Leviticus 20:22

Posted on April 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 20:22 Custodite leges meas, atque iudicia, et facite ea: ne et vos evomat terra quam intraturi estis et habitaturi.

Keep my statutes, and judgments, and do them; lest the land which you are about to enter and to inhabit vomit you out as well.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Custodite keep 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
2 leges laws ACC.PL.F (3RD DECL)
3 meas my ACC.PL.F (POSS)
4 atque and CONJ
5 iudicia judgments ACC.PL.N (2ND DECL)
6 et and CONJ
7 facite do 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
8 ea them ACC.PL.N (DEM)
9 ne lest CONJ
10 et also ADV
11 vos you ACC.PL (PERS)
12 evomat vomit out 3SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
13 terra land NOM.SG.F (1ST DECL)
14 quam which ACC.SG.F (REL)
15 intraturi about to enter NOM.PL.M (FUT.ACT.PTCP)
16 estis you are 2PL.PRES.ACT.IND
17 et and CONJ
18 habitaturi about to inhabit NOM.PL.M (FUT.ACT.PTCP)

Syntax

Main Exhortation: Custodite leges meas atque iudicia et facite ea — paired present imperatives commanding observance and practice.

Negative Purpose Clause: ne et vos evomat terra — ne with present subjunctive expressing a warning consequence.

Relative Clause of Destination: quam intraturi estis et habitaturi — future active participles with estis forming a periphrastic construction describing imminent entry and settlement.

Morphology

  1. Custodite — Lemma: custodio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present active imperative; Function: primary command; Translation: “keep”; Notes: Calls for careful observance.
  2. leges — Lemma: lex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine plural; Function: direct object of custodite; Translation: “laws”; Notes: Legal statutes.
  3. meas — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative feminine plural; Function: modifies leges; Translation: “my”; Notes: Divine ownership.
  4. atque — Lemma: atque; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Strong connective.
  5. iudicia — Lemma: iudicium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative neuter plural; Function: second object of custodite; Translation: “judgments”; Notes: Judicial ordinances.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links commands.
  7. facite — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present active imperative; Function: practical enactment command; Translation: “do”; Notes: Moves from guarding to action.
  8. ea — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: accusative neuter plural; Function: direct object of facite; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to statutes and judgments.
  9. ne — Lemma: ne; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces negative purpose; Translation: “lest”; Notes: Expresses warning.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: intensifier; Translation: “also”; Notes: Emphasizes inclusion.
  11. vos — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: direct object of evomat; Translation: “you”; Notes: Community addressed.
  12. evomat — Lemma: evomo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active subjunctive; Function: verb of the warning clause; Translation: “vomit out”; Notes: Metaphor for expulsion.
  13. terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative feminine singular; Function: subject of evomat; Translation: “land”; Notes: Personified agent.
  14. quam — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: object of intraturi and habitaturi; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers back to terra.
  15. intraturi — Lemma: intro; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative masculine plural future active participle; Function: predicate participle with estis; Translation: “about to enter”; Notes: Expresses imminence.
  16. estis — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present active indicative; Function: auxiliary of the periphrastic future; Translation: “you are”; Notes: Forms future sense with participle.
  17. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links parallel participles.
  18. habitaturi — Lemma: habito; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative masculine plural future active participle; Function: predicate participle with estis; Translation: “about to inhabit”; Notes: Indicates intended settlement.

 

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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