Leviticus 20:4

Posted on April 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

4 Quod si negligens populus terræ, et quasi parvipendens imperium meum, dimiserit hominem qui dedit de semine suo Moloch, nec voluerit eum occidere:

But if the people of the land, being negligent and as though despising my authority, should let go the man who has given from his offspring to Moloch, and should be unwilling to put him to death;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Quod but CONJ
2 si if CONJ
3 negligens negligent NOM.SG.M (ADJ)
4 populus people NOM.SG.M (2ND DECL)
5 terræ of the land GEN.SG.F (1ST DECL)
6 et and CONJ
7 quasi as if ADV
8 parvipendens despising NOM.SG.M (PTCP)
9 imperium authority ACC.SG.N (2ND DECL)
10 meum my ACC.SG.N (POSS)
11 dimiserit should let go 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
12 hominem the man ACC.SG.M (3RD DECL)
13 qui who NOM.SG.M (REL)
14 dedit gave 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
15 de from PREP+ABL
16 semine offspring ABL.SG.N (3RD DECL)
17 suo his own ABL.SG.N (POSS)
18 Moloch Moloch INDECL.PROPN
19 nec and not CONJ
20 voluerit should be willing 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
21 eum him ACC.SG.M (PERS)
22 occidere to kill PRES.ACT.INF

Syntax

Conditional Frame: Quod si introduces a counterfactual or exceptional condition.

Subject: populus terræ — the collective agent responsible for enforcement.

Participial Modifiers: negligens and parvipendens describe culpable attitude, the latter governing imperium meum.

Main Conditional Verb: dimiserit hominem — failure to act judicially.

Relative Clause: qui dedit de semine suo Moloch — identifies the offender.

Negative Volition: nec voluerit eum occidere — explicit refusal to carry out capital punishment.

Morphology

  1. Quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: adversative-conditional introducer; Translation: “but”; Notes: Often used with si to mark a new legal contingency.
  2. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces the condition; Translation: “if”; Notes: Opens a hypothetical legal scenario.
  3. negligens — Lemma: negligens; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: predicate modifier of populus; Translation: “negligent”; Notes: Moral failure rather than ignorance.
  4. populus — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject of the conditional verbs; Translation: “people”; Notes: Collective singular with communal responsibility.
  5. terræ — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive feminine singular; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of the land”; Notes: Emphasizes local jurisdiction.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: joins descriptors; Translation: “and”; Notes: Adds cumulative guilt.
  7. quasi — Lemma: quasi; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: comparative qualifier; Translation: “as if”; Notes: Indicates intentional disregard.
  8. parvipendens — Lemma: parvipendo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative masculine singular present active participle; Function: descriptive modifier of populus; Translation: “despising”; Notes: Governs an accusative of the thing despised.
  9. imperium — Lemma: imperium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative neuter singular; Function: object of parvipendens; Translation: “authority”; Notes: Refers to divine command and rule.
  10. meum — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative neuter singular; Function: modifies imperium; Translation: “my”; Notes: Stresses divine ownership.
  11. dimiserit — Lemma: dimitto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active subjunctive; Function: verb of the conditional clause; Translation: “should let go”; Notes: Legal failure to restrain or punish.
  12. hominem — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: direct object of dimiserit; Translation: “the man”; Notes: Specific offender under judgment.
  13. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject of the relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Identifies the criminal act.
  14. dedit — Lemma: do; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “gave”; Notes: Completed action stated as fact.
  15. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: partitive source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates portion taken.
  16. semine — Lemma: semen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative neuter singular; Function: object of de; Translation: “offspring”; Notes: Biological descendants.
  17. suo — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: ablative neuter singular; Function: modifies semine; Translation: “his own”; Notes: Reflexive possession.
  18. Moloch — Lemma: Moloch; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: indirect object by sense; Translation: “Moloch”; Notes: Foreign deity condemned by the law.
  19. nec — Lemma: nec; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: negative coordination; Translation: “and not”; Notes: Strengthens refusal.
  20. voluerit — Lemma: volo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active subjunctive; Function: verb of the conditional clause; Translation: “should be willing”; Notes: Expresses deliberate refusal.
  21. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: object of occidere; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers back to hominem.
  22. occidere — Lemma: occido; Part of Speech: verb (infinitive); Form: present active infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive with voluerit; Translation: “to kill”; Notes: Specifies the required judicial action.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Leviticus. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.