Leviticus 18:30

Posted on April 18, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 18:30 Custodite mandata mea. Nolite facere quæ fecerunt hi qui fuerunt ante vos, et ne polluamini in eis. Ego Dominus Deus vester.

Keep my commandments. Do not do the things that those did who were before you, and do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Custodite keep 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP.MOOD
2 mandata commandments ACC.PL.N
3 mea my ACC.PL.N.PRON.POSS
4 Nolite do-not 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP.MOOD
5 facere to-do INF.PRES.ACT
6 quæ which-things ACC.PL.N.REL
7 fecerunt they-did 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
8 hi those NOM.PL.M.DEM
9 qui who NOM.PL.M.REL
10 fuerunt were 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
11 ante before PREP+ACC
12 vos you ACC.PL.PERS
13 et and CONJ
14 ne lest CONJ
15 polluamini you-be-defiled 2PL.PRES.PASS.SUBJ
16 in by PREP+ABL
17 eis them ABL.PL.PRON
18 Ego I NOM.SG.PERS
19 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M
20 Deus God NOM.SG.M
21 vester your NOM.SG.M.PRON.POSS

Syntax

Main Command: Custodite mandata mea — positive imperative establishing covenant obedience
Negative Command: Nolite facere quæ fecerunt hi — prohibition with infinitive complement
Relative Clause: qui fuerunt ante vos — identifies prior generations
Negative Purpose Clause: ne polluamini in eis — avoidance of ritual and moral contamination
Declarative Identification: Ego Dominus Deus vester — covenant authority and grounding

Morphology

  1. Custodite — Lemma: custodio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present imperative active; Function: principal command; Translation: keep; Notes: Calls for continual observance.
  2. mandata — Lemma: mandatum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative neuter plural, second declension; Function: direct object; Translation: commandments; Notes: Specific divine instructions.
  3. mea — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: accusative neuter plural; Function: modifies mandata; Translation: my; Notes: Emphasizes divine ownership.
  4. Nolite — Lemma: nolo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present imperative active; Function: negative auxiliary; Translation: do not; Notes: Standard construction for prohibitions.
  5. facere — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: complement of nolite; Translation: to do; Notes: Generalized action.
  6. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative neuter plural; Function: object of facere; Translation: which things; Notes: Refers to prior practices.
  7. fecerunt — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural perfect indicative active; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: they did; Notes: Completed past actions.
  8. hi — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine plural; Function: subject; Translation: those; Notes: Points to earlier peoples.
  9. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine plural; Function: subject of relative clause; Translation: who; Notes: Links description to hi.
  10. fuerunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural perfect indicative active; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: were; Notes: Marks prior existence.
  11. ante — Lemma: ante; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing accusative; Function: temporal precedence; Translation: before; Notes: Indicates earlier time.
  12. vos — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: object of ante; Translation: you; Notes: Addresses Israel directly.
  13. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: and; Notes: Joins prohibitions.
  14. ne — Lemma: ne; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces negative purpose; Translation: lest; Notes: Governs the subjunctive.
  15. polluamini — Lemma: polluo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present subjunctive passive; Function: verb of purpose clause; Translation: you be defiled; Notes: Moral and ritual contamination.
  16. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing ablative; Function: means or sphere; Translation: by; Notes: Indicates the source of defilement.
  17. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: ablative plural; Function: object of in; Translation: them; Notes: Refers to the forbidden practices.
  18. Ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: subject; Translation: I; Notes: Emphatic divine self-reference.
  19. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular, second declension; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: LORD; Notes: Refers to YHWH.
  20. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular, second declension; Function: apposition; Translation: God; Notes: Identifies divine nature.
  21. vester — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: modifies Deus; Translation: your; Notes: Covenant relationship marker.

 

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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