Numbers 22
1 Then the Israelis traveled west to the area of Moab that was in the valley of the Jordan [River], across the river from Jericho [city].
Les fils d'Israël, étant partis, campèrent à l'ouest de Moab, sur les rives du Jourdain, en face de Jéricho.
2 But King Balak, the son of Zippor, who ruled Moab, found out what the Israelis had done to the Amor people-group.
Or, Balac, fils de Séphor, avait vu comme Israël venait de traiter l'Amorrhéen
3 [When he saw that] the Israelis were very numerous, he and his people became terrified.
Moab eut donc grande crainte du peuple qui était très-nombreux; Moab fut saisi d'effroi à l'aspect des fils d'Israël,
4 So the king of Moab [went to] the leaders of the Midian people-group and said to them, “This huge group [of Israelis] will (wipe out/destroy) everything around them, like an ox devours grass!” Balak was the king of Moab.
Et dit aux anciens de Madian: Ce peuple va maintenant nous dévorer, comme un veau dévore l'herbe des champs; il va dévorer tout ce qui l'entoure. En ce temps-là Balac, fils de Séphor, était roi de Moab.
5 He sent messengers to [a prophet named] Balaam, who was living in his own area, in Pethor [town], near the [Euphrates] River. He sent this message to request that Balaam would come [to help him]: “A huge group of people has arrived here from Egypt. [It looks like] they are covering the entire land! And they have begun to live close to us.
Et il envoya des anciens à Phathura, qui est sur la rivière du territoire des fils de son peuple, pour appeler Balaam, fils de Béor, disant: Voilà qu'un peuple est venu d'Egypte, il couvre la face de la terre, il est campé tout près de moi;
6 Because they are very powerful/numerous, [we are afraid of them. So] please come and curse them for me. Then my army may be able to defeat them and expel them from the land [where they are now living]. I know that good things will happen to the people whom you bless, and disasters will happen to the people whom you curse.”
Viens donc, et maudis ce peuple, car il est plus puissant que nous; si nous pouvions les frapper séparément, je les chasserais de cette terre. Or, je le sais, ceux que tu bénis sont bénis, ceux que tu maudis sont maudits.
7 [Balak’s messengers, who were] leaders of both the Moab and Midian people-groups, took money with them to pay Balaam in order that he would [come and] curse the Israelis. They went to Balaam and told him what Balak had said.
Et les anciens de Moab, portant des présents, partirent avec les anciens des Madianites; arrivés chez Balaam, ils lui répétèrent les paroles de Balac,
8 Balaam said, “Stay here tonight. [Tomorrow morning] I will tell you whatever Yahweh tells me that I should say to you.” So the leaders from Moab stayed there that night.
Et il leur dit: Reposez-vous ici cette nuit, et je vous rapporterai ce que m'aura dit le Seigneur; les princes de Moab demeurèrent donc chez Balaam.
9 During the night, God appeared to Balaam and asked him, “(Who are/Tell me about) these men who are staying with you.”
Et Dieu dit à Balaam: Qui sont ces hommes que tu as chez toi?
10 Balaam replied, “Balak, the king of Moab, sent these men to tell me this:
Balaam répondit à Dieu: Balac, fils de Séphor, roi de Moab, me les a envoyés, disant:
11 ‘A huge group of people has come from Egypt, and they have spread all over this area. Please come immediately to curse them. Then I may be able to defeat them and expel them [from this area].’”
Un peuple est venu d'Egypte, il couvre la face de la terre, et il est campé tout près de moi; viens donc et maudis-le; peut-être pourrai-je ainsi le vaincre et le chasser de la contrée.
12 God replied to Balaam, “Do not go with them! I have blessed those people, so you must not curse them!”
Dieu dit à Balaam; tu ne partiras pas avec eux; tu ne maudiras pas ce peuple, car il est béni.
13 The next morning, Balaam got up and told Balak’s men, “Go back home. [But go by yourselves, because] Yahweh is not allowing me to go with you.”
S'étant donc levé de grand matin, Balaam dit aux princes de Balac: Retournez vers votre maître, Dieu ne me permet pas de partir avec vous.
14 So the men from Moab returned to King Balak and they reported to him, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
Et les princes de Moab, s'étant levés, arrivèrent chez Balac, disant: Balaam ne veut pas venir avec nous.
15 But Balak sent another [group of] leaders to Balaam. It was a group that was larger and they were more important [than the men in the first group].
Balac lui envoya des chefs plus nombreux et plus en honneur que les premiers,
16 They went to Balaam and told him this: “This is what King Balak says: ‘Please do not allow anything to hinder you from coming here.
Ils allèrent chez Balaam, et ils lui dirent: Voici ce que dit Balac: Je t'en supplie, ne tarde pas à venir chez moi,
17 I will pay you (a lot of money/very well) [if you come], and I will do anything that you ask me to do. Just come and curse these [Israeli] people for me!’”
Je te comblerai d'honneurs; tout ce que tu me demanderas, je te l'accorderai; mais viens et maudis ce peuple.
18 But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak would give me a palace filled with silver and gold, I would not do anything to disobey Yahweh, (my God/the God whom I [worship]).
Balaam répondit aux princes de Balac: Balac dut-il me donner plein sa maison d'argent et d'or, il m'est impossible de ne pas tenir compte de la parole du Seigneur Dieu, ni de songer à faire plus ou moins qu'il ne m'a dit.
19 But stay here one more night, like the other messengers did, and I will find out if Yahweh has anything more to say to me.”
Vous aussi restez donc cette nuit chez moi, et je saurai ce que le Seigneur me dira de nouveau.
20 That night God appeared to Balaam again and said to him, “These men have come to request that you go back with them, so you may go with them, but do only what I tell you [to do]!”
La nuit, Dieu vint à Balaam, et il lui dit: Puisque ces hommes sont venus te chercher, lève-toi et suis-les, mais tu feras selon la parole que je te dirai.
21 So the next morning, Balaam put a saddle on his donkey and he departed [with two of his servants] along with the men from Moab.
Balaam, s'étant levé de grand matin, bâta son ânesse et partit avec les princes de Moab.
22 [Even though God had given Balaam permission to go, he was still angry]. So he sent one of his angels to Balaam. This angel stood in the road to block Balaam’s path. As Balaam and the two servants were riding on their donkeys,
Et Dieu se courrouça en son cœur de ce qu'il était parti, et l'ange de Dieu se leva pour l'arrêter; lui cependant, s'en allait avec son ânesse, et ses deux serviteurs étaient avec lui.
23 Balaam’s donkey saw the angel. The angel was standing in the road and was holding a sword in his hand, [but Balaam did not see him]. Balaam’s donkey turned off the road into a field. So Balaam struck the donkey and forced it to go back onto the road.
L'ânesse, ayant vu l'ange de Dieu qui lui barrait la route l'épée nue à la main, se détourna et prit à travers champs; Balaam la frappa de sa baguette, pour la ramener sur la voie.
24 Then the angel stood in a place where the road was very narrow, between two vineyards, with walls on each side of the road.
Et l'ange de Dieu se tint dans les sentiers des vignes, ayant un mur à droite et un mur à gauche.
25 When the donkey saw the angel standing there, it walked very close to the wall [to try to get past the angel]. As a result, it bashed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam struck the donkey again.
L'ânesse, ayant vu l'ange de Dieu, se froissa contre le mur et froissa le pied de Balaam; celui-ci continua de la frapper.
26 Then the angel went further along the road and stood at a place that was extremely narrow, with the result that the donkey could not get past at all.
Mais l'ange de Dieu continua de les troubler; il s'en alla se placer dans un défilé où il n'y avait à se détourner ni à droite, ni à gauche.
27 This time, when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down [on the ground] with Balaam sitting on top of it. Balaam became extremely angry, and he struck the donkey again with his walking stick.
L'ânesse, ayant vu l'ange de Dieu, s'abattit sous Balaam. Celui-ci se mit en colère, et il frappa l'ânesse avec sa baguette.
28 Then Yahweh enabled the donkey to speak! It said to Balaam, “What bad thing have I done to you that caused you to strike me three times?”
Alors, Dieu ouvrit la bouche de l'ânesse, et elle dit à Balaam: Que t'ai-je fait pour que tu me frappes ainsi jusqu'à trois fois?
29 Balaam shouted, “I struck you because you have caused me to appear to be foolish! If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”
Balaam répondit à l'ânesse: Tu t'es jouée de moi, et si j'avais une épée à la main, je t'en aurais déjà percée.
30 But the donkey answered, “I am your own donkey [RHQ], the one that you have always ridden! Have I ever done anything like this previously?” Balaam said, “No.”
Et l'ânesse dit à Balaam: Ne suis-je pas ton ânesse, sur laquelle tu es monté depuis ta jeunesse jusqu'à ce jour? T'ai-je jamais méprisé, et maltraité ainsi? Et il dit: Non.
31 Then Yahweh enabled Balaam to see the angel standing on the road, holding a sword in his hand. Balaam [realized that it was an angel and] prostrated himself on the ground in front of the angel.
Or, Dieu ouvrit les yeux de Balaam, et Balaam vit l'ange du Seigneur lui barrant la route, l'épée nue à la main, et, s'étant courbé, il se prosterna la face contre terre.
32 The angel asked him, ‘(Why did you strike your donkey three times?/ You should certainly not have struck the donkey three times! [RHQ] I have come to block your path because what you are planning to do is wrong.
L'ange de Dieu lui dit: Pourquoi as-tu frappé ton ânesse jusqu'à trois fois? Me voici, je suis venu pour t'arrêter, parce que ton voyage ne m'est pas agréable; l'ânesse m'a vu, et elle s'est détournée trois fois.
33 Three times your donkey saw me and turned away from me. If it had not done that, I would certainly have killed you already, but I would have allowed the donkey to live.”
Et si elle ne s'était détournée, je t'eusse fait périr; quant à elle, je l'aurais épargnée.
34 Then Balaam said to the angel, “I have sinned. But I did not realize that you were standing there, trying to block my path. So if you do not want me to continue going, I will return home.”
Balaam dit à l'ange du Seigneur: J'ai péché, mais je ne savais pas que vous me barriez la route, et s'il ne vous plaît point que je poursuive, je m'en retournerai.
35 But the angel replied, “I will allow you to go with these men, but you must say only what I tell you to say!” So Balaam went on with the leaders whom Balak [had sent].
Mais l'ange de Dieu dit à Balaam: Va avec ces hommes; seulement sois attentif à répéter la parole que je te dirai. Balaam alla donc avec les princes de Balac.
36 When King Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went to meet him at a Moab town alongside the Arnon [River] that was at the border of his own land.
Celui-ci ayant appris que Balaam arrivait, sortit à sa rencontre jusqu'à la ville de Moab, qui est sur l'Arnon, à l'extrémité de la contrée.
37 [When he arrived where] Balaam was, he said to him, “I sent you [RHQ] a message saying that you should come immediately [RHQ]! Why did you not come immediately? [Did you think that] I was not able to pay you a lot of money for coming?”
Et Balac dit à Balaam: Ne t'ai-je point envoyé querir? Pourquoi n'es-tu pas venu vers moi? Réellement, ne suis-je point assez puissant pour t'honorer?
38 Balaam replied, “I have come here now, but I am not able to say anything [that I want to]. I will say only the words that God tells me to say [MTY].”
Balaam dit à Balac: Me voici, je suis venu à toi; maintenant, sera-t-il en mon pouvoir de te dire quoi que ce soit? La parole que Dieu mettra dans ma bouche, je te la dirai.
39 Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath-Huzoth [town].
Balaam partit ensuite avec Balac, et ils arrivèrent aux villes où étaient ses domaines.
40 There Balak killed some cattle and sheep as sacrifices, and offered [parts of the meat] to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.
Balac sacrifia des brebis et des bœufs; puis, il en envoya à Balaam et aux princes qui l'accompagnaient.
41 [They slept there], and the next morning Balak took Balaam part way up [the mountain] to Bamoth-Baal [village]. From there, they could see some of the Israeli people who were down below.
Le lendemain, Balac ayant pris Balaam, le fit monter vers la colonne de Baal, et de là il lui montra une part du peuple de Dieu.
