Liber Numeri 23
1 Dixitque Balaam ad Balac: Aedifica mihi hic septem aras, et para totidem vitulos, eiusdemque numeri arietes.
And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.'
2 Cumque fecisset iuxta sermonem Balaam, imposuerunt simul vitulum et arietem super aram.
And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.
3 Dixitque Balaam ad Balac: Sta paulisper iuxta holocaustum tuum, donec vadam, si forte occurrat mihi Dominus, et quodcumque imperaverit, loquar tibi.
And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go; peradventure the LORD will come to meet me; and whatsoever He showeth me I will tell thee.' And he went to a bare 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 Balaam; and he said unto Him: 'I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.'
5 Dominus autem posuit verbum in ore eius, et ait: Revertere ad Balac, et haec loqueris.
And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.'
6 Reversus invenit stantem Balac iuxta holocaustum suum, et omnes principes Moabitarum:
And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt-offering, he, and 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 he took up his parable, and said: From Aram Balak bringeth me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East: 'Come, curse me Jacob, and come, execrate Israel.'
8 Quo modo maledicam, cui non maledixit Deus? Qua ratione detester, quem Dominus non detestatur?
How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I execrate, whom the LORD hath not execrated?
9 De summis silicibus videbo eum, et de collibus considerabo illum. Populus solus habitabit, et inter gentes non reputabitur.
For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned 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 hath counted the dust of Jacob, or numbered the stock of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let mine end be like his!
11 Dixitque Balac ad Balaam: Quid est hoc quod agis? Ut malediceres inimicis meis vocavi te: et tu econtrario benedicis eis.
And Balak said unto Balaam: 'What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.'
12 Cui ille respondit: Num aliud possum loqui, nisi quod iusserit Dominus?
And he answered and said: 'Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD putteth in my mouth?'
13 Dixit ergo Balac: Veni mecum in alterum locum unde partem Israel videas, et totum videre non possis, inde maledicito ei.
And Balak said unto him: 'Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them; thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all; and curse me them from thence.'
14 Cumque duxisset eum in locum sublimem, super verticem montis Phasga, aedificavit Balaam septem aras, et impositis supra vitulis atque arietibus,
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.
15 dixit ad Balac: Sta hic iuxta holocaustum tuum, donec ego obvius pergam.
And he said unto Balak: 'Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while I go toward a meeting yonder.'
16 Cui cum Dominus occurrisset, posuissetque verbum in ore eius, ait: Revertere ad Balac, et haec loqueris ei.
And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.'
17 Reversus invenit eum stantem iuxta holocaustum suum, et principes Moabitarum cum eo. Ad quem Balac: Quid, inquit, locutus est Dominus?
And he came to him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him: 'What hath the LORD spoken?'
18 At ille assumpta parabola sua, ait: Sta Balac, et ausculta, audi fili Sephor:
And he took up his parable, and said: Arise, Balak, and hear; give ear unto me, thou 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; neither the son of man, that He should repent: when He hath said, will He not do it? or when He hath spoken, will He not make it good?
20 Ad benedicendum adductus sum, benedictionem prohibere non valeo.
Behold, I am bidden to bless; and when He hath blessed, I cannot call it back.
21 Non est idolum in Iacob, nec videtur simulacrum in Israel. Dominus Deus eius cum eo est, et clangor victoriae regis in illo.
None hath beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath one seen perverseness in Israel; the LORD his God is with him, and the shouting for the King is among them.
22 Deus eduxit illum de Aegypto, cuius fortitudo similis est rhinocerotis.
God who brought them forth out of Egypt is for them like the lofty horns of the 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 enchantment with Jacob, neither is there any divination with Israel; now is it said of Jacob and of Israel: 'What hath God wrought!'
24 Ecce populus ut leaena consurget, et quasi leo erigetur: non accubabit donec devoret praedam, et occisorum sanguinem bibat.
Behold a people that riseth up as a lioness, and as a lion doth he lift himself up; he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.
25 Dixitque Balac ad Balaam: Nec maledicas ei, nec benedicas.
And Balak said unto Balaam: '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 answered and said unto Balak: 'Told not I thee, saying: All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do?'
27 Et ait Balac ad eum: Veni, et ducam te ad alium locum: si forte placeat Deo ut inde maledicas eis.
And Balak said unto Balaam: 'Come now, I will take thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.'
28 Cumque duxisset eum super verticem montis Phogor, qui respicit solitudinem,
And Balak took Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh down upon the desert.
29 dixit ei Balaam: Aedifica mihi hic septem aras, et para totidem vitulos, eiusdemque numeri arietes.
And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.'
30 Fecit Balac ut Balaam dixerat: imposuitque vitulos et arietes per singulas aras.
And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.
