Psalms 78
1 My friends, listen to what I am going to teach you; pay careful attention [IDM] to what I say.
Intelligence d’Asaph.
2 I am going to give you some sayings that wise people have said. They will be sayings about things that happened long ago, things that were difficult to understand [MET],
J’ouvrirai ma bouche en paraboles: je dirai des choses cachées dès le commencement;
3 things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.
Combien de grandes choses nous avons entendu et connues, et que nos pères nous ont racontées.
4 We will tell these things to our children [LIT], and we will also tell to our grandchildren [about] Yahweh’s power and the glorious/great things that he has done.
Elles n’ont pas été cachées à leurs fils dans une autre génération. Ils ont raconté les louanges du Seigneur, ses œuvres puissantes, et ses merveilles qu’il a faites;
5 He gave laws and commandments to the Israeli people, [those who are the descendants of] Jacob [DOU], and he told our ancestors to teach them to their children
Et a suscité un témoignage dans Jacob; et a établi une loi dans Israël: Combien de grandes choses il a commandé à nos pères de faire connaître à leurs fils,
6 in order that their children would [also] know them and then they would teach them to their children.
Afin qu’une autre génération les connaisse. Les fils qui naîtront et s’élèveront après eux les raconteront à leurs fils,
7 In that way, they also would trust in God, and not forget the things that he has done; instead, they would obey his commandments.
Afin qu’ils mettent en Dieu leur espérance, qu’ils n’oublient pas ses œuvres, et qu’ils recherchent ses commandements.
8 They would not be like their ancestors, who were very stubborn and kept rebelling [against God]; they did not continue firmly trusting in God, and they did not worship only him.
De peur qu’ils ne deviennent comme leurs pères une génération perverse et exaspérant Dieu; Une génération qui n’a point dirigé son cœur, et dont l’esprit ne s’est point confié en Dieu.
9 [The soldiers of] the tribe of Ephraim had bows [and arrows] but they ran away [from their enemies] on the day that they fought a battle with their enemies.
Les fils d’Ephraïm, habiles à tendre l’arc et à en tirer, ont tourné le dos au jour du combat.
10 They did not do what they had agreed with God that they would do; they refused to obey his laws.
Ils n’ont pas gardé l’alliance de Dieu, et ils n’ont pas voulu marcher dans sa loi.
11 They forgot what he had done; they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.
Ils ont oublié ses bienfaits et les merveilles qu’il leur a montrées.
12 While our ancestors were watching, God performed miracles in the area around Zoan [city] in Egypt.
Devant leurs pères il a fait des merveilles, dans la terre d’Égypte, dans la plaine de Tanis.
13 [Then] he caused the [Red] Sea to divide, causing the water [on each side] to pile up like a wall, with the result that [our ancestors] walked through it [on dry ground].
Il divisa la mer, et il les fit passer: et il fixa les eaux comme dans une outre.
14 He led them by a [bright] cloud during the day and by a fiery light during the night.
Il les conduisit, le jour, au moyen d’une nuée, et toute la nuit à la clarté d’un feu.
15 He split rocks open in the desert, giving to our ancestors plenty of water from deep inside the earth.
Il fendit une pierre dans le désert, et les fit boire comme à un abîme abondant.
16 He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].
Car il fit sortir de l’eau de la pierre, et il en fit sortir des eaux comme des fleuves.
17 But [our ancestors] continued to sin against God; in the desert they rebelled against the one who is greater than any other god.
Mais ils péchèrent encore de nouveau contre lui, ils excitèrent à la colère le Très-Haut dans un lieu sans eau.
18 By demanding that God give them the food that they desired, they tried to find out if he would always do what they requested him to do.
Et ils tentèrent Dieu dans leurs cœurs, au point qu’ils demandèrent une nourriture pour leurs âmes.
19 They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!
Et ils parlèrent mal de Dieu, ils dirent: Est-ce que Dieu pourra préparer une table dans le désert?
20 [It is true that] he struck the rock, with the result that water gushed/flowed out, [but] (can he also provide bread and meat for [us], his people?/we doubt that he can also provide bread and meat for us, his people.)” [RHQ]
Parce qu’il a frappé une pierre, et que des eaux ont coulé; et que des torrents ont débordé. Est-ce qu’il pourra aussi donner du pain et préparer une table pour son peuple?
21 So, when Yahweh heard that, he became very angry, and he sent a fire to burn up [some of] his Israeli [people]. [MTY, DOU]
C’est pour cela que le Seigneur entendit et différa; mais un feu s’alluma contre Jacob, et sa colère monta contre Israël;
22 [He did that] because they did not trust in him, and they did not believe that he would rescue them.
Parce qu’ils ne crurent pas en Dieu, et qu’ils n’espérèrent pas en son salut;
23 But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,
Et il commanda aux nuées d’en haut, et il ouvrit les portes du ciel.
24 and [then food] fell down like rain, [food which they named] ‘manna’; God gave them grain from (heaven/the sky).
Et il leur fit pleuvoir de la manne pour manger, et il leur donna du pain du ciel.
25 [So] the people ate the food that angels eat, [and] God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.
L’homme mangea le pain des anges, Dieu leur envoya une nourriture en abondance.
26 [Later], he caused the wind to blow from the east, and by his power he also sent wind from the south,
Il fit disparaître du ciel le vent du midi, et il amena par sa puissance le vent d’Afrique.
27 and the wind brought birds which were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.
Il fit pleuvoir sur eux des viandes comme la poussière, et des oiseaux comme le sable de la mer.
28 God caused those birds to fall [dead] in the middle of (their camp)/the area where the people had put up their tents. [There were dead birds] all around their tents.
Et ils tombèrent au milieu de leur camp, autour de leurs tabernacles.
29 [So] the people [cooked the birds and] ate the meat and their stomachs were full, because God had given them what they wanted.
Ils mangèrent et ils furent rassasiés à l’excès, et Dieu leur accorda selon leur désir;
30 But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,
Ils ne furent point frustrés dans leur désir. Leurs viandes étaient encore dans leur bouche,
31 God was [still] very angry with them, and he caused their strongest men to die; he got rid of [many of] the finest [young] Israeli men.
Quand la colère de Dieu tomba sur eux. Et il tua les gras d’entre eux, et rejeta l’élite d’Israël.
32 In spite of all that, the people continued to sin; in spite of all the miracles that God had performed, they still did not trust that he [would take care of them].
Au milieu de tous ces prodiges ils péchèrent encore, et ne crurent pas à ses merveilles.
33 So, he caused their lives to end as quickly as a puff of wind ends; they died when disasters suddenly struck them.
Et leurs jours se terminèrent vainement, et leurs années avec rapidité.
34 When God caused [some of] them to die, [the others] turned to God; they repented and earnestly asked God [to save them].
Lorsqu’il les tuait, ils le cherchaient, et ils revenaient, et, dès le point du jour, ils venaient à lui.
35 They remembered that God is [like] a huge rock ledge [under which they would be safe] [MET], and that he, who was greater than any other god, is the one who protected/rescued them.
Et ils se souvinrent que Dieu était leur aide, et que le Dieu très haut était leur rédempteur.
36 But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.
Mais ils l’aimèrent de bouche seulement, et ils lui mentirent par leur langue;
37 They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.
Car leur cœur n’était pas droit avec lui, et ils ne furent pas trouvés fidèles à son alliance.
38 But God was merciful to his people. He forgave them for having sinned and did not get rid of them. Many times he refrained from becoming angry [with them] and restrained from furiously/severely [punishing them] [MTY].
Mais lui est miséricordieux, il pardonnera leurs péchés, et ne les perdra pas entièrement. Et souvent il détourna sa colère, et il n’alluma pas toute sa colère.
39 He remembered/considered that they were only humans who die; they [disappear quickly] [SIM], like a wind that blows by and then is gone.
Il se rappela qu’ils étaient chair, un souffle qui va et qui ne revient pas.
40 Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the desert and caused him to become very sad.
Combien de fois l’ont-ils irrité dans le désert, et l’ont-ils excité à la colère dans un lieu sans eau?
41 Many times they did evil things, to find out [if they could do those things without God punishing them]. They frequently caused the holy God of Israel to become disgusted/sad.
Et de nouveau ils tentèrent Dieu, et ils ont aigri le saint d’Israël.
42 They forgot about his [great] power, and they (forgot/did not think) about the time when he rescued them from their enemies.
Ils ne se sont pas rappelé sa main, au jour où il les retira de la main d’un oppresseur,
43 They forgot about when he performed many miracles in the area near Zoan [city] in Egypt.
Comment il fit en Égypte ses miracles, et ses prodiges dans la plaine de Tanis.
44 He caused the [Nile] River (OR, their sources of water) to become [red like] blood, with the result that the people of Egypt had no water to drink.
Et il changea en sang leurs fleuves et leurs pluies, pour qu’ils ne bussent point.
45 He sent among the people of Egypt swarms of flies that bit them, and he sent frogs that ate up everything.
Il envoya contre eux une multitude de mouches qui les dévorèrent, et la grenouille qui les ravagea.
46 He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.
Et il donna à la rouille leurs fruits, et leurs travaux à la sauterelle.
47 He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.
Et il fit périr par la grêle leurs vignes, et leurs mûriers par la gelée.
48 He sent hail that killed their cattle and sent lightning that killed their sheep and cows.
Et il livra à la grêle leurs bêtes, et leurs possessions au feu.
49 Because God was fiercely angry with the people of Egypt, he caused them to be very distressed. The disasters that struck them were like a group of angels that destroyed [everything].
Il envoya contre eux la colère de son indignation: l’indignation, et la colère, et la tribulation envoyées par des anges mauvais.
50 He did not lessen his being angry [with them], and he did not (spare their lives/prevent them from dying); he sent a (plague/serious illness) that killed [many of] them.
Il fit une voie au sentier de sa colère, et il n’épargna pas la mort à leurs âmes; et leurs bêtes, il les renferma dans la mort.
51 He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.
Et il frappa tout premier-né d’Égypte, les prémices de tout travail dans les tabernacles de Cham.
52 Then he led his people out [of Egypt] like [a shepherd leads] his sheep [SIM], and he guided them [while they walked] through the desert.
Et il en retira, comme des brebis, son peuple; et il les conduisit comme un troupeau dans le désert.
53 He led them safely, and they were not afraid, but their enemies were drowned in the sea.
Et il les fit sortir pleins d’espérance, et ils ne craignirent point; quant à leurs ennemis, la mer les couvrit.
54 [Later] he brought them to [Canaan], his sacred land, to [Zion] Hill (OR, the hilly area) and by his power [MTY] he enabled them to conquer [the people who were living there].
Et il les amena sur la montagne de sa sanctification; montagne qu’a acquise sa droite. Et il chassa de leur face des nations; et il leur divisa au sort une terre avec un cordeau de partage.
55 He expelled the people-groups while his people were advancing; he allotted part of the land for [each tribe] to possess, and he gave to the Israeli people the houses of those people who had been expelled.
Et il fit habiter dans leurs tabernacles les tribus d’Israël.
56 However, the Israeli people rebelled against God, who is greater than any other god, and they did many evil things to see if they could do those things without God punishing them, and they did not obey his commandments.
Mais ils tentèrent et aigrirent le Dieu très haut; et ne gardèrent pas ses témoignages.
57 Instead, like their ancestors did, they rebelled against God and (were not loyal to/did not faithfully [obey]) him; they were as [unreliable as] a crooked arrow [that does not go straight] [SIM].
Et ils se détournèrent de lui et n’observèrent pas l’alliance; de la même manière que leurs pères, ils devinrent comme un arc qui porte à faux.
58 Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].
Ils l’ont excité à la colère sur leurs collines; et par leurs images taillées au ciseau, ils l’ont provoqué à la jalousie.
59 He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.
Dieu entendit, et il méprisa, et il réduisit entièrement au néant Israël.
60 He no longer appeared to them at Shiloh in the tent where he had lived among them.
Et il repoussa le tabernacle de Silo, son tabernacle où il avait habité parmi les hommes.
61 He allowed their enemies to capture [the sacred chest], [which was the symbol of] his power and his glory.
Il livra à la captivité l’arche, leur force; et leur beauté entre les mains de l’ennemi.
62 Because he was angry with his people, he allowed them to be killed [MTY] [by their enemies].
Il renferma son peuple entre les glaives; et son héritage, il le méprisa.
63 Young men were killed in battles, with the result that the young women had no one to marry.
Un feu dévora leurs jeunes hommes; et leurs vierges ne furent pas pleurées.
64 [Many] priests were killed by [their enemies’] swords, and (the people did not allow the priests’ widows/the priests’ widows were not allowed) to mourn.
Leurs prêtres tombèrent sous le glaive, et on ne pleurait pas leurs veuves.
65 Later, [it was as though] the Lord awoke from sleeping; he was like a strong man who (became stimulated/felt that he was strong) by (OR, became sober after) [drinking] a lot of wine [SIM].
Mais le Seigneur se réveilla comme un homme endormi, comme un héros qui a été ivre de vin.
66 He pushed their enemies back and caused them to be [very] ashamed for a long time [HYP] [because they had been defeated].
Il frappa ses ennemis par derrière; il leur infligea un opprobre éternel.
67 [But] he did not set up his tent where [the people of] the tribe of Ephraim lived; he did not choose their area [to do that].
Et il repoussa le tabernacle de Joseph, et ne choisit point la tribu d’Éphraïm;
68 Instead he chose [the area where] the tribe of Judah [lived]; he chose Zion Hill, which he loves.
Mais il choisit la tribu de Juda, la montagne de Sion qu’il a aimée.
69 He [decided to have] his temple built [there], high up, like [his home in] heaven; he caused it to be firm, [and intended that] his temple would last forever, like the earth.
Et il bâtit comme une corne de licornes son sanctuaire, dans la terre qu’il a fondée pour les siècles.
70 He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures
Il choisit David son serviteur, et il le tira du milieu des troupeaux de brebis: il le prit à la suite de celles qui étaient pleines,
71 where he was taking care of his [father’s] sheep, and appointed him to be the leader [MET] of the Israeli people, the people who belong to God.
Pour être le pasteur de Jacob son serviteur, et d’Israël son héritage.
72 David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.
Et David les fit paître dans l’innocence de son cœur, et avec ses mains habiles, il les conduisit.
