Leviticus 20:17

Posted on April 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 20:17 Qui acceperit sororem suam filiam patris sui, vel filiam matris suæ, et viderit turpitudinem eius, illaque conspexerit fratris ignominiam: nefariam rem operati sunt: occidentur in conspectu populi sui, eo quod turpitudinem suam mutuo revelaverint, et portabunt iniquitatem suam.

Whoever has taken his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother, and has seen her nakedness, and she likewise has looked upon the shame of her brother, they have committed a wicked act; they shall be put to death in the sight of their people, because they have mutually uncovered their nakedness, and they shall bear their iniquity.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Qui whoever NOM.SG.M (REL)
2 acceperit has taken 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
3 sororem sister ACC.SG.F (3RD DECL)
4 suam his ACC.SG.F (POSS)
5 filiam daughter ACC.SG.F (1ST DECL)
6 patris of father GEN.SG.M (3RD DECL)
7 sui his GEN.SG.M (POSS)
8 vel or CONJ
9 filiam daughter ACC.SG.F (1ST DECL)
10 matris of mother GEN.SG.F (3RD DECL)
11 suæ his GEN.SG.F (POSS)
12 et and CONJ
13 viderit has seen 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
14 turpitudinem nakedness ACC.SG.F (3RD DECL)
15 eius her GEN.SG (POSS)
16 illaque and she NOM.SG.F + CONJ
17 conspexerit has looked upon 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
18 fratris of brother GEN.SG.M (3RD DECL)
19 ignominiam shame ACC.SG.F (1ST DECL)
20 nefariam wicked ACC.SG.F (ADJ)
21 rem thing ACC.SG.F (5TH DECL)
22 operati having committed PERF.DEP.PTCP.NOM.PL.M
23 sunt they have 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
24 occidentur they shall be put to death 3PL.FUT.PASS.IND
25 in in PREP+ABL
26 conspectu sight ABL.SG.M (4TH DECL)
27 populi of people GEN.SG.M (2ND DECL)
28 sui their GEN.SG.M (POSS)
29 eo because ABL.SG.N (DEM)
30 quod that CONJ
31 turpitudinem nakedness ACC.SG.F (3RD DECL)
32 suam their ACC.SG.F (POSS)
33 mutuo mutually ADV
34 revelaverint have uncovered 3PL.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
35 et and CONJ
36 portabunt they shall bear 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND
37 iniquitatem iniquity ACC.SG.F (3RD DECL)
38 suam their ACC.SG.F (POSS)

Syntax

Legal Relative Clause: Qui acceperit sororem suam … et viderit turpitudinem eius — perfect subjunctives defining the prohibited union and act of exposure.

Reciprocal Clause: illaque conspexerit fratris ignominiam — parallel perfect subjunctive indicating mutual participation.

Judicial Verdict: nefariam rem operati sunt — perfect deponent periphrasis declaring established guilt.

Penalty Clause: occidentur in conspectu populi sui — future passive indicating public execution.

Causal and Consequence Clause: eo quod … revelaverint, et portabunt iniquitatem suam — cause stated with consequence borne by the offenders.

Morphology

  1. Qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject of the legal case; Translation: “whoever”; Notes: Introduces a general juridical category.
  2. acceperit — Lemma: accipio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active subjunctive; Function: defines the illicit taking; Translation: “has taken”; Notes: Legal euphemism for taking in a forbidden union.
  3. sororem — Lemma: soror; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “sister”; Notes: Specifies forbidden kinship.
  4. suam — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: modifies sororem; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive reference to the offender.
  5. filiam — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: apposition to sororem; Translation: “daughter”; Notes: Clarifies the sister’s lineage.
  6. patris — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: dependent genitive; Translation: “of (the) father”; Notes: Specifies paternal relation.
  7. sui — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: modifies patris; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive possession.
  8. vel — Lemma: vel; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: alternative coordination; Translation: “or”; Notes: Presents alternative lineage.
  9. filiam — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: apposition to sororem; Translation: “daughter”; Notes: Repeated for maternal lineage option.
  10. matris — Lemma: mater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive feminine singular; Function: dependent genitive; Translation: “of (the) mother”; Notes: Specifies maternal relation.
  11. suæ — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive feminine singular; Function: modifies matris; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive possession.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordinates clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links the “taking” clause to the “seeing” clause.
  13. viderit — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active subjunctive; Function: defines the act of seeing/exposing; Translation: “has seen”; Notes: Euphemistic legal expression for sexual exposure.
  14. turpitudinem — Lemma: turpitudo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: direct object of viderit; Translation: “nakedness”; Notes: Sexual shame viewed as moral disgrace.
  15. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Function: modifies turpitudinem; Translation: “her”; Notes: Refers to the sister.
  16. illaque — Lemma: ille + -que; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun with enclitic; Form: nominative feminine singular; Function: coordinated subject; Translation: “and she”; Notes: Marks the woman as an active participant in the mutual act.
  17. conspexerit — Lemma: conspicio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active subjunctive; Function: parallel action in the relative construction; Translation: “has looked upon”; Notes: Reinforces reciprocity.
  18. fratris — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: dependent genitive; Translation: “of (the) brother”; Notes: Specifies the male sibling whose shame is involved.
  19. ignominiam — Lemma: ignominia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: direct object of conspexerit; Translation: “shame”; Notes: Emphasizes dishonor and disgrace.
  20. nefariam — Lemma: nefarius; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: modifies rem; Translation: “wicked”; Notes: Frames the act as impious and unlawful.
  21. rem — Lemma: res; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: object of operati sunt; Translation: “thing / act”; Notes: General term intensified by nefariam.
  22. operati — Lemma: operor; Part of Speech: deponent verb (participle); Form: perfect deponent participle nominative masculine plural; Function: with sunt forms a verdict; Translation: “having committed”; Notes: Deponent with active meaning.
  23. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: auxiliary; Translation: “they have”; Notes: Completes the periphrastic judgment.
  24. occidentur — Lemma: occido; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural future passive indicative; Function: penalty verb; Translation: “they shall be put to death”; Notes: Passive highlights imposed judicial action.
  25. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses location; Translation: “in”; Notes: Introduces the public setting of judgment.
  26. conspectu — Lemma: conspectus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative masculine singular; Function: object of in; Translation: “(the) sight”; Notes: Implies public witnessing.
  27. populi — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: modifies conspectu; Translation: “of (the) people”; Notes: The community stands as witness.
  28. sui — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: modifies populi; Translation: “their”; Notes: Points to their own community.
  29. eo — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: ablative neuter singular; Function: causal marker with quod; Translation: “because”; Notes: Introduces the stated reason for the penalty.
  30. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces causal clause; Translation: “that”; Notes: Explains the ground of judgment.
  31. turpitudinem — Lemma: turpitudo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “nakedness”; Notes: Repetition reinforces the legal description.
  32. suam — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: modifies turpitudinem; Translation: “their”; Notes: The act is framed as mutually shared guilt.
  33. mutuo — Lemma: mutuo; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: modifies revelaverint; Translation: “mutually”; Notes: Explicit reciprocity.
  34. revelaverint — Lemma: revelo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural perfect active subjunctive; Function: action in the causal clause; Translation: “have uncovered”; Notes: Standard legal euphemism for incestuous exposure.
  35. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordinates consequences; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links the causal clause to the ensuing consequence.
  36. portabunt — Lemma: porto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural future active indicative; Function: consequence; Translation: “they shall bear”; Notes: Idiom for carrying guilt and its liability.
  37. iniquitatem — Lemma: iniquitas; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: direct object of portabunt; Translation: “iniquity”; Notes: Moral guilt and its culpability.
  38. suam — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: modifies iniquitatem; Translation: “their”; Notes: Final emphasis on personal responsibility.

 

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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