VERB.1SG.FUT.IND.ACT
31 omnem every ADJ.ACC.SG.F
32 animam soul / living being NOUN.ACC.SG.F
33 viventem living VERB.PRES.PTCP.ACC.SG.F
34 sicut as / just as CONJ.COMP
35 feci I did VERB.1SG.PERF.IND.ACT

Syntax

Odoratusque est Dominus odorem suavitatis is a deponent perfect construction with est as auxiliary, presenting divine acceptance of the sacrifice. The narrative verb ait introduces direct speech. Within that speech, two coordinated resolutions appear: (1) Nequaquam ultra maledicam terræ propter homines (future intent, negated), and (2) non igitur ultra percutiam omnem animam viventem, each with adverb ultra marking “no longer / again.” The causal clause sensus enim et cogitatio humani cordis in malum prona sunt ab adolescentia sua furnishes the rationale, with mixed-gender subjects taking a neuter plural predicate prona. The closing comparison clause sicut feci recalls the Flood judgment as a foil to the new divine forbearance.

Morphology

  1. Odoratusque — Lemma: odoror; Part of Speech: Verb (deponent participle); Form: nominative singular masculine perfect participle; Function: predicate with est; Translation: “and (he) smelled”; Notes: deponent participle with active sense; enclitic -que = “and.”
  2. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: 3rd person singular present indicative active (auxiliary); Function: auxiliary forming the perfect; Translation: “has / was”; Notes: completes perfect with deponent participle.
  3. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “LORD”; Notes: divine name, recipient of sacrifice.
  4. odorem — Lemma: odor; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “odor”; Notes: object of the perception verb.
  5. suavitatis — Lemma: suavitas; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of quality; Translation: “of sweetness/pleasingness”; Notes: characterizes the odor’s quality.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinator; Translation: “and”; Notes: links actions.
  7. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect indicative active (narrative); Function: introduces speech; Translation: “said”; Notes: historic present/perfect value in Vulgate narrative.
  8. Nequaquam — Lemma: nequaquam; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: emphatic negation; Translation: “by no means”; Notes: strengthens prohibition.
  9. ultra — Lemma: ultra; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: temporal scope; Translation: “any longer / again”; Notes: repeated for emphasis.
  10. maledicam — Lemma: maledico; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: 1st person singular future indicative active; Function: main verb of resolve; Translation: “I will curse”; Notes: future intention negated by Nequaquam … ultra.
  11. terræ — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: dative/genitive singular feminine; Function: goal or reference (“to/for the earth”) or possessive; Translation: “the earth”; Notes: with verbs of harm, dative of disadvantage is common.
  12. propter — Lemma: propter; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: causal; Translation: “because of”; Notes: introduces reason linked to humans.
  13. homines — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of propter; Translation: “men / humans”; Notes: humanity as cause.
  14. sensus — Lemma: sensus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject (with cogitatio); Translation: “inclination / disposition”; Notes: mental/moral faculty.
  15. enim — Lemma: enim; Part of Speech: Particle; Form: indeclinable; Function: causal/explanatory; Translation: “for”; Notes: postpositive particle.
  16. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: links co-subjects.
  17. cogitatio — Lemma: cogitatio; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: coordinated subject; Translation: “thought / deliberation”; Notes: complements sensus.
  18. humani — Lemma: humanus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies cordis; Translation: “of the human”; Notes: qualitative genitive.
  19. cordis — Lemma: cor; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: complements humani; Translation: “heart”; Notes: seat of intent.
  20. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: direction; Translation: “toward”; Notes: telic orientation.
  21. malum — Lemma: malum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of in; Translation: “evil”; Notes: moral target.
  22. prona — Lemma: pronus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: predicate complement; Translation: “inclined / prone”; Notes: neuter plural with mixed-gender plural subjects.
  23. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: 3rd person plural present indicative active; Function: copula; Translation: “are”; Notes: links predicate and subjects.
  24. ab — Lemma: ab; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: source / starting point; Translation: “from”; Notes: temporal origin.
  25. adolescentia — Lemma: adolescentia; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of ab; Translation: “youth”; Notes: early life period.
  26. sua — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: Adjective (possessive); Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies adolescentia; Translation: “their own”; Notes: reflexive, agrees with adolescentia.
  27. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: negates future.
  28. igitur — Lemma: igitur; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: inferential marker; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: draws conclusion from prior clause.
  29. ultra — Lemma: ultra; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: temporal scope; Translation: “again / any longer”; Notes: parallels earlier usage.
  30. percutiam — Lemma: percutio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: 1st person singular future indicative active; Function: main verb of vow; Translation: “I will strike”; Notes: future intention negated by non … ultra.
  31. omnem — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies animam; Translation: “every”; Notes: universal scope.
  32. animam — Lemma: anima; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “soul / living being”; Notes: object of divine action.
  33. viventem — Lemma: vivo; Part of Speech: Verb (participle); Form: accusative singular feminine present participle active; Function: modifies animam; Translation: “living”; Notes: specifies the kind of soul.
  34. sicut — Lemma: sicut; Part of Speech: Conjunction (comparative); Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces comparison clause; Translation: “as / just as”; Notes: recalls prior action.
  35. feci — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: 1st person singular perfect indicative active; Function: verb of comparison clause; Translation: “I did”; Notes: reference to the Flood 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.
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