HOLY BIBLE: Numbers 24 (original) (raw)

1 καὶ ἰδὼν Βαλααμ ὅτι καλόν ἐστιν ἔναντι κυρίου εὐλογεῖν τὸν Ισραηλ οὐκ ἐπορεύθη κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς εἰς συνάντησιν τοῖς οἰωνοῖς καὶ ἀπέστρεψεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ἔρημον 2 καὶ ἐξάρας Βαλααμ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ καθορᾷ τὸν Ισραηλ ἐστρατοπεδευκότα κατὰ φυλάς καὶ ἐγένετο πνεῦμα θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ 3 καὶ ἀναλαβὼν τὴν παραβολὴν αὐτοῦ εἶπεν φησὶν Βαλααμ υἱὸς Βεωρ φησὶν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ ἀληθινῶς ὁρῶν 4 φησὶν ἀκούων λόγια θεοῦ ὅστις ὅρασιν θεοῦ εἶδεν ἐν ὕπνῳ ἀποκεκαλυμμένοι οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ 5 ὡς καλοί σου οἱ οἶκοι Ιακωβ αἱ σκηναί σου Ισραηλ 6 ὡσεὶ νάπαι σκιάζουσαι καὶ ὡσεὶ παράδεισοι ἐπὶ ποταμῶν καὶ ὡσεὶ σκηναί ἃς ἔπηξεν κύριος ὡσεὶ κέδροι πα{R'} ὕδατα 7 ἐξελεύσεται ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτοῦ καὶ κυριεύσει ἐθνῶν πολλῶν καὶ ὑψωθήσεται ἢ Γωγ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐξηθήσεται ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ 8 θεὸς ὡδήγησεν αὐτὸν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ὡς δόξα μονοκέρωτος αὐτῷ ἔδεται ἔθνη ἐχθρῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ πάχη αὐτῶν ἐκμυελιεῖ καὶ ταῖς βολίσιν αὐτοῦ κατατοξεύσει ἐχθρόν 9 κατακλιθεὶς ἀνεπαύσατο ὡς λέων καὶ ὡς σκύμνος τίς ἀναστήσει αὐτόν οἱ εὐλογοῦντές σε εὐλόγηνται καὶ οἱ καταρώμενοί σε κεκατήρανται

1 But this time, seeing clearly that it was God’s purpose to bless Israel, Balaam did not go apart, as before, to look for portents; he turned towards the desert, 2 and there, looking about him, he saw Israel encamped, tribe upon tribe. With that, the spirit of God fell upon him, 3 and he prophesied: Thus speaks Balaam, the son of Beor, thus speaks the man who has seen with eyes blindfolded;[1] 4 thus speaks the man who has heard the words of God himself, looked on a vision sent from the Almighty, who has fallen into a trance, and learned to see aright! 5 How lovely, Jacob, are thy tents; Israel, how fair thy dwelling! 6 Fair as wooded valleys, as gardens fed by running streams, as bowers of the Lord’s own planting,[2] as cedars on the river bank! 7 Like a bucket brimming over at the well, see how their posterity spreads from one river-frontier to the next! The king that rules over them shall rival Agag himself, and take away his kingdom from him.[3] 8 God has rescued them from Egypt, and made them like a wild ox for strength; nations shall come and swallow up their enemies,[4] crush them utterly, shoot them down with arrows. 9 Though Israel takes his rest, it is but as the crouching lion sleeps; who dares disturb the lioness in her den? A blessing, Israel, on all who bless, a curse on all who curse thee!

1 Cumque vidisset Balaam quod placeret Domino ut benediceret Israëli, nequaquam abiit ut ante perrexerat, ut augurium quæreret: sed dirigens contra desertum vultum suum, 2 et elevans oculos, vidit Israël in tentoriis commorantem per tribus suas: et irruente in se spiritu Dei, 3 assumpta parabola, ait:

Dixit Balaam filius Beor:
dixit homo, cujus obturatus est oculus:

4
dixit auditor sermonum Dei,
qui visionem Omnipotentis intuitus est,
qui cadit, et sic aperiuntur oculi ejus: 5
Quam pulchra tabernacula tua, Jacob,
et tentoria tua, Israël! 6
ut valles nemorosæ,
ut horti juxta fluvios irrigui,
ut tabernacula quæ fixit Dominus,
quasi cedri prope aquas. 7
Fluet aqua de situla ejus,
et semen illius erit in aquas multas.
Tolletur propter Agag, rex ejus,
et auferetur regnum illius. 8
Deus eduxit illum de Ægypto,
cujus fortitudo similis est rhinocerotis.
Devorabunt gentes hostes illius,
ossaque eorum confringent, et perforabunt sagittis. 9
Accubans dormivit ut leo,
et quasi leæna, quam suscitare nullus audebit.
Qui benedixerit tibi, erit et ipse benedictus:
qui maledixerit, in maledictione reputabitur.

15 καὶ ἀναλαβὼν τὴν παραβολὴν αὐτοῦ εἶπεν φησὶν Βαλααμ υἱὸς Βεωρ φησὶν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ ἀληθινῶς ὁρῶν 16 ἀκούων λόγια θεοῦ ἐπιστάμενος ἐπιστήμην παρὰ ὑψίστου καὶ ὅρασιν θεοῦ ἰδὼν ἐν ὕπνῳ ἀποκεκαλυμμένοι οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ 17 δείξω αὐτῷ καὶ οὐχὶ νῦν μακαρίζω καὶ οὐκ ἐγγίζει ἀνατελεῖ ἄστρον ἐξ Ιακωβ καὶ ἀναστήσεται ἄνθρωπος ἐξ Ισραηλ καὶ θραύσει τοὺς ἀρχηγοὺς Μωαβ καὶ προνομεύσει πάντας υἱοὺς Σηθ 18 καὶ ἔσται Εδωμ κληρονομία καὶ ἔσται κληρονομία Ησαυ ὁ ἐχθρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ Ισραηλ ἐποίησεν ἐν ἰσχύι 19 καὶ ἐξεγερθήσεται ἐξ Ιακωβ καὶ ἀπολεῖ σῳζόμενον ἐκ πόλεως 20 καὶ ἰδὼν τὸν Αμαληκ καὶ ἀναλαβὼν τὴν παραβολὴν αὐτοῦ εἶπεν ἀρχὴ ἐθνῶν Αμαληκ καὶ τὸ σπέρμα αὐτῶν ἀπολεῖται 21 καὶ ἰδὼν τὸν Καιναῖον καὶ ἀναλαβὼν τὴν παραβολὴν αὐτοῦ εἶπεν ἰσχυρὰ ἡ κατοικία σου καὶ ἐὰν θῇς ἐν πέτρᾳ τὴν νοσσιάν σου 22 καὶ ἐὰν γένηται τῷ Βεωρ νεοσσιὰ πανουργίας Ἀσσύριοί σε αἰχμαλωτεύσουσιν 23 καὶ ἰδὼν τὸν Ωγ καὶ ἀναλαβὼν τὴν παραβολὴν αὐτοῦ εἶπεν ὦ ὦ τίς ζήσεται ὅταν θῇ ταῦτα ὁ θεός 24 καὶ ἐξελεύσεται ἐκ χειρὸς Κιτιαίων καὶ κακώσουσιν Ασσουρ καὶ κακώσουσιν Εβραίους καὶ αὐτοὶ ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἀπολοῦνται

15 And once more Balaam prophesied: Thus speaks Balaam, the son of Beor, thus speaks the man who has seen with eyes blindfolded; 16 who heard speech of God, most high, the Almighty, knew his mind, had vision of him, and in a trance, learned to see aright! 17 My vision is not of this time, is not of the things that meet my eyes. I see a star that rises out of Jacob, a stem that springs from Israel’s root; one who shall lay low the chiefs of Moab, shall bring devastation on all the posterity of Seth.[6] 18 Edom shall fall into his hands; the men of Seir will yield their lands to the enemy. Brave deeds in Israel; 19 such a ruler for Jacob as shall leave no remnant in the captured city! 20 Then he spoke of Amalec, Amalec, first-fruits of the nations, shall have his very gleanings destroyed; 21 spoke of the Cinites, Though strong be thy fastness, though high thy nest, 22 proud race of Cin, it shall not be for ever; Assur shall carry thee away into exile. 23 And once more he prophesied: Alas, who can survive when God brings all this about? 24 Men will come in ships of war from Italy, conquering the Assyrians, laying the Hebrew land waste, doomed themselves, last of all, to perish.[7]

15 Sumpta igitur parabola, rursum ait:

Dixit Balaam filius Beor:
dixit homo, cujus obturatus est oculus:

16
dixit auditor sermonum Dei,
qui novit doctrinam Altissimi,
et visiones Omnipotentis videt,
qui cadens apertos habet oculos: 17
Videbo eum, sed non modo:
intuebor illum, sed non prope.
Orietur stella ex Jacob,
et consurget virga de Israël:
et percutiet duces Moab,
vastabitque omnes filios Seth. 18
Et erit Idumæa possessio ejus:
hæreditas Seir cedet inimicis suis:
Israël vero fortiter aget. 19
De Jacob erit qui dominetur,
et perdat reliquias civitatis. 20 Cumque vidisset Amalec, assumens parabolam, ait:

Principium gentium Amalec,
cujus extrema perdentur.

21 Vidit quoque Cinæum: et assumpta parabola, ait:

Robustum quidem est habitaculum tuum:
sed si in petra posueris nidum tuum,

22
et fueris electus de stirpe Cin,
quamdiu poteris permanere? Assur enim capiet te. 23 Assumptaque parabola iterum locutus est:

Heu! quis victurus est,
quando ista faciet Deus?

24
Venient in trieribus de Italia:
superabunt Assyrios, vastabuntque Hebræos, et ad extremum etiam ipsi peribunt.

[1] Literally, ‘whose eyes were shut up’, but the Hebrew text probably means ‘whose eyes were opened’.

[2] Literally, according to the Latin, ‘tents the Lord has fixed’, but the word used in the Hebrew text seems to mean some kind of tree (perhaps the aloe), as indeed the context demands.

[3] ‘Shall rival Agag himself’; literally, ‘shall be lifted up close to Agag’. The Latin version can also be rendered, ‘shall be taken away because of Agag’, and the latter part of the verse, ‘his kingdom shall be taken away’ can be understood equally in reference to king Saul (I Kg. 15). But a prophecy on this subject is wholly unsuitable to the present context; and the Hebrew text has, ‘he shall be lifted up above Agag’. No Agag appears in scripture except the king defeated by Saul; but it may have been a title rather than a name (like ‘Pharao’), so that the point of the allusion remains uncertain.

[4] According to the Hebrew text, ‘they shall swallow up the nations (that are) their enemies’.

[5] ‘The dealings there must be between this folk and thine’; in the Latin, ‘what thy folk shall do to this folk’, but according to the Hebrew text, ‘what this folk shall do to thy folk’. If the former is the true rendering, the allusion is perhaps to Balaam’s advice given on this occasion (31.16), not to the prophecy which here follows.

[6] This can hardly be understood of the son of Adam, without destroying the parallelism of the verse; we should expect Moab to appear under another name. Some think the meaning is ‘sons of pride’ or ‘sons of tumult’ in the Hebrew.

[7] The bearing, and in some places the meaning, of verses 20-24 is obscure. The word ‘nest’ in the Hebrew forms a play upon words with ‘Cinite’. In verse 24 ‘Italy’ seems to be a conjecture by the translator; the name used in the Hebrew text is Cethim, applied properly to Cyprus, but occasionally to the Mediterranean world in general. Nor is it certain that ‘the land of Heber’ refers to the Hebrews.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd