Leviticus 20:6

Posted on April 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 20:6 Anima, quæ declinaverit ad magos et ariolos, et fornicata fuerit cum eis, ponam faciem meam contra eam, et interficiam illam de medio populi sui.

A person who has turned aside to magicians and soothsayers, and has committed fornication with them, I will set my face against that person, and I will put him to death from the midst of his people.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Anima person NOM.SG.F (1ST DECL)
2 quæ who NOM.SG.F (REL)
3 declinaverit has turned aside 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
4 ad to PREP+ACC
5 magos magicians ACC.PL.M (2ND DECL)
6 et and CONJ
7 ariolos soothsayers ACC.PL.M (2ND DECL)
8 et and CONJ
9 fornicata having committed fornication PERF.DEP.PTCP.NOM.SG.F
10 fuerit has been 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
11 cum with PREP+ABL
12 eis them ABL.PL.M (PERS)
13 ponam I will set 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
14 faciem face ACC.SG.F (5TH DECL)
15 meam my ACC.SG.F (POSS)
16 contra against PREP+ACC
17 eam her ACC.SG.F (PERS)
18 et and CONJ
19 interficiam I will put to death 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
20 illam her ACC.SG.F (DEM)
21 de from PREP+ABL
22 medio midst ABL.SG.N (2ND DECL)
23 populi people GEN.SG.M (2ND DECL)
24 sui her own GEN.SG.M (POSS)

Syntax

Legal Subject: Anima — a general legal term for an individual person.

Relative Description: quæ declinaverit ad magos et ariolos — perfect subjunctive in a legal relative clause defining the offense.

Coordinated Participial Clause: et fornicata fuerit cum eis — deponent perfect participle with auxiliary, describing cultic infidelity.

Divine Response: ponam faciem meam contra eam — idiomatic formula of judicial opposition.

Penalty Clause: et interficiam illam de medio populi sui — future indicative expressing certain execution and removal from the community.

Morphology

  1. Anima — Lemma: anima; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative feminine singular; Function: legal subject; Translation: “person”; Notes: Used juridically for an individual life or person.
  2. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative feminine singular; Function: subject of the relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces the defining offense.
  3. declinaverit — Lemma: declino; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active subjunctive; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “has turned aside”; Notes: Moral deviation rather than physical movement.
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: marks direction of allegiance; Translation: “to”; Notes: Indicates approach or attachment.
  5. magos — Lemma: magus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative masculine plural; Function: object of ad; Translation: “magicians”; Notes: Practitioners of illicit arts.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins parallel offenders.
  7. ariolos — Lemma: ariolus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative masculine plural; Function: object of ad; Translation: “soothsayers”; Notes: Diviners condemned by the law.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Introduces an additional action.
  9. fornicata — Lemma: fornicor; Part of Speech: deponent verb (participle); Form: perfect deponent participle nominative feminine singular; Function: modifies Anima; Translation: “having committed fornication”; Notes: Figurative for cultic infidelity.
  10. fuerit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect subjunctive active; Function: auxiliary completing the participial construction; Translation: “has been”; Notes: Completes a perfect periphrasis.
  11. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: indicates association; Translation: “with”; Notes: Marks illicit union.
  12. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: ablative masculine plural; Function: object of cum; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to the magicians and soothsayers.
  13. ponam — Lemma: pono; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular future active indicative; Function: principal verb of judgment; Translation: “I will set”; Notes: Expresses deliberate divine action.
  14. faciem — Lemma: facies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “face”; Notes: Idiom of judicial opposition.
  15. meam — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: modifier; Translation: “my”; Notes: Emphasizes divine agency.
  16. contra — Lemma: contra; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses opposition; Translation: “against”; Notes: Strong adversative sense.
  17. eam — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: object of contra; Translation: “her”; Notes: Refers back to Anima.
  18. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Introduces the penalty.
  19. interficiam — Lemma: interficio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular future active indicative; Function: verb of execution; Translation: “I will put to death”; Notes: Explicit judicial killing.
  20. illam — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “that one / her”; Notes: Emphatic reference.
  21. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses separation; Translation: “from”; Notes: Standard expulsion formula.
  22. medio — Lemma: medium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative neuter singular; Function: object of de; Translation: “the midst”; Notes: Metaphor for communal inclusion.
  23. populi — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: dependent genitive; Translation: “of the people”; Notes: Identifies the community affected.
  24. sui — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: modifies populi; Translation: “her 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.
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