Leviticus 25:33

Posted on April 25, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 25:33 si redemptæ non fuerint, in iubileo revertentur ad dominos, quia domus urbium Levitarum pro possessionibus sunt inter filios Israel.

if they have not been redeemed, in the jubilee they shall return to their owners, because the houses of the cities of the Levites are counted as possessions among the sons of Israel.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 si if CONJ
2 redemptæ redeemed NOM.PL.F.PTCP.PERF.PASS
3 non not ADV
4 fuerint have been 3PL.FUTP.SUBJ.ACT
5 in in PREP+ABL
6 iubileo jubilee ABL.SG.N.2ND.DECL
7 revertentur shall return 3PL.FUT.IND.DEP
8 ad to PREP+ACC
9 dominos owners ACC.PL.M.2ND.DECL
10 quia because CONJ
11 domus houses NOM.PL.F.4TH.DECL
12 urbium of cities GEN.PL.F.3RD.DECL
13 Levitarum of the Levites GEN.PL.M.1ST.DECL
14 pro as PREP+ABL
15 possessionibus possessions ABL.PL.F.3RD.DECL
16 sunt are 3PL.PRES.IND.ACT
17 inter among PREP+ACC
18 filios sons ACC.PL.M.2ND.DECL
19 Israel Israel INDECL

Syntax

Conditional Protasis: si redemptæ non fuerint — future perfect subjunctive forming a legal condition of non-redemption.
Legal Consequence: in iubileo revertentur ad dominos — future deponent expressing automatic restoration in the jubilee year.
Causal Justification: quia domus urbium Levitarum … sunt — grounds the rule in the special status of Levitical urban houses.
Predicative Status: pro possessionibus sunt — defines these houses as permanent holdings.
Community Scope: inter filios Israel — limits application to the covenant people.

Morphology

  1. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: conditional marker; Translation: if; Notes: Introduces the contingency of non-redemption.
  2. redemptæ — Lemma: redimo; Part of Speech: perfect passive participle; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: complements fuerint; Translation: redeemed; Notes: Agrees with domus understood from context.
  3. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: negation; Translation: not; Notes: Denies redemption.
  4. fuerint — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural future perfect subjunctive active; Function: verb of the condition; Translation: have been; Notes: Forms a periphrastic perfect with redemptæ.
  5. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: temporal location; Translation: in; Notes: Refers to the jubilee year.
  6. iubileo — Lemma: iubileum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter, second declension; Function: object of in; Translation: jubilee; Notes: The year of mandated restoration.
  7. revertentur — Lemma: revertor; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural future indicative deponent; Function: main verb; Translation: shall return; Notes: Deponent form expresses automatic legal reversal.
  8. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the accusative; Function: direction; Translation: to; Notes: Marks the recipient of restoration.
  9. dominos — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine, second declension; Function: object of ad; Translation: owners; Notes: The rightful Levitical holders.
  10. quia — Lemma: quia; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: causal connector; Translation: because; Notes: Introduces the legal rationale.
  11. domus — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine, fourth declension; Function: subject of sunt; Translation: houses; Notes: Levitical urban dwellings.
  12. urbium — Lemma: urbs; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural feminine, third declension; Function: modifies domus; Translation: of cities; Notes: Specifies their urban setting.
  13. Levitarum — Lemma: Levita; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine, first declension; Function: dependent genitive; Translation: of the Levites; Notes: Identifies the priestly tribe.
  14. pro — Lemma: pro; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: predicative equivalence; Translation: as; Notes: Assigns legal status.
  15. possessionibus — Lemma: possessio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine, third declension; Function: object of pro; Translation: possessions; Notes: Treats these houses as inalienable holdings.
  16. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present indicative active; Function: copula; Translation: are; Notes: States enduring legal identity.
  17. inter — Lemma: inter; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the accusative; Function: scope; Translation: among; Notes: Limits application to Israel.
  18. filios — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine, second declension; Function: object of inter; Translation: sons; Notes: Covenant members.
  19. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: apposition to filios; Translation: Israel; Notes: Proper name remains indeclinable in Latin.

 

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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