Genesis 41
1 Two complete years later, the king of Egypt had a dream. In the dream, he was standing alongside the Nile [River].
Deux ans s’étant écoulés, Pharaon eut un songe. Voici, il se tenait près du fleuve,
2 Suddenly seven healthy fat cows come up out of the river. They started eating the grass that was on the riverbank.
et voici que du fleuve montaient sept vaches belles à voir et grasses de chair, et elles se mirent à paître dans la verdure.
3 Soon seven other cows, unhealthy-looking and thin, came up behind them from the Nile [River]. They stood alongside the fat cows that were on the riverbank.
Et voici qu’après elles montaient du fleuve sept autres vaches, laides à voir et maigres de chair, et elles vinrent se mettre à côté des vaches qui étaient sur le bord du fleuve.
4 Then the unhealthy thin cows ate the seven healthy fat cows. And then the king woke up.
Et les vaches laides à voir et maigres de chair dévorèrent les sept vaches belles à voir et grasses. Alors Pharaon s’éveilla.
5 The king went to sleep again, and he had another dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain that were full of kernels of grain and ripe, and all growing on one stalk.
Il se rendormit, et il eut un second songe. Et voici, sept épis s’élevaient d’une même tige, gras et beaux.
6 After that, the king saw that seven other heads of grain sprouted on that (OR, on another) stalk. They were thin and had been dried up by the hot east wind.
Et sept épis maigres et brûlés par le vent d’orient poussaient après ceux-là.
7 Then the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven ripe full heads. Then the king woke up. He realized that he had been dreaming.
Et les épis maigres engloutirent les sept épis gras et pleins. Alors Pharaon s’éveilla. Et voilà, c’était un songe.
8 But the next morning he was worried about the meaning of the dream. So he summoned all the magicians and wise men who lived in Egypt. He told them what he had dreamed, but none of them could tell him the meaning of the two dreams.
Le matin, Pharaon eut l’esprit agité, et il fit appeler tous les scribes et tous les sages d’Égypte. Il leur raconta ses songes, mais personne ne put les expliquer à Pharaon.
9 Then the chief drink-server said to the king, “Now I remember something that I should have told you! I made a mistake by forgetting to tell it to you.
Alors le chef des échansons, prenant la parole, dit à Pharaon: « Je vais rappeler aujourd’hui mes fautes.
10 One time you were angry with two of us. So you put me and the chief baker in the prison in the house of the captain of the palace guards.
Pharaon était irrité contre ses serviteurs, et il m’avait mis en prison dans la maison du chef des gardes, moi et le chef des panetiers.
11 While we were there, one night each of us had a dream, and the dreams had different meanings.
Nous eûmes un songe dans la même nuit, moi et lui, nous révâmes chacun selon la signification de son songe.
12 There was a young Hebrew man there with us. He was a servant of the captain of the palace guards. We told him what we had dreamed, and he told us what our dreams meant. He told each of us the meaning of our dreams.
Il y avait là avec nous un jeune Hébreu, serviteur du chef des gardes. Nous lui racontâmes nos songes, et il nous en donna l’interprétation; à chacun il interpréta son songe,
13 And what happened was exactly the same as the meanings that he told us: You said I could have my previous job again, but the other man was killed by being hanged. [The Hebrew man’s name was Joseph].”
et les choses se passèrent comme il avait interprété: moi, Pharaon me rétablit dans mon poste, et lui, on le pendit. »
14 When the king heard that, he told some servants to bring Joseph to him, and they quickly brought Joseph out of the prison. Joseph shaved and put on better clothes, and then he went and stood in front of the king.
Pharaon envoya appeler Joseph, et on le fit sortir en hâte de la prison. Il se rasa, mit d’autres vêtements et se rendit vers Pharaon.
15 The king said to Joseph, “I had two dreams, and no one can tell me what they mean. But someone told me that when you hear someone tell about a dream he has had, you can tell that person what the dream means.”
Et Pharaon dit à Joseph: « J’ai eu un songe que personne ne peut interpréter; et j’ai entendu dire de toi que, quand tu entends un songe, tu l’interprètes. »
16 But Joseph replied to the king, “No, I cannot do that. It is God who knows the meaning of dreams, but he will enable me to tell you their meaning, and they will mean something good.”
Joseph répondit à Pharaon en disant: « Ce n’est pas moi, c’est Dieu qui donnera une réponse favorable à Pharaon. »
17 The king said to Joseph, “In my first dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile [River].
Pharaon dit alors à Joseph: « Dans mon songe, voici, je me tenais sur le bord du fleuve,
18 Suddenly seven healthy fat cows came up out of the river, and they started eating the grass that was on the riverbank.
et voici que du fleuve montaient sept vaches grasses de chair et de belle apparence, et elles se mirent à paître dans la verdure.
19 Soon seven other cows, ugly and thin ones, came up behind them from the river. I never saw such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt!
Et voici qu’après elles montaient sept autres vaches, maigres, fort laides d’aspect et décharnées; je n’en ai point vu de pareilles en laideur dans tout le pays d’Égypte.
20 The thin ugly cows ate the seven fat cows that came up first.
Les vaches maigres et laides dévorèrent les sept premières vaches, celles qui étaient grasses;
21 But afterwards, no one would have known that the thin cows ate them, because they were just as ugly as they were before. Then I woke up.
celles-ci entrèrent dans leur ventre, sans qu’il parût qu’elles y fussent entrées; leur aspect était aussi laid qu’auparavant. Et je m’éveillai.
22 Then I had another dream. I saw seven heads of grain. They were full of kernels of grain and ripe, and they were all growing on one stalk.
Je vis encore en songe, et voici sept épis qui s’élevaient sur une même tige, pleins et beaux;
23 Then [to my surprise] I saw seven other heads of grain that sprouted. They were thin and had been dried up by the hot east wind.
et voici, sept épis chétifs, maigres et brûlés par le vent d’orient, qui poussaient après ceux-là.
24 The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good heads. I told these dreams to the magicians, but none of them could explain to me what they meant.”
Et les épis maigres engloutirent les sept beaux épis. J’ai raconté cela aux scribes, et aucun d’eux ne me l’explique. »
25 Then Joseph said to the king, “Both your dreams have the same meaning. God is revealing to you in your dreams what he is about to do.
Joseph dit à Pharaon: « Le songe de Pharaon est un; Dieu a fait connaître à Pharaon ce qu’il va faire.
26 The seven healthy cows represent seven years. The seven good heads of grain also represent seven years. The two dreams both have the same meaning.
Les sept belles vaches sont sept années, et les sept beaux épis sont sept années, c’est un seul songe.
27 The seven thin ugly cows that came up behind them and the seven worthless heads of grain that were dried up by the hot east wind each represent seven years (of famine/when food will be very scarce).
Les sept vaches chétives et laides qui montaient après elles sont sept années, et les sept épis vides, brûlés par le vent d’orient, seront sept années de famine.
28 It will happen just as I have told you, because God has revealed to you what he is about to do.
Telle est la parole que j’ai dite à Pharaon: Dieu a fait voir à Pharaon ce qu’il va faire.
29 There will be seven years in which there will be plenty of food throughout the land of Egypt,
Voici, sept années de grande abondance vont venir dans tout le pays d’Égypte.
30 but after that there will be seven years (of famine/when food will be very scarce). Then people will forget all the years when there was plenty of food, because the famine that will come afterward will ruin the country.
Sept années de famine viendront ensuite, et l’on oubliera toute cette abondance dans le pays d’Égypte, et la famine consumera le pays.
31 The people will forget how plentiful food was previously, because the famine will be very terrible.
On ne s’apercevra plus de l’abondance à cause de cette famine qui suivra dans le pays; tant elle sera grande.
32 The reason God gave to you two dreams is that he [wants you to know] that this will happen, and he will cause it to happen very soon.
Et si le songe a été répété à Pharaon deux fois, c’est que la chose est décidée de la part de Dieu, et que Dieu se hâtera de l’exécuter.
33 “Now I suggest that you should choose a man who is wise and can make good decisions. I suggest that you appoint him to direct the affairs of the whole country.
Maintenant, que Pharaon trouve un homme intelligent et sage, et qu’il l’établisse sur le pays d’Égypte.
34 You should also appoint supervisors over the country, in order that they can arrange to collect one-fifth of all the grain that is harvested during the seven years when food is plentiful.
Que Pharaon établisse en outre des intendants sur le pays, pour lever un cinquième des récoltes du pays d’Égypte pendant les sept années d’abondance.
35 They should collect this amount of grain during those seven years that are coming, when there will be plenty of food. You should supervise them as they store it in the cities.
Qu’ils rassemblent tout le produit de ces bonnes années qui viennent; qu’ils fassent des amas de blé à la disposition de Pharaon, comme provisions dans les villes, et qu’ils les conservent.
36 This grain should be stored so that it can be eaten during the seven years when there will be a famine here in Egypt, so that the people in this country will not die from hunger.”
Ces provisions seront pour le pays une réserve pour les sept années de famine qui arriveront au pays d’Égypte, et le pays ne sera pas consumé par la famine. »
37 The king and his officials thought that this would be a good plan.
Ces paroles plurent à Pharaon et à tous ses serviteurs.
38 So the king said to them, “(Can we find any other man like Joseph, a man to whom God has given his Spirit?/It is not likely that we will find another man like this man, one to whom God has given his Spirit!)” [RHQ]
Et Pharaon dit à ses serviteurs: « Pourrions-nous trouver un homme pareil à celui-ci, ayant en lui l’esprit de Dieu? »
39 Then the king said to Joseph, “Because God has revealed all this to you, it seems to me that there is no one who is as wise as you and who can decide wisely about things.
Et Pharaon dit à Joseph: « Puisque Dieu t’a fait connaître toutes ces choses, il n’y a personne qui soit aussi intelligent et sage que toi.
40 So I will put you in charge of everything in my palace. All the people here in Egypt must obey what you command. Only because I am king [MTY] will I have more authority than you.”
C’est toi qui gouverneras ma maison, et tout mon peuple obéira à ta bouche; par le trône seulement je serai plus grand que toi. »
41 Then the king said to Joseph, “I am now putting you in charge of the whole country of Egypt.”
Et Pharaon dit à Joseph: « Voici que je t’établis sur tout le pays d’Égypte. »
42 The king took from his finger the ring that had his seal on it, and he put it on Joseph’s finger. He put robes made of fine linen on him, and he put a gold chain around his neck.
Et Pharaon ôta son anneau de sa main et le mit à la main de Joseph, et il le fit revêtir d’habits de fin lin et lui mit au cou un collier d’or.
43 Then he arranged for Joseph to ride around in the chariot [that showed that he was] the second-most important man in the country. When Joseph rode in the chariot, men shouted to the people who were on the road in front of him, “Get off the road!” So the king put Joseph in charge of everything in the country.
Il le fit monter sur le second de ses chars, et on criait devant lui: « À genoux! » C’est ainsi qu’il fut établi sur tout le pays d’Égypte.
44 The king said to Joseph, “I am the king, but no one in the whole land of Egypt will do anything [IDM] if you do not permit them to do it.”
Et Pharaon dit à Joseph: « Je suis Pharaon, et sans toi nul ne lèvera la main ni le pied dans tout le pays d’Égypte. »
45 The king gave Joseph a new name, Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave him Asenath to be his wife. She was the daughter of Potiphera, who was a priest in a temple in On [city]. Then Joseph became known (OR, traveled) through all the land of Egypt.
Pharaon nomma Joseph Tsaphnath-Panéach, et il lui donna pour femme Aseneth, fille de Putiphar, prêtre d’On. Et Joseph partit pour visiter le pays d’Égypte.
46 Joseph was 30 years old when he started to work for the king of Egypt. To do his work, he left the king’s palace and traveled throughout Egypt.
Joseph était âgé de trente ans lorsqu’il se présenta devant Pharaon, roi d’Égypte; et il quitta Pharaon pour parcourir tout le pays d’Égypte.
47 During the next seven years, the land produced abundant crops, so there was plenty of food.
La terre rapporta à pleines mains pendant les sept années d’abondance.
48 As Joseph supervised them, his helpers collected one-fifth of all the grain that was produced during those years, and stored it in the cities. In each city, he had his helpers store up the grain that was grown in the fields that surrounded that city.
Joseph rassembla tous les produits des sept bonnes années qu’il y eut au pays d’Égypte, et il fit des approvisionnements dans les villes, déposant dans l’intérieur de chaque ville les productions des champs d’alentour.
49 Joseph had them store up a huge amount of grain. It looked as plentiful as the sand on the seashore. There was so much grain that after a while they stopped keeping records of how much grain was stored, because there was more grain than they could measure.
Joseph amassa du blé comme le sable de la mer, en si grande quantité, qu’on cessa de compter, parce qu’il était sans nombre.
50 Before the seven years of famine started, Joseph’s wife Asenath gave birth to two sons.
Avant qu’arrivât l’année de famine, il naquit à Joseph deux fils, que lui enfanta Aseneth, fille de Putiphar, prêtre d’On.
51 Joseph named the first one Manasseh, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘forget]’, because, he said, “God has caused me to forget all my troubles and all my father’s family.”
Joseph donna au premier-né le nom de Manassé, « car, dit-il, Dieu m’a fait oublier toute ma peine et toute la maison de mon père. »
52 He named his second son Ephraim, [which means ‘to have children]’, because, he said, “God has given me children here in this land where I have suffered.”
Il donna au second le nom d’Ephraïm, « car, dit-il, Dieu m’a fait fructifier dans le pays de mon affliction. »
53 Finally the seven years in which there was plenty of food ended.
Les sept années d’abondance qu’il y eut en Égypte étant achevées,
54 Then the seven years of famine started, just as Joseph had predicted. There was also a famine in all the other nearby lands, but although the crops did not grow, there was food everywhere in Egypt, because of the grain they had stored up in the cities.
les sept années de famine commencèrent à venir, comme Joseph l’avait annoncé. Il y eut famine dans tous les pays, tandis qu’il y avait du pain dans tout le pays d’Égypte.
55 When all the people of [MTY] Egypt had eaten all of their own food and were still hungry, they begged the king for food. So the king told all the people of Egypt, “Go to Joseph, and do what he tells you to do.”
Puis tout le pays d’Égypte fut aussi affamé, et le peuple cria à Pharaon pour avoir du pain. Et Pharaon dit à tous les Égyptiens: « Allez vers Joseph, faites ce qu’il vous dira. »
56 When the famine was very bad throughout the whole country, Joseph ordered his helpers to open the storehouses. Then they sold the grain in the storehouses to the people of Egypt, because the famine was very severe all over Egypt.
La famine étant sur toute la face du pays, Joseph ouvrit tous les greniers qu’on y avait établis et vendit du blé aux Égyptiens; et la famine s’accrut dans le pays d’Égypte.
57 And people from many [HYP] nearby countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was very severe everywhere [HYP].
De toute la terre on venait en Égypte pour acheter du blé auprès de Joseph; car la famine s’était aggravée sur toute la terre.
