Study Group: Guide 14

Here is the latest Study Guide! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

You will find more Study Guides at the Vulgate Verses wiki.

These verses contain third declension nouns:

158. Notice that ostium is neuter nominative singular, while ovium is feminine genitive plural, even though they both end in -ium.

159. The verb is implied but not expressed: Amici divitum (sunt) multi.

160. This verse is from the apocryphal book of Sirach. Notice that the phrase pascua...divitum wraps around the verb, serving as the predicate, while pauperes is the subject.

161. The word sicut introduces a comparison: verba sapientium are like stimuli.

162. Notice the implied verbs: Cor sapientium (est) ubi tristitia est et cor stultorum (est) ubi laetitia (est).

163. Here you can see the difference between the genitive plural ending for second declension nouns, dominorum, and the genitive plural ending for third declension nouns, regum.

164. Notice that you can have genitives arranged in a sequence: the chief (of) the kings (of) the earth.

165. Remember that you can replace the Latin word nec with the words et non: non est transmutatio et non (est) vicissitudinis obumbratio.

166. The verb is implied, not expressed: Terra (est) scabillum pedum meorum.

167. This is part of the angels' annunciation to the shepherds: Gloria in altissimis Deo et in terra pax in hominibus bonae voluntatis.

168. This proverb is based on a comparison between two things: circulus aureus in naribus suis is like a mulier pulchra et fatua. Be careful with the word suis! This is not the adjective suus, but is instead the genitive singular of the noun sus. You can read more about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.

Vulgate Verse: custos fratris mei

I've posted a detailed commentary about a Vulgate verse today over at my ReligiousReading.com blog, where you will find a discussion of some of the extra-Biblical legends about Cain and Abel:

Genesis 4: Num custos fratris mei sum

Meanwhile, for an image, here is Jan van Eyck's rendering of the slaying of Abel for his painting the Ghent Altarpiece, completed in 1432. I may be wrong, but it looks to me like Cain is slaying Abel with a jawbone - perhaps an echo of the jawbone of an ass from the story of Samson? What do you think?

Vulgate Verse: victima holocausti

I've posted a detailed commentary about a Vulgate verse today over at my ReligiousReading.com blog:

Genesis 22: ubi est victima holocausti?

Study Guide: Group 13

Here is the latest Study Guide! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

You will find more Study Guides at the Vulgate Verses wiki.

These verses contain third declension nouns:

144. The genitive Dei goes with the noun, adiutores. Because the word Dei is in first position, it acquires a more emphatic value.

145. These are words spoken by Jesus, criticizing the Pharisees and their followers.

146. Notice that the question word, ubi, does not need to be in first position.

147. These are the words that Jesus speaks when his family by birth is looking for him; he declares that instead it is the crowd surrounding him, those who also do the will of God, who are his familiy.

148. You saw this first part of this passage already in Verse #6: Non cogitationes meae cogitationes vestrae neque viae vestrae viae meae.

149. Notice that the word ubi can sometimes serve as a question word (see Verse #146), and sometimes simply as an adverb, which is what you have here.

150. The Latin words ubi...ibi are correlative, "where... there..."

151. Notice that in this version of the Beatitudes, the expressions are in the second-person plural (vestrum); the version in Matthew 5 is in the third-person plural. Notice that the first verb is implied, not expressed: beati (sunt) pauperes.

152. Note the parallel construction: Non auditores legis iusti sunt apud Deum, sed factores legis (iusti sunt apud Deum).

153. This verse is from the apocryphal additions to the Book of Daniel, called the "Prayer of Azariah." The verb is implied, not expressed: Universa (sunt) opera tua vera.

154. The word quam has many functions in Latin. Here it is an adverb being used in an exclamatory fashion (you could even add an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence, if you want).

155. You need to distinguish between the subject corpora vestra and the predicate membra Christi.

156. The verb is implied, not expressed: Magna usque ad nubes (est) veritas tua.

157. This verse is from the apocryphal book of Sirach. The word quasi introduces a comparison: speciosa (est) misericordia Dei in tempore tribulationis, quasi nubes pluviae (speciosa est) in tempore siccitatis.

Study Guide: Group 12

Here is the latest Study Guide! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

You will find more Study Guides at the Vulgate Verses wiki.

These verses contain first, second and third declension nouns:

131. The verb is implied: Auxilium nostrum (est) in nomine Domini.

132. The preposition phrase in sanguine is used here as the predicate. The Latin word anima is being used here to render what is called "psyche" in the Greek Septuagint; the word in Hebrew is "nephesh," meaning "breath, the breath of life." For more about Latin anima, see this blog post.

133. This is an existential use of the verb est, which you can translate as "there is" in English, or, as here, non est, "there is no...," timor non est, "there is no fear."

134. See the note about prope for Verse #68

135. This verse is from the apocryphal book of Wisdom. This is an existential use of the verb est, which you can translate as "there is" in English.

136. The English phrase "nothing new under the sun" made it into Hirsch's New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy.

137. The Latin word os (oris) is related to the Latin verb orare, meaning "to ask for, beg, pray." Knowing the Latin words os, meaning "mouth," and auris, meaning "ear," can help you keep track of the unfortunate English homonyms "oral" and "aural."

138. This famous verse is full of tricky double-negatives. Latin non...sine, "not without," equals a positive: "the prophet has honor." Then add on another negative: nisi, "but not in his own home." The general rhetorical term for making positive declarations by means of negative statements is called litotes.

139. The adjective dignus takes an ablative complement: mercede sua.

140. The verbs are implied here: Esca (est) ventri et venter (est) escis. This is a parallel construction, although note that the first portion has a singular dative, ventri, while the second portion has a plural dative escis (it is this parallelism that helps you be sure that escis is a dative plural here, not ablative).

141. The Latin word saeculum is here rendering the Greek word "aion" (English "eon"), which was adopted as the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew word "olam." Each of these words is complex and fascinating in its own right, and the history of translating the verses of the Bible in which these words appear is quite intriquing.

142. The Latin word secundum can be tricky! Here you have the preposition, secundum, meaning "according to, following." There is also an adjective, secundus, which means "second, next, favorable." The same root, sec-, "follow," can be seen in this wide range of meanings, but you definitely need to be sure when you are dealing with the preposition, which takes an accusative, as here (secundum hominem, as opposed to the adjective.

143. The verb is implied here: Per hominem (est) mors et per hominem (est) resurrectio mortuorum, positing a parallel between Adam and Jesus.

Vulgate Verse: Deus lux est

I've posted a detailed commentary about a Vulgate verse today over at my ReligiousReading.com blog:

I John: Deus lux est

Here the motto of Oxford University itself, which is built on the metaphor of light which is at the heart of Christianity: Dominus illuminatio mea, "The lord is my illumination," as shown here in Oxford University's coat of arms:

Vulgate Verse: stella matutina

I've posted a detailed commentary about a Vulgate verse today over at my ReligiousReading.com blog:

Revelation: sum stella splendida et matutina

Here is a picture of the "morning star" from a CalTech "Ask An Astronomer" webpage answering the astronomy question, Why is Venus so bright in the night sky?

Study Guide: Group 11

Here is the latest Study Guide! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

You will find more Study Guides at the Vulgate Verses wiki.

These verses contain first, second and third declension nouns:

118. The genitive is often used in Latin to describe something where we might use an adjective in English, as you can see with the genitive form perfectionis here. Compare the English phrase "a heart of gold," as opposed to saying "a golden heart."

119. Note that here the word dominus means "master, lord," in sense of the one who is dominant over something: Filius hominis, "the son of man" est dominus, "is the master" etiam sabbati, "even of the Sabbath."

120. This use of the genitive suggests belonging and identification: non sumus noctis, "we are not of the night, we do not belong to the night." The Latin word neque is often easier to understand if you replace it with the equivalent phrase et non: Non sumus noctis et non (sumus) tenebrarum.

121. See the note to Verse #120 above about how the genitive, lucis, can be used to express belonging and identification.

122. The Latin word lucerna is related to the word lux (lucis), meaning "light." In some editions, this verse reads: Lucerna corporis tui est oculus tuus.

123. This verse is from the apocryphal book of I Esdras. The verb is implied: Benedictus (est) Deus veritatis.

124. This verse is from the apocryphal book of Wisdom. Notice how the predicate noun phrase, cordis scrutator verus wraps around the verb est. This "wrap-around" pattern is commonly found in Latin, but it is often quite difficult for English speakers to get used to it.
(Wisdom 1:7) Deus cordis scrutator est verus.

125. This verse consists of two parallel portions, but the word Deus appears in only the first portion: Non est dissensionis Deus, sed (est) pacis (Deus).

126. This is from the famous passage in the book of Ecclesiastes, "There is a time for... and a time for...," etc. Here is the complete passage in Ecclesiastes 3.

127. The Latin word nonne is used to introduce a question to which the expected answer is "yes," just as when we start a question in English with "isn't...?" or "doesn't...?"

128. The Latin word num is used to introduce a question to which the expected answer is "no." This is something like adding the word "really" to an English question, implying that the answer is "no."

129. See the note about nonne above for Verse #127. Note that panis can be either nominative singular or genitive singular, depending on context. Here the context lets you know that panis is the nominative subject of the sentence, and participatio corporis Domini is the predicate.

130. See the note about nonne above for Verse #127.

Study Guide: Group 10

Here is the latest Study Guide! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

You will find more Study Guides at the Vulgate Verses wiki.

These verses contain first, second and third declension nouns:

108. Here is the complete statement: ego sum Alpha et Omega, initium et finis. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and Omega is the last. You can read more about this symbolism in the wikipedia article.

109. Notice that while sermo ends in o-, it is not a dative or ablative singular of the second declension. Instead, sermo is a third declension noun, nominative singular, masculine (hence the predicate adjective, vivus). In order to be able to understand words in a Latin sentence, you need to recognize the endings but also to know the declensions and genders of the nouns.

110. This verse is from the apocryphal book of II Esdras. The word ut introduces a comparison: ut vapor (est), "it is like steam, an exhalation." In other words, it is something insubstantial, transient, fleeting.

111. See the note to Verse #109 above. The word munitio is a third declension noun, nominative singular, feminine, hence the feminine adjective mea.

112. In this parallel construction, the verb est is expressed in the first portion, and implied in the second portion: lex (est) lux. The play on words in the Latin here is absolutely lovely!

113. The metaphor at work here is that God is not interested in the superficial "face" one might put on, one's public "mask." Although the English word "person" does derive from the Latin persona, the Latin word itself meant a "mask." For more about the fascinating word persona, see this blog post.

114. The Latin words ubi and ibi are correlative adverbs, like the English words "where...there" (or "when...then"). The word et is being used adverbially here, meaning "also, too."

115. Notice that while the subject of the verb is plural,estis (vos), the predicates are singular: agricultura and aedificatio.

116. Be careful with the distinction between subject Pater meus and predicate agricola. Grammatically, the word meus could modify agricola (a masculine noun of the first declension), but context tells you that Pater meus is the subject of the verb, parallel to the implied subject of the first verb, (ego) sum.

117. The verb is implied: Dominus (est) petra mea et robur meum et salvator meus. The subject, Dominus is masculine, but the predicates cover all three genders: petra is feminine, robur is neuter, and salvator is masculine.

Vulgate Verse: alpha et omega

I've posted a detailed commentary about a Vulgate verse today over at my ReligiousReading.com blog:

Revelation: Ego sum Alpha et Omega

Here is an image by a modern Christian artist, Roberta Williams, which she has entitled "Alpha and Omega."

Vulgate Verse: sanctus sanctus sanctus

I've posted a detailed commentary about a Vulgate verse today over at my ReligiousReading.com blog:

Revelation 4:8: sanctus sanctus sanctus Dominus Deus omnipotens

Study Guide: Group 9

Here is the latest Study Guide! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

You will find more Study Guides at the Vulgate Verses wiki.

These verses contain first, second and third declension nouns:

96. This is the question which Jesus poses to Pilate. There is a famous anagram of this verse which provides an answer to the question: Est vir qui adest.

97. The gender of the nouns lets you know where the adjective tuus belongs: Sermo tuus is the subject, veritas is the predicate.

98. The Latin word legislator is composed of the root legis, genitive singular of the word lex, "law," and lat-, a participle of the verb ferre, "to carry, bear." So, the legislator is the one who introduces the laws, brings them forward. This is a noun in Latin, and there is no corresponding verb. The English verb "legislate" is formed from the English word "legislator," borrowed from the Latin.

99. The verb is implied here: Benedictus (est) Deus, with the noun phrase Pater misericordiarum standing in apposition to Deus.

100. The verb is implied: Dominus Deus (est) fortitudo mea.

101. The verb is implied: Statera dolosa (est) abominatio apud Dominum. There are other references to this proverbial statera dolosa in Proverbs 20:23 and Hosea 12:7.

102. The use of the plural noun, sunt, shows that vana is being used substantively here, neuter in gender, plural in number: vana sunt, "they are empty things, worthless things."

103. The verb is implied: Stipendia peccati (est) mors.

104. This is the existential use of the verb "to be," which we render with "there" in English: non est potestas, "There is no power."

105. This verse is from the apocryphal book of Sirach. Notice that the compound subject of the sentence is treated as a plural group, taking a plural noun, sunt.

106. The word mors is here in the vocative case, although the nominative and vocative forms are identical for nouns in the third declension.

107. See the note to Verse 106.

Study Guide: Group 8

Here is the latest Study Guide! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

You will find more Study Guides at the Vulgate Verses wiki.

These verses contain first, second and third declension nouns:

81. This phrase has been used to label a particular genre of Christian art in which Jesus, scourged and crowned with thorns, is presented by Pilate to the crowd, as he proclaims, "Ecce, homo." You can read more at wikipedia.

82. See Verse #81. These are the words spoken by Pilate when he releases Jesus a second time to the crowd after interviewing him privately.

83. These are the words which Jesus speaks to his mother Mary from the cross. He speaks in reference to his beloved disciple, and then he says to that disciple, Ecce, mater tua.

84. The word panis could be nominative singular or genitive singular; the forms are identical. So too the word vitae could be genitive singular, dative singular or nominative plural. From the combination of the two words, you can conclude that it is panis, "the bread" (nominative singular) vitae, "of life" (genitive singular).

85. For the Latin word caritas, see the note to Verse #70.

86. If an adjective is used as the predicate of a sentence, it must agree in gender and number with its noun. If one noun is used as the predicate of another noun, they do not have to agree in gender, as you can see here: Deus (masculine) lux (feminine) est. There is nothing grammatically disconcerting about having the subject of a sentence be a noun of one gender, and the predicate be a noun of a different gender.

87. This verse is from the apocryphal book of II Esdras. Be careful with the division into subject, Deus, and predicate, dux vester.

88. The verb is implied: Deus (est) salvator meus.

89. The noun intemptator is not standard Latin. Instead, it is a word invented here to express the idea of someone who do not (in-, a negative prefix) put people to the test (temptare, "to try, put to the test"). The Latin is translating the Greek equivalent, "a-peirastos."

90. The verbs are implied: Dominus (est) iudex noster, (Dominus est) legifer noster.

91. This verse is from the apocryphal additions to the book of Esther. The word solus here modifies the subject of the verb es, "(you) alone are our king."

92. Although the English word "conversation" ultimately derives from the Latin word conversatio, the Latin word has the broader meaning of our "way of life, keeping company with, association." The Greek word being translated here is "politeuma," which means "community."

93. The verb is implied: merces vestra (est) multa. The English word "mercy" is derived from this same Latin word, merces (it is also the origin of the French "merci").

94. Compare the slightly different version of this same statement in Verse #93.

95. This is the question that Isaac asks his father Abraham as they are on their way to make a sacrifice. The word holocaustum is borrowed directly from Greek, where it means the sacrificial offering that is burnt (caust-) whole (holo-). The English word "holocaust" used in reference to the Nazi genocide of the Jews dates to 1957 (the word used in Hebrew to refer to the genocide, "shoah," means something quite different: "catastrophe").

Vulgate Verse: gloria in excelsis

I've posted a detailed commentary about a Vulgate verse today over at my ReligiousReading.com blog:

Luke 19:38: benedictus qui venit rex in nomine Domini pax in caelo et gloria in excelsis

Study Guide: Group 7

Here is the latest Study Guide! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

You will find more Study Guides at the Vulgate Verses wiki.

These verses contain first, second and third declension nouns:

68. The word prope is an adverb meaning "near by, nigh." You can see the same root in the English word "approach," from a late Latin word derived from this adverb, propiare, "to come near."

69. The words quidem and autem are a postpositive particles, creating a parallel statement, with an implied verb in each portion: Messis quidem (est) multa, operarii autem (sunt) pauci.

70. The Latin word caritas is related to the adjective carus, meaning "dear, precious, expensive," hence caritas had the sense of "regard, esteem, love," and was used as such by classical authors. The Greek word which is being translated in this verse by Latin caritas is "agape," one of the words in Greek for "love." The Latin caritas is the origin of the English word "charity."

71. See the note to Verse #70 about Latin caritas. Here the prepositional phrase ex Deo is being used as the predicate of the sentence.

72. The verse here is implied: nemo (est) bonus. The word unus can mean "one" but, as here, it can also mean "alone, only."

73. This verse is from the apocryphal book of Sirach. The verb is implied: Fons sapientiae (est) verbum Dei.

74. The verb is implied: Timor Domini (est) principium scientiae.

75. The verb is implied: Salus mea (est) in Deo. Notice that even though the word salus ends in -us, it is not a second declension masculine noun. Instead, it is a third declension noun, salus, salutis, and is feminine in gender.

76. Here the prepositional phrase in caelis is being used as the predicate of the sentence.

77. The verb is implied: Sol et scutum (est) Dominus Deus.

78. See the note to Verse #59

79. The use of the dative here, Deo nostro expresses possession: our God has honor et virtus et fortitudo.

80. Notice the use of the parallel construction; when the same word is used in both portions, it does not have to be expressed both times: Corpus non est unum membrum sed multa (membra).

Study Guide: Group 6

Here is the latest Study Guide! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

You will find more Study Guides at the Vulgate Verses wiki.

These verses contain both first and second declension nouns and adjectives:

54. The verb is implied here: In Deo (est) gloria mea. Note that the predicate in Deo comes before the subject, which is not at all unusual - but it can be hard for English speakers to get used to that!

55. The word paradisus is ultimately from an ancient Iranian word, pairidaeza, which meant a gardeb park or enclosed grounds. The Greeks borrowed this word as paradeisos (παράδεισος), and you can find it used both in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) and in the New Testament.

56. The adjective plena takes a complement in the ablative, misericordia. In English we would say, "full of..."

57. The verb is implied in this verse, which consists of two parallel parts: Lingua (est) inquietum malum, (lingua est) plena veneno mortifero. The adjective plena takes an ablative complement, veneno. The adjective malum is being used substantively here. It does not agree with the noun lingua, but instead is a noun itself: "a bad thing, something bad."

58. Hebrew contains a number of consonants which are not found in either Latin or Greek, although they are found in English. When the Hebrew word "hoshana" was put into Greek, there was no way to represent the "sh" sound. In addition, Greek does not have a letter "h," although there is a special mark used to indicate a rough breathing at the beginning of the word: ὡσαννα. In Latin, the word was transliterated from Greek as "osanna." You can read more about the use of this word in Judaism and in Christianity at wikipedia.

59. These are the words of praise spoken by Jesus's disciples when he descends from the Mount of Olives. They salute him as a king, and proclaim peace and glory: benedictus qui venit rex in nomine Domini pax in caelo et gloria in excelsis, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord; peace on earth and glory in the high places." Compare also the similar statement made by the angels to the shepherds: Gloria in altissimis Deo et in terra pax in hominibus bonae voluntatis, "Glory to God in the highest places and on the earth peace to people of good will." You can read about the use of this phrase in the "Great Doxology" in Christian liturgy in this wikipedia article.

60. Notice that servi is nominative plural, while Dei and caeli are genitive singular (as is terrae). You cannot simply use the word ending to tell you the gender, number and case. Rather, the word endings let you know what gender, number and case might be possible, and you need to rely on context to resolve the grammar.

61. The noun advena is a first declension noun, but it is masculine in gender.

62. The verb is implied here: via impiorum (est) tenebrosa.

63. The verb is implied here: magna (est) Diana Ephesiorum. You will find this phrase in the portion of Acts which explains about the worship of the goddess Diana in the city of Ephesus, and how the Christian message preached by Paul was perceived as a threat to her cult.
(Acts 19:28) Magna Diana Ephesiorum.

64. The verb is implied here: magna (est) misericordia tua. The phrase usque ad caelos is added to specify just how great it is!

65. This verse is from the apocryphal book sometimes called "The Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach," which is often simply abbreviated as "Sirach." It is also sometimes know as the book of Ecclesiasticus (not to be confused with the book of Ecclesiastes). This verse has a clearly proverbial quality. The idea is the praecordia fatui, the mind of a fool is like, quasi, the wheel of a cart, rota carri, because it turns and turns and turns, instead of being stable and steady.

66. Like Verse #65, this is also a metaphorical comparison, using the phrase sicut...sic..., "just as... so is..." to introduce the comparison.

67. In Verse #66 you saw a metaphorical description of the female beloved, amica mea, while in this verse you see a metaphorical description of the male beloved, dilectus meus.

Study Guide: Group 5

Here is the latest Study Guide! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

You will find more Study Guides at the Vulgate Verses wiki.

These verses contain both first and second declension nouns and adjectives:

44. The verb is implied: Dominus (est) petra mea. Compare Verse #2: Petra mea es.

45. The verbs are implied here: Caelum sursum (est) et terra deorsum (est). Notice that these are adverbs, not adjectives; that is why terra can be deorsum. Adverbs do not have gender or number or case the way that adjectives do.

46. This is an "existential" use of the verb "to be" in Latin, which we would translation in English as "there is" or, as here, non est, "there is not." See the notes to Verse #16 and #17 for this verse about the unity of all in Jesus.

47. The verb is implied here: Super argentum et aurum gratia (est) bona.. The preposition super here does not mean physically above but metaphorically above, in the sense of being more valuable, superior.

48. Note the use of the genitive, Domini. The idea is that the earth is the Lord's, belongs to the Lord, etc.

49. This is from the famous scene of the Annunciation to Mary in Luke. The word ancilla, meaning a female slave or servant, is based on the same metaphor that calls God by the name dominus, which means "lord" or "master" (in the sense of a master of slaves or servants). For a lovely Christmas hymn based on the Annunciation scene, see the Angelus ad Virginem.

50. The phrase semita iusti is the subject, while the predicate is the adjective, recta. This word order, with the verb in final position, is extremely common in Latin.

51. The verb is implied here: In aeternum misericordia Domini (est).

52. The words sapientia and stultitia are opposites, but the contrast between the human and divine realms makes it possible to construct this paradoxical statement.

53. This is another existential use of the verb "to be." The phrase non est here would be rendered in English as "there is not, there does not exist," etc. The adjective bonum here is being used substantively, meaning "something good, goodness," etc. Thus, non est bonum would mean "there is nothing good" or "good does not exist."

Vulgate Verse: Martha, Martha

I've posted a detailed commentary about a Vulgate verse today over at my ReligiousReading.com blog:

Luke 10:41: Martha Martha sollicita es et turbaris erga plurima

Velázquez: Christ in the House of Martha and Mary

Study Guide: Group 4

Here is a Study Guide for Group 4 of the verses! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

You will find more Study Guides at the Vulgate Verses wiki.

These verses contain second declension nouns and adjectives:

33. The verb is implied: Beati (sunt) pacifici. The Latin pacificus is, literally, peace-maker (paci-fic, from the noun pax and the verb facere, "to make, do").

34. See my note to Verse #24. Grammatically, this statement can be interpreted in two ways: filii can be genitive singular ("We belong to the son of God") or nominative plural ("We are sons of God"). If you look at the context of the verse, it is clear that it is the latter, filii as "sons," nominative plural: Quicumque enim Spiritu Dei aguntur hii filii sunt Dei, "Whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

35. The plural verb sunt is your clue that caeli should be interpreted as nominative plural rather than genitive singular.

36. The Latin word mundus is a tricky one. As a noun, it means "the world" (parallel to the Greek word "cosmos"), but there is also an adjective mundus, munda, mundum which means "clean, neat" (compare the Greek word "cosmetics" which likewise is related to "cosmos"). In this verse, de mundo means "of the world, belonging to the world."

37. The word longe is an adverb (a large number of Latin adverbs are based on an adjectival stem to which a final "e" is added).

38. This verse is from the apocryphal book of II Maccabees.

39. This verse is from the apocryphal book sometimes called "The Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach," which is often simply abbreviated as "Sirach." It is also sometimes know as the book of Ecclesiasticus (not to be confused with the book of Ecclesiastes). The use of the plural verb sunt is your clue that bona and mala are neuter plural adjectives, used substantively ("good (thing)" and "bad (things)").

40. Notice the way that the noun phrase, stultorum ... numerus wraps around the verb and predicate, infinitus est. This artful word order is characteristic both of Latin poetry and also of proverbial expression such as this one.

41. The adjective dignus takes a complement in the ablative case, cibo suo. In English, the adjective takes a prepositional complement, "worthy of."

42. The subject is implied but not expressed: est can be translated into English as "(he) is." Notice the parallel structure, where the repeated words do not need to be expressed in the second portion: Non est Deus mortuorum, sed (est Deus) vivorum.

43. The word ibi refers to that place where the dead and the unborn dwell. This is a beautiful chapter of the Book of Job, which you can read online in Latin-English parallel text at the New Advent Bible site.

Study Guide: Group 3

Here is a Study Guide for Group 3 of the verses! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

You will find more Study Guides at the Vulgate Verses wiki.

These verses contain second declension nouns and adjectives:

23. The subject of the verb est is not stated here. There are many things, of course, which can be regarded as a gift of God! In the context of Ephesians, the full verse is: Gratia enim estis salvati per fidem et hoc non ex vobis Dei enim donum est, "For by grace you are saved through faith, and that is not from you, for it is a gift of God."

24. Notice the grammatical ambiguity of this verse! Based purely on grammar, it could mean in English either "We are the Lord's" or "We are lords, masters" (in English, too, as it happens, these are ambiguous in speech, although in writing the apostrophe distinguishes between them). In context, of course, the verse means, "We are the Lord's" (i.e., we belong to the Lord).

25. To learn more about the agnus dei as a Christian symbol and the role of this phrase in the liturgy, see this wikipedia article.

26. The word vere is an adverb. The verb, es, tells us that the subject of the verb is "you," with no need for an explicit pronoun, as we require in English.

27. The verb, estis, tells us that the subject of the verb is "you (plural)" with no need for an explicit pronoun, as we require in English. Notice that the plural "you" has a singular predicate: templum.

28. The use of vestrum in the predicate shows that the speaker is addressing a plural audience, it "belongs to you (plural)".

29. This is a very typical word order found in Latin: subject-predicate-verb (verbum Domini || verum || est).

30. Here the verb has been omitted: bonus (est) Dominus. The preposition in can take either the ablative case or the accusative case, as it does here. When it takes the accusative case it means, "into, towards, to, for" (in sempiternum, "for eternity").

31. You can see how this verse follows the same sentence pattern as Verse #30, substituting a different adjective for the predicate.

32. Although this verse has some similarities in structure to Verse #30 and Verse #31, there are some important differences. The verb is explicit: es, and the lord is addressed with a vocative form, Domine.

Study Guide: Group 2

Here is a Study Guide for Group 2 of the verses! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

You will find more Study Guides at the Vulgate Verses wiki.

These verses contain second declension nouns and adjectives:

12. The verb, es, shows that the subject is second person singular, "you," with no need for an explicit pronoun in English. The predicate precedes the verb, also unlike the usual English word order.

13. Here the verb is implied: Benedictus (est) Deus excelsus, with the predicate preceding the implied verb.

14. This is the opening of what is called the "trisagion," the "thice-holy." You can read about this portion of the liturgy in this wikipedia article.

15. Jesus is here speaking to his disciples, hence the use of the second person plural form, vester.

16. This is the opening of the long passage where Paul discusses the unity of all in Christ: Non est Iudaeus neque Graecus non est servus neque liber non est masculus neque femina omnes enim vos unum estis in Christo Iesu, "There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither slave nor free: there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus."

17. This is also part of the same passage; see commentary on Verse #17.

18. These words are part of the ancient Jewish prayer tradition called the "Shema Yisrael," "Hear, Israel." You can read an article about this Jewish tradition at wikipedia.

19. There are two parallel portions here, and in both portions the verb has been omitted: Populus tuus (est) populus meus, et Deus tuus (est) Deus meus.

20. Here the word Domine is in the vocative, with the verb omitted (tuum (est) regnum), and the predicate preceding the verb, unlike English.

21. This passage is from the apocryphal Book of Tobit. Somewhat like Job, Tobit is a good man who suffers terrible losses, but never loses his faith in God throughout.

22. Here the expression is built on a single adverb: usquequo. Here is the Lord's answer to Isaiah: Et dixi usquequo Domine et dixit donec desolentur civitates absque habitatore et domus sine homine et terra relinquetur deserta, "And I said: How long, O Lord? And he said: Until the cities be laid waste without any inhabitant (left), and the houses be without any person (left), and the land shall be left desolate."

Study Guide: Group 1

Here is a Study Guide for Group 1 of the verses! I have not provided English translations, since those are easy enough to find by consulting versions of the Bible in English. Instead, I have tried to call attention to the various grammatical features of the verses, along with interesting vocabulary items, the importance of a specific Biblical context, etc.

These verses contain only first declension nouns and adjectives.

1. Sapientia, "wisdom," is strongly personified as feminine in Latin, as you can see here. This verse comes from the apocryphal book of the Bible which is commonly known as the book of "Wisdom." The Latin adjective clarus can mean "clear, bright, shining," but it also has the wider, metaphorical connotations of "illustrious, glorious," etc. This is of course where we get the English names Clara, Claire, and so on. The original meaning of the Latin word was closer to something like "clear-sounding," related to the verb clamare, "to shout out."

2. The verb es already conveys the subject of the verb, "you," so no pronoun is needed in Latin. Compare Matthew 16:18, ego dico tibi quia tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam.

3. Here the adjective tua is being used predicatively. To keep the same word order as in Latin, you could say: "Yours is the earth."

4. Notice that here the verb is implied, not stated: Magna (est) misericordia tua. The sentence structure is the same as in Verse #3, but with the verb omitted.

5. Here again the verb is implied: Viae tuae (sunt) rectae. Notice also the freedom of the Latin word order: the predicate can come at the end of the sentence, as here, or first in the sentence, as in the preceding two verses. This verse comes from the Prayer of Azariah, an apocryphal supplement to the Book of Daniel.

6. The verb is again implied: Non (sunt) viae vestrae viae meae. Try to get used to reading these Latin sentences out loud and letting them convey their meaning without a stated verb of being.

7. This verse has a parallel structure. In one portion, the verb is omitted, tuae (sunt) divitiae, while the verb is supplied in the second portion: tua est gloria.

8. This beautiful verse comes from the book of Revelation. The verb shows that the subject is ego, "I" - and the speaker's identity is revealed in the complete verse as Jesus: Ego Iesus misi angelum meum testificari vobis haec in ecclesiis; ego sum radix et genus David stella splendida et matutina, "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches; I am the root and tribe of David, the bright and morning star."

9. In this verse, Jesus is addressing Martha, the sister of Mary. The name Martha is here in the vocative case.

10. In this verse from the Song of Songs, the noun phrase amica mea is in the vocative case.

11. This verse shows how in Latin an adjective can agree with the nearest noun. You can understand that as a form of implied parallelism: Tua est magnificentia et (tua est) potentia.

Latin Bible Resources Online

In addition to providing information about the Vulgate Verses book here at the blog, I'll also be including information about valuable resources that might be of help as you study Latin in general, and the Latin Bible in particular.

Here are two great basic resources:

New Advent Latin-English Bible: If you are looking for an online interlinear Bible, the presenation at the New Advent (Catholic Encyclopedia) website is really excellent. Each chapter of each book is on its own page, with good navigation throughout. You can also do a specialized Google search of this site simply by adding site:newadvent.org/bible to your Google search. For example: lapides site:newadvent.org/bible

King James Bible, including Apocrypha: If you want to consult the King James Bible online, including the apocryphal books, this University of Michigan website is excellent. It features each book on a single page, rather than chapter by chapter, which makes it easy to search through a single book of the Bible just by using the search feature of your browser.

Sacred Texts Polyglot Bible: This presents an easy-to-read layout of the King James, Hebrew, Greek and Latin texts, with hyperlinks from the King James version to entries from Strong's Bible Concordance. It's a fantastic online resource!

Vulgate Verses Wiki Now Available

I have expanded my existing wiki for Latin Via Proverbs in order to accommodate all the materials from Vulgate Verses! With a consolidated search for both books, I think the wiki will now be extremely useful for Latin students and teachers alike.

Latin Via Proverbs and Vulgate Verses: The Wiki

The wiki allows you to search the contents of the book, so if there is a particular word or phrase you are looking for, you can find it easily. Digital searching online is so much more effective than trying to use a printed index for a book! Just one click, and "you are there," looking at the passage in the book that is of interest to you.

I am also using the wiki as a place to accumulate Study Guides and other materials of use to Latin students and teachers using these books. In the case of Latin Via Proverbs, I am providing English translations of the proverbs and information about the sources. For the Vulgate Verses, the emphasis will be on grammatical commentary and notes about any non-classical features of the Latin.

Subscribe to this blog in order to keep up with new materials as they are added to the wiki! I will be posting information here at this blog about the Study Guides and other materials as they are added. It's going to be a busy year in 2008 for the wiki! :-)

Vulgate Verses Available from Lulu.com

I've just released the Vulgate Verses book for sale from Lulu.com. You can find the book page at Lulu here:

Vulgate Verses: 4000 Sayings from the Bible for Teachers and Students of Latin

I've had good luck using Lulu for my previous book, Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin. You might notice a slight change in the style of title between this book and the previous one. I had so many people write me about Latin Via Proverbs, asking for the "teacher's edition," that I decided to include the phrase "for teachers" in the title of this new book, so that people would not think there was a separate teacher's edition somewhere.

And now, fingers crossed! I spent a lot of time putting this together and I really hope it will find an audience out there of people who want to learn more about the Vulgate Bible while also working on their Latin at the same time!