Nombres 24
1 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.
And when Balaam saw that it pleased Jehovah to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
2 Ayant levé les yeux, il vit Israël campé par tribus; et l’Esprit de Dieu fut sur lui,
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
3 et il prononça son discours, en disant: Oracle de Balaam fils de Béor, oracle de l’homme dont l’œil est fermé;
And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor saith, And the man whose eye was closed saith;
4 oracle de celui qui entend les paroles de Dieu, qui contemple la vision du Tout-Puissant, qui tombe, et dont les yeux s’ouvrent.
He saith, who heareth the words of God, Who seeth the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, and having his eyes open:
5 Qu’elles sont belles tes tentes, ô Jacob, tes demeures, ô Israël!
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, Thy tabernacles, O Israel!
6 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.
As valleys are they spread forth, As gardens by the river-side, As lign-aloes which Jehovah hath planted, As cedar-trees beside the waters.
7 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!
Water shall flow from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 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.
God bringeth him forth out of Egypt; He hath as it were the strength of the wild-ox: He shall eat up the nations his adversaries, And shall break their bones in pieces, And smite [them] through with his arrows.
9 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!
He couched, he lay down as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesseth thee, And cursed be every one that curseth thee.
10 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!
And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
11 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. »
Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honor; but, lo, Jehovah hath kept thee back from honor.
12 Balaam répondit à Balac: « N’ai-je pas dit à tes messagers que tu m’as envoyés:
And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers that thou sentest unto me, saying,
13 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?
If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of Jehovah, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; what Jehovah speaketh, that will I speak?
14 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. »
And now, behold, I go unto my people: come, [and] I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
15 Et Balaam prononça son discours et dit: Oracle de Balaam, fils de Béor, oracle de l’homme dont l’œil est fermé;
And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor saith, And the man whose eye was closed saith;
16 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.
He saith, who heareth the words of God, And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High, Who seeth the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, and having his eyes open:
17 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.
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: There shall come forth a star out of Jacob, And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, And shall smite through the corners of Moab, And break down all the sons of tumult.
18 Edom est sa possession; Séïr, son ennemi, est sa possession, et Israël déploie sa vaillance.
And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession, [who were] his enemies; While Israel doeth valiantly.
19 De Jacob sort un dominateur, il fait périr dans les villes ce qui reste d’Edom.
And out of Jacob shall one have dominion, And shall destroy the remnant from the city.
20 Balaam vit Amalec, et il prononça son discours et dit: Amalec est la première des nations et sa fin sera la ruine.
And he looked on Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; But his latter end shall come to destruction.
21 Balaam vit le Cinéen, et il prononça son discours et dit: Ta demeure est solide, et ton nid posé sur le roc.
And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling-place, And thy nest is set in the rock.
22 Toutefois le Cinéen ira se consumant; jusqu’à quand? Assur l’emmènera en captivité.
Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted, Until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
23 Balaam prononça son discours et dit: Hélas! qui subsistera quand Dieu fera cela?
And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this?
24 Des navires viennent de Citthim; ils oppriment Assur, ils oppriment Héber, et lui aussi est voué à la ruine.
But ships [shall come] from the coast of Kittim, And they shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber; And he also shall come to destruction.
25 Balaam s’étant levé, se mit en route et s’en retourna chez lui; Balac s’en alla aussi de son côté.
And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way.
