Nehemiah 13

1 On that day, when someone read to the people parts of the laws [that God gave] to Moses, they read where it was written that no one from the Ammon people-group or the Moab people-group was ever to be allowed to be with God’s people while they were gathered together [to worship].

En ce temps-là on lut au Livre de Moïse, tout le peuple l'entendant, et on y trouva écrit que les Hammonites et les Moabites ne devaient point entrer à jamais dans l'assemblée de Dieu.

2 The reason for that was that the people of Ammon and the people of Moab did not give/sell any food or water to the Israelis [while the Israelis were going through their areas after they left Egypt]. Instead, the people of Ammon and Moab paid money to Balaam in order that he would curse the Israelis. But God commanded Balaam to bless the people, not to curse them.

Parce qu'ils n'étaient pas venus au-devant des enfants d'Israël, avec du pain et de l'eau; et qu'ils avaient loué Balaam contre eux pour les maudire; mais notre Dieu avait changé la malédiction en bénédiction.

3 So when the people heard these laws [being read to them], they sent away all the people whose ancestors had come from other countries.

C'est pourquoi il arriva que dès qu'on eut entendu la Loi, on sépara d'Israël tout mélange.

4 Previously, Eliashib the priest had been appointed to be in charge of the storerooms in the temple. He was a relative of [our enemy] Tobiah.

Or, avant que ceci arrivât, Eliasib, Sacrificateur ayant été commis sur les chambres de la maison de notre Dieu, s'était allié à Tobija;

5 He allowed Tobiah to use a large room in which they had previously stored the grain offerings and the incense, the equipment that is used in the temple, the offerings [that the people had brought] for the priests, and the tithes of grain and wine and [olive] oil that [God] had commanded the people to bring to the [other] descendants of Levi, and to the temple musicians, and to the temple guards.

Et lui avait dressé une grande chambre, où auparavant on mettait les gâteaux, l'encens, les ustensiles, et les dîmes du froment, du vin et de l'huile, qui étaient ordonnées pour les Lévites, pour les chantres et pour les portiers, avec ce qui se levait pour les Sacrificateurs.

6 While [Tobias was using that room], I was not in Jerusalem, because in the 32nd year that Artaxerxes was the king of Babylonia, I went back there to report to him. After a while I requested the king to allow me to return to Jerusalem, [and he allowed me to go].

Or je n'étais point à Jérusalem pendant tout cela: car la trente-deuxième année d'Artaxerxes, Roi de Babylone, je retournai vers le Roi; et au bout de quelque temps je fus redemandé au Roi.

7 When I arrived in Jerusalem, I found out that Eliashib had done an evil thing by allowing Tobiah to use a room in God’s temple.

Je revins donc à Jérusalem, et alors j'entendis le mal qu'Eliasib avait fait dans ce qui regardait Tobija, lui dressant une chambre dans le parvis de la maison de Dieu.

8 I became very angry, and I threw out of that room everything that belonged to Tobiah.

Ce qui me déplut fort; et je jetai tous les meubles de la maison de Tobija hors de la chambre.

9 Then I commanded [that they perform a ritual] to make the rooms (pure/acceptable to God) again. And I also ordered that all the equipment used in the temple and all the grain offerings and incense should be put in that room again.

Et on nettoya les chambres selon que je l'avais commandé, et j'y fis rapporter les ustensiles de la maison de Dieu, les gâteaux et l'encens.

10 I also found out that the temple musicians and [other] descendants of Levi had left Jerusalem and returned to their fields/farms, because the Israeli people had not been bringing to them the food [that they needed].

J'entendis aussi que les portions des Lévites ne leur avaient point été données; de sorte que les Lévites, et les chantres qui faisaient le service, s'étaient retirés chacun dans le bien qu'il avait aux champs.

11 So I rebuked the officials, saying to them, “(Why have you not taken care of the work in the temple?/It is disgraceful that you have not taken care of the work in the temple.)” [RHQ] So I brought the descendants of Levi and the musicians back to the temple, and told them to do their work there again.

Et je censurai les magistrats, leur disant: Pourquoi a-t-on abandonné la maison de Dieu? Je les rassemblai donc, et les rétablis en leur place.

12 Then all the people of Judah again started to bring to the temple storerooms their tithes of grain, wine, and [olive] oil.

Et tous ceux de Juda apportèrent les dîmes du froment, du vin et de l'huile, aux greniers.

13 I appointed these men to be in charge of the storerooms: Shelemiah, who was a priest; Zadok, who knew the Jewish laws very well; and Pedaiah, a descendant of Levi. I appointed Hanan, who is the son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah, to assist them. I knew that I could trust these men while they distributed those offerings to their fellow workers.

Et j'ordonnai pour receveur sur les greniers, Sélemia Sacrificateur, et Tsadok Scribe; et d'entre les Lévites, Pédaja; et pour leur aider, Hanan fils de Zaccur, fils de Mattania; parce qu'ils passaient pour être très-fidèles; et leur charge [était] de distribuer [ce qu'il fallait] à leurs frères.

14 My God, do not forget all these good things that I have faithfully done for your temple and for the work that is done there!

Mon Dieu! Souviens-toi de moi touchant ceci; et n'efface point ce que j'ai fait d'une bonne et d'une sincère affection, pour la maison de mon Dieu, et pour ce qu'il est ordonné d'y faire.

15 During that time, I saw some people in Judea [who were working] on the Sabbath day. [Some were] pressing grapes [to make wine]. Others were putting grain, [bags of] wine, [baskets of] grapes, figs, and many [HYP] other things, on their donkeys and taking them into Jerusalem. I warned them that they should not sell things to the people of Judea on Sabbath days.

En ces jours-là je vis quelques-uns en Juda qui foulaient aux pressoirs le jour du Sabbat, et d'autres qui apportaient des gerbes, et qui chargeaient sur les ânes du vin, des raisins, des figues, et toute autre sorte de fardeau, et les apportaient à Jérusalem le jour du Sabbat; et je les sommai le jour qu'ils vendaient les provisions, [de ne le plus faire.]

16 I also saw some people from Tyre [city] who were living there in Jerusalem who were bringing fish and other things [into Jerusalem] to sell to the people of Judea on the Sabbath day.

Aussi les Tyriens qui demeuraient à Jérusalem, apportaient du poisson, et plusieurs autres marchandises; et les vendaient aux enfants de Juda dans Jérusalem le jour du Sabbat.

17 So I rebuked the Jewish leaders and told them, “This is [RHQ] a very evil thing that you are doing! You are causing the Sabbath days to be unholy.

Je censurai donc les principaux de Juda, et leur dis: Quel mal ne faites-vous pas de violer le jour du Sabbat?

18 Your ancestors did [RHQ] things like that, so God punished them, and as a result, this city was destroyed! And now by causing the Sabbath day to be unholy, you are going to cause God to be angry with us Israeli people [and punish us] more!”

Vos pères n'ont-ils pas fait la même chose, et n'est-ce pas pour cela que notre Dieu a fait venir tout ce mal sur nous et sur cette ville? Et vous augmentez l'ardeur de la colère [de l'Eternel] contre Israël, en violant le Sabbat.

19 So I ordered that at (the beginning of every Sabbath day/every Friday evening) they should shut the gates of the city before it became dark. I also ordered that they should not open the gates until (the Sabbath day was ended [the next day]/Saturday evening). Then [each Sabbath day] I put some of my men at the gates, so they would make sure that nothing to sell was brought into the city on that day.

C'est pourquoi dès que le soleil s'était retiré des portes de Jérusalem avant le Sabbat, on fermait les portes, par mon commandement. Je commandai aussi qu'on ne les ouvrît point jusqu'après le Sabbat; et je fis tenir quelques-uns de mes gens sur les portes, afin qu'il n'entrât aucune charge le jour du Sabbat.

20 One or two times merchants [DOU] stayed outside of the city on (Friday night/[the night before the Sabbath day]).

Et les revendeurs, et ceux qui vendaient toute sorte de denrées passèrent la nuit une fois ou deux hors de Jérusalem.

21 I warned them, “It is useless [RHQ] for you to stay here outside the walls [on Friday night]! If you do this again, I will tell my men to arrest you!” So after that, they did not come on Sabbath days.

Et je les sommai [de ne faire plus cela], et je leur dis: Pourquoi passez-vous la nuit devant la muraille? Si vous y retournez, je mettrai la main sur vous. Ainsi, depuis ce temps-là, ils ne vinrent plus le jour du Sabbat.

22 I also commanded the descendants of Levi to [perform the ritual to] purify themselves and to guard the city gates, to make sure that the Sabbath was kept holy [by not allowing merchants to enter it on Sabbath days]. My God, do not forget this also that I [have done for you]! And because of your faithfully loving me, allow me to continue to live [many more years]!

Je dis aussi aux Lévites de se purifier, et de venir garder les portes pour sanctifier le jour du Sabbat. Aussi, ô mon Dieu! Souviens-toi de moi touchant ceci, et me pardonne selon la grandeur de ta miséricorde.

23 During that time, I also found out that many of the Jewish men had married women from Ashdod [city], and from [the] Ammon and Moab [people-groups].

En ces jours-là je vis des Juifs qui avaient pris des femmes asdodiennes, hammonites et moabites;

24 The result was that half of their children spoke the language that people in Ashdod speak or some other language, and they didn’t know how to speak our language.

De sorte que leurs enfants parlaient en partie asdodien, et ne savaient point parler Juif; mais ils parlaient la langue de divers peuples.

25 So I rebuked those men, and I [asked God to] curse them, and I beat them and pulled out [some of] their hair. Then I forced them to solemnly promise, knowing that God [MTY] was [listening], that they would never again marry foreigners, and never allow their children to marry foreigners.

C'est pourquoi je les repris, et les blâmai; j'en battis même quelques-uns, et leur arrachai les cheveux, et les fis jurer par [le nom de] Dieu, qu'ils ne donneraient point leurs filles aux fils [des étrangers], et qu'ils ne prendraient point de leurs filles pour leurs fils, ou pour eux.

26 [I said to them], “Solomon, the king of Israel, sinned [RHQ] as a result of [marrying] foreign women. He was greater than any of the kings of other nations. God loved him, and caused him to become the king of all the Israeli people, but his foreign wives caused even him to sin.

Salomon, le Roi d'Israël, n'a-t-il point péché par ce moyen? Quoique entre beaucoup de nations il n'y eût point de Roi semblable à lui, et qu'il fût aimé de son Dieu, et que Dieu l'eût établi pour Roi sur tout Israël: toutefois les femmes étrangères l'ont fait pécher.

27 [Do you think that] we should do what you have done, and disobey our God by marrying foreign women [who worship idols]? [RHQ]”

Vous accorderions-nous donc de faire tout ce grand mal, en commettant ce crime contre notre Dieu, de prendre des femmes étrangères?

28 One of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the Supreme Priest, had married the daughter of [our enemy] Sanballat, from Beth-Horon [town]. So I forced Jehoiada’s son to leave Jerusalem.

Or il y en avait même [un] d'entre les enfants de Jojadah, fils d'Eliasib, grand Sacrificateur, qui était gendre de Samballat Horonite, lequel je chassai pour cette raison-là d'auprès de moi.

29 My God, do not forget that those people [who have married foreign women] have caused it to be a shame/disgrace to be a priest, and have caused people to despise the agreement that you made with the priests and with the [other] descendants of Levi [who help the priests])!

Mon Dieu! Qu'il te souvienne d'eux, à cause qu'ils ont souillé la sacrificature, l'alliance dis-je, de la sacrificature et des Lévites.

30 I did all that to make sure that there were no more foreign people among the [Israeli] people [who would encourage them to worship idols]. I also established regulations for the priests and [other] descendants of Levi, in order that they would know what work they should do.

Ainsi je les nettoyai de tous les étrangers, et je rétablis les charges aux Sacrificateurs et aux Lévites, à chacun selon ce qu'il avait à faire.

31 I also arranged for people to bring the firewood [that was needed to burn on the altar, as Moses had declared] that we should [do]. I also arranged for the people to bring the first part of what they harvested [each year]. My God, do not forget [that] I [have done all these things], and bless me [for doing them]!

Et [j'ordonnai ce qu'il fallait faire] touchant le bois des oblations dans les temps déterminés, et touchant les premiers fruits. Mon Dieu! Souviens-toi de moi en bien.