How do you translate this sentence?
Manus autem iuvenum, qui statuam sacram movere iussi erant, timebat ne dea irata esset.
I translated it as "But the hand of the young men, who had been ordered to move the sacred statue,..."
Is that right so far and how do you translate the rest?
... feared lest the goddess be angry.
Your translation of the first part is correct. Let's continue with the rest of the sentence.
"Manus autem iuvenum, qui statuam sacram movere iussi erant, timebat ne dea irata esset."
"But the hand of the young men, who had been ordered to move the sacred statue, were afraid that the goddess would be angry."
To translate the rest of the sentence:
- "Timebat" means "he/she/it was afraid."
- "Ne" introduces a negative purpose clause. In this context, it signifies fear or apprehension that something might happen.
- "Dea" means "goddess."
- "Irata" is the feminine form of the adjective "iratus," which means "angry."
- "Esset" is the third person singular imperfect subjunctive of the verb "esse," meaning "to be."
Putting it all together, the complete translation of the sentence is:
"But the hand of the young men, who had been ordered to move the sacred statue, were afraid that the goddess would be angry."