Liber Numeri 23
Clementine Vulgate, 1598Translation
Clementine Vulgate, 1598
JPS Tanakh (Jewish Publication Society, 1917)
1Dixitque Balaam ad Balac: Ædifica mihi hic septem aras, et para totidem vitulos, ejusdemque numeri arietes.
1And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.'
2Cumque fecisset juxta sermonem Balaam, imposuerunt simul vitulum et arietem super aram.
2And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.
3Dixitque Balaam ad Balac: Sta paulisper juxta holocaustum tuum, donec vadam, si forte occurrat mihi Dominus, et quodcumque imperaverit, loquar tibi.
3And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go; peradventure the LORD will come to meet me; and whatsoever He showeth me I will tell thee.' And he went to a bare height.
4Cumque abiisset velociter, occurrit illi Deus. Locutusque ad eum Balaam: Septem, inquit, aras erexi, et imposui vitulum et arietem desuper.
4And God met Balaam; and he said unto Him: 'I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.'
5Dominus autem posuit verbum in ore ejus, et ait: Revertere ad Balac, et hæc loqueris.
5And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.'
6Reversus invenit stantem Balac juxta holocaustum suum, et omnes principes Moabitarum:
6And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt-offering, he, and 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 he took up his parable, and said: From Aram Balak bringeth me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East: 'Come, curse me Jacob, and come, execrate Israel.'
8Quomodo maledicam, cui non maledixit Deus? qua ratione detester, quem Dominus non detestatur?
8How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I execrate, whom the LORD hath not execrated?
9De summis silicibus videbo eum, et de collibus considerabo illum. Populus solus habitabit, et inter gentes non reputabitur.
9For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned 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 hath counted the dust of Jacob, or numbered the stock of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let mine end be like his!
11Dixitque Balac ad Balaam: Quid est hoc quod agis? ut malediceres inimicis meis vocavi te, et tu e contrario benedicis eis.
11And Balak said unto Balaam: 'What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.'
12Cui ille respondit: Num aliud possum loqui, nisi quod jusserit Dominus?
12And he answered and said: 'Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD putteth in my mouth?'
13Dixit ergo Balac: Veni mecum in alterum locum unde partem Israël videas, et totum videre non possis: inde maledicito ei.
13And Balak said unto him: 'Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them; thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all; and curse me them from thence.'
14Cumque duxisset eum in locum sublimem, super verticem montis Phasga, ædificavit Balaam septem aras, et impositis supra vitulo atque ariete,
14And 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.
15dixit ad Balac: Sta hic juxta holocaustum tuum, donec ego obvius pergam.
15And he said unto Balak: 'Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while I go toward a meeting yonder.'
16Cui cum Dominus occurrisset, posuissetque verbum in ore ejus, ait: Revertere ad Balac, et hæc loqueris ei.
16And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.'
17Reversus invenit eum stantem juxta holocaustum suum, et principes Moabitarum cum eo. Ad quem Balac: Quid, inquit, locutus est Dominus?
17And he came to him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him: 'What hath the LORD spoken?'
18At ille, assumpta parabola sua, ait: [Sta, Balac, et ausculta; audi, fili Sephor:
18And he took up his parable, and said: Arise, Balak, and hear; give ear unto me, thou 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; neither the son of man, that He should repent: when He hath said, will He not do it? or when He hath spoken, will He not make it good?
20Ad benedicendum adductus sum: benedictionem prohibere non valeo.
20Behold, I am bidden to bless; and when He hath blessed, I cannot call it back.
21Non est idolum in Jacob, nec videtur simulacrum in Israël. Dominus Deus ejus cum eo est, et clangor victoriæ regis in illo.
21None hath beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath one seen perverseness in Israel; the LORD his God is with him, and the shouting for the King is among them.
22Deus eduxit illum de Ægypto, cujus fortitudo similis est rhinocerotis.
22God who brought them forth out of Egypt is for them like the lofty horns of the 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 enchantment with Jacob, neither is there any divination with Israel; now is it said of Jacob and of Israel: 'What hath God wrought!'
24Ecce populus ut leæna consurget, et quasi leo erigetur: non accubabit donec devoret prædam, et occisorum sanguinem bibat.]
24Behold a people that riseth up as a lioness, and as a lion doth he lift himself up; he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.
25Dixitque Balac ad Balaam: Nec maledicas ei, nec benedicas.
25And Balak said unto Balaam: '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 answered and said unto Balak: 'Told not I thee, saying: All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do?'
27Et ait Balac ad eum: Veni, et ducam te ad alium locum: si forte placeat Deo ut inde maledicas eis.
27And Balak said unto Balaam: 'Come now, I will take thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.'
28Cumque duxisset eum super verticem montis Phogor, qui respicit solitudinem,
28And Balak took Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh down upon the desert.
29dixit ei Balaam: Ædifica mihi hic septem aras, et para totidem vitulos, ejusdemque numeri arietes.
29And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.'
30Fecit Balac ut Balaam dixerat: imposuitque vitulos et arietes per singulas aras.
30And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.
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