2 Kings 3
1 After Jehoshaphat had been ruling Judah for almost 18 years, Ahab’s son Joram became the king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria [city] for twelve years.
Joram, fils d’Achab, monta sur le trône d’Israël, à Samarie, la dix-huitième année du règne de Josaphat, roi de Juda; il régna douze ans.
2 He did things that Yahweh considered to be evil, but he did not do as much evil as his father and mother had done, and he got rid of the pillar [for worshiping] Baal which his father had made.
Il fit ce qui déplaît aux yeux de l’Eternel, toutefois, moins que son père et que sa mère; c’est ainsi qu’il fit enlever la statue de Baal érigée par son père.
3 But he committed the sins that [King] Jeroboam had committed and which led the Israeli people to sin, and he did not stop committing those sins.
Mais il suivit, sans s’en écarter, les voies perverses de Jéroboam, fils de Nebat, qui avait induit Israël au péché.
4 Mesha, the king of Moab, raised sheep. [Every year] he was forced to give 100,000 lambs and the wool from 100,000 rams to the king of Israel, [because his kingdom was controlled by the king of Israel].
Mécha, roi de Moab, était riche en troupeaux: il payait au roi d’Israël un tribut de cent, mille agneaux et de cent mille béliers pourvus de leur laine.
5 But after King Ahab died, Mesha rebelled against the king of Israel.
Mais à la mort d’Achab, le roi de Moab fit défection au roi d’Israël.
6 So King Joram left Samaria and gathered together all his soldiers.
Aussitôt, Joram quitta Samarie et passa en revue tout Israël.
7 Then he sent this message to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. So will your army join my army and fight against the army of Moab?” Jehoshaphat replied, “Yes, we will help you. We are ready to do whatever you want us to. My soldiers and my horses are ready to help you.”
Puis il se décida à envoyer le message suivant à Josaphat, roi de Juda: "Le roi de Moab s’est révolté contre moi. Veux-tu aller en guerre avec moi contre Moab?" Il répondit: "J’Irai; toi et moi, ton peuple et mon peuple, tes chevaux et les miens, c’est tout un.
8 He asked, “On which road shall we march to attack them?” Joram replied, “We will go [south to Jerusalem, where your army will join us. Then we will all go south of the Dead Sea, and then turn north] through the Edom Desert.”
Quel chemin prendrons-nous? demanda Joram. La route du désert iduméen," répondit Josaphat.
9 So the king of Israel [and his army] went with the kings of Judah and Edom [and their armies]. They marched for seven days. Then there was no water left for their soldiers or for their animals that carried supplies.
Le roi d’Israël, le roi de Juda et le roi d’Edom entrèrent donc en campagne. Mais, après sept jours de marche, l’eau manqua aux troupes et aux bêtes qui les suivaient.
10 The king of Israel exclaimed, “This is a terrible situation! [It seems that] Yahweh will allow the three of us to be captured by [the army of] [MTY] Moab!”
Le roi d’Israël s’écria: "Hélas! Est-ce que l’Eternel aurait fait appel à ces trois rois pour les livrer aux mains de Moab!"
11 Jehoshaphat said, “Is there a prophet here who can ask Yahweh for us [what we should do]?” One of Joram’s army officers said, “Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here. He was Elijah’s assistant.” [IDM]
Josaphat dit: "N’Y a-t-il point ici de prophète de Dieu auprès de qui nous puissions consulter le Seigneur?" Un des serviteurs du roi d’Israël répondit: "Il se trouve ici Elisée, fils de Chefat, qui a versé l’eau sur les mains d’Elie.
12 Jehoshaphat said, “[It will be good to ask him, because] he speaks what Yahweh tells him to say.” So those three kings went to Elisha.
La parole divine est sur ses lèvres, dit Josaphat." Le roi d’Israël, Josaphat et le roi d’Edom se rendirent donc auprès de lui.
13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why do you come to me [RHQ]? Go and ask those prophets that your father and mother consulted!” But Joram replied, “No, [we want you to ask Yahweh, because it seems that] Yahweh is going to allow us three kings to be captured by the army of Moab.”
Mais Elisée apostropha ainsi le roi d’Israël: "Qu’y a-t-il de commun entre toi et moi? Adresse-toi aux prophètes de ton père et aux prophètes de ta mère." Le roi d’Israël répondit: "Laissons cela. Est-ce que l’Eternel a fait appel à ces trois rois pour les livrer aux mains de Moab?"
14 Elisha replied, “I serve Yahweh, the commander of the armies of angels in heaven. As surely as he lives, if I did not respect Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not even think about doing anything to help you.
Elisée reprit: "Vive l’Eternel-Cebaot, que je sers! Si je ne respectais la personne de Josaphat, roi de Juda, je ne t’accorderais pas même un regard.
15 But, bring a musician to me.” [So they did that]. And when the musician played [on his harp], the power of Yahweh came on Elisha.
Eh bien! Amenez-moi un musicien." Tandis que celui-ci jouait de son instrument, l’esprit du Seigneur s’empara du prophète,
16 He said, “Yahweh says that he will cause this dry stream-bed to be full of water.
et il dit: "Ainsi a parlé l’Eternel: Creusez dans cette vallée fossés et fossés.
17 The result will be that your soldiers and your animals that carry supplies and your livestock will have plenty of water to drink.
Car (telle est la parole de l’Eternel), vous ne sentirez pas de vent et vous ne verrez pas de pluie, et cependant cette vallée sera remplie d’eau, et vous aurez à boire, vous, vos troupeaux et vos bêtes.
18 That is not difficult for Yahweh to do. [But he will do more than that]. He will also enable you to defeat [the army of] Moab.
Mais c’est encore trop peu aux yeux de l’Eternel: il livrera aussi Moab en votre pouvoir.
19 You will conquer all their beautiful cities, cities that have high walls around them. You must cut down all their fruit trees, stop water from flowing from their springs, and ruin their fertile fields by covering them with rocks.”
Vous détruirez toute ville forte, toute ville de marque; vous abattrez tout arbre fruitier, vous comblerez toute source d’eau, et toute bonne terre, vous la ruinerez en la couvrant de pierres."
20 The next morning, at the time when they offered the sacrifices [of grain], they were surprised to see water flowing from Edom and covering the ground.
Le lendemain matin, à l’heure de l’oblation, l’eau arriva tout à coup du côté d’Edom, et le sol en fut inondé.
21 When the people of Moab heard that the three kings had come [with their armies] to fight against them, all the men who were able to fight in battles, from the youngest men to the oldest ones, were summoned, and they (took their positions/prepared to fight) at the [southern] border of their land.
Tous les Moabites, ayant appris que les rois venaient porter la guerre chez eux, s’étaient rassemblés en armes, tous les hommes en âge de ceindre l’épée et au delà et s’étaient postés sur la frontière.
22 But when they rose early the next morning, they saw that the water across from them appeared to be as red as blood.
S’Étant levés au matin, comme le soleil brillait au-dessus des eaux, celles-ci apparurent dé loin aux Moabites rouges comme du sang.
23 They exclaimed, “It is blood! The three enemy armies must have fought and killed each other! So let’s go and take everything that they have left!”
Ils s’écrièrent: "C’Est du sang! Assurément, les rois se sont pris de querelle, ils se sont entr’égorgés: au butin donc, Moab!"
24 But when they reached the area where the Israeli soldiers had set up their tents, the Israelis attacked the soldiers from Moab and forced them to retreat. The Israeli soldiers pursued the soldiers from Moab and killed many of them.
Ils se précipitèrent sur le camp des Israélites, mais ceux-ci se levèrent, battirent les Moabites, les mirent en fuite et en firent un grand carnage:
25 The Israelis also destroyed their cities. And whenever they passed fertile fields, they threw rocks on those fields, until the fields were covered with rocks. They stopped water from flowing from the springs and cut down the fruit trees. Finally, only [the capital city, ] Kir-Hareseth, remained. The Israeli soldiers who threw stones with slings surrounded the city and attacked it.
Ils détruisirent les villes; chacun lança sa pierre sur les terres fertiles, qui en furent couvertes; ils comblèrent les sources et abattirent les arbres fruitiers. Il ne resta pierre sur pierre qu’à Kir-Haréset, qui fut assaillie, à son tour, de tous côtés par les frondeurs et ruinée.
26 When the king of Moab realized that his army was being defeated, he took with him 700 men who fought with swords, and they tried to force a way through the Israeli lines of soldiers to escape to [get help from] the king of Syria, but they were unable to escape.
Le roi de Moab, se voyant trop faible pour lutter, se mit à la tête de sept cents hommes, l’épée nue, afin de se frayer un chemin jusqu’au roi d’Edom; mais ils n’y réussirent point.
27 Then the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would have become the next king, and killed him and offered him for a sacrifice [to their god Chemosh], burning him on top of the city wall. The Israeli soldiers were horrified, with the result that they left that city and returned to their own country.
Alors il prit l’aîné de ses fils, l’héritier du trône, et l’immola en holocauste au haut des remparts. Aussitôt, une grande colère éclata contre Israël, qui dut se retirer et rentrer dans son pays.
