Iudex scelus videt.

Because iudex is the subject of the sentence, and videt is a singular verb meaning sees.

In this sentence:

• iudex = the judge
• scelus = the crime
• videt = sees

So the basic structure is:

• subject: iudex
• object: scelus
• verb: videt

Latin often shows grammatical roles by case endings rather than by word order alone.

Iudex is nominative singular.

The nominative case is normally used for the subject of the sentence, the person or thing performing the action.

So here iudex means the judge as the one who sees.

Also, iudex is a third-declension noun. Its dictionary form is usually given as:

• iudex, iudicis = judge

That genitive form iudicis helps show the stem.

Here scelus is accusative singular, the case used for the direct object.

The direct object is what receives the action of the verb. The judge is seeing the crime, so scelus is the object.

A very important point: scelus is a neuter noun, and in Latin neuter nouns often have the same form in the nominative and accusative singular.

So:

• nominative singular: scelus
• accusative singular: scelus

That is why the form does not change here.

Its dictionary entry is usually:

• scelus, sceleris = crime, wicked deed

You know from the sentence as a whole.

Here are the clues:

• iudex is clearly a nominative singular noun meaning judge
• videt is a transitive verb meaning sees, so it normally takes an object
• scelus fits naturally as the thing being seen

So in this sentence, scelus is understood as the accusative direct object.

This is very common in Latin: sometimes you decide a form's case by looking at the whole sentence, not just the word by itself.

Videt is:

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

It comes from vidēre, meaning to see.

So videt means:

• he sees
• she sees
• it sees

In this sentence, with iudex as the subject, it means the judge sees.

Because the Latin present tense can often cover both ideas, depending on context.

So videt may be translated as:

• sees
• is seeing

In a simple beginner sentence like this, sees is usually the most natural English translation.

Latin does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So a noun like iudex can mean:

• a judge
• the judge

And scelus can mean:

• a crime
• the crime

The exact choice in English depends on context. If the meaning has already been provided to the learner, that context decides whether to use a or the in translation.

Yes. Iudex scelus videt is a perfectly normal Latin order.

Latin word order is more flexible than English because case endings help show each word's function. Still, one very common pattern is:

• subject + object + verb

So this sentence follows a common Latin arrangement.

Also, Latin often likes to put the verb near the end, which is exactly what happens here with videt.

Yes. Latin word order is flexible, so you could also have:

• Scelus iudex videt
• Videt iudex scelus
• Iudex videt scelus

These would all still basically mean The judge sees the crime, because the cases and verb form tell you how the words function.

However, changing the order can change emphasis. For example:

• putting scelus first may emphasize the crime
• putting videt first may emphasize the action sees

So the meaning stays broadly the same, but the focus can shift.

Because the verb ending already tells you the subject is third person singular.

The ending -t in videt means:

• he/she/it sees

So Latin often does not need an expressed subject pronoun unless it wants extra emphasis.

That said, this sentence does include the noun iudex, because it tells you exactly who is doing the seeing.

Yes. Iudex can refer to a judge regardless of sex, depending on context.

Grammatically, many Latin nouns for people have a fixed form that can refer to either a male or female person unless something in the sentence makes the sex clear.

So by itself, iudex does not have to mean specifically a male judge.

In a common classroom-style Classical pronunciation, you could say it roughly like:

• YOO-deks SKEH-loos WEE-det

A few details:

• iu- in iudex sounds like yu-
• x in iudex sounds like ks
• sc before e in Classical Latin is pronounced sk, so scelus begins ske-
• v in Classical Latin is often pronounced like English w, so some people would say WEE-det rather than VEE-det

If you use an ecclesiastical pronunciation, some sounds may differ.