Numbers 23
1 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”
Dixitque Balaam ad Balac: Ædifica mihi hic septem aras, et para totidem vitulos, eiusdemque numeri arietes.
2 So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Cumque fecisset iuxta sermonem Balaam, imposuerunt simul vitulum et arietem super aram.
3 “Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone,” Balaam said to Balak. “Perhaps the LORD will meet with me. And whatever He reveals to me, I will tell you.” So Balaam went off to a barren height,
Dixitque Balaam ad Balac: Sta paulisper iuxta holocaustum tuum, donec vadam, si forte occurrat mihi Dominus, et quodcumque imperaverit, loquar tibi.
4 and God met with him. “I have set up seven altars,” Balaam said, “and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”
Cumque abiisset velociter, occurrit illi Deus. Locutusque ad eum Balaam: Septem, inquit, aras erexi, et imposui vitulum et arietem desuper.
5 Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and give him this message.”
Dominus autem posuit verbum in ore eius, et ait: Revertere ad Balac, et hæc loqueris.
6 So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab.
Reversus invenit stantem Balac iuxta holocaustum suum, et omnes principes Moabitarum:
7 And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’
assumptaque parabola sua, dixit: De Aram adduxit me Balac rex Moabitarum, de montibus Orientis: Veni, inquit, et maledic Iacob: propera, et detestare Israel.
8 How can I curse what God has not cursed? How can I denounce what the LORD has not denounced?
Quo modo maledicam, cui non maledixit Deus? Qua ratione detester, quem Dominus non detestatur?
9 For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations.
De summis silicibus videbo eum, et de collibus considerabo illum. Populus solus habitabit, et inter gentes non reputabitur.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous; let my end be like theirs!”
Quis dinumerare possit pulverem Iacob, et nosse numerum stirpis Israel? Moriatur anima mea morte iustorum, et fiant novissima mea horum similia.
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and behold, you have only blessed them!”
Dixitque Balac ad Balaam: Quid est hoc quod agis? Ut malediceres inimicis meis vocavi te: et tu econtrario benedicis eis.
12 But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?”
Cui ille respondit: Num aliud possum loqui, nisi quod iusserit Dominus?
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp—not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.”
Dixit ergo Balac: Veni mecum in alterum locum unde partem Israel videas, et totum videre non possis, inde maledicito ei.
14 So Balak took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Cumque duxisset eum in locum sublimem, super verticem montis Phasga, ædificavit Balaam septem aras, et impositis supra vitulo atque ariete,
15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.”
dixit ad Balac: Sta hic iuxta holocaustum tuum, donec ego obvius pergam.
16 And the LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and speak what I tell you.”
Cui cum Dominus occurrisset, posuissetque verbum in ore eius, ait: Revertere ad Balac, et hæc loqueris ei.
17 So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the princes of Moab. “What did the LORD say?” Balak asked.
Reversus invenit eum stantem iuxta holocaustum suum, et principes Moabitarum cum eo. Ad quem Balac: Quid, inquit, locutus est Dominus?
18 Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor.
At ille assumpta parabola sua, ait: Sta Balac, et ausculta, audi fili Sephor:
19 God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
Non est Deus quasi homo, ut mentiatur: nec ut filius hominis, ut mutetur. Dixit ergo, et non faciet? Locutus est, et non implebit?
20 I have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it.
Ad benedicendum adductus sum, benedictionem prohibere non valeo.
21 He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of the King is among them.
Non est idolum in Iacob, nec videtur simulacrum in Israel. Dominus Deus eius cum eo est, et clangor victoriæ regis in illo.
22 God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox.
Deus eduxit illum de Ægypto, cuius fortitudo similis est rhinocerotis.
23 For there is no spell against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What great things God has done!’
Non est augurium in Iacob, nec divinatio in Israel. Temporibus suis dicetur Iacob et Israeli quid operatus sit Deus.
24 Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.”
Ecce populus ut leæna consurget, et quasi leo erigetur: non accubabit donec devoret prædam, et occisorum sanguinem bibat.
25 Now Balak said to Balaam, “Then neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”
Dixitque Balac ad Balaam: Nec maledicas ei, nec benedicas.
26 But Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you that whatever the LORD says, I must do?”
Et ille ait: Nonne dixi tibi quod quidquid mihi Deus imperaret, hoc facerem?
27 “Please come,” said Balak, “I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you curse them for me from there.”
Et ait Balac ad eum: Veni, et ducam te ad alium locum: si forte placeat Deo ut inde maledicas eis.
28 And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland.
Cumque duxisset eum super verticem montis Phogor, qui respicit solitudinem,
29 Then Balaam said, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”
dixit ei Balaam: Ædifica mihi hic septem aras, et para totidem vitulos, eiusdemque numeri arietes.
30 So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Fecit Balac ut Balaam dixerat: imposuitque vitulos et arietes per singulas aras.
