Liber Numeri 23

1 dixitque Balaam ad Balac aedifica mihi hic septem aras et para totidem vitulos eiusdemque numeri arietes

And Balaam said to Balac, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven calves, and seven rams.

2 cumque fecisset iuxta sermonem Balaam inposuerunt simul vitulum et arietem super aram

And Balac did as Balaam told him; and he offered up a calf and a ram on [every] altar.

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 Balac, Stand by your sacrifice, and I will go and see if God will appear to me and meet me, and the word which he shall show me, I will report to you. And Balac stood by his sacrifice.

4 cumque abisset velociter occurrit ei Deus locutusque ad eum Balaam septem inquit aras erexi et inposui vitulum et arietem desuper

And Balaam went to enquire of God; and he went straight forward, and God appeared to Balaam; and Balaam said to him, I have prepared the seven altars, and have offered a calf and a ram on [every] altar.

5 Dominus autem posuit verbum in ore eius et ait revertere ad Balac et haec loqueris

And God put a word into the mouth of Balaam, and said, you shall return to Balac, and thus shall you speak.

6 reversus invenit stantem Balac iuxta holocaustum suum et omnes principes Moabitarum

And he returned to him, and moreover he stood over his whole burnt offerings, and all the princes of Moab with him; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

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 parable, and said, Balac king of Moab sent for me out of Mesopotamia, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and Come, call for a curse for me upon Israel.

8 quomodo maledicam cui non maledixit Deus qua ratione detester quem Dominus non detestatur

How can I curse whom the Lord curses not? or how can I devote whom God devotes not?

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 mountains I shall see him, and from the hills I shall observe him: behold, the people shall dwell 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 has exactly calculated the seed of Jacob, and who shall number the families of Israel? let my soul die with the souls of the righteous, and let my seed be as their seed.

11 dixitque Balac ad Balaam quid est hoc quod agis ut malediceres inimicis vocavi te et tu e contrario benedicis eis

And Balac said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I called you to curse my enemies, and behold you have greatly blessed [them].

12 cui ille respondit num aliud possum loqui nisi quod iusserit Dominus

And Balaam said to Balac, Whatsoever the Lord shall put into my mouth, shall I not take heed to speak this?

13 dixit ergo Balac veni mecum in alterum locum unde partem Israhelis videas et totum videre non possis inde maledicito ei

And Balac said to him, Come yet with me to another place where you shall not see the people, but only you shall see a part of them, and shall 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 inpositis supra vitulo atque ariete

And he took him to a high place of the field to the top of the quarried [rock], and he built there seven altars, and offered a calf and a ram on [every] altar.

15 dixit ad Balac sta hic iuxta holocaustum tuum donec ego pergam obvius

And Balaam said to Balac, Stand by your sacrifice, and I will go to enquire of God.

16 cui cum Dominus occurrisset posuissetque verbum in ore eius ait revertere ad Balac et haec loqueris ei

And God met Balaam, and put a word into his mouth, and said, return to Balac, and thus shall you speak.

17 reversus invenit eum stantem iuxta holocaustum suum et principes Moabitarum cum eo ad quem Balac quid inquit locutus est Dominus

And he returned to him: and he also was standing by his whole burnt sacrifice, and all the princes of Moab with him; and Balac said to him, What has the Lord spoken?

18 at ille adsumpta parabola sua ait sta Balac et ausculta audi fili Sepphor

And he took up his parable, and said, rise up, Balac, and hear; listen as a witness, you son of Sepphor.

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 as man to waver, nor as the son of man to be threatened; shall he say and not perform? shall he speak and not keep [to his word]?

20 ad benedicendum adductus sum benedictionem prohibere non valeo

Behold, I have received [commandment] to bless: I will bless, and not turn back.

21 non est idolum in Iacob nec videtur simulacrum in Israhel Dominus Deus eius cum eo est et clangor victoriae regis in illo

There shall not be trouble in Jacob, neither shall sorrow be seen in Israel: the Lord his God [is] with him, the glories of rulers [are] in him.

22 Deus eduxit eum de Aegypto cuius fortitudo similis est rinocerotis

It was God who brought him out of Egypt; he has as it were the glory of a unicorn.

23 non est augurium in Iacob nec divinatio in Israhel temporibus suis dicetur Iacob et Israheli quid operatus sit Deus

For there is no divination in Jacob, nor enchantment in Israel; in season it shall be told to Jacob and Israel what God shall perform.

24 ecce populus ut leaena consurget et quasi leo erigetur non accubabit donec devoret praedam et occisorum sanguinem bibat

Behold, the people shall rise up as a lion's whelp, and shall exalt himself as a lion; he shall not lie down till he have eaten the prey, and he shall drink the blood of the slain.

25 dixitque Balac ad Balaam nec maledicas ei nec benedicas

And Balac said to Balaam, Neither curse the people at all for me, nor bless them at all.

26 et ille nonne ait dixi tibi quod quicquid mihi Deus imperaret hoc facerem

And Balaam answered and said to Balac, Spoke I not to you, saying, Whatsoever thing God shall speak to me, that will I do?

27 et ait Balac ad eum veni et ducam te ad alium locum si forte placeat Deo ut inde maledicas eis

And Balac said to Balaam, Come [and] I will remove you to another place, if it shall please God, and curse me them from thence.

28 cumque duxisset eum super verticem montis Phogor qui respicit solitudinem

And Balac took Balaam to the top of Phogor, which extends to the wilderness.

29 dixit ei Balaam aedifica mihi hic septem aras et para totidem vitulos eiusdemque numeri arietes

And Balaam said to Balac, build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven calves, and seven rams.

30 fecit Balac ut Balaam dixerat inposuitque vitulos et arietes per singulas aras

And Balac did as Balaam told him, and offered a calf and a ram on [every] altar.