Kings I 3

1 And the child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Heli the priest: and the word of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no distinct vision.

Le jeune Samuel servait donc le Seigneur sous les yeux d’Héli. A cette époque, la parole de l’Eternel était rare, la vision prophétique peu répandue.

2 And it came to pass at that time that Heli was sleeping in his place; and his eyes began to fail, and could not see.

Or, en ce temps-là, Héli, dont les yeux commençaient à s’obscurcir et qui y voyait à peine, était couché à sa place habituelle;

3 And the lamp of God [was burning] before it was trimmed, and Samuel slept in the temple, where [was] the ark of God.

Samuel aussi dormait, et la lampe sacrée brûlait encore dans le temple de l’Eternel, où était l’arche divine,

4 And the Lord called, Samuel, Samuel; and he said, Behold, [here am] I.

lorsque l’Eternel appela Samuel, qui répondit: "Me voici!"

5 And he ran to Heli, and said, [Here am] I, for you did call me: and he said, I did not call you; return, go to sleep; and he returned and went to sleep.

Et il accourut près d’Héli en disant: "Tu m’as appelé, me voici." Héli répondit: "Je n’ai point appelé; va te recoucher." Ce que fit Samuel.

6 And the Lord called again, Samuel, Samuel: and he went to Heli the second time, and said, Behold [here am] I, for you did call me: and he said, I called you not; return, go to sleep.

L’Eternel appela de nouveau: "Samuel!" Celui-ci se leva, alla trouver Héli en disant: "Tu m’as appelé, me voici", et Héli répondit: "Je n’ai point appelé, mon enfant; recouche-toi."

7 And [it was] before Samuel knew the Lord, and [before] the word of the Lord was revealed to him.

Samuel ne connaissait pas encore l’Eternel, la parole divine ne s’étant pas encore révélée à lui.

8 And the Lord called Samuel again for the third time: and he arose and went to Heli, and said, Behold, I [am here], for you did call me: and Heli perceived that the Lord [had] called the child.

Une troisième fois, Dieu appela: "Samuel!" Il se leva et s’en fut auprès d’Héli en disant: "Tu m’as appelé, me voici." Alors Héli comprit que c’était Dieu qui appelait le jeune homme,

9 And he said, Return, child, go to sleep; and it shall come to pass if he shall call you, that you shall say, Speak for your servant hears: and Samuel went and lay down in his place.

et il dit à Samuel: "Va te recoucher, et si l’on t’appelle, tu diras: Parle, Seigneur, ton serviteur écoute." Samuel le quitta et regagna sa couche.

10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called him as before: and Samuel said, Speak, for your servant hears.

Le Seigneur vint, s’arrêta là et appela comme il avait fait chaque fois: "Samuel!…. Samuel!…" Et Samuel dit: "Parle, ton serviteur écoute."

11 And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I execute my words in Israel; whoever hears them, both his ears shall tingle.

Alors le Seigneur dit à Samuel: "Je vais accomplir une chose en Israël, à faire tinter les oreilles de quiconque l’entendra.

12 In that day I will raise up against Heli all things that I have said against his house; I will begin, and I will make an end.

Ce jour-là, j’exécuterai à l’égard d’Héli toutes mes menaces concernant sa famille; j’en poursuivrai l’exécution jusqu’au bout.

13 And I have told him that I will be avenged on his house perpetually for the iniquities of his sons, because his sons spoke evil against God, and he did not admonish them.

Je lui ai annoncé que je condamne à jamais sa famille, parce qu’il a eu le tort, connaissant la conduite indigne de ses fils, de ne pas la réprimer.

14 And [it shall] not [go on] so; I have sworn to the house of Eli, the iniquity of the house of Eli shall not be atoned for with incense or sacrifices for ever.

Je le déclare donc avec serment à la maison d’Héli: rien ne saurait désormais expier son crime, ni sacrifice, ni oblation!"

15 And Samuel slept till morning, and rose early in the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord; and Samuel feared to tell [Heli] the vision.

Samuel resta couché jusqu’au matin, et ouvrit alors les portes de la maison de Dieu; mais il n’osait rapporter cette vision à Héli.

16 And Heli said to Samuel, Samuel, [my] son; and he said, Behold, [here am] I.

Celui-ci appela Samuel en disant: "Samuel, mon fils!" Et il répondit: "Me voici!"

17 And he said, What [was] the word that was spoken to you? I pray you hide it not from me: may God do these things to you, and more also, if you hide from me any thing of all the words that were spoken to you in your ears.

Héli reprit: "Quelle parole t’a-t-il adressée? De grâce, ne me cache rien. Que Dieu t’en fasse autant et plus, si tu me caches quoi que ce soit de ce qu’il t’a dit!"

18 And Samuel reported all the words, and hid them not from him. And Heli said, He [is] the Lord, he shall do that which is good in his sight.

Alors Samuel lui redit toutes les paroles, sans lui rien dissimuler; et Héli répondit: "Il est l’Eternel; qu’il fasse selon sa volonté!"

19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and there did not fall one of his words to the ground.

Ainsi grandissait Samuel, et l’Eternel était avec lui, et il ne laissait tomber à terre aucune de ses prophéties.

20 And all Israel knew from Dan even to Bersabee, that Samuel [was] faithful as a prophet to the Lord.

Et tout Israël, depuis Dan jusqu’à Bersabée, reconnut l’autorité de Samuel, comme prophète du Seigneur.

21 And the Lord manifested himself again in Selom, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel; and Samuel was accredited to all Israel as a prophet to the Lord from one end of the land to the other: and Heli [was] very old, and his sons kept advancing [in wickedness], and their way [was] evil before the Lord.

Et l’Eternel se manifesta souvent encore à Silo, car c’est à Silo qu’il se manifestait à Samuel par la parole divine.