Liber Numeri 31
1 Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens:
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 Ulciscere prius filios Israel de Madianitis, et sic colligeris ad populum tuum.
“First, avenge the sons of Israel from the Midianites, and then you shall be gathered to your people.”
3 Statimque Moyses, Armate, inquit, ex vobis viros ad pugnam, qui possint ultionem Domini expetere de Madianitis.
And immediately Moses said: “Arm the men among you for a battle, so that they may be able to fulfill the retribution of the Lord on the Midianites.
4 mille viri de singulis tribubus eligantur ex Israel qui mittantur ad bellum.
Let one thousand men be chosen from each tribe of Israel, who shall be sent to war.”
5 Dederuntque millenos de singulis tribubus, id est, duodecim millia expeditorum ad pugnam:
And they gave one thousand from each tribe, that is, twelve thousand foot soldiers for battle.
6 quos misit Moyses cum Phinees filio Eleazari sacerdotis, vasaque sancta, et tubas ad clangendum tradidit ei.
And Moses sent them with Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest; also, he delivered to him the holy vessels, and the trumpets to sound.
7 Cumque pugnassent contra Madianitas atque vicissent, omnes mares occiderunt,
And when they had fought against the Midianites and had prevailed, they killed all the men.
8 et reges eorum Evi, et Recem, et Sur, et Hur, et Rebe, quinque principes gentis: Balaam quoque filium Beor interfecerunt gladio.
And they put to death by the sword their kings: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five leaders of the nation, and also Balaam the son of Beor.
9 Ceperuntque mulieres eorum, et parvulos, omniaque pecora, et cunctam supellectilem: quidquid habere potuerant depopulati sunt:
And they seized their women and little ones, and all their cattle, and all their goods; whatever they were able to have, they despoiled.
10 tam urbes quam viculos et castella flamma consumpsit.
Both their cities and their villages, as well as their fortresses, they burned.
11 Et tulerunt praedam, et universa quae ceperant tam ex hominibus quam ex iumentis,
And they carried away prey from everything that they had seized, both of men and of beasts.
12 et adduxerunt ad Moysen, et Eleazarum sacerdotem, et ad omnem multitudinem filiorum Israel. reliqua autem utensilia portaverunt ad castra in campestribus Moab iuxta Iordanem contra Iericho.
And they led these to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to all the multitude of the sons of Israel. But the remainder of the articles they carried to the camp on the plains of Moab, next to the Jordan, opposite Jericho.
13 Egressi sunt autem Moyses, et Eleazar sacerdos, et omnes principes synagogae in occursum eorum extra castra.
Then Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the assembly went out to meet them beyond the camp.
14 Iratusque Moyses principibus exercitus, tribunis, et centurionibus qui venerant de bello,
And Moses, being angry with the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions, who had arrived from the battle,
15 ait: Cur feminas reservastis?
said: “Why have you spared the females?
16 Nonne istae sunt, quae deceperunt filios Israel ad suggestionem Balaam, et praevaricari vos fecerunt in Dominum super peccato Phogor, unde et percussus est populus?
Are not these the ones who deceived the sons of Israel at the suggestion of Balaam, and who caused you betray the Lord by the sin of Peor, because of which the people also were struck down?
17 Ergo cunctos interficite quidquid est generis masculinis, etiam in parvulis: et mulieres, quae noverunt viros in coitu, iugulate:
Therefore, put to death all of them: whatever is of the male sex, even among the little ones, and cut the throats of those women who have known men by sexual relations.
18 puellas autem et omnes feminas virgines reservate vobis:
But the young girls, and all female virgins, reserve for yourselves.
19 et manete extra castra septem diebus. Qui occiderit hominem, vel occisum tetigerit, lustrabitur die tertio et septimo.
And remain beyond the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed a man, or who has touched one that was killed, shall be purified on the third day and on the seventh day.
20 Et de omni praeda, sive vestimentum fuerit, sive vas, et aliquid in utensilia praeparatum, de caprarum pellibus, et pilis, et ligno expiabitur.
And all of the spoils, whether it is a garment, or a vessel, or another useful thing, made from the pelts or hair of goats, or from wood, shall be expiated.”
21 Eleazar quoque sacerdos ad viros exercitus, qui pugnaverunt, sic locutus est: Hoc est praeceptum legis, quod mandavit Dominus Moysi:
Likewise, Eleazar the priest spoke in this manner to the men of the army who had fought: “This is the precept of the law, which the Lord has commanded Moses:
22 Aurum, et argentum, et aes, et ferrum, et plumbum, et stannum,
Gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin,
23 et omne, quod potest transire per flammas, igne purgabitur. quidquid autem ignem non potest sustinere, aqua expiationis sanctificabitur:
and all that may be able to pass through fire, shall be purified by fire. But whatever is not able to sustain fire shall be sanctified with the waters of expiation.
24 et lavabitis vestimenta vestra die septimo, et purificati postea castra intrabitis.
And you shall wash your garments on the seventh day, and, after having been purified, you shall enter the camp.”
25 Dixit quoque Dominus ad Moysen:
And the Lord also said to Moses:
26 Tollite summam eorum, quae capta sunt ab homine usque ad pecus, tu et Eleazar sacerdos et principes vulgi:
“Take the sum of those things which were captured, from man even to beast, you and Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the common people.
27 dividesque ex aequo praedam inter eos, qui pugnaverunt egressique sunt ad bellum, et inter omnem reliquam multitudinem.
And you shall divide the prey equally, among those who went out to war and fought, and among the remainder of the multitude.
28 et separabis partem Domino ab his, qui pugnaverunt et fuerunt in bello, unam animam de quingentis tam ex hominibus quam ex bobus et asinis et ovibus,
And you shall separate a portion for the Lord from the portion of those who fought and were in the battle: one soul out of five hundred, as much from humans, as from oxen and donkeys and sheep.
29 et dabis eam Eleazaro sacerdoti, quia primitiae Domini sunt.
And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, because these are the first-fruits of the Lord.
30 Ex media quoque parte filiorum Israel accipies quinquagesimum caput hominum, et boum, et asinorum, et ovium, cunctorum animantium, et dabis ea Levitis, qui excubant in custodiis tabernaculi Domini.
Likewise, from the half of the portion belonging to the sons of Israel, you shall receive the fiftieth head of humans, and of oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, and of all living things, and you shall give these to the Levites who stand watch over the care of the tabernacle of the Lord.”
31 Feceruntque Moyses, et Eleazar, sicut praeceperat Dominus.
And Moses and Eleazar did just as the Lord had instructed.
32 Fuit autem praeda, quam exercitus ceperat, ovium sexcenta septuaginta quinque millia,
Now the prey which the army had seized was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,
33 boum septuaginta duo millia,
seventy-two thousand oxen,
34 asinorum sexaginta millia et mille:
sixty-one thousand donkeys,
35 animae hominum sexus feminei, quae non cognoverant viros, triginta duo millia.
and thirty-two thousand human lives, of the female sex, who had not known men.
36 Dataque est media pars his, qui in praelio fuerant, ovium trecenta triginta septem millia quingentae:
And one half of the portion was given to those who had been in the battle: three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep.
37 e quibus in partem Domini supputatae sunt oves sexcentae septuaginta quinque.
From these, for the portion of the Lord, there were accounted: six hundred seventy-five sheep;
38 Et de bobus triginta sex millibus, boves septuaginta et duo:
and from the thirty-six thousand oxen, seventy-two oxen;
39 de asinis triginta millibus quingentis, asini sexaginta unus:
from the thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, sixty-one donkeys.
40 de animabus hominum sedecim millibus, cesserunt in partem Domini triginta duae animae.
From the sixteen thousand human souls, there fell to the portion of the Lord thirty-two souls.
41 Tradiditque Moyses numerum primitiarum Domini Eleazaro sacerdoti, sicut fuerat ei imperatum,
And Moses delivered the number of the first-fruits of the Lord to Eleazar the priest, just as had been commanded of him,
42 ex media parte filiorum Israel, quam separaverat his, qui in praelio fuerant.
from the one half portion belonging to the sons of Israel, which he had separated from the portion of those who had been in the battle.
43 De media vero parte, quae contigerat reliquae multitudini, id est, de ovibus trecentis triginta septem millibus quingentis,
Yet truly, from the one half portion which fell to the remainder of the multitude, that is, from the three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
44 et de bobus triginta sex millibus,
and from the thirty-six thousand oxen,
45 et de asinis triginta millibus quingentis,
and from the thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,
46 et de hominibus sedecim millibus,
and from the sixteen thousand persons,
47 tulit Moyses quinquagesimum caput, et dedit Levitis, qui excubabant in tabernaculo Domini, sicut praeceperat Dominus.
Moses took the fiftieth head, and gave it to the Levites who stand watch at the tabernacle of the Lord, just as the Lord had instructed.
48 Cumque accessissent principes exercitus ad Moysen, et tribuni, centurionesque dixerunt:
And when the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions had approached Moses, they said:
49 Nos servi tui recensuimus numerum pugnatorum, quos habuimus sub manu nostra: et ne unus quidem defuit.
“We, your servants, have taken a census of the number of the fighting men, whom we had under our hand, and indeed not one was lacking.
50 Ob hanc causam offerimus in donariis Domini singuli quod in praeda auri potuimus invenire, periscelides et armillas, annulos et dextralia, ac muraenulas, ut depreceris pro nobis Dominum.
For this reason, we offer as gifts to the Lord whatever gold each one was able to find amid the spoils, in anklets and arm bands, rings and bracelets, and little chains, so that you may intercede for us to the Lord.”
51 Susceperuntque Moyses, et Eleazar sacerdos omne aurum in diversis speciebus,
And Moses and Eleazar the priest received all the gold in its various kinds,
52 pondo sedecim millia, septingentos quinquaginta siclos a tribunis et centurionibus.
weighing sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels, from the tribunes and the centurions.
53 Unusquisque enim quod in praeda rapuerat, suum erat.
For whatever each one had taken away in the spoils was his own.
54 Et susceptum intulerunt in tabernaculum testimonii, in monimentum filiorum Israel coram Domino.
And having been accepted, they took it into the tabernacle of the testimony, as a memorial of the sons of Israel before the Lord.
