Numbers 24
1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased God to bless Israel, he did not go according to his custom to meet the omens, but turned his face towards the wilderness.
Balaam vit que Yahweh avait pour agréable de bénir Israël, et il n’alla pas, comme les autres fois, à la rencontre des signes magiques; mais il tourna son visage du côté du désert.
2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and sees Israel encamped by their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
Ayant levé les yeux, il vit Israël campé par tribus; et l’Esprit de Dieu fut sur lui,
3 And he took up his parable and said, Balaam son of Beor says, the man who sees truly says,
et il prononça son discours, en disant: Oracle de Balaam fils de Béor, oracle de l’homme dont l’œil est fermé;
4 he says who hears the oracle of the Mighty One, who saw a vision of God in sleep; his eyes were opened:
oracle de celui qui entend les paroles de Dieu, qui contemple la vision du Tout-Puissant, qui tombe, et dont les yeux s’ouvrent.
5 How goodly [are] your habitations, Jacob, and your tents, Israel!
Qu’elles sont belles tes tentes, ô Jacob, tes demeures, ô Israël!
6 as shady groves, and as gardens by a river, and as tents which God pitched, and as cedars by the waters.
Elles s’étendent comme des vallées, comme des jardins au bord d’un fleuve, comme des aloès que Yahweh a plantés, comme des cèdres sur le bord des eaux.
7 There shall come a man out of his seed, and he shall rule over many nations; and the kingdom of Gog shall be exalted, and his kingdom shall be increased.
L’eau déborde de ses deux seaux, sa race croît sur des eaux abondantes, son roi s’élève au-dessus d’Agag, et son royaume est exalté!
8 God led him out of Egypt; he has as it were the glory of a unicorn: he shall consume the nations of his enemies, and he shall drain their marrow, and with his darts he shall shoot through the enemy.
Dieu le fait sortir d’Égypte: il lui donne la vigueur du buffle. Il dévore les nations qui lui font la guerre. Il brise leurs os et les foudroie de ses flèches.
9 He lay down, he rested as a lion, and as a young lion; who shall stir him up? they that bless you are blessed, and they that curse you are cursed.
Il ploie les genoux, il se couche comme un lion, comme une lionne; qui le fera lever? Béni soit qui te bénira et maudit soit qui te maudira!
10 And Balac was angry with Balaam, and clapped his hands together; and Balac said to Balaam, I called you to curse my enemy, and behold you have decidedly blessed [him] this third time.
La colère de Balac s’enflamma contre Balaam, et il frappa des mains; et Balac dit à Balaam: « Je t’ai appelé pour maudire mes ennemis, et voici, tu n’as fait que les bénir ces trois fois!
11 Now therefore flee to your place: I said, I will honour you, but now the Lord has deprived you of glory.
Et maintenant fuis, va-t’en chez toi! J’avais dit que je te comblerais d’honneur; et voici, Yahweh t’écarte de l’honneur. »
12 And Balaam said to Balac, Did I not speak to your messengers also whom you sent to me, saying,
Balaam répondit à Balac: « N’ai-je pas dit à tes messagers que tu m’as envoyés:
13 If Balac should give me his house full of silver and gold, I shall not be able to transgress the word of the Lord to make it good or bad by myself; whatever things God shall say, them will I speak.
Quand Balac me donnerait plein sa maison d’argent et d’or, je ne pourrai transgresser l’ordre de Yahweh, en faisant de moi-même une chose bonne ou mauvaise; mais ce que Yahweh me dira, je le dirai?
14 And now, behold, I return to my place; come, I will advise you of what this people shall do to your people in the last days.
Et maintenant, voici, je m’en vais vers mon peuple; viens donc, que je t’annonce ce que ce peuple fera à ton peuple dans la suite des jours. »
15 And he took up his parable and said, Balaam the son of Beor says, the man who sees truly says,
Et Balaam prononça son discours et dit: Oracle de Balaam, fils de Béor, oracle de l’homme dont l’œil est fermé;
16 hearing the oracles of God, receiving knowledge from the Most High, and having seen a vision of God in sleep; his eyes were opened.
oracle de celui qui entend les paroles de Dieu, qui connaît la science du Très-Haut, qui contemple la vision du Tout-puissant, qui tombe, et dont les yeux s’ouvrent.
17 I will point to him, but not now; I bless him, but he draws not near: a star shall rise out of Jacob, a man shall spring out of Israel; and shall crush the princes of Moab, and shall spoil all the sons of Seth.
Je le vois, mais non comme présent; je le contemple, mais non de près. Un astre sort de Jacob, un sceptre s’élève d’Israël. Il brise les deux flancs de Moab, il extermine tous les fils du tumulte.
18 And Edom shall be an inheritance, and Esau his enemy shall be an inheritance [of Israel], and Israel wrought valiantly.
Edom est sa possession; Séïr, son ennemi, est sa possession, et Israël déploie sa vaillance.
19 And [one] shall arise out of Jacob, and destroy out of the city him that escapes.
De Jacob sort un dominateur, il fait périr dans les villes ce qui reste d’Edom.
20 And having seen Amalec, he took up his parable and said, Amalec [is] the first of the nations; yet his seed shall perish.
Balaam vit Amalec, et il prononça son discours et dit: Amalec est la première des nations et sa fin sera la ruine.
21 And having seen the Kenite, he took up his parable and said, your dwelling-place [is] strong; yet though you should put your nest in a rock,
Balaam vit le Cinéen, et il prononça son discours et dit: Ta demeure est solide, et ton nid posé sur le roc.
22 and though Beor should have a skilfully contrived hiding-place, the Assyrians shall carry you away captive.
Toutefois le Cinéen ira se consumant; jusqu’à quand? Assur l’emmènera en captivité.
23 And he looked upon Og, and took up his parable and said, Oh, oh, who shall live, when God shall do these things?
Balaam prononça son discours et dit: Hélas! qui subsistera quand Dieu fera cela?
24 And one shall come forth from the hands of the Citians, and shall afflict Assur, and shall afflict the Hebrews, and they shall perish together.
Des navires viennent de Citthim; ils oppriment Assur, ils oppriment Héber, et lui aussi est voué à la ruine.
25 And Balaam rose up and departed and returned to his place, and Balac went to his own home.
Balaam s’étant levé, se mit en route et s’en retourna chez lui; Balac s’en alla aussi de son côté.
