Leviticus 26:17

Posted on April 26, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 26:17 Ponam faciem meam contra vos, et corruetis coram hostibus vestris, et subiiciemini his qui oderunt vos. fugietis, nemine persequente.

I will set my face against you, and you will fall before your enemies, and you will be subjected to those who hate you. You will flee, with no one pursuing.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Ponam I will set 1SG.FUT.IND.ACT
2 faciem face ACC.SG.F.5TH.DECL
3 meam my ACC.SG.F.POSS.ADJ
4 contra against PREP+ACC
5 vos you ACC.PL.PERS.PRON
6 et and CONJ
7 corruetis you will fall 2PL.FUT.IND.ACT
8 coram before PREP+ABL
9 hostibus enemies ABL.PL.M.3RD.DECL
10 vestris your ABL.PL.M.POSS.ADJ
11 et and CONJ
12 subiiciemini you will be subjected 2PL.FUT.IND.PASS
13 his to those DAT.PL.DEM.PRON
14 qui who NOM.PL.M.REL
15 oderunt hate 3PL.PERF.IND.ACT
16 vos you ACC.PL.PERS.PRON
17 fugietis you will flee 2PL.FUT.IND.ACT
18 nemine no one ABL.SG.M.3RD.DECL
19 persequente pursuing ABL.SG.M.PTCP.PRES.ACT

Syntax

Divine Opposition: Ponam faciem meam contra vos — future indicative with prepositional phrase expressing active hostility from the divine speaker.
Military Defeat: corruetis coram hostibus vestris — future indicative predicting collapse in the enemies’ presence.
Subjugation: et subiiciemini his qui oderunt vos — passive future indicating forced submission; relative clause identifies the oppressors.
Flight: fugietis — terse future clause stressing panic.
Ablative Absolute: nemine persequente — portrays fear so great that flight occurs without pursuit.

Morphology

  1. Ponam — Lemma: pono; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular future indicative active; Function: main verb; Translation: I will set; Notes: Expresses deliberate turning of stance.
  2. faciem — Lemma: facies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine, fifth declension; Function: direct object; Translation: face; Notes: Idiom for presence and disposition.
  3. meam — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies faciem; Translation: my; Notes: Intensifies personal action.
  4. contra — Lemma: contra; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the accusative; Function: opposition; Translation: against; Notes: Marks adversarial stance.
  5. vos — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: object of contra; Translation: you; Notes: The addressed community.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: and; Notes: Links consequences.
  7. corruetis — Lemma: corruo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural future indicative active; Function: main verb; Translation: you will fall; Notes: Idiom for defeat and collapse.
  8. coram — Lemma: coram; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: spatial relation; Translation: before; Notes: Indicates visible humiliation.
  9. hostibus — Lemma: hostis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine/feminine, third declension; Function: object of coram; Translation: enemies; Notes: Opposing forces in battle.
  10. vestris — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative plural; Function: modifies hostibus; Translation: your; Notes: Personalizes the threat.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: and; Notes: Adds the next consequence.
  12. subiiciemini — Lemma: subicio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural future indicative passive; Function: main verb; Translation: you will be subjected; Notes: Passive emphasizes forced domination.
  13. his — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: dative plural; Function: dative complement; Translation: to those; Notes: Points to a particular class of oppressors.
  14. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of relative clause; Translation: who; Notes: Identifies those referred to by his.
  15. oderunt — Lemma: odi; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural perfect indicative active; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: hate; Notes: Perfect form with present sense of settled hostility.
  16. vos — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: direct object; Translation: you; Notes: Object of hostile intent.
  17. fugietis — Lemma: fugio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural future indicative active; Function: main verb; Translation: you will flee; Notes: Describes panic-driven retreat.
  18. nemine — Lemma: nemo; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular; Function: subject of ablative absolute; Translation: no one; Notes: Emphasizes irrational fear.
  19. persequente — Lemma: persequor; Part of Speech: participle; Form: ablative singular masculine present participle; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: pursuing; Notes: Ablative absolute heightens the image of unprovoked flight.

 

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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