Numbers 24
1 And Balaam sees that [it is] good in the eyes of YHWH to bless Israel, and he has not gone as time by time to seek enchantments, and he sets his face toward the wilderness;
Balaam vit que Yahweh avait pour agréable de bénir Israël, et il n’alla pas, comme les autres fois, à la rencontre des signes magiques; mais il tourna son visage du côté du désert.
2 and Balaam lifts up his eyes, and sees Israel dwelling by its tribes, and the Spirit of God is on him,
Ayant levé les yeux, il vit Israël campé par tribus; et l’Esprit de Dieu fut sur lui,
3 and he takes up his allegory and says: “An affirmation of Balaam son of Beor, And an affirmation of the man whose eyes are shut,
et il prononça son discours, en disant: Oracle de Balaam fils de Béor, oracle de l’homme dont l’œil est fermé;
4 An affirmation of him who is hearing sayings of God, Who sees a vision of the Almighty, Falling—and eyes uncovered:
oracle de celui qui entend les paroles de Dieu, qui contemple la vision du Tout-Puissant, qui tombe, et dont les yeux s’ouvrent.
5 How good have been your tents, O Jacob, Your dwelling places, O Israel;
Qu’elles sont belles tes tentes, ô Jacob, tes demeures, ô Israël!
6 They have been stretched out as valleys, As gardens by a river; As aloes YHWH has planted, As cedars by waters;
Elles s’étendent comme des vallées, comme des jardins au bord d’un fleuve, comme des aloès que Yahweh a plantés, comme des cèdres sur le bord des eaux.
7 He makes water flow from his buckets, And his seed [is] in many waters; And his King [is] higher than Gog [[or Agag]], And his kingdom is exalted.
L’eau déborde de ses deux seaux, sa race croît sur des eaux abondantes, son roi s’élève au-dessus d’Agag, et son royaume est exalté!
8 God is bringing him out of Egypt, As the swiftness of a wild ox for him, He eats up nations—his adversaries, And he breaks their bones, And he strikes [with] his arrows.
Dieu le fait sortir d’Égypte: il lui donne la vigueur du buffle. Il dévore les nations qui lui font la guerre. Il brise leurs os et les foudroie de ses flèches.
9 He has bent, he has lain down as a lion, And as a lioness, who raises him up? He who is blessing you [is] blessed, And he who is cursing you [is] cursed.”
Il ploie les genoux, il se couche comme un lion, comme une lionne; qui le fera lever? Béni soit qui te bénira et maudit soit qui te maudira!
10 And the anger of Balak burns against Balaam, and he strikes his hands; and Balak says to Balaam, “I called you to pierce my enemies, and behold, you have certainly blessed these three times;
La colère de Balac s’enflamma contre Balaam, et il frappa des mains; et Balac dit à Balaam: « Je t’ai appelé pour maudire mes ennemis, et voici, tu n’as fait que les bénir ces trois fois!
11 and now, flee for yourself to your place; I have said, I greatly honor you, and behold, YHWH has kept you back from honor.”
Et maintenant fuis, va-t’en chez toi! J’avais dit que je te comblerais d’honneur; et voici, Yahweh t’écarte de l’honneur. »
12 And Balaam says to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you have sent to me, saying,
Balaam répondit à Balac: « N’ai-je pas dit à tes messagers que tu m’as envoyés:
13 If Balak gives to me the fullness of his house of silver and gold, I am not able to pass over the command of YHWH, to do good or evil of my own heart; that which YHWH speaks—it I speak?
Quand Balac me donnerait plein sa maison d’argent et d’or, je ne pourrai transgresser l’ordre de Yahweh, en faisant de moi-même une chose bonne ou mauvaise; mais ce que Yahweh me dira, je le dirai?
14 And now, behold, I am going to my people; come, I counsel you [concerning] that which this people does to your people in the latter end of the days.”
Et maintenant, voici, je m’en vais vers mon peuple; viens donc, que je t’annonce ce que ce peuple fera à ton peuple dans la suite des jours. »
15 And he takes up his allegory and says: “An affirmation of Balaam son of Beor, And an affirmation of the man whose eyes [are] shut;
Et Balaam prononça son discours et dit: Oracle de Balaam, fils de Béor, oracle de l’homme dont l’œil est fermé;
16 An affirmation of him who is hearing sayings of God, And knowing knowledge of the Most High; He sees a vision of the Almighty, Falling—and eyes uncovered:
oracle de celui qui entend les paroles de Dieu, qui connaît la science du Très-Haut, qui contemple la vision du Tout-puissant, qui tombe, et dont les yeux s’ouvrent.
17 I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A star has proceeded from Jacob, And a scepter has risen from Israel, And has struck corners of Moab, And has destroyed all sons of Seth.
Je le vois, mais non comme présent; je le contemple, mais non de près. Un astre sort de Jacob, un sceptre s’élève d’Israël. Il brise les deux flancs de Moab, il extermine tous les fils du tumulte.
18 And Edom has been a possession, And Seir has been a possession [for] his enemies, And Israel is doing valiantly;
Edom est sa possession; Séïr, son ennemi, est sa possession, et Israël déploie sa vaillance.
19 And [One] rules out of Jacob, And has destroyed a remnant from the city.”
De Jacob sort un dominateur, il fait périr dans les villes ce qui reste d’Edom.
20 And he sees Amalek, and takes up his allegory, and says: “Amalek [is] first [among] nations, But his latter end—destruction forever.”
Balaam vit Amalec, et il prononça son discours et dit: Amalec est la première des nations et sa fin sera la ruine.
21 And he sees the Kenite, and takes up his allegory, and says: “Your dwelling [is] enduring, And your nest is being set in a rock,
Balaam vit le Cinéen, et il prononça son discours et dit: Ta demeure est solide, et ton nid posé sur le roc.
22 But the Kenite is for a burning; Until when does Asshur keep you captive?”
Toutefois le Cinéen ira se consumant; jusqu’à quand? Assur l’emmènera en captivité.
23 And he takes up his allegory and says: “Woe! Who lives when God does this?
Balaam prononça son discours et dit: Hélas! qui subsistera quand Dieu fera cela?
24 But ships [come] from the side of Chittim, And they have humbled Asshur, And they have humbled Eber, But it is also perishing forever.”
Des navires viennent de Citthim; ils oppriment Assur, ils oppriment Héber, et lui aussi est voué à la ruine.
25 And Balaam rises, and goes, and turns back to his place, and Balak has also gone on his way.
Balaam s’étant levé, se mit en route et s’en retourna chez lui; Balac s’en alla aussi de son côté.
