< Genesis 41 >

1 Two complete years later, the king of Egypt had a dream. In the dream, he was standing alongside the Nile [River].
Et il arriva, au bout de deux ans, que Pharaon eut un songe; et 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 et grasses, et elles paissaient dans le marécage.
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, sept autres vaches laides et maigres, montaient du fleuve après elles, et elles se tinrent auprès des autres vaches 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 et maigres dévorèrent les sept vaches belles et grasses. Et 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.
Et il s'endormit et songea une seconde fois. Et voici sept épis gras et beaux poussaient sur une même tige.
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.
Puis, voici, sept épis maigres et brûlés par le vent d'Orient germaient 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; et Pharaon s'éveilla, et voici, 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.
Et sur le matin son esprit était agité; et il envoya appeler tous les magiciens et tous les sages d'Égypte, et Pharaon leur raconta ses songes; mais il n'y eut personne qui les lui interpréta.
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 grand échanson parla à Pharaon, en disant: 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 se mit en colère contre ses serviteurs, et me fit mettre en prison, dans la maison du chef des gardes, moi et le grand panetier.
11 While we were there, one night each of us had a dream, and the dreams had different meanings.
Alors nous fîmes, lui et moi, un songe dans une même nuit; nous songeâmes, 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.
Or, il y avait là avec nous un jeune homme hébreu, serviteur du chef des gardes; et nous lui racontâmes nos songes, et il nous les interpréta; il donna à chacun une interprétation d'après 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 la chose arriva comme il nous l'avait interprétée: le roi me rétablit dans ma place, et fit pendre l'autre.
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.
Alors Pharaon envoya appeler Joseph, et on le fit sortir en hâte de la prison; on le rasa, on le fit changer de vêtements, et il vint 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 fait un songe, et il n'y a personne qui l'interprète. Or, j'ai entendu dire que tu n'as qu'à entendre un songe pour l'interpréter.
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.”
Et Joseph répondit à Pharaon, en disant: Ce n'est pas moi, c'est Dieu qui répondra touchant la prospérité de Pharaon.
17 The king said to Joseph, “In my first dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile [River].
Et Pharaon dit 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 et belles, et elles paissaient dans le marécage.
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, sept autres vaches montaient après elles, chétives, et très laides, et décharnées; je n'en ai jamais vu de semblables en laideur dans tout le pays d'Égypte.
20 The thin ugly cows ate the seven fat cows that came up first.
Et les vaches décharnées et laides dévorèrent les sept premières vaches 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.
Qui entrèrent dans leur ventre sans qu'il parût qu'elles y fussent entrées, et elles étaient aussi laides qu'au commencement.
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.
Alors je me réveillai. Je vis encore en songeant, et sept épis pleins et beaux poussaient sur une même tige.
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.
Puis, voici, sept épis stériles, maigres et brûlés par le vent d'Orient, germaient 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. Et je l'ai dit aux magiciens; mais nul 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.
Et Joseph répondit à Pharaon: Ce qu'a songé Pharaon est une seule chose; Dieu a déclaré 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 ans; et les sept beaux épis sont sept ans; c'est un même 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).
Et les sept vaches décharnées et laides, qui montaient après celles-là sont sept ans, et les sept épis vides, brûlés par le vent d'Orient, seront sept ans de famine.
28 It will happen just as I have told you, because God has revealed to you what he is about to do.
C'est ce que j'ai dit 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, il va venir sept années de grande abondance 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.
Mais elles seront suivies de sept ans de famine; et toute cette abondance sera oubliée 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.
Et l'abondance ne paraîtra plus dans le pays, à cause de cette famine qui viendra après; car elle sera très 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 quant à ce que le songe s'est reproduit deux fois pour Pharaon, c'est que la chose est arrêtée de Dieu, et que Dieu se hâte de l'accomplir.
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.
Or, maintenant, que Pharaon choisisse un homme entendu 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 et institue des commissaires sur le pays, et qu'il prenne le cinquième du revenu du pays d'Égypte, durant 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.
Et qu'ils rassemblent tous les vivres de ces bonnes années qui viennent, et qu'ils amassent du froment sous la main de Pharaon, des vivres dans les villes, et qu'ils les gardent.
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.”
Et ces vivres seront en réserve pour le pays, pour les sept années de famine qui seront au pays d'Égypte, afin que le pays ne soit pas consumé par la famine.
37 The king and his officials thought that this would be a good plan.
Et ce discours plut 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: Trouverions-nous un homme comme celui-ci, qui a 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 tout ceci, nul n'est entendu, ni sage autant 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 seras sur ma maison, et tout mon peuple obéira à ta bouche. Je serai seulement plus grand que toi par le trône.
41 Then the king said to Joseph, “I am now putting you in charge of the whole country of Egypt.”
Puis Pharaon dit à Joseph: Regarde, 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.
Alors 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 un collier d'or au cou.
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.
Et il le fit monter sur son second char; et l'on criait devant lui: A genoux! Et il l'établit 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.
Et Pharaon appela Joseph du nom de Tsophnath-Panéach (soutien de la vie), et il lui donna pour femme Asnath, fille de Potiphéra, prêtre d'On (Héliopolis). Et Joseph alla 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.
Or, Joseph était âgé de trente ans, quand il se présenta devant Pharaon, roi d'Égypte. Joseph sortit donc de devant Pharaon, et parcourut tout le pays d'Égypte.
47 During the next seven years, the land produced abundant crops, so there was plenty of food.
Et la terre rapporta à pleines mains durant 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.
Et Joseph rassembla tous les vivres des sept années, qu'il y eut au pays d'Égypte; et il mit les vivres dans les villes; il mit dans l'intérieur de chaque ville les vivres du territoire qui l'environnait.
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.
Et Joseph amassa une grande quantité de froment, comme le sable de la mer; tellement qu'on cessa de le compter, parce qu'il était sans nombre.
50 Before the seven years of famine started, Joseph’s wife Asenath gave birth to two sons.
Or, avant qu'arrivât l'année de famine, il naquit à Joseph deux fils, qu'Asnath, fille de Potiphéra, prêtre d'On, lui enfanta.
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.”
Et Joseph nomma le premier-né Manassé (celui qui fait oublier); car Dieu, dit-il, 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.”
Et il nomma le second Éphraïm (double fécondité); car Dieu, dit-il, m'a rendu fécond dans le pays de mon affliction.
53 Finally the seven years in which there was plenty of food ended.
Alors finirent les sept années de l'abondance qu'il y eut au pays d'Égypte.
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.
Et les sept années de famine commencèrent à venir, comme Joseph l'avait dit. Et la famine fut dans tous les pays; mais dans tout le pays d'Égypte il y avait du pain.
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.”
Ensuite tout le pays d'Égypte fut affamé; et le peuple cria à Pharaon pour avoir du pain. Et Pharaon répondit à tous les Égyptiens: Allez à 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 fut donc sur toute la surface du pays, et Joseph ouvrit tous les greniers et vendit du blé aux Égyptiens. Et la famine fut grande au 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].
Et de tous les pays on venait en Égypte, pour acheter du blé à Joseph; car la famine était grande par toute la terre.

< Genesis 41 >