Leviticus 19:30

Posted on April 19, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 19:30 Sabbata mea custodite, et Sanctuarium meum metuite. ego Dominus.

Keep my Sabbaths, and fear my Sanctuary. I am the LORD.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Sabbata Sabbaths ACC.PL.N INDECL NOUN
2 mea my ACC.PL.N POSS.ADJ
3 custodite keep 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP.MOOD
4 et and CONJ
5 Sanctuarium Sanctuary ACC.SG.N 2ND DECL NOUN
6 meum my ACC.SG.N POSS.ADJ
7 metuite fear 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP.MOOD
8 ego I NOM.SG PERS.PRON
9 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M 2ND DECL NOUN

Syntax

First Command: Sabbata mea custodite (direct imperative with accusative object expressing covenantal obligation)

Second Command: Sanctuarium meum metuite (imperative expressing reverential fear toward sacred space)

Authority Formula: ego Dominus (divine self-identification grounding both commands)

Morphology

  1. Sabbata — Lemma: Sabbata; Part of Speech: noun (indeclinable, neuter); Form: accusative plural; Function: direct object of custodite; Translation: Sabbaths; Notes: loanword denoting sacred rest days.
  2. mea — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative neuter plural; Function: modifies Sabbata; Translation: my; Notes: emphasizes divine ownership.
  3. custodite — Lemma: custodio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present imperative active; Function: command; Translation: keep; Notes: implies careful observance and guarding.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links parallel commands; Translation: and; Notes: additive coordination.
  5. Sanctuarium — Lemma: sanctuarium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative neuter singular second declension; Function: direct object of metuite; Translation: Sanctuary; Notes: refers to the sacred dwelling place of YHWH.
  6. meum — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative neuter singular; Function: modifies Sanctuarium; Translation: my; Notes: stresses exclusive divine claim.
  7. metuite — Lemma: metuo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present imperative active; Function: command; Translation: fear; Notes: expresses reverential awe rather than terror.
  8. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: subject of identification; Translation: I; Notes: emphatic divine self-reference.
  9. Dominus — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular second declension; Function: apposition to ego; Translation: LORD; Notes: rendered in all caps when referring to YHWH.

 

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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