Iudex iniquus civibus displicet.

Because iudex is in the nominative singular, which is the normal case for the subject, and displicet is third person singular, so it matches a singular subject.

Also, iniquus agrees with iudex in case, number, and gender, so together they mean the unjust judge.

So the basic structure is:

• iudex iniquus = subject
• civibus = indirect object / dative
• displicet = verb

Because displiceo, displicere does not take a direct object in the way English displease does. In Latin, the construction is more like:

• someone/something is displeasing
• to someone

So the person who experiences the displeasure goes into the dative case.

That means:

• civibus = to the citizens
• iudex iniquus civibus displicet = literally the unjust judge is displeasing to the citizens

This is a very common thing for English speakers to notice, because English and Latin organize the idea differently.

Here civibus is dative plural of civis, civis (citizen).

Its form can also be ablative plural, but in this sentence the verb displicet strongly points to the dative meaning:

• civibus = to/for the citizens

So although the form is ambiguous by itself, the syntax makes the function clear.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order. An adjective can come before or after the noun it modifies.

So both of these are possible in Latin:

• iudex iniquus
• iniquus iudex

Both mean an unjust judge / the unjust judge.

In this sentence, iniquus comes after iudex, which is perfectly normal. The important thing is not position but agreement:

• iudex = nominative singular masculine
• iniquus = nominative singular masculine

That agreement shows they belong together.

Iniquus can mean things like:

• unjust
• unfair
• biased
• hostile or unfavorable in some contexts

With iudex, the most natural meaning is unjust or unfair:

• iudex iniquus = an unjust judge

Because Latin has no definite or indefinite article. In other words, Latin has no exact equivalent of English the or a/an.

So iudex can mean:

• a judge
• the judge

Which one you choose in translation depends on the context.

The same is true for civibus:

• to citizens
• to the citizens

English usually requires an article, but Latin does not.

Displicet is:

• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood
• third person singular

It comes from displiceo, displicere, meaning to displease or more literally to be displeasing.

Because it is singular, it matches the singular subject iudex.

That is a good natural English translation, but the more literal Latin structure is:

the unjust judge is displeasing to the citizens

This matters because it helps explain why civibus is in the dative, not the accusative.

So you can think of it in two ways:

• natural English: The unjust judge displeases the citizens.
• more literal Latin structure: The unjust judge is displeasing to the citizens.

Yes. Latin word order is flexible because the endings show grammatical function.

For example, these would still mean essentially the same thing:

• Iudex iniquus civibus displicet.
• Civibus iudex iniquus displicet.
• Displicet civibus iudex iniquus.

The difference is mostly one of emphasis or style, not basic meaning.

English relies much more on word order, but Latin relies much more on case endings.

In this sentence, yes, iudex is treated as masculine, because the adjective is iniquus, the masculine nominative singular form.

The noun iudex itself is a third-declension noun and can refer to a judge generally, but if you want to show the judge is female, the adjective would change accordingly. Here the masculine adjective tells you the judge is masculine.

In a Classical pronunciation, approximately:

• Iudex = YOO-deks
• iniquus = in-EE-kwoos
• civibus = KIH-wi-boos
• displicet = dis-PLEE-ket

A rough full pronunciation would be:

YOO-deks in-EE-kwoos KIH-wi-boos dis-PLEE-ket

A few helpful points:

• i at the start of iudex sounds like English y
• v is pronounced like w in Classical Latin
• c is always hard, like k

That placement is very natural in Latin. Authors often put the dative noun before the verb, especially with verbs like placet and displicet.

So the sentence flows neatly as:

• subject: iudex iniquus
• person affected: civibus
• verb: displicet

But this is not a strict rule. Latin could arrange the words differently if the writer wanted a different emphasis.