Liber Numeri 23
1 dixitque Balaam ad Balac aedifica mihi hic septem aras et para totidem vitulos eiusdemque numeri arietes
And Balaam says to Balak, “Build seven altars for me in this [place], and prepare seven bullocks and seven rams for me in this [place].”
2 cumque fecisset iuxta sermonem Balaam inposuerunt simul vitulum et arietem super aram
And Balak does as Balaam has spoken, and Balak—Balaam also—offers a bullock and a ram on the 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 says to Balak, “Station yourself by your burnt-offering and I go on, it may be YHWH comes to meet me, and the thing which He shows me I have declared to you”; and he goes [to] a high place.
4 cumque abisset velociter occurrit ei Deus locutusque ad eum Balaam septem inquit aras erexi et inposui vitulum et arietem desuper
And God comes to Balaam, and he says to Him, “I have arranged the seven altars, and I offer a bullock and a ram on the altar”;
5 Dominus autem posuit verbum in ore eius et ait revertere ad Balac et haec loqueris
and YHWH puts a word in the mouth of Balaam and says, “Return to Balak, and thus you speak.”
6 reversus invenit stantem Balac iuxta holocaustum suum et omnes principes Moabitarum
And he returns to him, and behold, he is standing by his burnt-offering, he and all the princes 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 takes up his allegory and says: “Balak king of Moab leads me from Aram; From mountains of the east. Come—curse Jacob for me, And come—be indignant [with] Israel.
8 quomodo maledicam cui non maledixit Deus qua ratione detester quem Dominus non detestatur
How do I pierce [when] God has not pierced? And how am I indignant [when] YHWH has not been indignant?
9 de summis silicibus videbo eum et de collibus considerabo illum populus solus habitabit et inter gentes non reputabitur
For from the top of rocks I see him, And from heights I behold him; Behold a people! He dwells alone, And does not reckon himself among 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 counted the dust of Jacob, And the number of the fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of upright ones, 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 says to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I have taken you to pierce my enemies, and behold, you have certainly blessed”;
12 cui ille respondit num aliud possum loqui nisi quod iusserit Dominus
and he answers and says, “That which YHWH puts in my mouth—do I not take heed to speak it?”
13 dixit ergo Balac veni mecum in alterum locum unde partem Israhelis videas et totum videre non possis inde maledicito ei
And Balak says to him, “Come! Come to another place with me, from where you see it—you see only its extremity, and you do not see all of it, and pierce it for me there”;
14 cumque duxisset eum in locum sublimem super verticem montis Phasga aedificavit Balaam septem aras et inpositis supra vitulo atque ariete
and he takes him [to] the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and builds seven altars, and offers a bullock and a ram on the altar.
15 dixit ad Balac sta hic iuxta holocaustum tuum donec ego pergam obvius
And he says to Balak, “Station yourself here by your burnt-offering, and I meet [Him] there”;
16 cui cum Dominus occurrisset posuissetque verbum in ore eius ait revertere ad Balac et haec loqueris ei
and YHWH comes to Balaam, and sets a word in his mouth, and says, “Return to Balak, and thus 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 comes to him, and behold, he is standing by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab [are] with him, and Balak says to him: “What has YHWH spoken?”
18 at ille adsumpta parabola sua ait sta Balac et ausculta audi fili Sepphor
And he takes up his allegory and says: “Rise, Balak, and hear; Give ear to me, 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—and lies, And a son of man—and relents! Has He said—and He does not do [it]? And spoken—and He does not confirm it?
20 ad benedicendum adductus sum benedictionem prohibere non valeo
Behold, I have received [only] to bless; Indeed, He blesses, 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, Nor has He seen perverseness in Israel; His God YHWH [is] with him, And a shout of a king [is] in him.
22 Deus eduxit eum de Aegypto cuius fortitudo similis est rinocerotis
God is bringing them out from Egypt, As the swiftness of a wild ox for him;
23 non est augurium in Iacob nec divinatio in Israhel temporibus suis dicetur Iacob et Israheli quid operatus sit Deus
For no enchantment [is] against Jacob, Nor divination against Israel; At the time it is said of Jacob and Israel, O what God has worked!
24 ecce populus ut leaena consurget et quasi leo erigetur non accubabit donec devoret praedam et occisorum sanguinem bibat
Behold, the people rises as a lioness, And he lifts himself up as a lion; He does not lie down until he eats prey, And drinks blood of pierced ones.”
25 dixitque Balac ad Balaam nec maledicas ei nec benedicas
And Balak says to Balaam, “Neither pierce it at all, nor bless it at all”;
26 et ille nonne ait dixi tibi quod quicquid mihi Deus imperaret hoc facerem
and Balaam answers and says to Balak, “Have I not spoken to you, saying, All that YHWH speaks—I do it?”
27 et ait Balac ad eum veni et ducam te ad alium locum si forte placeat Deo ut inde maledicas eis
And Balak says to Balaam, “Please come, I take you to another place; it may be it is right in the eyes of God to pierce it for me from there.”
28 cumque duxisset eum super verticem montis Phogor qui respicit solitudinem
And Balak takes Balaam to the top of Peor, which is looking on the front of the wilderness,
29 dixit ei Balaam aedifica mihi hic septem aras et para totidem vitulos eiusdemque numeri arietes
and Balaam says to Balak, “Build seven altars for me in this [place], and prepare seven bullocks and seven rams for me in this [place]”;
30 fecit Balac ut Balaam dixerat inposuitque vitulos et arietes per singulas aras
and Balak does as Balaam said, and he offers a bullock and a ram on an altar.
