< 2 Chronicles 17 >
1 Asa’s son Jehoshaphat became the king [of Judah], and he enabled his army to become very strong, with the result that they could resist attacks from [the army of] Israel.
Son fils Josaphat lui succéda. Il s’arma fortement contre Israël.
2 He put soldiers in all the cities in Judah around which they had built walls, and he put soldiers in other places in Judah and in the towns in the area belonging to the tribe of Ephraim that [soldiers of] his father Asa had captured.
Il mit des garnisons dans toutes les villes fortes de Juda, et établit des postes militaires dans le pays de Juda et dans les villes d’Ephraïm que son père Asa avait conquises.
3 Yahweh helped Jehoshaphat because when he started [to rule Judah], he did the things that pleased Yahweh like his ancestor [King] David had done. He did not worship the idols of Baal.
Le Seigneur fut avec Josaphat, parce qu’il marchait dans les voies que son aïeul David avait suivies tout d’abord et ne recherchait pas les Bealim.
4 Instead, he sought advice from the God whom his father [had worshiped], and he obeyed God’s commands, and did not do the [evil things that the kings of] Israel continually did.
Mais il recherchait le Dieu de ses pères et suivait ses préceptes, s’écartant en cela de la manière d’agir d’Israël.
5 Yahweh enabled him to completely control his kingdom. All [the people of] Judah brought gifts to him, with the result that he became very rich and was greatly honored.
Aussi le Seigneur affermit-il la royauté en ses mains; tout Juda apportait des présents à Josaphat, et il acquit en abondance richesses et gloire.
6 He was completely devoted to doing what pleased Yahweh. His workers got rid of the shrines on the hilltops and the poles for [worshiping the goddess] Asherah throughout Judah.
Son cœur grandit par sa constance dans les voies du Seigneur, et il alla jusqu’à faire disparaître de Juda les hauts lieux et les statues d’Astarté.
7 When he had been ruling [Judah] for almost three years, he sent some of his officials—Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah—to teach the people in various towns in Judah.
Dans la troisième année de son règne, il envoya ses grands dignitaires, Ben-Haïl, Obadia, Zacharie, Nethanel et Mikhaïahou pour propager l’instruction dans les villes de Juda.
8 With them he sent several descendants of Levi—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah—and two priests, Elishama and Jehoram.
Il leur adjoignit les Lévites Chemaïahou, Netaniahou, Zebadiahou, Assahel, Chemiramot, Jonathan, Adoniahou, Tobiahou et Tob-Adonia, tous Lévites, accompagnés des prêtres Elichama et Joram.
9 They took with them a scroll on which were written the laws of Yahweh and taught them to the people in all the towns throughout Judah,
Ils enseignèrent dans Juda, portant avec eux le Livre de la Loi de l’Eternel; ils firent le tour de toutes les villes de Juda et instruisaient le peuple.
10 The people in all the kingdoms surrounding Judah became very afraid of [what Yahweh might do to punish them if they fought against Judah], so they did not start wars with Jehoshaphat’s army.
La terreur de l’Eternel s’empara de tous les empires qui entouraient Juda, et ils s’abstinrent de faire la guerre à Josaphat.
11 Some people from Philistia brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, and they also brought to him the silver that he demanded that they pay to him. Some Arabs brought to him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats.
Des Philistins apportèrent à Josaphat des présents et de l’argent en masse. Les Arabes également lui amenèrent, en fait de menu bétail, sept mille sept cents béliers et sept mille sept cents boucs.
12 Jehoshaphat continued to become more powerful/influential. His workers built forts and places to store supplies in various towns in Judah.
Josaphat allait ainsi grandissant au plus haut degré, et il bâtit dans Juda des châteaux forts et des villes d’approvisionnement.
13 Then they put large amounts of supplies in those storehouses. Jehoshaphat also placed in Jerusalem soldiers who were experienced.
Il eut un grand attirail dans les villes de Juda et des combattants, valeureux guerriers, à Jérusalem.
14 The leaders and numbers from each tribe were as follows: From the tribe of Judah, Adnah was the leader of the soldiers, and he commanded 300,000 soldiers.
Voici leur dénombrement d’après leurs familles: pour Juda, il y avait des chiliarques dont le commandant en chef était Adna; il avait sous ses ordres trois cent mille vaillants guerriers.
15 His assistant was Jehohanan, who commanded 280,000 soldiers.
A côté de lui, Johanan était commandant, ayant sous ses ordres deux cent quatre-vingt mille hommes.
16 Next was Zicri’s son Amasiah, who volunteered to serve Yahweh in this way; he commanded 200,000 soldiers.
A côté de lui était Amassia, fils de Zikhri, qui s’était dévoué au Seigneur; il avait sous ses ordres deux cent mille vaillants guerriers.
17 From the tribe of Benjamin, Eliada, who was a brave soldier, was the leader of the soldiers; he commanded 200,000 men who had bows [and arrows] and shields.
A Benjamin appartenait le vaillant chef d’armée Elyada, qui commandait à deux cent mille hommes armés d’arcs et de boucliers.
18 Next was Jehozabad, who commanded 180,000 men who had weapons for fighting battles.
A côté de lui, Yozabad avait sous ses ordres cent quatre-vingt mille hommes armés en guerre.
19 Those were the soldiers who served the king [in Jerusalem], in addition to the men whom the king had placed in the other cities in Judah that had walls around them.
Tous ceux-là étaient au service du roi, non compris les garnisons que le roi avait placées dans les villes fortes de tout Juda.