Leviticus 24:21

Posted on April 24, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 24:21 Qui percusserit iumentum, reddet aliud. Qui percusserit hominem, punietur.

Whoever strikes a beast, shall restore another. Whoever strikes a man, shall be punished.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Qui whoever NOM.SG.M REL
2 percusserit has struck 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND
3 iumentum beast ACC.SG.N
4 reddet shall restore 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
5 aliud another ACC.SG.N INDEF
6 Qui whoever NOM.SG.M REL
7 percusserit has struck 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND
8 hominem a man ACC.SG.M
9 punietur shall be punished 3SG.FUT.PASS.IND

Syntax

First Statute: Qui percusserit iumentum — relative clause defining the offense against property.

Consequence: reddet aliud — future indicative prescribing restitution by replacement.

Second Statute: Qui percusserit hominem — relative clause defining an offense against a person.

Penalty: punietur — future passive indicating punitive judgment.

Morphology

  1. Qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: introduces a universal legal subject; Translation: whoever; Notes: applies the rule without exception.
  2. percusserit — Lemma: percutio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future perfect indicative active; Function: verb of the conditional offense; Translation: has struck; Notes: presents the act as completed prior to judgment.
  3. iumentum — Lemma: iumentum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative neuter singular, second declension; Function: direct object of percusserit; Translation: beast; Notes: denotes livestock or a working animal.
  4. reddet — Lemma: reddo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future indicative active; Function: states mandated restitution; Translation: shall restore; Notes: legal term for repayment or replacement.
  5. aliud — Lemma: alius; Part of Speech: indefinite adjective; Form: accusative neuter singular; Function: direct object of reddet; Translation: another; Notes: emphasizes substitution in kind.
  6. Qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: reintroduces the universal legal subject; Translation: whoever; Notes: parallel structure to the preceding statute.
  7. percusserit — Lemma: percutio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future perfect indicative active; Function: verb of the second offense clause; Translation: has struck; Notes: identical form underscores legal symmetry.
  8. hominem — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative masculine singular, third declension; Function: direct object of percusserit; Translation: a man; Notes: refers to a human person, elevating the gravity of the offense.
  9. punietur — Lemma: punio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future indicative passive; Function: states the imposed penalty; Translation: shall be punished; Notes: passive voice emphasizes authoritative enforcement.

 

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.