Leviticus 20:8

Posted on April 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 20:8 Custodite præcepta mea, et facite ea: Ego Dominus qui sanctifico vos.

Keep my commandments and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Custodite keep 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP.MOOD
2 præcepta commandments ACC.PL.N (2ND DECL)
3 mea my ACC.PL.N (POSS)
4 et and CONJ
5 facite do 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP.MOOD
6 ea them ACC.PL.N (DEM)
7 Ego I NOM.SG (PERS)
8 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M (2ND DECL)
9 qui who NOM.SG.M (REL)
10 sanctifico sanctify 1SG.PRES.ACT.IND
11 vos you ACC.PL (PERS)

Syntax

Imperative Commands: Custodite (Verb) + præcepta mea (Direct Object), coordinated with facite ea — twin imperatives expressing obligation and enactment.

Self-Identification Clause: Ego Dominus — emphatic subject-predicate asserting divine authority.

Relative Clause: qui sanctifico vos — defines the LORD as the active agent of consecration, grounding the commands in divine action.

Morphology

  1. Custodite — Lemma: custodio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present active imperative; Function: primary command; Translation: “keep”; Notes: Conveys attentive guarding and faithful observance.
  2. præcepta — Lemma: præceptum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative neuter plural; Function: direct object of custodite; Translation: “commandments”; Notes: Specific divine directives.
  3. mea — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative neuter plural; Function: modifies præcepta; Translation: “my”; Notes: Emphasizes divine ownership.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordinates imperatives; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links obedience with action.
  5. facite — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present active imperative; Function: coordinated command; Translation: “do”; Notes: Stresses enactment rather than mere assent.
  6. ea — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: accusative neuter plural; Function: direct object of facite; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers back to the commandments.
  7. Ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: emphatic subject; Translation: “I”; Notes: Heightens authority and assurance.
  8. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “LORD”; Notes: Refers to YHWH, covenant sovereign.
  9. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: introduces defining relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Identifies the LORD by his action.
  10. sanctifico — Lemma: sanctifico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular present active indicative; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “sanctify”; Notes: Ongoing divine action of consecration.
  11. vos — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: direct object of sanctifico; Translation: “you”; Notes: Addresses the covenant community collectively.

 

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.