Genèse 37
1 Jacob habitait dans le pays où voyageait son père, dans le pays de Canaan.
Jacob settled down and lived in Canaan as his father had done.
2 Voici l'histoire des générations de Jacob. Joseph, âgé de dix-sept ans, faisait paître le troupeau avec ses frères. Il était en compagnie des fils de Bilha et de Zilpa, femmes de son père. Joseph fit un mauvais rapport sur eux à leur père.
This is the story of Jacob and his family. Joseph was seventeen, and helped look after the flock with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph told his father about some of the bad things his brothers were doing.
3 Or Israël aimait Joseph plus que tous ses enfants, car il était le fils de sa vieillesse, et il lui fit une tunique de plusieurs couleurs.
Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him when he was already old. He made a colorful robe with long sleeves for Joseph.
4 Ses frères virent que leur père l'aimait plus que tous ses frères, et ils le haïrent, et ne purent pas lui parler en paix.
When his brothers noticed that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and had nothing good to say about him.
5 Joseph eut un songe, et il le raconta à ses frères, qui le haïrent d'autant plus.
Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more.
6 Il leur dit: « Écoutez, je vous prie, le songe que j'ai eu.
“Listen to this dream I had,” he told them.
7 Car voici, nous lions des gerbes dans le champ, et voici que ma gerbe se leva et se tint debout; et voici que vos gerbes s'approchèrent et se prosternèrent devant ma gerbe. »
“We were tying up bundles of grain out in the fields when all of a sudden my bundle stood up, and your bundles came over and bowed down to it.”
8 Ses frères lui demandèrent: « Vas-tu vraiment régner sur nous? Est-ce que tu vas dominer sur nous? » Ils le haïssaient d'autant plus qu'il rêvait et qu'il parlait.
“Do you really think you're going to be our king?” they asked. “Do you honestly believe you're going to rule over us?” They hated him even more because of his dream and how he described it.
9 Il eut un autre songe, qu'il raconta à ses frères, et il dit: « Voici, j'ai eu un autre songe; et voici, le soleil, la lune et onze étoiles se sont prosternés devant moi. »
Then he had another dream told his brothers about it. “Listen, I had another dream,” he explained. “The sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down before me.”
10 Il le raconta à son père et à ses frères. Son père le réprimanda et lui dit: « Quel est ce rêve que tu as fait? Viendrons-nous, moi, ta mère et tes frères, nous prosterner en terre devant toi? »
He also told his father as well as his brothers, and his father told him off, saying, “What's this dream that you've had? Are we—I and your mother and brothers—really going to come and bow down to the ground before you?”
11 Ses frères l'envièrent, mais son père garda cette parole en mémoire.
Joseph's brothers became jealous of him, but his father puzzled over the meaning of the dream.
12 Ses frères allèrent faire paître le troupeau de leur père à Sichem.
One day Joseph's brothers took their father's flocks to graze near Shechem.
13 Israël dit à Joseph: « Tes frères ne font-ils pas paître le troupeau à Sichem? Viens, et je t'enverrai vers eux. » Joseph lui répondit: « Me voici. »
Israel told Joseph, “Your brothers are looking after the sheep near Shechem. Get ready because I want you to go and see them.” “I'll do it,” Joseph replied.
14 Il lui dit: « Va maintenant, vois si tout va bien pour tes frères et pour le troupeau, et rapporte-moi des nouvelles. » Il l'envoya donc hors de la vallée d'Hébron, et il arriva à Sichem.
So he told him, “Off you go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and come back and let me know.” So he sent him off. Joseph set out from the Hebron Valley,
15 Un homme le trouva, et voici qu'il errait dans les champs. L'homme lui demanda: « Que cherches-tu? »
and arrived in Shechem. A man there found him wandering about in the field, so he asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 Il dit: « Je cherche mes frères. Dis-moi, je t'en prie, où ils font paître le troupeau. »
“I'm looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they're looking after the flock?”
17 L'homme dit: « Ils sont partis d'ici, car je les ai entendus dire: « Allons à Dothan ». » Joseph partit à la recherche de ses frères, et il les trouva à Dothan.
“They've already left,” the man replied. “I heard them say, ‘Let's go to Dothan.’” So Joseph followed his brothers and caught up with them at Dothan.
18 Ils le virent de loin, et, avant qu'il ne s'approche d'eux, ils complotèrent contre lui pour le tuer.
But they saw him coming way off in the distance, and before he got to them, they made plans to kill him.
19 Ils se disaient les uns aux autres: « Voici que ce rêveur arrive.
“Look, here comes the Lord of Dreams!” they said to each other.
20 Venez donc maintenant, tuons-le, jetons-le dans une des fosses, et nous dirons: « Une bête malfaisante l'a dévoré ». Nous verrons ce qu'il adviendra de ses rêves. »
“Come on, let's kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We'll say that some wild animal has eaten him. Then we'll see what happens to his dreams!”
21 Ruben l'entendit, le délivra de leurs mains, et dit: « Ne lui ôtons pas la vie. »
When Reuben heard all this, he tried to save Joseph from them.
22 Ruben leur dit: « Ne versez pas de sang. Jetez-le dans cette fosse qui est dans le désert, mais ne portez pas la main sur lui », afin de le délivrer de leurs mains et de le rendre à son père.
“Let's not attack and kill him,” he suggested. “Don't murder him, just throw him into this pit here in the desert. You don't need to be guilty of violence.” Reuben said this so that he could come back later and rescue Joseph from them and take him home to his father.
23 Lorsque Joseph arriva auprès de ses frères, ils le dépouillèrent de sa tunique, la tunique multicolore qu'il portait.
So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off his robe—the colorful long-sleeved robe he was wearing—
24 Ils le prirent et le jetèrent dans la fosse. La fosse était vide. Il n'y avait pas d'eau dedans.
grabbed him and threw him into a pit. (The pit was empty—it didn't have any water in it.)
25 Ils s'assirent pour manger du pain. Ils levèrent les yeux et regardèrent, et ils virent qu'une caravane d'Ismaélites venait de Galaad, avec leurs chameaux portant des aromates, du baume et de la myrrhe, pour les descendre en Égypte.
They were just sitting down to have a meal when they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic spices, balm, and myrrh to take to Egypt.
26 Juda dit à ses frères: « Quel avantage y a-t-il à tuer notre frère et à cacher son sang?
“What's the point of killing our brother?” Judah asked his brothers. “Then we'd have to cover up his death!
27 Venez, vendons-le aux Ismaélites, et ne mettons pas la main sur lui, car il est notre frère, notre chair. » Ses frères l'écoutèrent.
Instead, why don't we sell him to these Ishmaelites? We don't have to kill him. After all he's our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.
28 Des marchands madianites passèrent par là; ils tirèrent et soulevèrent Joseph de la fosse, et le vendirent aux Ismaélites pour vingt pièces d'argent. Les marchands amenèrent Joseph en Égypte.
So when the Ishmaelites (who were traders from Midian) came by, they pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites took him to Egypt.
29 Ruben retourna à la fosse, et vit que Joseph n'y était pas; il déchira ses vêtements.
When Reuben came back later and looked into the pit, Joseph was gone. He tore his clothes in grief.
30 Il retourna vers ses frères et dit: « L'enfant n'est plus; et moi, où irai-je? »
He returned to his brothers. “The boy's gone!” he moaned. “What am I going to do now?”
31 Ils prirent la tunique de Joseph, tuèrent un bouc, et plongèrent la tunique dans le sang.
They slaughtered a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in the blood.
32 Elles prirent la tunique multicolore, l'apportèrent à leur père et dirent: « Nous avons trouvé ceci. Examine-la maintenant, et vois si c'est la tunique de ton fils ou non. »
Then they sent the colorful robe to their father with the message, “We found this. Please examine it and see if it's your son's robe or not.”
33 Il la reconnut et dit: « C'est la tunique de mon fils. Un animal malfaisant l'a dévoré. Joseph est sans doute déchiré en morceaux. »
His father recognized it right away and said, “This is my son's robe! Some wild animal must have eaten him. Poor Joseph has been ripped to pieces, no doubt about it!”
34 Jacob déchira ses vêtements, mit un sac sur sa taille et porta le deuil de son fils pendant plusieurs jours.
Jacob tore his clothes in grief and dressed in sackcloth. He mourned the death of his son for a long time.
35 Tous ses fils et toutes ses filles se levèrent pour le consoler, mais il refusa d'être consolé. Il dit: « Car je descendrai au séjour des morts auprès de mon fils, en pleurant. » Son père pleura sur lui. (Sheol h7585)
All his sons and daughters tried to console him, but he rejected their attempts. “No,” he said, “I will go down into my grave mourning for my son.” So Joseph's father went on weeping for him. (Sheol h7585)
36 Les Madianites le vendirent en Égypte à Potiphar, un officier de Pharaon, le chef des gardes.
In the meantime the Ishmaelites had arrived in Egypt and had sold Joseph to Potiphar. Potiphar was one of Pharaoh's officers, the captain of the guard.
