Numbers 24
1 Balaam now realized that Yahweh wanted to bless the Israeli people, [not curse them]. So he did not use magic/divination [like a shaman would do] to find out what Yahweh wanted, as he often did. Instead, he turned toward the desert.
Or, Balaam, voyant que l'Éternel trouvait bon de bénir Israël, n'alla point, comme les autres fois, chercher des enchantements; mais il tourna son visage vers le désert.
2 He saw the Israeli people camped there [in their tents], with each tribe gathered in its own group. Then the Spirit of God took control of him,
Et Balaam, levant les yeux, vit Israël campé selon ses tribus; et l'esprit de Dieu fut sur lui.
3 and enabled him to give this prophetic message to Balak: “I, Balaam, the son of Beor, am giving this prophecy; I am speaking as a man who sees [what will happen in the future] clearly speaks.
Et il prononça son discours sentencieux, et dit: Oracle de Balaam, fils de Béor, oracle de l'homme qui a l'œil ouvert:
4 I hear this message from God; I see a vision from him who is all-powerful. My eyes are open as I prostrate myself in front of him.
Oracle de celui qui entend les paroles de Dieu, qui voit la vision du Tout-Puissant, qui se prosterne et dont les y eux sont ouverts:
5 You descendants of Jacob, your tents are very beautiful; they are truly lovely!
Que tes tentes sont belles, ô Jacob! et tes demeures, ô Israël!
6 Your tents are spread out [in front of me like groves of palm trees in] valleys, like gardens alongside a river. They are like strong aloe trees/plants that Yahweh has planted, like [strong] cedar trees [that grow] along the rivers.
Elles s'étendent comme des vallées, comme des jardins près d'un fleuve, comme des aloès que l'Éternel a plantés, comme des cèdres auprès des eaux.
7 Your water buckets will always be full; the seeds [that you plant] will always have plenty of water [to make them grow]. The Israelis’ king will be greater than [King] Agag; the kingdom that he rules will be honored.
L'eau coulera de ses seaux, et sa postérité sera comme de grandes eaux; son roi s'élèvera au-dessus d'Agag, et son royaume sera exalté.
8 God brought the Israelis out of Egypt, [leading them along] with his great power [MTY] like a wild ox has. He devastates all the nations that oppose him; he breaks all those people’s bones into pieces, and shoots them with his arrows.
Dieu l'a fait sortir d'Égypte; il est pour lui comme la vigueur du buffle; il dévorera les nations, ses ennemies; il brisera leurs os, et les frappera de ses flèches.
9 The Israelis are like lions that crouch and lie down, [ready to pounce on their prey] [SIM]. They are like lionesses [that are resting, but ready to attack]; no one [RHQ] would dare to arouse them! [God] will bless everyone who blesses you Israelis, and he will curse everyone who curses you.”
Il s'est courbé, il s'est couché comme le lion, comme la lionne: qui le fera lever? Ceux qui te bénissent seront bénis, et ceux qui te maudissent seront maudits!
10 Then King Balak was extremely angry with Balaam. He showed with his hands that he was very angry, and he [shouted at Balaam], “I summoned you here to curse my enemies! Instead, you have (blessed/asked God to bless) them three times!
Alors la colère de Balak s'enflamma contre Balaam, et il frappa des mains; puis Balak dit à Balaam: Je t'ai appelé pour maudire mes ennemis, et voici, tu les as bénis déjà trois fois!
11 So now, get out of here! Go back home! I said that I would pay you a lot of money [if you cursed them], but Yahweh has prevented you from getting any pay!”
Et maintenant, fuis dans ton pays! J'avais dit que je te ferais beaucoup d'honneurs; mais voici, l'Éternel t'a empêché d'être honoré.
12 Balaam said to Balak, “[Do you not remember what] [RHQ] I told the messengers that you sent to me? I said,
Et Balaam répondit à Balak: N'avais-je pas dit aussi aux messagers que tu avais envoyés vers moi:
13 ‘Even if Balak would give me a palace filled with silver and gold, I would not disobey Yahweh. I cannot do anything bad or anything that is good [that he does not approve of].’ And I told you that I could say only what Yahweh says to me.
Quand Balak me donnerait sa maison pleine d'argent et d'or, je ne pourrais pas transgresser l'ordre de l'Éternel, pour faire du bien ou du mal de moi-même; je dirai ce que l'Éternel dira?
14 So yes, I will return to my people, but first, allow me to tell you what will happen to you Moab people in the future.”
Et maintenant, voici, je m'en vais vers mon peuple. Viens, que je te déclare ce que ce peuple fera à ton peuple dans la suite des temps.
15 So Balaam said this [to Balak]: “I, Balaam, son of Beor, am again giving a prophecy, speaking as a man who sees [what will happen in the future] clearly speaks.
Alors il prononça son discours sentencieux, et dit: Oracle de Balaam, fils de Béor, oracle de l'homme qui a l'œil ouvert;
16 I hear a message from God; I know things that God, who lives in heaven, has [revealed to me]. I see a vision from him who is all-powerful. My eyes are open as I prostrate myself in front of him.
Oracle de celui qui entend les paroles de Dieu, qui connaît la science du Très-Haut, qui voit la vision du Tout-Puissant, qui se prosterne et dont les yeux sont ouverts.
17 The things that I see [in the vision] are not [going to happen] now; I see things [that God will cause to happen] in the future. A man who is [a descendant of] Jacob will appear like a star [MET]; a king who holds a scepter will be one of the Israeli people. He will crush the heads of you people of Moab; he will wipe out the descendants of Seth.
Je le vois, mais non maintenant; je le contemple, mais non de près; une étoile est sortie de Jacob, et un sceptre s'est élevé d'Israël; il frappera les deux régions de Moab, il détruira tous les enfants du tumulte.
18 The Israelis will occupy Edom, and they will conquer their enemies [who live near] Seir [Mountain]. The Israeli people will be victorious/strong.
Édom sera possédé, Séir sera possédé par ses ennemis, et Israël agira vaillamment.
19 A ruler who is a descendant of Jacob will come; he will get rid of the people who still live in the city [where Balaam first met Balak].”
Et celui qui vient de Jacob dominera, et extirpera les réchappés des villes.
20 Then Balaam looked out over where the Amalek people-group [lived], and he prophesied this: “The Amalek people-group were the greatest nation, but they will be wiped out.”
Il vit aussi Amalek. Et il prononça son discours sentencieux, et dit: Amalek est la première des nations; mais son avenir est la perdition.
21 Then he looked out over the area where the Ken people-group [lived], and he prophesied this: “You [think that] the place where you live is secure/safe like a nest that is made in the cliffs [MET],
Puis il vit les Kéniens. Et il prononça son discours sentencieux, et dit: Ta demeure est solide, et ton nid placé dans le rocher.
22 but you will be wiped out when the army of Assyria conquers you.”
Toutefois, Kaïn sera ravagé, jusqu'à ce qu'Assur t'emmène en captivité.
23 Balaam ended his prophecies by saying, “Also, (who can (survive/escape) when God does all these things?/no one will be able to (survive/escape) when God does all these things!) [RHQ]
Et il prononça encore son discours sentencieux, et dit: Malheur à qui vivra, après que Dieu l'aura établi!
24 Ships will come from Cyprus [Island], and [the men in those ships] will defeat [the armies of] Assyria and Eber. But God will get rid of those men, too.”
Mais des navires viendront du côté de Kittim, et ils humilieront Assur, ils humilieront Héber, et lui aussi sera détruit.
25 Then Balaam and Balak returned to their homes.
Puis Balaam se leva, et s'en alla, et retourna en son pays. Et Balak aussi s'en alla son chemin.
