Liber Numeri 23
Clementine Vulgate, 1598Translation
Clementine Vulgate, 1598
Berean Standard Bible
1Dixitque Balaam ad Balac: Ædifica mihi hic septem aras, et para totidem vitulos, ejusdemque numeri arietes.
1Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”
2Cumque fecisset juxta sermonem Balaam, imposuerunt simul vitulum et arietem super aram.
2So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
3Dixitque Balaam ad Balac: Sta paulisper juxta holocaustum tuum, donec vadam, si forte occurrat mihi Dominus, et quodcumque imperaverit, loquar tibi.
3“Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone,” Balaam said to Balak. “Perhaps the LORD will meet with me. And whatever He reveals to me, I will tell you.” So Balaam went off to a barren height,
4Cumque abiisset velociter, occurrit illi Deus. Locutusque ad eum Balaam: Septem, inquit, aras erexi, et imposui vitulum et arietem desuper.
4and God met with him. “I have set up seven altars,” Balaam said, “and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”
5Dominus autem posuit verbum in ore ejus, et ait: Revertere ad Balac, et hæc loqueris.
5Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and give him this message.”
6Reversus invenit stantem Balac juxta holocaustum suum, et omnes principes Moabitarum:
6So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab.
7assumptaque parabola sua, dixit: [De Aram adduxit me Balac rex Moabitarum, de montibus orientis: Veni, inquit, et maledic Jacob; propera, et detestare Israël.
7And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’
8Quomodo maledicam, cui non maledixit Deus? qua ratione detester, quem Dominus non detestatur?
8How can I curse what God has not cursed? How can I denounce what the LORD has not denounced?
9De summis silicibus videbo eum, et de collibus considerabo illum. Populus solus habitabit, et inter gentes non reputabitur.
9For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations.
10Quis dinumerare possit pulverem Jacob, et nosse numerum stirpis Israël? Moriatur anima mea morte justorum, et fiant novissima mea horum similia.]
10Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous; let my end be like theirs!”
11Dixitque Balac ad Balaam: Quid est hoc quod agis? ut malediceres inimicis meis vocavi te, et tu e contrario benedicis eis.
11Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and behold, you have only blessed them!”
12Cui ille respondit: Num aliud possum loqui, nisi quod jusserit Dominus?
12But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?”
13Dixit ergo Balac: Veni mecum in alterum locum unde partem Israël videas, et totum videre non possis: inde maledicito ei.
13Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp—not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.”
14Cumque duxisset eum in locum sublimem, super verticem montis Phasga, ædificavit Balaam septem aras, et impositis supra vitulo atque ariete,
14So Balak took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15dixit ad Balac: Sta hic juxta holocaustum tuum, donec ego obvius pergam.
15Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.”
16Cui cum Dominus occurrisset, posuissetque verbum in ore ejus, ait: Revertere ad Balac, et hæc loqueris ei.
16And the LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and speak what I tell you.”
17Reversus invenit eum stantem juxta holocaustum suum, et principes Moabitarum cum eo. Ad quem Balac: Quid, inquit, locutus est Dominus?
17So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the princes of Moab. “What did the LORD say?” Balak asked.
18At ille, assumpta parabola sua, ait: [Sta, Balac, et ausculta; audi, fili Sephor:
18Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor.
19non est Deus quasi homo, ut mentiatur, nec ut filius hominis, ut mutetur. Dixit ergo, et non faciet? locutus est, et non implebit?
19God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
20Ad benedicendum adductus sum: benedictionem prohibere non valeo.
20I have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it.
21Non est idolum in Jacob, nec videtur simulacrum in Israël. Dominus Deus ejus cum eo est, et clangor victoriæ regis in illo.
21He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of the King is among them.
22Deus eduxit illum de Ægypto, cujus fortitudo similis est rhinocerotis.
22God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox.
23Non est augurium in Jacob, nec divinatio in Israël: temporibus suis dicetur Jacob et Israëli quid operatus sit Deus.
23For there is no spell against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What great things God has done!’
24Ecce populus ut leæna consurget, et quasi leo erigetur: non accubabit donec devoret prædam, et occisorum sanguinem bibat.]
24Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.”
25Dixitque Balac ad Balaam: Nec maledicas ei, nec benedicas.
25Now Balak said to Balaam, “Then neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”
26Et ille ait: Nonne dixi tibi quod quidquid mihi Deus imperaret, hoc facerem?
26But Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you that whatever the LORD says, I must do?”
27Et ait Balac ad eum: Veni, et ducam te ad alium locum: si forte placeat Deo ut inde maledicas eis.
27“Please come,” said Balak, “I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you curse them for me from there.”
28Cumque duxisset eum super verticem montis Phogor, qui respicit solitudinem,
28And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland.
29dixit ei Balaam: Ædifica mihi hic septem aras, et para totidem vitulos, ejusdemque numeri arietes.
29Then Balaam said, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”
30Fecit Balac ut Balaam dixerat: imposuitque vitulos et arietes per singulas aras.
30So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
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