Nehemiah 4

1 Now, Sanballat, hearing that we were building the wall, was very angry, and in his wrath made sport of the Jews.

Or, lorsque Sanaballat apprit que nous relevions les remparts, il le trouva mauvais, s'en courrouça grandement, et se moqua fort des Juifs.

2 And in the hearing of his countrymen and the army of Samaria he said, What are these feeble Jews doing? will they make themselves strong? will they make offerings? will they get the work done in a day? will they make the stones which have been burned come again out of the dust?

Et il dit devant ses frères (c'est-à-dire devant l'armée samaritaine): Il est donc vrai que les Juifs réédifient leur ville?

3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Such is their building that if a fox goes up it, their stone wall will be broken down.

Et Tobias l'Ammonite s'approcha de lui, et il dit à la multitude: Est-ce qu'ils sacrifieront et mangeront en ce lieu? Est-ce qu'un renard en sautant ne renversera pas leur muraille de pierres?

4 Give ear, O our God, for we are looked down on: let their words of shame be turned back on themselves, and let them be given up to wasting in a land where they are prisoners:

Écoutez, ô notre Dieu, car nous sommes un sujet de raillerie; faites retomber ces outrages sur leurs têtes, et qu'eux-mêmes soient un sujet de raillerie en la terre où nous avons été captifs.

5 Let not their wrongdoing be covered or their sin washed away from before you: for they have made you angry before the builders.

Ne couvrez pas leur iniquité.

6 So we went on building the wall; and all the wall was joined together half-way up: for the people were working hard.

Cependant, nous continuâmes à rebâtir le mur; et lorsque tout le mur fut bouché jusqu’à mi-hauteur, le peuple eut de nouveau du cœur à l’ouvrage.

7 But when it came to the ears of Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites, that the building of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the broken places were being made good, they were full of wrath;

Or, lorsque Sanaballat, et Tobias, et les Arabes et les Ammonites, apprirent que les murs de Jérusalem reprenaient leur forme, et que leurs brèches commençaient à se fermer, ils le trouvèrent fort mauvais.

8 And they made designs, all of them together, to come and make an attack on Jerusalem, causing trouble there.

Et ils se réunirent tous ensemble pour marcher contre Jérusalem, et la faire disparaître.

9 But we made our prayer to God, and had men on watch against them day and night because of them.

Alors, nous priâmes notre Dieu, et nous mîmes, nuit et jour, des gardes, à cause d'eux.

10 And Judah said, The strength of the workmen is giving way, and there is much waste material; it is impossible for us to put up the wall.

Et Juda dit: La force des ennemis est brisée; mais le monceau de ruines est énorme, et nous ne pourrons bâtir les remparts.

11 And those who were against us said, Without their knowledge and without their seeing us, we will come among them and put them to death, causing the work to come to a stop.

Et nos oppresseurs dirent: Ils ne sauront, ils ne verront que lorsque nous arriverons au milieu d'eux, et nous les massacrerons, et nous ferons cesser l'œuvre.

12 And it came about that when the Jews who were living near them came, they said to us ten times, From all directions they are coming against us.

Et les Juifs qui habitaient dans le voisinage, vinrent, et nous dirent: Ils arrivent de toutes parts contre nous.

13 So in the lowest part of the space at the back of the walls, in the open places, I put the people by families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

Alors, je plaçai tout le peuple en bas, au pied des remparts, sous des abris, par familles, avec leurs épées, leurs javelines et leurs arcs.

14 And after looking, I got up and said to the great ones and to the chiefs and to the rest of the people, Have no fear of them: keep in mind the Lord who is great and greatly to be feared, and take up arms for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your houses.

Et je regardai, me levai, et dis aux nobles, aux capitaines, à tout le reste du peuple: Ne craignez point leur face; souvenez-vous de notre Dieu grand et redoutable; combattez pour vos frères, vos fils, vos filles, vos femmes et vos foyers.

15 And when it came to the ears of those who were against us, that we had knowledge of their designs and that God had made their purpose come to nothing, we all went back to the wall, everyone to his work

Et aussitôt que nos ennemis apprirent qu'ils nous avaient été signalés, Dieu dissipa leurs conseils, et nous retournâmes aux remparts, chacun à son ouvrage.

16 And from that time, half of my servants were doing their part of the work, and half kept the spears and body-covers and the bows and the metal war-dresses; and the chiefs were at the back of the men of Judah.

Et, à partir de ce jour, la moitié de ceux que j'avais attirés fit l'œuvre; l'autre moitié se rangea derrière les remparts avec des javelines, des boucliers, des arcs et des cuirasses; leurs chefs se tenant derrière toute la maison de Juda,

17 Those who were building the wall and those who were moving material did their part, everyone working with one hand, with his spear in the other;

Et derrière ceux qui bâtissaient; ceux qui transportaient les matériaux ne quittaient point leurs armes; d'une main ils faisaient leur tâche, de l'autre ils tenaient un trait.

18 Every builder was working with his sword at his side. And by my side was a man for sounding the horn.

Et chaque travailleur avait autour des reins son épée, et ils édifiaient, et celui qui sonnait de la trompette était auprès d'eux.

19 And I said to the great ones and the chiefs and the rest of the people, The work is great and widely spaced and we are far away from one another on the wall:

Et je dis aux nobles, aux capitaines et au reste du peuple: L'œuvre est grande et de longue étendue, et nous, sommes dispersés sur le rempart, chacun loin de son frère.

20 Wherever you may be when the horn is sounded, come here to us; our God will be fighting for us.

N'importe où vous entendrez la trompette, accourez tous en ce lieu, et notre Dieu combattra avec nous.

21 So we went on with the work: and half of them had spears in their hands from the dawn of the morning till the stars were seen.

Ainsi, nous continuâmes nos travaux; la moitié de nous ne quitta point ses javelines, depuis les premières lueurs du jour jusqu'au lever des étoiles.

22 And at the same time I said to the people, Let everyone with his servant come inside Jerusalem for the night, so that at night they may keep watch for us, and go on working by day.

Et, en ce temps-là, je dis au peuple: Que chacun, avec son serviteur, demeure au milieu de Jérusalem; la nuit on veillera, le jour on se mettra au travail.

23 So not one of us, I or my brothers or my servants or the watchmen who were with me, took off his clothing, everyone went armed to the water.

Et j'étais là, et les hommes de garde se tenaient derrière moi, et nul de nous n'ôtait ses vêtements.