Jonah 1
1 [One day] Yahweh said to [the prophet] Jonah, the son of Amittai,
La parole de l’Eternel fut adressée à Jonas, fils d’Amittaï, en ces termes:
2 “I have [seen] how wicked [the people of] [MTY] the great city of Nineveh are. Therefore go there and warn the people that [I am planning to] destroy their city [because of their sins].”
"Lève-toi! Va à Ninive, la grande ville, et prophétise contre elle; car leur iniquité est arrivée jusqu’à moi."
3 But [instead of going to Nineveh], Jonah [went in the direction] opposite to where Yahweh [told him to go]. He went down to Joppa [city]. There he bought a ticket to travel on a ship that was going to Tarshish [city], in order to avoid [doing what] Yahweh [told him to do]. [He got on the ship, ] and [then went down] to a lower deck, [lay down, and went to sleep].
Mais Jonas se leva pour fuir à Tarsis, hors de la présence de l’Eternel; il se rendit à Jaffa, où il trouva un vaisseau en partance pour Tarsis. II paya le passage et s’y embarqua pour aller avec eux à Tarsis, loin de la présence de l’Eternel.
4 Then Yahweh caused a very strong wind to blow, and there was such a violent storm that [the sailors thought] the ship would break apart.
Or, l’Eternel suscita un vent violent sur la mer et une grande tempête s’y éleva; le vaisseau pensa se briser.
5 The sailors were very frightened. Because of that, they each [started to] pray to their own gods [to save them]. Then they threw the cargo into the sea to make the ship lighter [in order that it would not sink easily].
Les matelots prirent peur, et chacun d’invoquer son Dieu. Ils jetèrent à la mer les objets qui se trouvaient sur le vaisseau afin de l’alléger. Pour Jonas, il était descendu au fond du navire, s’y était couché et profondément endormi.
6 Then the captain went [down] to where Jonah was sleeping soundly. [He awoke him] and said [to him], “(How can you sleep [during a storm like this]?/You should not be sleeping [during a storm like this]) [RHQ]! Get up and pray to your god! Perhaps he will pity us and save us, in order that we will not drown!” [But Jonah refused to do that].
Le commandant de l’équipage s’approcha de lui et lui dit: "Que fais-tu là, dormeur? Debout! Invoque ton Dieu, peut-être ce Dieu-là s’ingéniera-t-il en notre faveur, de sorte que nous ne périrons pas."
7 Then the sailors said to each other, “We need to (cast lots/shake from a container small objects that we have all marked), to determine who has caused [all] this trouble!” So they did that, and [the object with] Jonah’s mark fell out [of the container].
Cependant les matelots se disaient l’un à l’autre: "Voyons, tirons au sort, afin de connaître celui qui nous attire ce malheur." Ils tirèrent au sort, et le sort désigna Jonas.
8 So [various ones of] them asked him, “Are you the one who has caused us all this trouble?” “What work do you do?” “Where are you [coming] from?” “What country and what people-group do you belong to?”
Ils lui dirent: Apprends-nous donc puisque c’est toi qui nous attires ce malheur quelle est ta profession et d’où tu viens; quel est ton pays et à quel peuple tu appartiens."
9 Jonah replied, “I am a Hebrew. I worship Yahweh God, who [lives in] heaven. He is the one who made the sea and the land. I am trying to escape from [doing what] Yahweh [told me to do].”
Il leur répondit: "Je suis Hébreu; j’adore l’Eternel, Dieu du ciel, qui a créé la mer et la terre ferme."
10 After the sailors heard that, they were terrified. So they asked him, “Do you realize what [trouble] you have caused?”
Ces hommes, saisis d’une grande terreur, lui dirent: "Qu’as-tu fait là!" Car ils surent alors qu’il s’enfuyait de devant l’Eternel, Jonas le leur ayant appris.
11 The [storm kept getting worse and] the waves kept getting bigger. So [one of] the sailors asked Jonah, “What should we do in order to make the sea become calm?”
Ils ajoutèrent: "Que devons-nous faire de toi pour que la mer se calme autour de nous? Car la mer devient de plus en plus furieuse."
12 He replied, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. [If you do that], it will become calm. I know that this terrible storm is the result of my [not doing what Yahweh told me to do].”
Il leur répondit: "Prenez-moi et jetez-moi à la mer, vous la verrez s’apaiser, car je reconnais que c’est par mon fait que vous essuyez cette violente tempête."
13 But the sailors did [not want to do that]. [Instead], they tried hard to row the ship back to the land. But they could not [do that], because the storm continued to get worse.
Ces hommes firent force de rames pour regagner la côte, mais ils ne purent, tant la mer orageuse continuait à les assaillir!
14 Therefore they prayed to Yahweh, and [one of them] prayed, “O Yahweh, please do not let us drown because of our causing this man to die. O Yahweh, you have done what you wanted to do. [We do not know if this man has sinned. If] he has not sinned, do not consider that we are guilty of sinning when we cause him to die!”
Ils invoquèrent donc l’Eternel en disant: "De grâce, ô Eternel, ne nous fais point périr à cause de cet homme, et ne fais pas retomber sur nous le sang innocent! Car c’est toi-même qui as fait ce que tu as voulu."
15 Then they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea. Then the sea became calm.
Puis ils saisirent Jonas et le jetèrent à la mer. Aussitôt la fureur de la mer se calma.
16 [When that happened], the sailors became greatly awed at Yahweh’s [power]. So they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh, and they strongly promised [him that they would do things that would please him].
Et ces hommes conçurent une vénération profonde pour l’Eternel; ils lui offrirent des sacrifices et firent des vœux en son honneur.
17 [While they were doing that, ] Yahweh sent a huge fish that swallowed Jonah. Then Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
L’Eternel suscita un énorme poisson, qui engloutit Jonas; celui-ci resta dans les entrailles du poisson trois jours et trois nuits.
