Leviticus 20:5

Posted on April 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 20:5 ponam faciem meam super hominem illum, et super cognationem eius, succidamque et ipsum, et omnes qui consensuerunt ei ut fornicarentur cum Moloch, de medio populi sui.

I will set my face upon that man, and upon his kinship, and I will cut off both him and all who consented to him to commit fornication with Moloch, from the midst of his people.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 ponam I will set 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
2 faciem face ACC.SG.F (5TH DECL)
3 meam my ACC.SG.F (POSS)
4 super upon PREP+ACC
5 hominem man ACC.SG.M (3RD DECL)
6 illum that ACC.SG.M (DEM)
7 et and CONJ
8 super upon PREP+ACC
9 cognationem kinship ACC.SG.F (3RD DECL)
10 eius his GEN.SG.M (POSS)
11 succidamque and I will cut off 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
12 et also CONJ
13 ipsum himself ACC.SG.M (EMPH)
14 et and CONJ
15 omnes all ACC.PL.M (ADJ)
16 qui who NOM.PL.M (REL)
17 consensuerunt consented 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
18 ei to him DAT.SG.M (PERS)
19 ut so that CONJ
20 fornicarentur they might commit fornication 3PL.IMP.SUBJ.DEP
21 cum with PREP+ABL
22 Moloch Moloch INDECL.PROPN
23 de from PREP+ABL
24 medio midst ABL.SG.N (2ND DECL)
25 populi people GEN.SG.M (2ND DECL)
26 sui his own GEN.SG.M (POSS)

Syntax

Main Clause: ponam (Verb) + faciem meam (Direct Object) + super hominem illum (Prepositional phrase of opposition).

Coordinated Phrase: et super cognationem eius — extension of judgment to the offender’s kin group.

Judicial Action: succidamque — coordinated future verb indicating removal.

Objects of Removal: ipsum and omnes qui consensuerunt ei.

Purpose Clause: ut fornicarentur cum Moloch — subjunctive clause expressing participation in cultic infidelity.

Separation Formula: de medio populi sui — ablative phrase marking expulsion from the community.

Morphology

  1. ponam — Lemma: pono; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular future active indicative; Function: principal verb of judgment; Translation: “I will set”; Notes: Announces a determined divine action.
  2. faciem — Lemma: facies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “face”; Notes: Idiom for attention directed in judgment.
  3. meam — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: modifier; Translation: “my”; Notes: Emphasizes divine agency.
  4. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses hostile direction; Translation: “upon”; Notes: Conveys active opposition.
  5. hominem — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: object of super; Translation: “man”; Notes: Identifies the primary offender.
  6. illum — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: determiner; Translation: “that”; Notes: Points back to the specified individual.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Adds a further target of judgment.
  8. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: repeats hostile direction; Translation: “upon”; Notes: Extends scope.
  9. cognationem — Lemma: cognatio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: object of super; Translation: “kinship”; Notes: Family group associated with the offender.
  10. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Function: modifier; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers back to the man.
  11. succidamque — Lemma: succido; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular future active indicative + enclitic -que; Function: coordinated main verb; Translation: “and I will cut off”; Notes: Legal term for exclusion from the community.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: adds emphasis; Translation: “also”; Notes: Reinforces inclusion.
  13. ipsum — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: intensive pronoun; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: emphatic object; Translation: “himself”; Notes: Stresses the individual offender.
  14. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Introduces additional objects.
  15. omnes — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative masculine plural; Function: modifies the following relative clause; Translation: “all”; Notes: Universal scope.
  16. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine plural; Function: subject of the relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Identifies accomplices.
  17. consensuerunt — Lemma: consentio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural perfect active indicative; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “consented”; Notes: Indicates shared culpability.
  18. ei — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: dative masculine singular; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Refers to the principal offender.
  19. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces purpose clause; Translation: “so that”; Notes: Governs the subjunctive.
  20. fornicarentur — Lemma: fornicor; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: third person plural imperfect subjunctive; Function: verb of the purpose clause; Translation: “they might commit fornication”; Notes: Figurative term for cultic infidelity.
  21. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: indicates association; Translation: “with”; Notes: Marks illicit union.
  22. Moloch — Lemma: Moloch; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: object of cum; Translation: “Moloch”; Notes: Foreign deity condemned in the law.
  23. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses separation; Translation: “from”; Notes: Standard expulsion formula.
  24. medio — Lemma: medium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative neuter singular; Function: object of de; Translation: “the midst”; Notes: Metaphor for communal belonging.
  25. populi — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: dependent genitive; Translation: “of the people”; Notes: Specifies the community.
  26. sui — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: modifies populi; Translation: “his own”; Notes: Reflexive reference to the offender.

 

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.