< Genesis 38 >

1 Now at that time, Judah went away from his brothers and became the friend of a man of Adullam named Hirah.
En ce temps-là, il advint que Juda se sépara de ses frères, et s'en alla chez un Odollamite, dont le nom était Hiras.
2 And there he saw the daughter of a certain man of Canaan named Shua, and took her as his wife.
Juda vit là une fille de Chananéen dont le nom était Sué; il la prit, et il s'approcha d'elle.
3 And she gave birth to a son, and he gave him the name Er.
Celle-ci ayant conçu, enfanta un fils qu'elle nomma Her.
4 And again she gave birth to a son, and he gave him the name Onan.
Puis, ayant conçu de nouveau, elle enfanta un fils qu'elle nomma Onan,
5 Then she had another son, to whom she gave the name Shelah; she was at Chezib when the birth took place.
Elle enfanta encore un fils qu'elle appela Séla; or, elle habitait Chasbi lorsqu'elle les enfanta.
6 And Judah took a wife for his first son Er, and her name was Tamar.
Juda prit pour Her, son premier-né, une femme dont le nom était Thamar.
7 Now Er, Judah's first son, did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death.
Her, premier-né de Juda, fut méchant devant le Seigneur, et Dieu le fit périr.
8 Then Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brother's wife and do what it is right for a husband's brother to do; make her your wife and get offspring for your brother.
Juda dit alors à Onan: Approche-toi de la femme de ton frère, épouse-la, et relève la race de ton frère.
9 But Onan, seeing that the offspring would not be his, went in to his brother's wife, but let his seed go on to the earth, so that he might not get offspring for his brother.
Mais Onan, sachant que les enfants ne seraient point pour lui, lorsqu'il s'approchait de la femme de son frère, répandait la semence à terre, afin de ne point donner de race à son frère.
10 And what he did was evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death, like his brother.
Et il parut méchant devant Dieu pour avoir fait cela, et Dieu fit mourir celui-là aussi.
11 Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, Go back to your father's house and keep yourself as a widow till my son Shelah becomes a man: for he had in his mind the thought that death might come to him as it had come to his brothers. So Tamar went back to her father's house.
Juda dit alors à Thamar, sa bru: Reste veuve dans la maison de ton père jusqu'à ce que mon fils Séla soit grand. Mais il se disait en lui-même: Prenons garde que celui-là aussi ne meure comme ses frères. Et Thamar, étant partie, demeura en la maison de son père.
12 And after a time, Bath-shua, Judah's wife, came to her end; and after Judah was comforted for her loss, he went to Timnah, where they were cutting the wool of his sheep, and his friend Hirah of Adullam went with him.
Les jours s'écoulèrent, et Sué, femme de Juda, mourut; après que Juda se fut consolé, il s'en alla avec Hiras, son pâtre Odollamite, en Thamma, vers ceux qui tondaient ses brebis.
13 And when Tamar had news that her father-in-law was going up to Timnah to the wool-cutting,
Et des gens vinrent à Thamar, sa bru, disant: Voici que ton beau-père monte en Thamma pour tondre ses brebis.
14 She took off her widow's clothing, and covering herself with her veil, she took her seat near Enaim on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was now a man, but she had not been made his wife.
Alors, elle quitta ses vêtements de veuve, et mit son large voile; elle se fit belle, et elle s'assit devant la porte d'Enan qui est sur le chemin de Thamna, car elle voyait que Séla ayant grandi et que Juda ne la lui faisait point prendre pour femme.
15 When Judah saw her he took her to be a loose woman of the town, because her face was covered.
Juda l'ayant vue, la prit pour une prostituée, car elle avait voilé sa figure, et il ne la reconnut pas.
16 And turning to her by the roadside, he said to her, Let me come in to you; for he had no idea that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What will you give me as my price?
Il quitta le chemin pour aller à elle, et il lui dit: Laisse-moi m'approcher de toi; car il ne savait pas que c'était sa bru; elle lui dit: Que me donneras-tu si tu t'approches de moi?
17 And he said, I will give you a young goat from the flock. And she said, What will you give me as a sign till you send it?
Je t'enverrai, répondit-il, un chevreau de mon troupeau de chèvres. Elle repartit: Tu me donneras des gages jusqu'à ce que tu me l'aies envoyé.
18 And he said, What would you have? And she said, Your ring and its cord and the stick in your hand. So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she became with child by him.
Et il reprit: Quel gage te donnerai-je? Ton anneau, dit-elle, ton petit collier, et la baguette que tu as à la main. Il les lui donna donc; il s'approcha d'elle, et elle conçut de lui.
19 Then she got up and went away and took off her veil and put on her widow's clothing.
Puis, s'étant levée, elle partit, ôta et replia son large voile, et elle remit ses vêtements de veuve.
20 Then Judah sent his friend Hirah with the young goat, to get back the things which he had given as a sign to the woman: but she was not there.
De son côté, Juda donna le chevreau à son pâtre d'Odollam, pour qu'il retirât ses gages des mains de la femme; mais celui-ci ne put la trouver.
21 And he put questions to the men of the place, saying, Where is the loose woman who was in Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There was no such woman there.
Il interrogea les hommes du lieu: Où est la prostituée qui s'est assise à Enan sur le chemin? Ils lui dirent qu'il n'y avait pas de prostituée dans le pays.
22 So he went back to Judah, and said, I have not seen her, and the men of the place say that there is no such woman there.
Et il retourna près de Juda. Je n'ai trouvé personne, dit-il, et les hommes du lieu affirment qu'il n'y a point chez eux de prostituée.
23 And Judah said, Let her keep the things, so that we may not be shamed; I sent the young goat, but you did not see the woman.
Et Juda dit: Qu'elle retienne les gages, mais que l'on se garde de nous faire des reproches: car j'ai envoyé le chevreau, et tu n'as point trouvé la personne.
24 Now about three months after this, word came to Judah that Tamar, his daughter-in-law, had been acting like a loose woman and was with child. And Judah said, Take her out and let her be burned.
Or, il advint, trois mois après, que des gens allèrent trouver Juda, disant: Thamar, ta bru, s'est prostituée, et elle a conçu de sa prostitution; et Juda dit: Qu'on l'amène et qu'elle soit brûlée.
25 And while she was being taken out, she sent word to her father-in-law, saying, The man whose property these things are, is the father of my child: say then, whose are this ring and this cord and this stick?
Comme on l'emmenait, elle envoya à son beau-père, disant: C'est de l'homme à qui ces choses appartiennent que j'ai conçu; et elle ajouta: Reconnais à qui sont l'anneau, le petit collier et la baguette.
26 Then Judah said openly that they were his, and said, She is more upright than I am, for I did not give her to Shelah my son. And he had no more connection with her.
Et Juda les reconnut, et il dit: Thamar est plus juste que moi, car je ne l'ai point donnée à Séla mon fils. Mais il ne la connut plus de nouveau.
27 And when the time came for her to give birth, it was clear that there were two children in her body.
Or, il advint, lorsqu'elle allait enfanter, que deux jumeaux étaient dans ses entrailles.
28 And while she was in the act of giving birth, one of them put out his hand; and the woman who was with her put a red thread round his hand, saying, This one came out first.
Et pendant qu'elle enfantait, l'un présenta d'abord une main à laquelle la sage-femme attacha de l'écarlate, disant: Celui-ci sortira le premier.
29 But then he took his hand back again, and his brother came first to birth: and the woman said, What an opening you have made for yourself! So he was named Perez.
Dès qu'il eut retiré sa main, soudain son frère sortit, et la sage-femme dit: Pourquoi est-ce toi qui as rompu la clôture? et elle lui donna le nom de Pharès.
30 And then his brother came out, with the red thread round his hand, and he was named Zerah.
Après cela l'autre frère sortit, ayant encore au bras l'écarlate, et elle le nomma Zara.

< Genesis 38 >