Judges 11
1 [There was a man] from [the] Gilead [region] named Jephthah. He was a great warrior. His father was also named Gilead. But his mother was a prostitute.
Or Jephthé, le Galaadite, était un fort et vaillant homme, et il était fils d’une prostituée; et Galaad avait engendré Jephthé.
2 Gilead’s wife gave birth to several sons. When they grew up, they forced Jephthah to leave home, saying to him, “You are the son of a prostitute, [not the son of our mother]. So [when] our father [dies], you will not receive any of his property.”
Et la femme de Galaad lui enfanta des fils; et les fils de sa femme grandirent, et chassèrent Jephthé, et lui dirent: Tu n’auras point d’héritage dans la maison de notre père; car toi, tu es fils d’une autre femme.
3 So Jephthah ran away from his brothers, and he went to the Tob region. While he was there, some worthless men started to spend a lot of time with him.
Et Jephthé s’enfuit de devant ses frères, et habita dans le pays de Tob; et des hommes légers se ramassèrent autour de Jephthé, et ils entraient en campagne avec lui.
4 Some time later, the Ammon people-group started to fight against the Israelis.
Et il arriva, quelque temps après, que les fils d’Ammon firent la guerre à Israël;
5 When that happened [DOU], the leaders of [the] Gilead [region] went to Jephthah to bring him back from the Tob region [to their area].
et comme les fils d’Ammon faisaient la guerre à Israël, les anciens de Galaad allèrent pour amener Jephthé du pays de Tob.
6 They said to him, “Come [with us] and lead our army, and [help us to] fight against the men from the Ammon people-group!”
Et ils dirent à Jephthé: Viens, et tu seras notre capitaine, et nous combattrons contre les fils d’Ammon.
7 But Jephthah replied, “You hated me [RHQ] previously! You forced me to leave my father’s house! So why are you coming to me now, [asking me to help you] when you are experiencing trouble?”
Et Jephthé dit aux anciens de Galaad: N’est-ce pas vous qui m’avez haï et qui m’avez chassé de la maison de mon père? Et pourquoi venez-vous à moi, maintenant que vous êtes dans la détresse?
8 The leaders from Gilead replied, “[Yes, we are having trouble, and] that is the reason that we have come to you now. If you come with us and [help us to] fight against the Ammon people-group, [after we defeat them, we will appoint] you to be the leader of all us people in [the] Gilead [region].”
Et les anciens de Galaad dirent à Jephthé: C’est pour ceci que nous sommes maintenant revenus vers toi, afin que tu viennes avec nous, et que tu fasses la guerre contre les fils d’Ammon; et tu seras notre chef, à nous tous, les habitants de Galaad.
9 Jephthah replied, “If I go back to Gilead with you to fight against the Ammon people-group, and if Yahweh helps us to defeat them, will you truly appoint me to be your leader?”
Et Jephthé dit aux anciens de Galaad: Si vous me ramenez pour faire la guerre contre les fils d’Ammon et que l’Éternel les livre devant moi, serai-je votre chef?
10 They replied, “Yahweh is listening to everything that we say. [So he will punish us] if we do not do everything that you tell us to do.”
Et les anciens de Galaad dirent à Jephthé: L’Éternel est témoin entre nous si nous ne faisons pas selon ce que tu as dit!
11 So Jephthah went with them back to [the] Gilead [region], and the people appointed him to be their leader and the commander of their army. And Jephthah solemnly promised to Yahweh there at Mizpah [to serve him well].
Et Jephthé alla avec les anciens de Galaad, et le peuple l’établit chef et capitaine sur lui. Et Jephthé prononça toutes ses paroles devant l’Éternel, à Mitspa.
12 Jephthah sent some messengers to the king of the Ammon people-group. They asked the king, “What have we [done to make you angry, with the result] that your army is coming to fight [against the people] in our land?”
Et Jephthé envoya des messagers au roi des fils d’Ammon, disant: Qu’y a-t-il entre moi et toi, que tu viennes contre moi pour faire la guerre à mon pays?
13 The king replied, “[We have come to fight against you Israelis because] you took our land when you came here from Egypt. You took all our land east of the Jordan [River], from the Arnon [River in the south] to the Jabbok [River in the north]. So if you now give it back to us, there (will be peace between us/we will not fight against you).”
Et le roi des fils d’Ammon dit aux messagers de Jephthé: C’est parce qu’Israël a pris mon pays, quand il monta d’Égypte, depuis l’Arnon jusqu’au Jabbok et jusqu’au Jourdain; et maintenant, rends-moi ces [contrées] en paix.
14 [The messengers returned to Jephthah and told him what the king had said]. So Jephthah sent the messengers to the king again.
Et Jephthé envoya de nouveau des messagers au roi des fils d’Ammon,
15 They said to him, “This is what Jephthah says: ‘It is not [true] that we Israelis took the land from the Moab people-group and the Ammon people-group.
et lui dit: Ainsi dit Jephthé: Israël n’a point pris le pays de Moab ni le pays des fils d’Ammon;
16 When the Israeli people came out of Egypt, they walked through the desert to the Red Sea, and then [walked across it and traveled to Kadesh town at the border of the Edom region].
car, quand ils montèrent d’Égypte, Israël marcha par le désert jusqu’à la mer Rouge, et il vint à Kadès;
17 They sent messengers to the king of the Edom people-group, to say to him, “Please allow us Israelis to walk across your land.” But the king of the Edom people-group refused. Later we sent the same message to the king of the Moab people-group, but he also refused to allow the Israelis to go through his land. So the Israelis stayed at Kadesh [for a long time].
et Israël envoya des messagers au roi d’Édom, disant: Laisse-moi passer par ton pays; mais le roi d’Édom n’écouta pas. Et il envoya aussi au roi de Moab; mais il ne voulut pas. Et Israël demeura à Kadès.
18 Then the Israelis went into the desert and walked outside the borders of the Edom and Moab regions. They walked east of the Moab region, east of the Arnon [River, which is the eastern border of the Moab region]. They did not cross that river to enter [the] Moab [region].
Et il marcha par le désert, et tourna le pays d’Édom et le pays de Moab, et vint du côté du soleil levant au pays de Moab, et ils campèrent au-delà de l’Arnon, mais n’entrèrent pas dans les limites de Moab, car l’Arnon était la limite de Moab.
19 ‘Then the Israelis sent a message to Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who lived in Heshbon [city]. They asked him, “Will you please allow us Israeli people to cross through your land to arrive at the land to which we [are going].”
Et Israël envoya des messagers à Sihon, roi des Amoréens, roi de Hesbon, et Israël lui dit: Laisse-nous passer par ton pays, jusqu’en notre lieu.
20 But Sihon did not trust the Israelis; [he thought that they would steal some of the things in his land]. So he gathered all his troops and they set up their tents at Jahaz [village] and then they attacked the Israelis.
Mais Sihon ne se fia pas à Israël pour le laisser passer par ses limites; et Sihon rassembla tout son peuple, et ils campèrent à Jahtsa, et combattirent contre Israël.
21 But Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], enabled the Israeli army to defeat [IDM] Sihon and his army. Then they (took possession of/started to live in) all the land where the Amor people-group had lived.
Et l’Éternel, le Dieu d’Israël, livra Sihon et tout son peuple en la main d’Israël, et [Israël] les frappa; et Israël prit possession de tout le pays des Amoréens qui habitaient dans ce pays-là:
22 The Israelis took all the land that belonged to the Amor people-group, from the Arnon [River in the south] to the Jabbok [River in the north], and from the desert [in the east] to the Jordan [River in the west].
et ils eurent la possession de tout le territoire des Amoréens, depuis l’Arnon jusqu’au Jabbok, et depuis le désert jusqu’au Jourdain.
23 ‘It was Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], who forced the Amor people-group to leave as the Israelis advanced. So do you now think that you can force the Israelis to leave [RHQ]?
Et maintenant l’Éternel, le Dieu d’Israël, a dépossédé les Amoréens devant son peuple Israël, et toi, tu nous en déposséderais?
24 You take the land that your god Chemosh has given to you. And we will live in the land that Yahweh our God has given to us!
Ne possèdes-tu pas ce que ton dieu Kemosh t’a fait posséder? Et nous aurons la possession de tous ceux que l’Éternel, notre Dieu, aura dépossédés devant nous.
25 (You are no/Are you) better than Zippor’s son Balak, who was the king of the Moab people-group? He never [RHQ] quarreled with the Israeli people, and he never started to fight against us [RHQ]!
Et maintenant, vaux-tu donc mieux que Balak, fils de Tsippor, roi de Moab? A-t-il jamais contesté contre Israël? a-t-il jamais combattu contre eux?
26 For 300 years the Israeli people have lived in Heshbon and Aroer [cities in your region], and in the surrounding towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon [River]. Why have you people of the Ammon people-group not taken back those cities during all those years [RHQ]?
Pendant qu’Israël a habité Hesbon et les villages de son ressort, et Aroër et les villages de son ressort, et toutes les villes qui sont le long de l’Arnon, pendant 300 ans, pourquoi ne les avez-vous pas délivrées en ce temps-là?
27 We have not sinned against you, but you are sinning against me by attacking me [and my army]. I trust that Yahweh, the great judge, will decide whether we Israelis are right, or whether you people of the Ammon people-group are right.’”
Et ce n’est pas moi qui ai péché contre toi; mais c’est toi qui me fais tort, en m’attaquant. L’Éternel, le juge, jugera aujourd’hui entre les fils d’Israël et les fils d’Ammon.
28 But the king of the Ammon people-group did not pay attention to that message from Jephthah.
Et le roi des fils d’Ammon n’écouta pas les paroles que Jephthé lui avait envoyées.
29 Then the Spirit of Yahweh took control of Jephthah. Jephthah went through [the] Gilead [region] and through the area where the tribe of Manasseh lived, [to enlist/gather men for his army]. [He finally gathered them together] in Mizpah [city] in [the] Gilead [region] to fight against the Ammon people-group.
Et l’Esprit de l’Éternel fut sur Jephthé; et il passa à travers Galaad et Manassé, et il passa par Mitspé de Galaad, et de Mitspé de Galaad, il passa vers les fils d’Ammon.
30 There Jephthah made a solemn promise to Yahweh. He said, “If you will enable my army to defeat [IDM] the Ammon people-group,
Et Jephthé voua un vœu à l’Éternel, et dit: Si tu livres en ma main les fils d’Ammon,
31 when I return from the battle, I will sacrifice to you the first person who comes out of my house [to greet me]. It will be a sacrifice that will be completely burned [on the altar].”
il arrivera que ce qui sortira des portes de ma maison à ma rencontre, lorsque je reviendrai en paix des fils d’Ammon, sera à l’Éternel, et je l’offrirai en holocauste.
32 Then Jephthah [and his men] went from Mizpah to attack the Ammon people-group, and Yahweh enabled his army to defeat them.
Et Jephthé passa vers les fils d’Ammon pour combattre contre eux; et l’Éternel les livra en sa main:
33 Jephthah and his men killed them, from Aroer [city] all the way to the area around the city of Minnith. They destroyed 20 cities, as far as [the city of] Abel Keramim. So the Israelis [completely] defeated the Ammon people-group.
et il leur infligea une très grande défaite, depuis Aroër jusqu’à ce que tu viennes à Minnith, [leur prenant] 20 villes, et jusqu’à Abel-Keramim; et les fils d’Ammon furent humiliés devant les fils d’Israël.
34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, his daughter was the first one to come out of the house to meet him. She was [joyfully] playing a tambourine and dancing. She was his only child; he had no sons and no other daughters.
Et Jephthé vint à Mitspa, dans sa maison; et voici, sa fille sortit à sa rencontre avec des tambourins et des danses; et elle était seule, unique: il n’avait, à part elle, ni fils ni fille.
35 When Jephthah saw his daughter, he tore his clothes [to show that he was very sad about what he was going to do]. He said to her, “My daughter, you have caused me to become very sad [DOU] because I made a solemn promise to Yahweh [to sacrifice the first one who came out of my house], and I must do what I promised.”
Et il arriva, quand il la vit, qu’il déchira ses vêtements, et dit: Ah, ma fille! tu m’as accablé, et tu es de ceux qui me troublent! car j’ai ouvert [ma] bouche à l’Éternel, et ne puis revenir en arrière.
36 His daughter said, “My father, you made a solemn promise to Yahweh. So you must do to me what you promised, because [you said that you would do that if] Yahweh helped you to defeat our enemies, the Ammon people-group.”
Et elle lui dit: Mon père, si tu as ouvert ta bouche à l’Éternel, fais-moi selon ce qui est sorti de ta bouche, après que l’Éternel t’a vengé de tes ennemis, les fils d’Ammon.
37 Then she also said, “But allow me to do one thing. (First/before you do what you promised), allow me to go up into the hilly area and wander around for two months. Since I will never be married [and have children], allow me and my friends to go and cry together.”
Et elle dit à son père: Que cette chose me soit faite: laisse-moi pendant deux mois, et je m’en irai, et je descendrai sur les montagnes, et je pleurerai ma virginité, moi et mes compagnes.
38 Jephthah replied, “All right, you may go.” So she left for two months. She and her friends stayed in the hills and they cried for her because she would never be married.
Et il lui dit: Va. Et il la renvoya pour deux mois. Et elle s’en alla, elle et ses compagnes, et pleura sa virginité sur les montagnes.
39 After two months, she returned to her father Jephthah, and he did to her what he had vowed. So his daughter never was married. Because of that, the Israelis now have a custom.
Et il arriva, au bout de deux mois, qu’elle revint vers son père; et il accomplit à son égard le vœu qu’il avait voué. Et elle n’avait point connu d’homme. Et ce fut une coutume en Israël,
40 Every year the young Israeli women go [into the hills] for four days to remember [and cry about what happened to] the daughter of Jephthah.
que d’année en année les filles d’Israël allaient célébrer la fille de Jephthé, le Galaadite, quatre jours par année.
