[sup]2[/sup]"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. [sup]3[/sup]But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, [sup]4[/sup]so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
-Tim
P.S. Here’s Matt 6:3 from the Vulgate Latin:
te autem faciente elemosynam nesciat sinistra tua quid faciat dextera tua
sinistr.am ADJ 1 2 ACC S F POS
sinister, sinistra -um, sinistrior -or -us, sinistimus -a -um ADJ
left, improper,adverse; inauspicious;
sinistr.am N 1 1 ACC S F
sinistra, sinistrae N F
left hand;
sc.ire V 4 1 PRES ACTIVE INF 0 X
sc.ire V 4 1 PRES PASSIVE IMP 2 S
scio, scire, scivi, scitus V
know, understand;
*
vet.at V 1 1 PRES ACTIVE IND 3 S
veto, vetare, vetavi, vetatus V TRANS Late
veto, vetare, vetui, vetitus V TRANS
forbid, prohibit; reject, veto; be an obstacle to; prevent;
Well, if it has to be literal, here you go: The right hand forbids the left hand from knowing what it (the right hand) does/the first does OR The right hand prohibits the left hand to know what it (the right hand)/the first does.
I would say that your version would require a noun or a pronoun filling the subject slot, especially as I don’t have any preceding sentence to provide me a better context. The sentence would then read: quid faciat dextera ille/illa/homo/vir/femina/puella, etc. sinistram scire vetat, but I agree on the rest.
Well yuri, in view of faciat being in subjunctiv mood, I would rather hone the sentence into, "The right hand prevents the left from knowing what it is going to do."
But faciat being in the subjunctive mood doesn’t alter the translation into English in any way, it’s just in the subjunctive because that’s the mood normally required in subordinate clauses. Also remember that Latin didn’t have a continuous or future subjunctive, so the translation into English could be either way, depending on the preference of the speaker.
1.Without omission of a personal pronoun we’ll get a new meaning:
Quid faciat dextera. ille sinistram scire vetat =
It’s he who forbids to know to the left hand what the right hand is doing.
2. I was erronious when I declared that there are no additional versions for a translator. Here is, at least, one more:
He forbids to know to the left hand, what the right hand serves for.
The right hand forbids the left hand from knowing what it (the right hand) does/the first does OR The right hand prohibits the left hand to know what it (the right hand)/the first does.
And said that Yurifinki’s version would be more like:
It’s he who forbids to know to the left hand what the right hand is doing.
I have not understood >:(. Please, answer with yes or no:
1. Are you agreed that the subject slot may be empty or zero-filled ?
2. Is correct my 3rd version of translation ?
