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.
Ben-Hadad, roi de Syrie, rassembla toute son armée, et, assisté de trente-deux rois, avec chars et cavalerie, il alla assiéger Samarie et diriger ses attaques contre elle.
2 Ben-Hadad sent messengers into the city to King Ahab, to say this to him: “This is what King Ben-Hadad says:
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.’”
pour lui dire: "Ainsi a parlé Ben-Hadad: A moi ton argent et ton or, à moi aussi tes femmes et tes fils, les meilleurs!"
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.’”
Le roi d’Israël répondit: "Comme tu l’as dit, seigneur roi, je suis à toi, moi et tout ce qui m’appartient."
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.
Les messagers revinrent et dirent: "Ainsi a parlé Ben-Hadad: Si je t’ai fait dire que tu dois me livrer ton argent et ton or, 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.”
c’est qu’en effet, demain à pareille heure, j’enverrai mes serviteurs chez toi, qui fouilleront ta maison et les maisons de tes sujets, feront main basse sur tout ce que tu as de précieux 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.”
Le roi d’Israël manda tous les anciens du pays et leur dit: "Sachez et considérez que cet homme a de mauvais desseins, car il m’a fait réclamer mes femmes et mes fils, mon argent et mon or, et je ne les lui ai pas refusés."
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!”
Tous les anciens et tout le peuple lui dirent: "Ne l’écoute pas, et ne consens point."
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.
Il répondit alors aux envoyés de Ben-Hadad: "Déclarez à mon seigneur le roi: Tout ce que tu as fait dire en premier lieu à ton serviteur, je le ferai; mais cela je ne puis le faire." Les envoyés partirent et lui rapportèrent la réponse.
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!”
Ben-Hadad lui fit dire: "Qu’ainsi me traitent les dieux et pis encore, si la poussière de Samarie suffit pour remplir les mains du 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.”
Le roi d’Israël fit transmettre cette réponse: "Celui qui ceint l’épée ne doit pas se vanter comme celui qui la dépose.
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.
En entendant cette réponse, Ben-Hadad, qui était en train de boire avec les rois sous les tentes, dit à ses serviteurs: "Préparez le siège." Et ils firent les apprêts 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].’”
Or, un prophète, s’avançant vers Achab, roi d’Israël, lui dit: "Ainsi parle l’Eternel: Tu vois toute cette grande multitude? Eh bien! Je te la livrerai en ce jour, et tu reconnaîtras que je suis l’Eternel.
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!”
Avec l’aide de qui?" demanda Achab. "Ainsi dit le Seigneur, répondit le prophète: Avec l’aide des jeunes gens des gouverneurs de provinces. Qui, reprit-il, engagera la lutte? Toi-même," fut la réponse.
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.
Alors il passa en revue les jeunes gens des gouverneurs de provinces, qui se trouvèrent au nombre de deux cent trente-deux, ensuite tout le peuple, tous les enfants d’Israël, au nombre de sept mille.
16 They started to attack at noon, while Ben-Hadad and the other rulers were getting drunk in their temporary shelters.
Ils firent une sortie à midi, tandis que Ben-Hadad buvait à s’enivrer sous la tente, avec les trente-deux rois, ses auxiliaires.
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]”!
Les jeunes gens des gouverneurs de provinces sortirent les premiers. Ben-Hadad s’informa, et on lui fit savoir que des hommes étaient 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
"S’Ils viennent pour la paix, répondit-il, prenez-les vivants; s’ils viennent pour combattre, prenez-les aussi 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.
Or, ils étaient, en effet, sortis de la ville, d’abord les jeunes gens des gouverneurs de provinces, puis la troupe 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.
Ils frappèrent chacun son homme; les Syriens s’enfuirent, poursuivis par les Israélites; Ben-Hadad, roi de Syrie, put s’échapper à cheval, avec quelques 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.
Le roi d’Israël fit une sortie, battit chevaux et chars, et 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.”
Le prophète, abordant le roi d’Israël, lui dit: "Va, fortifie-toi, et avise à ce que tu dois faire, car, au retour de l’année, le roi de Syrie viendra t’attaquer."
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.
Les serviteurs du roi de Syrie lui dirent: "Leur dieu est un dieu de montagnes, c’est pourquoi ils nous ont vaincus; mais attaquons-les en plaine, on verra si nous ne sommes pas les plus forts.
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.
Voici encore ce que tu dois faire: écarte les rois, chacun de son poste, et mets des gouverneurs à leur place.
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.
Puis tu lèveras une armée égale à celle que tu as perdue, des chevaux et des chars aussi nombreux que les précédents, et nous les combattrons en plaine; on verra si nous n’avons pas le dessus." Il écouta leur avis et s’y conforma.
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.
Au retour de l’année, Ben-Hadad passa en revue les Syriens, puis monta vers Afek pour attaquer 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.
Les enfants d’Israël, ayant été passés en revue et approvisionnés, marchèrent à leur rencontre; ils campèrent vis-à-vis d’eux semblables à deux troupeaux de chèvres, tandis que les Syriens remplissaient la contrée.
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].’”
L’Homme de Dieu s’approcha et dit au roi d’Israël: "Ainsi a parlé l’Eternel: Puisque les Syriens ont dit: l’Eternel est un dieu de montagnes et n’est pas un dieu de vallées, je livrerai en ta main toute cette grande multitude; et vous saurez que je suis l’Eternel."
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.
Ils restèrent campés les uns vis-à-vis des autres durant sept jours. Le septième jour le combat s’engagea, et les Israélites battirent les Syriens, en leur tuant cent mille fantassins 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.
Le reste s’enfuit vers Afek, cherchant un refuge dans la ville; mais la muraille s’écroula sur les vingt-sept mille hommes qui avaient échappé, tandis que Ben-Hadad, réfugié dans la ville, se retirait de chambre en chambre.
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.”
Ses serviteurs lui dirent: "Ecoute, de grâce: nous avons ouï dire que les rois de la maison d’Israël sont des rois généreux; eh bien! Entourons nos reins de cilices et nos têtes de cordes, et allons trouver le roi d’Israël. Peut-être épargnera—t-il ta vie."
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 les reins ainsi entourés de cilices et la tête de cordes, ils se présentèrent au roi d’Israël en disant: "Ton serviteur Ben-Hadad te demande de lui laisser la vie." Il répondit: "ll vit donc 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].
Les hommes, augurant bien de cette parole, s’en emparèrent aussitôt et dirent: "Ben—Hadad est ton frère! Allez, dit le roi, amenez-le." Ben-Hadad s’avança 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.
Ben-Hadad lui dit: "Les villes que mon père a prises au tien, je les rendrai, et tu pourras te créer des routes à Damas, comme mon père en créa dans Samarie. Et moi, je te laisserai partir sous le bénéfice de ce traité." Et il lui dicta un traité, puis le laissa partir.
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.
Or, un des disciples des prophètes dit à son collègue, par l’ordre du Seigneur: "Frappe-moi, je te prie." L’Autre 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.
Il lui dit: "Puisque tu n’as pas écouté la parole du Seigneur, lorsque tu m’auras quitté, un lion t’attaquera". L’Ayant quitté, il rencontra un lion, qui 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.
Ayant rencontré un autre homme, il lui dit: "Frappe-moi, je te prie." L’Homme le frappa, lui faisant mainte blessure.
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.
Le prophète alla se présenter devant le roi, sur son chemin; il était déguisé, 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!’
Lorsque le roi passa, il l’implora en disant: "Ton serviteur était allé au milieu de la bataille, lorsqu’un homme vint à lui et lui amena un prisonnier en disant: Surveille cet homme; s’il venait à manquer, ta vie répondrait pour la sienne, ou tu aurais à payer un kikkar 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.”
Or, ton serviteur était occupé de côté et d’autre, de sorte que l’homme s’est échappé." Le roi d’Israël lui dit: "C’Est ton arrêt, tu l’as prononcé toi-même."
41 The prophet immediately took off the bandage, and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.
Aussitôt l’autre ôta le bandeau de dessus ses yeux, et le roi reconnut en lui 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!’”
Celui-ci lui dit: "Ainsi parle l’Eternel: Parce que tu as laissé partir celui que j’avais condamné, ta vie répondra pour la sienne, et ton peuple pour le sien."
43 The king went back home to Samaria, very angry and depressed/dejected.
Le roi d’Israël rentra chez lui, à Samarie, sombre et consterné.
