Leviticus 25:2

Posted on April 25, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 25:2 Loquere filiis Israel, et dices ad eos: Quando ingressi fueritis terram quam ego dabo vobis, sabbatizes sabbatum Domino.

“Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: ‘When you have entered the land that I will give to you, you shall keep a sabbath, a sabbath to the LORD.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Loquere speak 2SG.PRES.IMP.MOOD.DEP
2 filiis sons DAT.PL.M.2ND.DECL
3 Israel Israel INDECL
4 et and CONJ
5 dices you will say 2SG.FUT.IND.ACT
6 ad to PREP+ACC
7 eos them ACC.PL.M.PERS
8 Quando when CONJ
9 ingressi having entered PERF.PTCP.NOM.PL.M.DEP
10 fueritis you will have been 2PL.FUTP.IND.ACT
11 terram land ACC.SG.F.1ST.DECL
12 quam which ACC.SG.F.REL
13 ego I NOM.SG.PERS
14 dabo I will give 1SG.FUT.IND.ACT
15 vobis to you DAT.PL.PERS
16 sabbatizes you shall keep sabbath 2SG.FUT.IND.ACT
17 sabbatum sabbath ACC.SG.N.2ND.DECL
18 Domino to the LORD DAT.SG.M.2ND.DECL

Syntax

Main Imperative Clause: Loquere (command) + filiis Israel (indirect object).
Coordinated Future Clause: dices + ad eos — instruction about what is to be said.
Temporal Clause: Quando ingressi fueritis — future-perfect temporal condition.
Relative Clause: quam ego dabo vobis — specifies terram.
Main Result Clause: sabbatizes sabbatum Domino — obligation directed toward the LORD.

Morphology

  1. Loquere — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: verb (deponent); Form: second person singular present imperative; Function: issues a direct command; Translation: speak; Notes: Deponent form with active meaning, typical for divine instruction formulas.
  2. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: indirect object of loquere; Translation: sons; Notes: Dative marks the recipients of speech.
  3. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: genitival identifier of filiis; Translation: Israel; Notes: Functions appositionally to specify the people addressed.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordinates clauses; Translation: and; Notes: Links the command to the explanatory future instruction.
  5. dices — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular future indicative active; Function: introduces reported speech; Translation: you will say; Notes: Future tense reflects commanded future action.
  6. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the accusative; Function: marks direction toward addressees; Translation: to; Notes: Common with verbs of speaking.
  7. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: them; Notes: Refers back to the sons of Israel.
  8. Quando — Lemma: quando; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces a temporal clause; Translation: when; Notes: Governs a future-perfect construction in Latin.
  9. ingressi — Lemma: ingredior; Part of Speech: verb (deponent); Form: perfect participle nominative plural masculine; Function: forms part of a future-perfect periphrasis; Translation: having entered; Notes: Participial form supplies completed aspect.
  10. fueritis — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural future perfect indicative active; Function: completes the temporal verb phrase; Translation: you will have been; Notes: With ingressi, expresses a completed future action.
  11. terram — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of ingressi; Translation: land; Notes: Central object of the promise.
  12. quam — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: introduces a relative clause modifying terram; Translation: which; Notes: Agrees with its antecedent in gender and number.
  13. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: subject of dabo; Translation: I; Notes: Explicit subject adds emphasis.
  14. dabo — Lemma: do; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular future indicative active; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: I will give; Notes: Expresses divine promise.
  15. vobis — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: dative plural; Function: indirect object of dabo; Translation: to you; Notes: Refers to Israel collectively.
  16. sabbatizes — Lemma: sabbatizo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular future indicative active; Function: main verb of obligation; Translation: you shall keep sabbath; Notes: Cultic verb indicating ritual observance.
  17. sabbatum — Lemma: sabbatum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: direct object of sabbatizes; Translation: sabbath; Notes: Repetition emphasizes the sacred character of the day.
  18. Domino — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: dative of dedication; Translation: to the LORD; Notes: Indicates the sabbath is consecrated to YHWH.

 

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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