Nm 14:32 Vestra cadavera iacebunt in solitudine.
Your corpses shall lie in the wilderness.
| # |
Latin |
Gloss |
Grammar Tag |
| 1 |
Vestra |
your |
POSS.NOM.PL.N |
| 2 |
cadavera |
corpses |
NOM.PL.N |
| 3 |
iacebunt |
they will lie |
3PL.FUT.ACT.IND |
| 4 |
in |
in |
PREP+ABL |
| 5 |
solitudine |
wilderness |
ABL.SG.F |
Syntax
Main Clause: cadavera vestra is the subject, with vestra modifying cadavera, and iacebunt is the future verb expressing the resulting state.
Prepositional Phrase: in solitudine indicates location, with in governing the ablative.
Morphology
- Vestra — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: Possessive adjective; Form: Nominative neuter plural; Function: Modifies cadavera; Translation: your; Notes: Agrees with cadavera in case, number, and gender.
- cadavera — Lemma: cadaver; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative neuter plural, third declension; Function: Subject of iacebunt; Translation: corpses; Notes: Refers to lifeless bodies, emphasizing the consequence.
- iacebunt — Lemma: iaceo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural future active indicative, second conjugation; Function: Main verb; Translation: they will lie; Notes: Indicates a future state of being left unburied or fallen.
- in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Preposition governing ablative; Function: Introduces location; Translation: in; Notes: With ablative, denotes position rather than motion.
- solitudine — Lemma: solitudo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative feminine singular, third declension; Function: Object of in; Translation: wilderness; Notes: Refers to a desolate region, often associated with isolation.
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.