Liber Numeri 23
1 dixitque Balaam ad Balac aedifica mihi hic septem aras et para totidem vitulos eiusdemque numeri arietes
And Balaam said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.
2 cumque fecisset iuxta sermonem Balaam inposuerunt 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 to Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps Jehovah will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell thee. And he went to a bare height.
4 cumque abisset velociter occurrit ei Deus locutusque ad eum Balaam septem inquit aras erexi et inposui vitulum et arietem desuper
And God met Balaam, and he said to 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 Jehovah put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus thou shall speak.
6 reversus invenit stantem Balac iuxta holocaustum suum et omnes principes Moabitarum
And he returned to him. And, lo, he was standing by his burnt offering, he, and all the rulers of Moab.
7 adsumptaque parabola sua dixit de Aram adduxit me Balac rex Moabitarum de montibus orientis veni inquit et maledic Iacob propera et detestare Israhel
And he took up his oracle, and said, From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East. Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, defy Israel.
8 quomodo maledicam cui non maledixit Deus qua ratione detester quem Dominus non detestatur
How shall I curse, whom God has not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah has not defied?
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 dwells alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
10 quis dinumerare possit pulverem Iacob et nosse numerum stirpis Israhel moriatur anima mea morte iustorum et fiant novissima mea horum similia
Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
11 dixitque Balac ad Balaam quid est hoc quod agis ut malediceres inimicis vocavi te et tu e contrario benedicis eis
And Balak said to Balaam, What have thou done to me? I took thee to curse my enemies, and, behold, thou have 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 Jehovah puts in my mouth?
13 dixit ergo Balac veni mecum in alterum locum unde partem Israhelis videas et totum videre non possis inde maledicito ei
And Balak said to him, Come, I pray thee, with me to another place, from where thou may see them. Thou shall see but the outmost part of them, and shall not see them all, and curse them for me from there.
14 cumque duxisset eum in locum sublimem super verticem montis Phasga aedificavit Balaam septem aras et inpositis supra vitulo atque ariete
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 pergam obvius
And he said to Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet Jehovah yonder.
16 cui cum Dominus occurrisset posuissetque verbum in ore eius ait revertere ad Balac et haec loqueris ei
And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus shall 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 was standing by his burnt offering, and the rulers of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, What has Jehovah spoken?
18 at ille adsumpta parabola sua ait sta Balac et ausculta audi fili Sepphor
And he took up his oracle, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear. Hearken to 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. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?
20 ad benedicendum adductus sum benedictionem prohibere non valeo
Behold, I have received to bless. And he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
21 non est idolum in Iacob nec videtur simulacrum in Israhel Dominus Deus eius cum eo est et clangor victoriae regis in illo
He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither has he seen perverseness in Israel. Jehovah his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.
22 Deus eduxit eum de Aegypto cuius fortitudo similis est rinocerotis
God brings them forth out of Egypt. He has as it were the strength of the wild-ox.
23 non est augurium in Iacob nec divinatio in Israhel temporibus suis dicetur Iacob et Israheli quid operatus sit Deus
Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob, neither is there any divination with Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What has God wrought!
24 ecce populus ut leaena consurget et quasi leo erigetur non accubabit donec devoret praedam et occisorum sanguinem bibat
Behold, the people rise up as a lioness, and as a lion he lifts himself up. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.
25 dixitque Balac ad Balaam nec maledicas ei nec benedicas
And Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
26 et ille nonne ait dixi tibi quod quicquid mihi Deus imperaret hoc facerem
But Balaam answered and said to Balak, Did I not tell thee, saying, All that Jehovah speaks, 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 to Balaam, Come now, I will take thee to another place. Perhaps it will please God that thou may 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, that looks down upon the desert.
29 dixit ei Balaam aedifica mihi hic septem aras et para totidem vitulos eiusdemque numeri arietes
And Balaam said to Balak, Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bullocks and seven rams.
30 fecit Balac ut Balaam dixerat inposuitque vitulos et arietes per singulas aras
And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.
