Leviticus 20:9

Posted on April 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 20:9 Qui maledixerit patri suo, aut matri, morte moriatur: patri, matrique maledixit, sanguis eius sit super eum.

Whoever has cursed his father or his mother shall surely die; he has cursed his father and his mother, his blood shall be upon him.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Qui who NOM.SG.M (REL)
2 maledixerit has cursed 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
3 patri to father DAT.SG.M (2ND DECL)
4 suo his own DAT.SG.M (POSS)
5 aut or CONJ
6 matri to mother DAT.SG.F (3RD DECL)
7 morte by death ABL.SG.F (3RD DECL)
8 moriatur let him die 3SG.PRES.DEP.SUBJ
9 patri father DAT.SG.M (2ND DECL)
10 matrique and mother DAT.SG.F (3RD DECL)
11 maledixit he cursed 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
12 sanguis blood NOM.SG.M (3RD DECL)
13 eius his GEN.SG (POSS)
14 sit may be 3SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
15 super upon PREP+ACC
16 eum him ACC.SG.M (PERS)

Syntax

Legal Relative Clause: Qui maledixerit patri suo aut matri — perfect subjunctive defining the offender.

Penalty Formula: morte moriatur — fixed legal idiom expressing certain death.

Declarative Restatement: patri matrique maledixit — perfect indicative restating the offense as established fact.

Blood-Guilt Clause: sanguis eius sit super eum — jussive subjunctive assigning responsibility to the offender himself.

Morphology

  1. Qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject of the legal clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces a general legal case.
  2. maledixerit — Lemma: maledico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active subjunctive; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “has cursed”; Notes: Subjunctive used in juridical definition.
  3. patri — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative masculine singular; Function: indirect object of maledixerit; Translation: “to father”; Notes: Dative with verbs of speaking harm.
  4. suo — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: dative masculine singular; Function: modifies patri; Translation: “his own”; Notes: Reflexive, referring to the offender.
  5. aut — Lemma: aut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: exclusive coordination; Translation: “or”; Notes: Indicates either parent.
  6. matri — Lemma: mater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative feminine singular; Function: indirect object of maledixerit; Translation: “to mother”; Notes: Parallel to patri.
  7. morte — Lemma: mors; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative feminine singular; Function: ablative of manner; Translation: “by death”; Notes: Part of a fixed penalty formula.
  8. moriatur — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: third person singular present subjunctive; Function: jussive penalty verb; Translation: “let him die”; Notes: Expresses mandated execution.
  9. patri — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative masculine singular; Function: indirect object; Translation: “father”; Notes: Repeated for judicial emphasis.
  10. matrique — Lemma: mater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative feminine singular + enclitic -que; Function: coordinated indirect object; Translation: “and mother”; Notes: Enclitic tightens the pair.
  11. maledixit — Lemma: maledico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: declarative restatement; Translation: “he cursed”; Notes: Indicative asserts the crime as fact.
  12. sanguis — Lemma: sanguis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject of sit; Translation: “blood”; Notes: Symbol of blood-guilt.
  13. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Function: modifies sanguis; Translation: “his”; Notes: Responsibility lies with the offender.
  14. sit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present subjunctive; Function: jussive assignment; Translation: “may be”; Notes: Judicial pronouncement.
  15. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates liability; Translation: “upon”; Notes: Idiom of responsibility.
  16. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: object of super; Translation: “him”; Notes: Concludes the legal verdict.

 

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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