Leviticus 20:2

Posted on April 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 20:2 Hæc loqueris filiis Israel: Homo de filiis Israel, et de advenis, qui habitant in Israel, si quis dederit de semine suo idolo Moloch, morte moriatur: populus terræ lapidabit eum.

“These things you shall speak to the sons of Israel: ‘A man from the sons of Israel, or from the sojourners who live in Israel, if anyone gives from his offspring to the idol Moloch, he shall surely die; the people of the land shall stone him.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Hæc these things NOM.PL.N (DEM)
2 loqueris you shall speak 2SG.FUT.DEP.IND
3 filiis to the sons DAT.PL.M (2ND DECL)
4 Israel Israel INDECL.PROPN
5 Homo a man NOM.SG.M (3RD DECL)
6 de from PREP+ABL
7 filiis sons ABL.PL.M (2ND DECL)
8 Israel Israel INDECL.PROPN
9 et and CONJ
10 de from PREP+ABL
11 advenis sojourners ABL.PL.M (3RD DECL)
12 qui who NOM.PL.M (REL)
13 habitant dwell 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
14 in in PREP+ABL
15 Israel Israel INDECL.PROPN
16 si if CONJ
17 quis anyone NOM.SG.M (INDEF)
18 dederit has given 3SG.FUTP.ACT.SUBJ
19 de from PREP+ABL
20 semine offspring ABL.SG.N (3RD DECL)
21 suo his own ABL.SG.N (POSS)
22 idolo to the idol DAT.SG.N (2ND DECL)
23 Moloch Moloch INDECL.PROPN
24 morte by death ABL.SG.F (3RD DECL)
25 moriatur let him die 3SG.PRES.DEP.SUBJ
26 populus the people NOM.SG.M (2ND DECL)
27 terræ of the land GEN.SG.F (1ST DECL)
28 lapidabit will stone 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
29 eum him ACC.SG.M (PERS)

Syntax

Main Command: Hæc (Object) + loqueris (Verb) + filiis Israel (Indirect Object: addressees).

Legal Subject: Homo (generalizing nominative) with partitive phrases de filiis Israel and de advenis.

Relative Clause: qui habitant in Israel — defines the sojourners under the same jurisdiction.

Conditional Clause: si quis dederit — future-more-vivid condition introducing the offense.

Object of Offense: de semine suo idolo Moloch — partitive source + indirect object indicating cultic dedication.

Penalty Formula: morte moriatur — idiomatic legal construction expressing certain death.

Execution Clause: populus terræ lapidabit eum — community as agent carrying out the sentence.

Morphology

  1. Hæc — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative neuter plural; Function: object anticipating the content to be spoken; Translation: “these things”; Notes: Refers forward to the legal declaration that follows.
  2. loqueris — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: second person singular future indicative; Function: main verb of command; Translation: “you shall speak”; Notes: Formal legislative instruction directed to the mediator.
  3. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative masculine plural; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to the sons”; Notes: Standard covenantal designation for the people.
  4. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: genitive complement by apposition; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: Functions semantically as a genitive despite indeclinability.
  5. Homo — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject of the legal condition; Translation: “a man”; Notes: Generic legal subject, not an individual.
  6. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: marks origin or class; Translation: “from”; Notes: Used partitively with groups of people.
  7. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative masculine plural; Function: complement of de; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Emphasizes ethnic membership.
  8. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: genitive by sense; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: Repetition underscores covenant identity.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: joins parallel groups; Translation: “and”; Notes: Extends legal scope.
  10. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: marks source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Repeated for clarity.
  11. advenis — Lemma: advena; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative masculine plural; Function: complement of de; Translation: “sojourners”; Notes: Non-native residents under the same law.
  12. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine plural; Function: subject of the relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Restrictive, not merely descriptive.
  13. habitant — Lemma: habito; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present indicative active; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “live”; Notes: Indicates settled residence.
  14. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: indicates location; Translation: “in”; Notes: Static sense.
  15. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: object of in; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: Land and people conceptually united.
  16. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces condition; Translation: “if”; Notes: Opens a legal contingency.
  17. quis — Lemma: quis; Part of Speech: indefinite pronoun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject of the conditional clause; Translation: “anyone”; Notes: Intentionally non-specific.
  18. dederit — Lemma: do; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future perfect subjunctive; Function: verb of the conditional clause; Translation: “has given”; Notes: Standard legal tense after si for future conditions.
  19. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: partitive marker; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates portion taken.
  20. semine — Lemma: semen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative neuter singular; Function: complement of de; Translation: “offspring”; Notes: Refers to biological descendants.
  21. suo — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: ablative neuter singular; Function: modifies semine; Translation: “his own”; Notes: Reflexive possession.
  22. idolo — Lemma: idolum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative neuter singular; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to the idol”; Notes: Cultic recipient.
  23. Moloch — Lemma: Moloch; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: apposition to idolo; Translation: “Moloch”; Notes: Foreign deity associated with child sacrifice.
  24. morte — Lemma: mors; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative feminine singular; Function: ablative of manner; Translation: “by death”; Notes: Part of a fixed legal idiom.
  25. moriatur — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: third person singular present subjunctive; Function: jussive expressing penalty; Translation: “let him die”; Notes: With morte, expresses certain execution.
  26. populus — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject of the execution clause; Translation: “the people”; Notes: Collective singular.
  27. terræ — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive feminine singular; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of the land”; Notes: Emphasizes communal responsibility.
  28. lapidabit — Lemma: lapido; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future indicative active; Function: main verb of the penalty clause; Translation: “will stone”; Notes: Specifies the method of execution.
  29. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers back to homo.

 

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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