Genesis 49
1 Jacob summoned all his sons, and said to them,
Jacob appela ses fils, et dit: « Réunissez-vous, afin que je vous dise ce qui vous arrivera dans les jours à venir.
2 “Gather around me in order that I can tell you what will happen in the future. My sons, come and listen to me. I am your father, [Jacob, whom God named] Israel.
Assemblez-vous, et écoutez, fils de Jacob. Écoutez Israël, votre père.
3 Reuben, you are my oldest son. You were born when I was young and energetic/strong. You are prouder and stronger than all the rest of my sons.
« Ruben, tu es mon premier-né, ma force et le commencement de ma puissance, excellant dans la dignité, et excellant dans le pouvoir.
4 But you were as uncontrollable as a flood [SIM]. So now you will not be my most important son, because you climbed up onto my bed, and had sex with [MTY] my (concubine/slave who had become one of my wives). Your doing that caused me, your father, to have great shame.
Bouillant comme de l'eau, tu n'excelleras pas, parce que tu es monté dans le lit de ton père, puis l'a souillé. Il est monté sur mon canapé.
5 Simeon and Levi, you have both acted like criminals. You use your swords to act violently.
« Siméon et Lévi sont frères. Leurs épées sont des armes de violence.
6 I do not want to be with you when you make evil plans [DOU]. I do not want to join you in your meetings, because you killed people when you became very angry, and you (hamstrung/cut the tendons in the legs of) oxen just to (have fun/see them suffer).
Mon âme, n'entre pas dans leur conseil. Ma gloire, ne t'unis pas à leur assemblée; car dans leur colère, ils ont tué des hommes. Dans leur volonté, ils ont paralysé le bétail.
7 God says, ‘I will (curse/cause bad things to happen to) them for being very angry, for acting very cruelly when they were very furious. I will scatter their descendants [MTY] throughout Israel land.’
Maudite soit leur colère, car elle était féroce; et leur colère, car elle était cruelle. Je les diviserai en Jacob, et les disperser en Israël.
8 Judah, your [older and younger] brothers will praise you. They will bow down before you, because you will thoroughly defeat [MTY] your enemies.
« Juda, tes frères te loueront. Ta main sera sur le cou de tes ennemis. Les fils de ton père se prosterneront devant toi.
9 Judah is like a young lion [SIM] that has returned to its den satisfied after eating the animals that it has killed. He is like a lion that lies down and stretches out after eating; no one would dare to disturb it [RHQ].
Juda est un lionceau. De la proie, mon fils, tu t'es élevé. Il s'est baissé, il s'est accroupi comme un lion, comme une lionne. Qui va le réveiller?
10 There will always be a ruler [MTY] from the descendants of Judah [MTY]. Each one will hold a scepter/staff to show that he has authority as a king. He will do that until the one to whom the scepter belongs comes, the one to whom the nations will bring tribute and show that they will obey him.
Le sceptre ne s'éloignera pas de Juda, ni le bâton du chef d'entre ses pieds, jusqu'à ce que vienne celui à qui elle appartient. L'obéissance des peuples lui reviendra.
11 The grapevines of Judah’s descendants will produce grapes very abundantly. As a result, they will not object to tying their young donkeys to the grapevines in order that the donkeys can eat the leaves of the grapevines. [Wine will be very plentiful, with the result that] they could wash their cloaks in wine that is as red as blood [MET].
Liant son poulain à la vigne, le petit de son âne à la vigne de choix, il a lavé ses vêtements dans le vin, ses robes dans le sang des raisins.
12 Their eyes will be red because of [drinking too much] wine, but their teeth will be very white because of drinking much milk [from the cows].
Ses yeux seront rouges de vin, ses dents blanches de lait.
13 Zebulun, your descendants will live by the seashore where there will be a safe harbor for ships. Their land will extend north as far as Sidon [city].
« Zabulon habitera au havre de la mer. Il sera pour un port de navires. Sa frontière sera sur Sidon.
14 Issachar, your descendants will be like strong donkeys that are lying down on the ground between their loads, [so tired that they cannot get up]!
« Issachar est un âne fort, couché entre les sacoches.
15 They will see that their resting place is good, and that the land pleases them very much. But they will bend their backs to carry heavy loads and be forced to work for others.
Il a vu un lieu de repos, et il a constaté qu'il était bon, le pays, qu'il était agréable. Il courbe l'épaule devant le fardeau, et devient un serviteur aux travaux forcés.
16 Dan, although your tribe will be small, their leaders will rule their people just like the leaders of other tribes of Israel will rule their people.
« Dan jugera son peuple, comme l'une des tribus d'Israël.
17 Your descendants will be like snakes at the side of a road, like poisonous snakes lying beside a path. They will strike the heels of horses that pass by, causing the riders to fall backwards [as the horses rear up on their hind legs].”
Dan sera un serpent sur la piste, un additionneur dans le chemin, qui mord les talons du cheval, de sorte que son cavalier tombe en arrière.
18 Then Jacob prayed, “Yahweh, I am waiting for you to rescue me [from my enemies].”
J'ai attendu ton salut, Yahvé.
19 [Then Jacob continued telling his sons what would happen in the future. He said], “Gad, your tribe/descendants will be attacked by a group of bandits, but your tribe/descendants will pursue and attack them [MTY].
« Une troupe va presser sur Gad, mais il appuiera sur leur talon.
20 Asher, your descendants will eat good-tasting food; they will produce food that is delicious enough for kings to eat.
« La nourriture d'Asher sera riche. Il produira des mets royaux.
21 Naphtali, your descendants will be like deer [MET] that are (free to/not tied down and can) run wherever they wish. They will give birth to children who are good-looking like (fawns/baby deer) [MET].
« Nephtali est une biche en liberté, qui porte de beaux fauves.
22 Joseph, you will have many descendants [MET]. Their children will be as many as the fruit on a vine near a spring of water, whose branches extend over a wall.
« Joseph est une vigne féconde, une vigne fructueuse près d'une source. Ses branches courent sur le mur.
23 Their enemies will attack them fiercely, and shoot at them with bows and arrows and pursue them.
Les archers l'ont gravement blessé, lui ont tiré dessus, et l'ont persécuté:
24 But they will hold their bows steady and their arms will remain strong, because of the power [MTY] of my mighty God, because of Yahweh who guides and provides for me [MET] like a shepherd guides and provides for his sheep. The people of Israel will [ask Yahweh to protect them], [like people hide under] a huge [overhanging] to be protected.
Mais son arc est resté fort. Les bras de ses mains ont été rendus forts, par les mains du Puissant de Jacob, (c'est de là que vient le berger, la pierre d'Israël),
25 God, the one whom I worship, will help your descendants. God Almighty will bless them by sending them rain from the sky and by giving them water from deep/far below the ground. He will give them many cattle and children [MET] (OR, and their cattle will have many offspring).
même par le Dieu de ton père, qui t'aidera, par le Tout-Puissant, qui vous bénira, avec les bénédictions du ciel, les bénédictions des profondeurs qui se trouvent en dessous, les bénédictions des seins et de l'utérus.
26 The blessings that I want God to give you are great ones. They are greater than the blessings that come from the eternal mountains, greater than the ones that come from the everlasting hills. Joseph, I pray that these blessings will (be given to you/come upon your head), because you are the leader of your [older] brothers [and younger brother].
Les bénédictions de ton père ont prévalu sur les bénédictions de mes ancêtres, au-dessus des limites des anciennes collines. Ils seront sur la tête de Joseph, sur la couronne de la tête de celui qui est séparé de ses frères.
27 Benjamin, your descendants will be like [MET] vicious/fierce wolves: In the morning they will kill their enemies like a wolf devours (its prey/the animals that it has killed), and in the evening they will divide among their warriors the spoils that they seized from their enemies.”
« Benjamin est un loup vorace. Au matin, il dévorera la proie. Le soir, il partagera le butin. »
28 Those twelve sons are the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel. That is what their father said to them as he blessed them, telling to each one words that were appropriate for him.
Ce sont là les douze tribus d'Israël. Voici ce que leur père leur a dit, et il les a bénies. Il bénit chacun selon sa propre bénédiction.
29 Then Jacob said to his sons, “I will soon die. Bury my body where some of my ancestors are buried, in the cave that is in the field that was bought from Ephron, who belonged to the Heth people-group.
Il les instruisit et leur dit: « Je vais être recueilli auprès de mon peuple. Enterrez-moi avec mes pères dans la caverne qui est dans le champ d'Éphron le Héthien,
30 That field is in the Machpelah area, east of Mamre [town], in Canaan. My grandfather Abraham bought it from Ephron to use as a burial place.
dans la caverne qui est dans le champ de Macpéla, en face de Mamré, dans le pays de Canaan, qu'Abraham acheta avec le champ d'Éphron le Héthien pour y être enterré.
31 That is where they buried him and his wife Sarah. That is where they buried my father Isaac and his wife Rebekah. And that is where I buried my wife Leah.
C'est là qu'on enterra Abraham et Sarah, sa femme. C'est là qu'on a enterré Isaac et Rebecca, sa femme, et c'est là que j'ai enterré Léa.
32 That field and the cave in it were bought from the Heth people-group; so that is where I want you to bury me.”
Le champ et la caverne qui s'y trouve ont été achetés des fils de Heth. »
33 When Jacob finished giving those instructions to his sons, he lay down on his bed again. Then he died [IDM].
Lorsque Jacob eut fini de charger ses fils, il ramassa ses pieds dans le lit, rendit son dernier soupir et fut recueilli auprès de son peuple.
