Lv 5:5 agat pœnitentiam pro peccato,
he shall perform repentance for the offense,
| # |
Latin |
Gloss |
Grammar Tag |
| 1 |
agat |
she may perform |
VERB, 3SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ |
| 2 |
pœnitentiam |
repentance |
NOUN, ACC.SG.F |
| 3 |
pro |
for |
PREP+ABL |
| 4 |
peccato |
sin / offense |
NOUN, ABL.SG.N |
Syntax
agat pœnitentiam forms the core verbal idea, with agat as a subjunctive of obligation or prescription and pœnitentiam as its direct object.
pro peccato is a prepositional phrase marking the cause or reason for the penitential action.
Morphology
- agat — Lemma: ago; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active subjunctive; Function: expresses required action; Translation: she may perform; Notes: subjunctive used in legal prescriptions.
- pœnitentiam — Lemma: pœnitentia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of agat; Translation: repentance; Notes: signifies ritual or moral expiation.
- pro — Lemma: pro; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses cause; Translation: for; Notes: indicates ground for penitential act.
- peccato — Lemma: peccatum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of pro; Translation: sin; Notes: refers to the committed transgression.
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.