1 Kings 20
1 Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, gathered all his army, and he persuaded 32 other kings to join him with their armies and horses and chariots. They marched to Samaria [city, the capital of Israel], and surrounded it, and [prepared to] attack it.
Et Ben-Hadad, roi de Syrie, rassembla toutes ses forces; et il y avait 32 rois avec lui, et des chevaux et des chars. Et il monta et assiégea Samarie, et lui fit la guerre.
2 Ben-Hadad sent messengers into the city to King Ahab, to say this to him: “This is what King Ben-Hadad says:
Et il envoya des messagers à Achab, roi d’Israël, dans la ville;
3 ‘[You must give to] me all your silver and gold, your (good-looking/most beautiful) wives/women and strongest children.’”
et il lui dit: Ainsi dit Ben-Hadad: Ton argent et ton or sont à moi, et tes femmes, et tes fils, les [plus] beaux, sont à moi.
4 The king of Israel replied to them, “Tell this to King Ben-Hadad: ‘I agree to do what you requested. You can have me and everything that I own.’”
Et le roi d’Israël répondit et dit: Selon ta parole, ô roi, mon seigneur, je suis à toi, moi et tout ce que j’ai.
5 [The messengers told that to] Ben-Hadad, and he [sent them back with] another message: “I sent a message to you saying that you must give me all your silver and gold and your wives and your children.
Et les messagers revinrent et dirent: Ainsi a parlé Ben-Hadad, disant: Je t’ai envoyé dire en effet: Tu me donneras ton argent et ton or, et tes femmes, et tes fils;
6 But [in addition to that], about this time tomorrow, I will send some of my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials, and to bring to me everything that pleases them.”
mais demain à cette heure, j’enverrai mes serviteurs vers toi, et ils fouilleront ta maison et les maisons de tes serviteurs, et ils mettront dans leurs mains tout ce qui est désirable à tes yeux, et l’emporteront.
7 King Ahab summoned all the leaders of Israel, and said to them, “You can see/realize for yourselves that this man is trying to cause much trouble. He sent me a message insisting that I must give him my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, and I agreed to do that.”
Et le roi d’Israël appela tous les anciens du pays, et dit: Sachez, je vous prie, et voyez comment cet [homme] cherche du mal; car il a envoyé vers moi pour mes femmes, et pour mes fils, et pour mon argent, et pour mon or, et je ne lui ai [rien] refusé.
8 The leaders and all the other people said to him, “Do not pay any attention to him! Do not do what he is requesting!”
Et tous les anciens et tout le peuple lui dirent: Ne l’écoute pas, et ne consens pas.
9 So Ahab said to Ben-Hadad’s messengers, “Tell the king that I agree to give him the things that he first requested, but I do not agree to allow his officials to take anything that they want from my palace and from the houses of my officials.” So the messengers [reported that to King Ben-Hadad, and they] returned with another message from Ben-Hadad.
Et il dit aux messagers de Ben-Hadad: Dites au roi, mon seigneur: Tout ce que tu as demandé à ton serviteur la première fois, je le ferai; mais cette chose-ci, je ne puis la faire. Et les messagers s’en allèrent et lui rapportèrent cela.
10 In that message he said, “[We will destroy] your city [completely, with the result that] there will not be enough dust and rubble left for each of my soldiers to have one handful! I hope/wish that the gods will strike me dead if we do not do that!”
Et Ben-Hadad envoya vers lui, et dit: Ainsi me fassent les dieux et ainsi ils y ajoutent, si la poussière de Samarie suffit pour [remplir] le creux des mains de tout le peuple qui me suit!
11 King Ahab replied [to the messengers], “Tell King Ben-Hadad that a soldier who is putting on his armor [preparing to fight a battle] [MTY] should not boast at that time; he [should wait until] after he wins the battle.”
Et le roi d’Israël répondit et dit: Dites-lui: Que celui qui se ceint ne se vante pas comme celui qui délie [sa ceinture].
12 Ben-Hadad heard that message while he and the other rulers were drinking [wine] in their temporary shelters. He told his men to prepare to attack [MTY] the city. So his men did that.
Et il arriva que, lorsque [Ben-Hadad] entendit cette parole (il était à boire, lui et les rois, dans les tentes) il dit à ses serviteurs: Placez-vous. Et ils se rangèrent contre la ville.
13 At that moment, a prophet came to King Ahab and said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘[Do not be at all afraid of] [RHQ] the large enemy army that you see! I will enable your army to defeat them today, and you will know that it is I, Yahweh, [who have the power to do what I say that I will do].’”
Et voici, un prophète s’approcha d’Achab, roi d’Israël, et dit: Ainsi dit l’Éternel: Vois-tu toute cette grande multitude? Voici, je l’ai livrée aujourd’hui en ta main, et tu sauras que moi, je suis l’Éternel.
14 Ahab asked, “What group [of our army] will defeat them?” The prophet replied, “The young soldiers who are commanded by the district governors will do it.” The king asked, “Who should lead the attack?” The prophet replied, “You should!”
Et Achab dit: Par qui? Et il dit: Ainsi dit l’Éternel: Par les serviteurs des chefs des provinces. Et il dit: Qui engagera le combat? Et il dit: Toi.
15 So Ahab gathered the young soldiers who were commanded by the district governors. There were 232 of those men. Then he also summoned all the Israeli army. There were [only] 7,000 soldiers.
Et il dénombra les serviteurs des chefs des provinces; et ils étaient 232; et après eux, il dénombra tout le peuple, tous les fils d’Israël, 7 000 [hommes].
16 They started to attack at noon, while Ben-Hadad and the other rulers were getting drunk in their temporary shelters.
Et ils sortirent à midi; et Ben-Hadad buvait, s’enivrant dans les tentes, lui et les rois, 32 rois qui l’aidaient.
17 The young soldiers advanced first. Some scouts who had been sent out by Ben-Hadad reported to him, “There are men coming out of Samaria [city]”!
Et les serviteurs des chefs des provinces sortirent les premiers. Et Ben-Hadad envoya, et on lui rapporta, disant: Des hommes sont sortis de Samarie.
18 He said, “It does not matter whether they are coming to fight against us or to ask for peace. Capture them, but do not kill them
Et il dit: S’ils sont sortis pour la paix, saisissez-les vivants; et s’ils sont sortis pour la guerre, saisissez-les vivants.
19 The young Israeli soldiers went out of the city to attack [the Syrian army], and the other soldiers in the Israeli army followed them.
Et ces serviteurs des chefs des provinces sortirent de la ville, ainsi que l’armée qui les suivait.
20 Each [Israeli soldier] killed a [Syrian] soldier. The rest of the Syrian army then ran away, and the Israeli soldiers pursued them. But King Ben-Hadad escaped riding his horse, along with some other men riding horses.
Et ils frappèrent chacun son homme, et les Syriens s’enfuirent; et Israël les poursuivit; et Ben-Hadad, roi de Syrie, échappa sur un cheval, avec des cavaliers.
21 Then the king of Israel went out [of the city], and he and his soldiers captured [all] the [other Syrian] horses and chariots, and also killed a large number of Syrian soldiers.
Et le roi d’Israël sortit et frappa les chevaux et les chars, et il infligea aux Syriens une grande défaite.
22 Then that same prophet went to King Ahab and said to him, “Go back and prepare your soldiers, and think carefully about what will be necessary for you to do, because the king of Syria with attack with his army again in the springtime of next year.”
Et le prophète s’approcha du roi d’Israël, et lui dit: Va, fortifie-toi, et sache et vois ce que tu dois faire; car au retour de l’année le roi de Syrie montera contre toi.
23 [After the Syrian army was defeated, ] Ben-Hadad’s officials said to him, “The gods that the Israelis [worship] are gods [who live] in the hills. [Samaria is built on a hill, and] that is why their soldiers were able to defeat us. But if we fight against them in the plains/lowlands, we certainly will be able to defeat them.
Et les serviteurs du roi de Syrie lui dirent: Leurs dieux sont des dieux de montagnes; c’est pourquoi ils ont été plus forts que nous; mais si nous les combattons dans la plaine, certainement nous serons plus forts qu’eux.
24 So, this is what you should do: You must remove the 32 kings [who are leading your troops] and replace them with army commanders.
Et fais ceci: ôte les rois chacun de sa place, et mets en leur lieu des capitaines;
25 Then gather an army like the army that was defeated. Gather an army that has as many horses and chariots as the first army had. Then we will fight the Israelis in the plains/lowlands, and we will surely defeat them.” Ben-Hadad agreed with them, and he did what they suggested.
et toi, dénombre-toi une armée comme l’armée que tu as perdue, et cheval pour cheval, et char pour char, et nous nous battrons avec eux dans la plaine: certainement nous serons plus forts qu’eux. Et il écouta leur voix, et fit ainsi.
26 In the spring of the following year, he gathered his soldiers and marched [with them] to Aphek [city east of Galilee Lake], to fight against the Israeli army.
Et il arriva, qu’au retour de l’année, Ben-Hadad dénombra les Syriens, et monta à Aphek pour faire la guerre contre Israël.
27 The Israeli army was also gathered together, and they were equipped with the things that they needed [for the battle]. Then they marched out and formed two groups facing the Syrian army. Their army was very small; they resembled two small flocks of goats, whereas the Syrian army [was very large and] spread all over the countryside.
Et les fils d’Israël furent dénombrés et approvisionnés; et les fils d’Israël allèrent à leur rencontre, et ils campèrent vis-à-vis d’eux, comme deux petits troupeaux de chèvres, et les Syriens remplissaient le pays.
28 A prophet came to King Ahab and said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘The Syrians say that I am a god who lives in the hills, and that I am not a god who lives in the valleys. So I will [show that they are wrong by] enabling your men to defeat this huge army [IDM] [in the valley], and you will know that I, Yahweh, [have done it].’”
Et l’homme de Dieu s’approcha, et parla au roi d’Israël et dit: Ainsi dit l’Éternel: Parce que les Syriens ont dit: L’Éternel est un dieu de montagnes, et pas un dieu de plaines, je livrerai toute cette grande multitude en ta main; et vous saurez que je suis l’Éternel.
29 The two armies stayed in their tents for seven days, in groups that faced each other. Then, on the seventh day, they started fighting. The Israeli army killed 100,000 Syrian soldiers.
Et ils campèrent, ceux-ci vis-à-vis de ceux-là, sept jours; et il arriva, le septième jour, que le combat se livra. Et les fils d’Israël frappèrent les Syriens, 100 000 hommes de pied, en un seul jour.
30 The other Syrian soldiers ran away into Aphek City. Then the wall of the city collapsed and killed 27,000 more Syrian soldiers. Ben-Hadad also escaped into the city, and hid in the back room of a house.
Et le reste s’enfuit à Aphek, dans la ville, et la muraille tomba sur 27 000 hommes de ceux qui restaient. Et Ben-Hadad s’enfuit et entra dans la ville, d’une chambre dans l’autre.
31 His officials went to him and said, “We have heard a report that the Israelis act mercifully. So allow us to go to the king of Israel, wearing coarse sacks around our waists and ropes on our heads/necks [to indicate that we will be his slaves]. Perhaps [if we do that, ] he will allow you to remain alive.”
Et ses serviteurs lui dirent: Voici, nous avons entendu dire que les rois de la maison d’Israël sont des rois [doux et] cléments; mettons, je te prie, des sacs sur nos reins et des cordes à nos têtes, et sortons vers le roi d’Israël: peut-être qu’il laissera vivre ton âme.
32 [The king permitted them to do that, ] so they wrapped coarse sacks around their waists and put ropes on their heads/necks, and they went to the king of Israel and said to him, “Ben-Hadad, who greatly respects you, says, ‘Please do not kill me.’” Ahab replied, “Is he still alive? He is like a brother to me!”
Et ils ceignirent de sacs leurs reins et [mirent] des cordes à leurs têtes, et s’en vinrent vers le roi d’Israël. Et ils dirent: Ton serviteur Ben-Hadad dit: Je te prie, laisse vivre mon âme. Et il dit: Vit-il encore? Il est mon frère.
33 Ben-Hadad’s officials were trying to find out if Ahab would act mercifully, and when Ahab said “brother,” they (were optimistic/thought that Ahab would be merciful). So they replied, “Yes, he is like your brother!” Ahab said, “Go and bring him to me.” So they [went and] brought Ben-Hadad to him. [When Ben-Hadad arrived, ] Ahab told him to get in his chariot [and sit with him].
Et les hommes en augurèrent [du bien], et se hâtèrent de saisir ce qui venait de lui; et ils dirent: Ton frère Ben-Hadad… Et il dit: Allez, amenez-le. Et Ben-Hadad sortit vers lui, et il le fit monter sur son char.
34 Ben-Hadad said to him, “I will give back to you the towns that my father’s army took from your father. And I will allow you to set up market areas for your merchants in Damascus [my capital], just as my father did in Samaria [your capital].” Ahab replied, “Because you agree to do that, I will not execute you.” So Ahab made an agreement with Ben-Hadad, and allowed him to go home.
Et [Ben-Hadad] lui dit: Les villes que mon père a prises à ton père, je les rends, et tu feras pour toi des rues à Damas, comme mon père en a fait à Samarie. Et moi, [dit Achab], je te renverrai avec cette alliance. Et il fit alliance avec lui, et le renvoya.
35 Then Yahweh spoke to a member of a group of prophets and said to him, “Ask one of your fellow prophets to strike and wound you.” [So he did what Yahweh told him to do]. [He said to one of his fellow prophets, ‘Strike me and wound me].’ But that man refused to do it.
Et un homme d’entre les fils des prophètes dit à son compagnon, par la parole de l’Éternel: Frappe-moi, je te prie. Et l’homme refusa de le frapper.
36 So the prophet said to him, “Because you refused to obey what Yahweh told you to do, a lion will kill you as soon as you leave me.” And as soon as he left that prophet, a lion suddenly pounced on him and killed him.
Et il lui dit: Parce que tu n’as pas écouté la voix de l’Éternel, voici, quand tu sortiras d’auprès de moi, le lion te tuera. Et il sortit d’auprès de lui, et le lion le trouva, et le tua.
37 Then the prophet found another prophet, and said to him, “Strike me!” So that man hit him [very hard] and injured him.
Et il trouva un autre homme, et il dit: Frappe-moi, je te prie. Et l’homme le frappa fort, et le blessa.
38 Then the prophet put a large bandage/cloth over his face so that no one would recognize him. Then he went and stood alongside the road, waiting for the king to come by.
Et le prophète s’en alla, et se tint sur le chemin du roi, et se déguisa avec un bandeau sur les yeux.
39 When the king passed by, the prophet cried out to him, saying “Your majesty, [after I was wounded] while I was fighting in a battle, a soldier brought to me one of our enemies that he had captured, and said to me, ‘Guard this man! If he escapes, you must pay me 3,000 pieces of silver, and if you do not pay that, you will be executed!’
Et, comme le roi passait, il cria au roi, et dit: Ton serviteur était sorti au milieu de la bataille, et voici, un homme se détourna, et m’amena un homme, et dit: Garde cet homme; s’il vient à manquer, ta vie sera à la place de sa vie, ou tu me pèseras un talent d’argent.
40 But while I was busy doing other things, the man escaped!” The king of Israel said to him, “That is your problem! You yourself have said that you deserve to be punished.”
Et, comme ton serviteur était occupé çà et là, l’homme a disparu. Et le roi d’Israël lui dit: Ainsi est ton jugement: tu en as décidé.
41 The prophet immediately took off the bandage, and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.
Et il ôta avec hâte le bandeau de dessus ses yeux, et le roi d’Israël le reconnut pour l’un des prophètes.
42 And the prophet said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘You have allowed that man [Ben-Hadad] to escape after I commanded you to be sure to execute him! Since you did not do that, you will be killed instead. And your army will be destroyed because you allowed [some of] his army to escape!’”
Et il lui dit: Ainsi dit l’Éternel: Parce que tu as laissé aller d’entre tes mains l’homme que j’avais voué à la destruction, ta vie sera pour sa vie, et ton peuple pour son peuple.
43 The king went back home to Samaria, very angry and depressed/dejected.
Et le roi d’Israël alla en sa maison, triste et irrité, et il vint à Samarie.
