Liber Numeri 23

1 Dixitque Balaam ad Balac: Aedifica mihi hic septem aras, et para totidem vitulos, eiusdemque numeri arietes.

Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”

2 Cumque fecisset iuxta sermonem Balaam, imposuerunt simul vitulum et arietem super aram.

So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

3 Dixitque Balaam ad Balac: Sta paulisper iuxta holocaustum tuum, donec vadam, si forte occurrat mihi Dominus, et quodcumque imperaverit, loquar tibi.

“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,

4 Cumque abiisset velociter, occurrit illi Deus. Locutusque ad eum Balaam: Septem, inquit, aras erexi, et imposui vitulum et arietem desuper.

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.”

5 Dominus autem posuit verbum in ore eius, et ait: Revertere ad Balac, et haec loqueris.

Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and give him this message.”

6 Reversus invenit stantem Balac iuxta holocaustum suum, et omnes principes Moabitarum:

So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab.

7 assumptaque parabola sua, dixit: De Aram adduxit me Balac rex Moabitarum, de montibus Orientis: Veni, inquit, et maledic Iacob: propera, et detestare Israel.

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!’

8 Quo modo maledicam, cui non maledixit Deus? Qua ratione detester, quem Dominus non detestatur?

How can I curse what God has not cursed? How can I denounce what the LORD has not denounced?

9 De summis silicibus videbo eum, et de collibus considerabo illum. Populus solus habitabit, et inter gentes non reputabitur.

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.

10 Quis dinumerare possit pulverem Iacob, et nosse numerum stirpis Israel? Moriatur anima mea morte iustorum, et fiant novissima mea horum similia.

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!”

11 Dixitque Balac ad Balaam: Quid est hoc quod agis? Ut malediceres inimicis meis vocavi te: et tu econtrario benedicis eis.

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!”

12 Cui ille respondit: Num aliud possum loqui, nisi quod iusserit Dominus?

But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?”

13 Dixit ergo Balac: Veni mecum in alterum locum unde partem Israel videas, et totum videre non possis, inde maledicito ei.

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.”

14 Cumque duxisset eum in locum sublimem, super verticem montis Phasga, aedificavit Balaam septem aras, et impositis supra vitulis atque arietibus,

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.

15 dixit ad Balac: Sta hic iuxta holocaustum tuum, donec ego obvius pergam.

Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.”

16 Cui cum Dominus occurrisset, posuissetque verbum in ore eius, ait: Revertere ad Balac, et haec loqueris ei.

And the LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and speak what I tell you.”

17 Reversus invenit eum stantem iuxta holocaustum suum, et principes Moabitarum cum eo. Ad quem Balac: Quid, inquit, locutus est Dominus?

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.

18 At ille assumpta parabola sua, ait: Sta Balac, et ausculta, audi fili Sephor:

Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor.

19 Non est Deus quasi homo, ut mentiatur: nec ut filius hominis, ut mutetur. Dixit ergo, et non faciet? locutus est, et non implebit?

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?

20 Ad benedicendum adductus sum, benedictionem prohibere non valeo.

I have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it.

21 Non est idolum in Iacob, nec videtur simulacrum in Israel. Dominus Deus eius cum eo est, et clangor victoriae regis in illo.

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.

22 Deus eduxit illum de Aegypto, cuius fortitudo similis est rhinocerotis.

God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox.

23 Non est augurium in Iacob, nec divinatio in Israel. Temporibus suis dicetur Iacob et Israeli quid operatus sit Deus.

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!’

24 Ecce populus ut leaena consurget, et quasi leo erigetur: non accubabit donec devoret praedam, et occisorum sanguinem bibat.

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.”

25 Dixitque Balac ad Balaam: Nec maledicas ei, nec benedicas.

Now Balak said to Balaam, “Then neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”

26 Et ille ait: Nonne dixi tibi quod quidquid mihi Deus imperaret, hoc facerem?

But Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you that whatever the LORD says, I must do?”

27 Et ait Balac ad eum: Veni, et ducam te ad alium locum: si forte placeat Deo ut inde maledicas eis.

“Please come,” said Balak, “I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you curse them for me from there.”

28 Cumque duxisset eum super verticem montis Phogor, qui respicit solitudinem,

And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland.

29 dixit ei Balaam: Aedifica mihi hic septem aras, et para totidem vitulos, eiusdemque numeri arietes.

Then Balaam said, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”

30 Fecit Balac ut Balaam dixerat: imposuitque vitulos et arietes per singulas aras.

So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.