Numbers 24 Clementine Vulgate
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Cumque vidisset Balaam quod placeret Domino ut benediceret Israëli, nequaquam abiit ut ante perrexerat, ut augurium quæreret: sed dirigens contra desertum vultum suum,
1 When Balaam saw that it pleased Yahweh to bless Israel, he didn’t go, as at the other times, to use divination, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
2 et elevans oculos, vidit Israël in tentoriis commorantem per tribus suas: et irruente in se spiritu Dei,
2 Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came on him.
3 assumpta parabola, ait: [Dixit Balaam filius Beor: dixit homo, cujus obturatus est oculus:
3 He took up his parable, and said, “Balaam the son of Beor says, the man whose eyes are open says;
4 dixit auditor sermonum Dei, qui visionem Omnipotentis intuitus est, qui cadit, et sic aperiuntur oculi ejus:
4 he says, who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, and having his eyes open:
5 Quam pulchra tabernacula tua, Jacob, et tentoria tua, Israël !
5 How goodly are your tents, Jacob, and your dwellings, Israel!
6 ut valles nemorosæ, ut horti juxta fluvios irrigui, ut tabernacula quæ fixit Dominus, quasi cedri prope aquas.
6 As valleys they are spread out, as gardens by the riverside, as aloes which Yahweh has planted, as cedar trees beside the waters.
7 Fluet aqua de situla ejus, et semen illius erit in aquas multas. Tolletur propter Agag, rex ejus, et auferetur regnum illius.
7 Water shall flow from his buckets. His seed shall be in many waters. His king shall be higher than Agag. His kingdom shall be exalted.
8 Deus eduxit illum de Ægypto, cujus fortitudo similis est rhinocerotis. Devorabunt gentes hostes illius, ossaque eorum confringent, et perforabunt sagittis.
8 God brings him out of Egypt. He has as it were the strength of the wild ox. He shall consume the nations his adversaries, shall break their bones in pieces, and pierce them with his arrows.
9 Accubans dormivit ut leo, et quasi leæna, quam suscitare nullus audebit. Qui benedixerit tibi, erit et ipse benedictus: qui maledixerit, in maledictione reputabitur.]
9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Everyone who blesses you is blessed. Everyone who curses you is cursed.”
10 Iratusque Balac contra Balaam, complosis manibus ait: Ad maledicendum inimicis meis vocavi te, quibus e contrario tertio benedixisti:
10 Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and, behold, you have altogether blessed them these three times.
11 revertere ad locum tuum. Decreveram quidem magnifice honorare te, sed Dominus privavit te honore disposito.
11 Therefore, flee to your place, now! I thought to promote you to great honor; but, behold, Yahweh has kept you back from honor.”
12 Respondit Balaam ad Balac: Nonne nuntiis tuis, quos misisti ad me, dixi:
12 Balaam said to Balak, “Didn’t I also tell your messengers whom you sent to me, saying,
13 Si dederit mihi Balac plenam domum suam argenti et auri, non potero præterire sermonem Domini Dei mei, ut vel boni quid vel mali proferam ex corde meo: sed quidquid Dominus dixerit, hoc loquar?
13 ‘If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can’t go beyond Yahweh’s word, to do either good or bad from my own mind. I will say what Yahweh says’?
14 verumtamen pergens ad populum meum, dabo consilium, quid populus tuus populo huic faciat extremo tempore.
14 Now, behold, I go to my people. Come, I will inform you what this people shall do to your people in the latter days.”
15 Sumpta igitur parabola, rursum ait: [Dixit Balaam filius Beor: dixit homo, cujus obturatus est oculus:
15 He took up his parable, and said, “Balaam the son of Beor says, the man whose eyes are open says;
16 dixit auditor sermonum Dei, qui novit doctrinam Altissimi, et visiones Omnipotentis videt, qui cadens apertos habet oculos:
16 he says, who hears the words of God, knows the knowledge of the Most High, and who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, and having his eyes open:
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.
17 I see him, but not now. I see him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter will rise out of Israel, and shall strike through the corners of Moab, and crush all the sons of Sheth.
18 Et erit Idumæa possessio ejus: hæreditas Seir cedet inimicis suis: Israël vero fortiter aget.
18 Edom shall be a possession. Seir, his enemy, also shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly.
19 De Jacob erit qui dominetur, et perdat reliquias civitatis.]
19 Out of Jacob shall one have dominion, and shall destroy the remnant from the city.”
20 Cumque vidisset Amalec, assumens parabolam, ait: [Principium gentium Amalec, cujus extrema perdentur.]
20 He looked at Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, “Amalek was the first of the nations, but his latter end shall come to destruction.”
21 Vidit quoque Cinæum: et assumpta parabola, ait: [Robustum quidem est habitaculum tuum: sed si in petra posueris nidum tuum,
21 He looked at the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, “Your dwelling place is strong. Your nest is set in the rock.
22 et fueris electus de stirpe Cin, quamdiu poteris permanere? Assur enim capiet te.]
22 Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted, until Asshur carries you away captive.”
23 Assumptaque parabola iterum locutus est: [Heu ! quis victurus est, quando ista faciet Deus?
23 He took up his parable, and said, “Alas, who shall live when God does this?
24 Venient in trieribus de Italia: superabunt Assyrios, vastabuntque Hebræos, et ad extremum etiam ipsi peribunt.]
24 But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim. They shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber. He also shall come to destruction.”
25 Surrexitque Balaam, et reversus est in locum suum: Balac quoque via, qua venerat, rediit.
25 Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Balaam
The son of Beor from Pethor, hired by Balak to curse Israel, who could only bless Israel after the angel of the LORD stopped his donkey, and who was later killed by the sword…
Cited in the guide: Numbers 22:5; Numbers 22:12; Numbers 24:3
Beor
The father of the diviner Balaam, whose home was Pethor by the Euphrates.
Cited in the guide: Numbers 22:5; Numbers 24:3; Deuteronomy 23:4
Moses
Drawn from the Nile, he led Israel out of Egypt and received God's Law.
Cited in the guide: Exodus 2–Deuteronomy 34
Cross references (24)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Numbers 23:23; Revelation 2:14; Numbers 23:15; Numbers 23:28; Numbers 31:16
- 2 1 Samuel 19:20; 2 Chronicles 15:1; 1 Samuel 10:10; 1 Samuel 19:23; Numbers 2:2–34
- 3 Numbers 23:7; Numbers 24:16; Numbers 23:18; Numbers 24:4; Numbers 22:31
- 4 Revelation 1:17; Revelation 1:10; 2 Corinthians 12:1–4; Numbers 12:6; Ezekiel 1:28
- 6 Psalm 1:3; Isaiah 58:11; Psalm 104:16; Song of Songs 6:11; Psalm 45:8
- 7 2 Samuel 5:12; 1 Chronicles 14:2; Jeremiah 51:13; Revelation 17:1; Revelation 19:16
- 8 Psalm 45:5; Psalm 2:9; Numbers 23:22; Numbers 14:9; Numbers 23:24
- 9 Genesis 12:3; Genesis 27:29; Genesis 49:9; Numbers 23:24; Matthew 25:45
- 10 Ezekiel 21:14; Numbers 23:11; Ezekiel 21:17; Ezekiel 22:13; Nehemiah 13:2
- 11 Numbers 22:17; Numbers 22:37; Acts 8:20; Philippians 3:8; 1 Peter 5:2–3
- 12 Numbers 22:18; Numbers 22:38
- 13 Numbers 16:28; Numbers 22:20; Numbers 22:18
- 14 Micah 6:5; Genesis 49:1; Revelation 2:14; Daniel 2:28; 2 Timothy 3:1
- 15 Numbers 24:3–4; Numbers 23:7; Numbers 23:18; Job 27:1; Matthew 13:35
- 16 Numbers 24:4; 1 Corinthians 13:2; 1 Corinthians 8:1; 2 Samuel 23:1–2
- 17 Revelation 22:16; Luke 1:32–33; Genesis 49:10; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 11:15
- 18 Amos 9:12; 2 Samuel 8:14; Genesis 27:29; Isaiah 63:1; Psalm 60:8–12
- 19 Genesis 49:10; Matthew 28:18; Psalm 2:1–12; Micah 5:2; Revelation 19:16
- 20 Exodus 17:14; Exodus 17:8; Esther 7:9–10; Esther 9:14; 1 Samuel 30:1
- 21 Genesis 15:19; Job 29:18; Judges 1:16
- 22 Psalm 83:8; Genesis 10:11; Genesis 10:22; Ezra 4:2; Hosea 14:3
- 23 Numbers 23:23; Malachi 3:2; 2 Kings 5:1
- 24 Genesis 10:4; Daniel 11:30; Numbers 24:20; Genesis 10:21–25; Daniel 10:20
- 25 Numbers 31:8; Numbers 24:11; Joshua 13:22
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… Gospel; and His Son, who was of the fruit of David's body, that is, of the virgin of [the house of] David, and Emmanuel; whose star also Balaam thus prophesied: "There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a leader shall rise in Israel." But Matthew says that the Magi, coming from the east, exclaimed "For we have seen …
And the similar passage in Numbers, He couched, He lay down as a lion, and as a lion's whelp.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)