Study Guide: Group 21

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 fourth declension nouns:

239. Be careful with the word spiritus. It could be nominative singular, genitive singular, nominative plural, or accusative plural. Because the word gladius is unambiguously nominative singular, this lets you know that spiritus is genitive singular: gladius spiritus, "sword of the spirit."

240. See the note to Verse #239 about the word spiritus. Here the word afflictio is nominative singular, so spiritus needs to be genitive singular.

241. Notice how the noun phrase, templum spiritus sancti, which is the subject of the sentence, wraps around the verb. The predicate membra vestra comes first in the sentence, which can be confusing for English-speakers!

242. The verbs are implied here but not expressed: Prudentia carnis (est) mors; prudentia autem Spiritus (est) vita et pax. Notice that the postpositive particle comes in second position in its clause. See the note to Verse #239 about the word spiritus, which is genitive singular here, parallel to the genitive carnis.

243. See the note to Verse #239 about the word spiritus, which is genitive singular here. There is no grammatical reason why it is has to be interpreted in this way; rather, it is the meaning of the words that lets you know fructus is nominative and spiritus is genitive.

244. Notice that the postpositive particle comes in second position in its clause. The verbs are implied but not expressed: fides (est) ex auditu; auditus autem (est) per verbum Christi.

245. The word tua could be many possible forms: feminine nominative singular, feminine ablative singular, neuter nominative plural, neuter accusative plural. From context, you can tell that here it is ablative singular, part of this prepositional phrase: in manu tua.

246. See the note to Verse #245 about tua. The word imperium is neuter nominative singular (second declension), while the word omnium is neuter genitive plural (third declension). Even though the letters of a word ending might be the same, you have to understand the different declensions in order to understand the ending correctly.

247. This is an existential use of the verb sunt, which can be translated into English as "there are."

248. Notice that the word domus is feminine, hence the adjective magna agreeing with domo. The word solum is being used adverbially here, like the English word "only, solely." In the phrase sed et the word et is being used adverbially, meaning "but also."

249. In Latin, there is a word opera, a first declension noun, and also a word opus, a third declension noun, which takes the form opera in the plural. In this verse, the plural subject, caeli, makes it clear that this is the plural opera, third declension.

250. You can read about the phrase sanctus sanctus sanctus in this post at the ReligiousReading.com blog.

251. This is from the vision of Elisha (Eliseus); compare the "chariot of fire" in Verse #234.