Numbers 23
1 And Balaam said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.
Alors Balaam dit à Balak: "Dresse-moi ici sept autels, et prépare-moi ici sept taureaux et sept béliers."
2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken. And Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.
Balak fit ce qu’avait dit Balaam; puis Balak et Balaam offrirent un taureau et un bélier sur chaque autel.
3 And Balaam said to Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps Jehovah will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell thee. And he went to a bare height.
Balaam dit à Balak: "Demeure près de ton holocauste; moi je m’en irai: peut-être l’Éternel s’offrira-t-il à ma rencontre, et, quoi qu’il me révèle, je t’en ferai part." Et il s’en alla dans la solitude.
4 And God met Balaam, and he said to him, I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.
Dieu se présenta à Balaam, qui lui dit: "J’Ai dressé les sept autels, et j’ai offert un taureau et un bélier sur chaque autel."
5 And Jehovah put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus thou shall speak.
L’Éternel mit sa parole dans la bouche de Balaam, et lui dit: "Retourne vers Balak, et tu parleras de la sorte…"
6 And he returned to him. And, lo, he was standing by his burnt offering, he, and all the rulers of Moab.
II retourna vers lui et le trouva debout près de son holocauste, lui et tous les princes de Moab.
7 And he took up his oracle, and said, From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East. Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, defy Israel.
Et il proféra son oracle en disant: "II me fait venir d’Aram, Balak roi de Moab; il m’appelle des monts de l’orient: "Viens maudire pour moi Jacob! Oui, viens menacer Israël!"
8 How shall I curse, whom God has not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah has not defied?
Comment maudirais-je celui que Dieu n’a point maudit? Comment menacerai-je, quand l’Éternel est sans colère?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him. Lo, it is a people that dwells alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
Oui, je le vois de la cime des rochers, et du haut des collines, je le découvre: ce peuple, il vit solitaire, iI ne se confondra point avec les nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
Qui peut compter la poussière de Jacob, nombrer la multitude d’Israël? Puissé-je mourir comme meurent ces justes, et puisse ma fin ressembler à la leur!".
11 And Balak said to Balaam, What have thou done to me? I took thee to curse my enemies, and, behold, thou have blessed them altogether.
Balak dit à Balaam: "Que m’as-tu fait! J’Ai eu recours à toi pour maudire mes ennemis, et voilà que tu les bénis, au contraire!"
12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Jehovah puts in my mouth?
Mais il répondit: "Certes, ce que l’Éternel met dans ma bouche, ne dois-je pas fidèlement le redire?"
13 And Balak said to him, Come, I pray thee, with me to another place, from where thou may see them. Thou shall see but the outmost part of them, and shall not see them all, and curse them for me from there.
Balak lui dit: "Viens, je te prie, avec moi dans un autre lieu, d’où tu pourras voir ce peuple: tu n’en verras que les derniers rangs, tu ne le verras pas tout entier. Et maudis-le moi de là."
14 And he took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.
Il le conduisit au plateau de Çofîm, sur la crête du Pisga; il y dressa sept autels, et offrit sur chaque autel un taureau et un bélier.
15 And he said to Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet Jehovah yonder.
Balaam dit à Balak: "Tiens-toi ici, près de ton holocauste, et moi, j’attendrai là-bas la rencontre."
16 And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus shall thou speak.
L’Éternel se présenta à Balaam, inspira un discours à ses lèvres, lui disant: "Va rejoindre Balak, et tu parleras ainsi…"
17 And he came to him. And, lo, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the rulers of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, What has Jehovah spoken?
Il revint près de lui, et le trouva debout près de son holocauste, les princes de Moab à ses côtés. Et Balak lui demanda: "Qu’a dit l’Éternel?"
18 And he took up his oracle, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear. Hearken to me, thou son of Zippor.
Il proféra son oracle en ces termes: "Prépare-toi, Balak, à m’entendre; prête-moi l’oreille, fils de Cippor!
19 God is not a man, that he should lie, neither the son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?
Dieu n’est pas un mortel, pour mentir, ni un fils d’Adam, pour qu’il se ravise; est-ce lui qui parle et ne tient point parole? Qui affirme et n’exécute point?
20 Behold, I have received to bless. And he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
Oui, j’ai reçu mission de bénir; il a béni, je ne puis le dédire.
21 He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither has he seen perverseness in Israel. Jehovah his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.
Il n’aperçoit point d’iniquité en Jacob, il ne voit point de mal en Israël: l’Éternel, son Dieu, est avec lui, et l’amitié d’un roi le protège.
22 God brings them forth out of Egypt. He has as it were the strength of the wild-ox.
Délivré, par ce Dieu, de l’Egypte, il a le vigoureux élan du réêm.
23 Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob, neither is there any divination with Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What has God wrought!
Il ne faut point de magie à Jacob, point de sortilège à Israël: ils apprennent à point nommé, Jacob et Israël, ce que Dieu a résolu.
24 Behold, the people rise up as a lioness, and as a lion he lifts himself up. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.
Voyez! Ce peuple se lève comme un léopard, il se dresse comme un lion; il ne se reposera qu’assouvi de carnage, qu’enivré du sang de ses victimes!"
25 And Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
Balak dit à Balaam: "Ne le maudis point, soit, mais ne le bénis point non plus."
26 But Balaam answered and said to Balak, Did I not tell thee, saying, All that Jehovah speaks, that I must do?
Balaam répondit à Balak: "Ne t’avais-je pas fait cette déclaration: tout ce que dira l’Éternel, je dois le faire?"
27 And Balak said to Balaam, Come now, I will take thee to another place. Perhaps it will please God that thou may curse them for me from there.
Et Balak dit à Balaam: "Viens donc, que je te conduise à une autre place; peut-être ce Dieu trouvera-t-il bon que, de là, tu me les maudisses."
28 And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks down upon the desert.
Et Balak emmena Balaam sur la cime du Peor, qui domine la surface du désert.
29 And Balaam said to Balak, Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bullocks and seven rams.
Balaam dit à Balak: "Construis-moi ici sept autels, et prépare-moi ici sept taureaux et sept béliers."
30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.
Balak fit ce qu’avait dit Balaam, et il offrit un taureau et un bélier sur chaque autel.
