Liber Numeri 31

1 locutusque est Dominus ad Mosen dicens

Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying:

2 ulciscere prius filios Israhel de Madianitis et sic colligeris ad populum tuum

Exact thou the avenging of the sons of Israel, from the Midianites, —and, afterwards, shalt thou be withdrawn unto thy kinsfolk.

3 statimque Moses armate inquit ex vobis viros ad pugnam qui possint ultionem Domini expetere de Madianitis

So Moses spake unto the people saying, Arm ye from among you men, for the war, and let them go against Midian, to render the avenging of Yahweh upon Midian.

4 mille viri de singulis tribubus eligantur Israhel qui mittantur ad bellum

A thousand from each tribe, —of all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send forth unto the war.

5 dederuntque millenos de cunctis tribubus id est duodecim milia expeditorum ad pugnam

And there volunteered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of each tribe, —twelve thousand, armed for war.

6 quos misit Moses cum Finees filio Eleazari sacerdotis vasa quoque sancta et tubas ad clangendum tradidit ei

And Moses sent them a thousand of each tribe to the war, —them, and Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary, and the alarm trumpets, in his hand.

7 cumque pugnassent contra Madianitas atque vicissent omnes mares occiderunt

So they made war upon Midian, as Yahweh had commanded Moses, and slew every male:

8 et reges eorum Evi et Recem et Sur et Ur et Rebe quinque principes gentis Balaam quoque filium Beor interfecerunt gladio

and the kings of Midian, slew they besides their other slain namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian, —Balaam also, son of Beor, slew they with the sword.

9 ceperuntque mulieres eorum et parvulos omniaque pecora et cunctam supellectilem quicquid habere potuerant depopulati sunt

And the sons of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, —all their cattle also and all their flocks and all their substance, carried they off as a prey;

10 tam urbes quam viculos et castella flamma consumpsit

all their cities also in their sites, and all their encampments, burned they up with fire.

11 et tulerunt praedam et universa quae ceperant tam ex hominibus quam ex iumentis

Then took they all the spoil, and all the booty, —both of man and beast;

12 et adduxerunt ad Mosen et Eleazarum sacerdotem et ad omnem multitudinem filiorum Israhel reliqua etiam utensilia portaverunt ad castra in campestribus Moab iuxta Iordanem contra Hiericho

and brought in unto Moses and unto Eleazar the priest and unto the assembly of the sons of Israel—the captives and the booty, and the spoil unto the camp, —unto the waste plains of Moab, which are by Jordan, near Jericho.

13 egressi sunt autem Moses et Eleazar sacerdos et omnes principes synagogae in occursum eorum extra castra

And Moses, and Eleazar the priest and all the princes of the assembly, went forth to meet them, —unto the outside of the camp.

14 iratusque Moses principibus exercitus tribunis et centurionibus qui venerant de bello

Then was Moses sore displeased with the officers of the force, —the princes of thousands, and the princes of hundreds who were coming in from the warring host.

15 ait cur feminas reservastis

And Moses said unto them, —Have ye saved alive every female?

16 nonne istae sunt quae deceperunt filios Israhel ad suggestionem Balaam et praevaricari vos fecerunt in Domino super peccato Phogor unde et percussus est populus

Lo! they, became unto the sons of Israel, by the advice of Balaam, the cause of daring acts of treachery against Yahweh, over the affair of Peor, —and then came the plague against the assembly of Yahweh!

17 ergo cunctos interficite quicquid est generis masculini etiam in parvulis et mulieres quae noverunt viros in coitu iugulate

Now, therefore, slay ye every male among the young, —every woman also that hath cohabited with man, slay ye.

18 puellas autem et omnes feminas virgines reservate vobis

But all the young of womankind that have, not cohabited with man, preserve alive for yourselves.

19 et manete extra castra septem diebus qui occiderit hominem vel occisum tetigerit lustrabitur die tertio et septimo

Ye, then, pitch outside the camp, for seven days, —whosoever hath killed a person and whoever hath touched the slain, cleanse yourselves (from sin) on the third day and on the seventh day ye and your captives,

20 et de omni praeda sive vestimentum fuerit sive vas et aliquid in utensilia praeparatum de caprarum pellibus et pilis et ligno expiabitur

Every garment also, and every article of skin and every thing made of goat’s-hair, and every article of wood, shall ye cleanse (from sin).

21 Eleazar quoque sacerdos ad viros exercitus qui pugnaverant sic locutus est hoc est praeceptum legis quod mandavit Dominus Mosi

Then said Eleazar the priest unto the men of the host, who had been to the war: This, is the statute of the law, which Yahweh hath commanded Moses:

22 aurum et argentum et aes et ferrum et stagnum et plumbum

Surely the gold and the silver, —the bronze the iron, the tin and the lead,

23 et omne quod potest transire per flammas igne purgabitur quicquid autem ignem non potest sustinere aqua expiationis sanctificabitur

whatsoever thing can go into fire, ye shall pass through fire and it shall be clean, only with the water of separation, shall ye cleanse it (from sin). But whatsoever cannot go into fire, ye shall pass through water.

24 et lavabitis vestimenta vestra die septimo et purificati postea castra intrabitis

And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and be clean, —and after-wards, shall ye come into the camp.

25 dixitque Dominus ad Mosen

Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying:

26 tollite summam eorum quae capta sunt ab homine usque ad pecus tu et Eleazar sacerdos et principes vulgi

Reckon thou up the sum of the booty that was captured, both of man and of beast, —thou and Eleazar the priest, and the ancestral heads of the assembly;

27 dividesque ex aequo praedam inter eos qui pugnaverunt et egressi sunt ad bellum et inter omnem reliquam multitudinem

and divide the booty into two parts, between them who took upon them the war, who went out in the host, —and all the [rest of the] assembly.

28 et separabis partem Domino ab his qui pugnaverunt et fuerunt in bello unam animam de quingentis tam ex hominibus quam ex bubus et asinis et ovibus

Then shalt thou levy a tribute unto Yahweh—from the men of war, who went forth in the host, one living thing, out of five hundred, —of the human beings, and of the herd, and of the asses and of the flock:

29 et dabis eam Eleazaro sacerdoti quia primitiae Domini sunt

out of their half, shall ye take [them], —and thou shall give [them] unto Eleazar the priest as a heave-offering unto Yahweh.

30 ex media quoque parte filiorum Israhel accipies quinquagesimum caput hominum et boum et asinorum et ovium cunctarumque animantium et dabis ea Levitis qui excubant in custodiis tabernaculi Domini

And out of the half allotted to the sons of Israel, shalt thou take one allotted portion out of fifty of the human beings, of the herd, of the asses and of the flock of all the cattle, —and shalt give them unto the Levites, who keep the charge of the habitation of Yahweh.

31 feceruntque Moses et Eleazar sicut praeceperat Dominus

And Moses and Eleazar the priest did, —As Yahweh commanded Moses.

32 fuit autem praeda quam exercitus ceperat ovium sescenta septuaginta quinque milia

And it came to pass that the booty, over and above the prey which the people of the host had seized, was, —of the flock, six hundred and seventy-five thousand;

33 boum septuaginta duo milia

and, of the herd, seventy-two thousand;

34 asinorum sexaginta milia et mille

and, of the asses, sixty-one thousand;

35 animae hominum sexus feminei quae non cognoverant viros triginta duo milia

and, of the human persons, even of the woman-kind who had not cohabited with man, —all the persons, thirty-two thousand.

36 dataque est media pars his qui in proelio fuerant ovium trecenta triginta septem milia quingenta

And the half, the share of them who had gone forth in the host, was, —the number of the flock—three hundred and thirty-seven thousand and five hundred;

37 e quibus in partem Domini supputatae sunt oves sescentae septuaginta quinque

and so, the tribute unto Yahweh, out of the flock, was—six hundred and seventy-five;

38 et de bubus triginta sex milibus boves septuaginta duo

and the herd, thirty-six thousand, —and the tribute of them unto Yahweh—seventy-two;

39 de asinis triginta milibus quingentis asini sexaginta unus

and the asses, thirty thousand and five hundred, —and the tribute of them unto Yahweh, sixty-one;

40 de animabus hominum sedecim milibus cesserunt in partem Domini triginta duae animae

and the human persons, sixteen thousand, —and the tribute of them unto Yahweh, thirty-two persons.

41 tradiditque Moses numerum primitiarum Domini Eleazaro sacerdoti sicut ei fuerat imperatum

And Moses gave the tribute—the heave-offering of Yahweh, unto Eleazar the priest, —As Yahweh commanded Moses.

42 ex media parte filiorum Israhel quam separaverat his qui in proelio fuerant

And, of the half, allotted unto the sons of Israel, —which Moses halved away from the men who had gone out in the host,

43 de media vero parte quae contigerat reliquae multitudini id est de ovium trecentis triginta septem milibus quingentis

the half allotted unto the assembly, was—of the flock, three hundred and thirty-seven thousand, and five hundred;

44 et de bubus triginta sex milibus

and, of the herd, six and thirty thousand;

45 et de asinis triginta milibus quingentis

and, of asses, thirty thousand and five hundred;

46 et de hominibus sedecim milibus

and, human persons, sixteen thousand.

47 tulit Moses quinquagesimum caput et dedit Levitis qui excubant in tabernaculo Domini sicut praeceperat Dominus

So then Moses took—out of the half belonging to the sons of Israel the allotted portion one out of fifty, of the human beings and of the beasts, —and gave them unto the Levites, the keepers of the charge of the habitation of Yahweh, As Yahweh commanded Moses.

48 cumque accessissent principes exercitus ad Mosen et tribuni centurionesque dixerunt

Then came near unto Moses the officers who belonged unto the thousands of the host, —the princes of thousands and the princes of hundreds;

49 nos servi tui recensuimus numerum pugnatorum quos habuimus sub manu nostra et ne unus quidem defuit

and said unto Moses, Thy servants have reckoned up the sum of the men of war who are in our hand, —and there is not missed from among us, a man!

50 ob hanc causam offerimus in donariis Domini singuli quod in praeda auri potuimus invenire periscelides et armillas anulos et dextralia ac murenulas ut depreceris pro nobis Dominum

Therefore have we brought near an offering unto Yahweh, what, each man, hath found—articles of gold, ankle chains and bracelets, rings earrings and buckles, —to put a propitiatory-covering over our souls before Yahweh.

51 susceperuntque Moses et Eleazar sacerdos omne aurum in diversis speciebus

So Moses, and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, —all the wrought articles.

52 pondo sedecim milia septingentos quinquaginta siclos a tribunis et centurionibus

And all the gold of the heave-offering which they offered up unto Yahweh, was—sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, —of the princes of thousands, and of the princes of hundreds.

53 unusquisque enim quod in praeda rapuerat suum erat

The men of the host, had taken prey, each man for himself.

54 et susceptum intulerunt in tabernaculum testimonii in monumentum filiorum Israhel coram Domino

So then Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the princes of thousands, and hundreds, —and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the sons of Israel before Yahweh.