Genèse 37
1 Jacob s’établit dans le pays où son père avait séjourné dans le pays de Chanaan.
Jacob continued to live in the Canaan region where his father had lived previously.
2 Voici l’histoire de Jacob. Joseph, âgé de dix-sept ans, faisait paître les brebis avec ses frères; comme il était encore jeune, il se trouvait avec les fils de Bala et avec les fils de Zelpha, femmes de son père; et Joseph rapporta à leur père de mauvais bruits qui couraient sur leur compte.
(This is/I will now tell you) what happened to Jacob’s family. When his son Joseph was 17 years old, he was taking care of the flocks of sheep and goats with some of his older brothers. They were sons of his father’s (concubines/female slaves that he had taken to be his secondary wives). Joseph sometimes told his father about bad things that his brothers were doing.
3 Or Israël aimait Joseph plus que tous ses autres fils, parce que c’était un fils de sa vieillesse; et il lui fit une robe longue.
Jacob loved Joseph more than he loved any of his other children, because Joseph had been born when Jacob was an old man. Jacob made for Joseph a long pretty robe that had long sleeves.
4 Ses frères, voyant que leur père l’aimait plus qu’eux tous, le prirent en haine, et ils ne pouvaient plus lui parler amicalement.
When Joseph’s older brothers realized that their father loved him more than he loved any of them, they hated him. They never spoke kindly to him.
5 Joseph eut un songe, et il le raconta à ses frères, qui le haïrent encore davantage.
One night Joseph had a dream. He told his brothers about the dream.
6 Il leur dit: « Écoutez, je vous prie, le songe que j’ai eu:
He said to them, “Listen to the dream I had!
7 Nous étions à lie des gerbes au milieu des champs; et voici, ma gerbe s’est levée et s’est tenue debout, et vos gerbes l’ont entourée et se sont prosternées devant elle. »
In the dream, we were tying up bundles of wheat in the field. Suddenly my bundle stood up straight, and surprisingly, your bundles gathered around my bundle and bowed down to it!”
8 Ses frères lui dirent: « Est-ce que tu régneras sur nous? est-ce que tu nous domineras? » Et ils le haïrent encore davantage pour ses songes et pour ses paroles.
His brothers said to him, “Do you think that some day you will rule over us? Are you [saying that some day] you are going to be our king?” [RHQ] They hated him even more than before because of what he had told them about his dream.
9 Il eut encore un autre songe, qu’il raconta à ses frères. Il dit: « J’ai eu encore un songe: le soleil, la lune et onze étoiles se prosternaient devant moi. »
Later he had another dream, and again he told his older brothers about it. He said, “Listen to this! I had another dream. In this dream, the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me!”
10 Il le raconta à son père et à ses frères, et son père le réprimanda, en disant: « Que signifie ce songe que tu as eu? Faudra-t-il que nous venions, moi, ta mère et tes frères, nous prosterner à terre devant toi? »
He also told his father about it. His father rebuked him, saying “What are you suggesting by that dream [RHQ]? Do you think it means that your mother and I and your older brothers will some day bow down to the ground in front of you?” [RHQ]
11 Et ses frères furent jaloux de lui, mais son père conservait la chose dans son cœur.
Joseph’s older brothers were furious/angry with him, but his father just kept thinking about what the dream meant.
12 Les frères de Joseph allèrent paître les troupeaux de leur père à Sichem.
One day Joseph’s older brothers went to take care of their father’s sheep and goats that were eating grass near Shechem.
13 Et Israël dit à Joseph: « Tes frères ne paissent-ils pas le troupeau à Sichem? Viens, que je t’envoie vers eux. » Il répondit: « Me voici. »
Some time later, Jacob said to Joseph, “Your brothers are taking care of the sheep and goats near Shechem [RHQ]. I am going to send you there to see them.” Joseph replied, “Okay.”
14 Et Israël lui dit: « Va donc, et vois si tes frères vont bien et si le troupeau est en bon état, et tu m’en apporteras des nouvelles. » Et il l’envoya de la vallée d’Hébron, et Joseph alla à Sichem.
Jacob said, “Go and see if they are doing okay, and if the flocks are doing okay. Then come back and give me a report.” So Jacob sent Joseph from [the valley where they were living], the valley where Hebron is located, [to go north] to find his brothers. When Joseph arrived near Shechem [city],
15 Un homme, l’ayant rencontré errant dans la campagne, le questionna, en disant: « Que cherches-tu? »
while he was wandering around in the fields looking/searching for his brothers, a man saw him and asked him, “Whom are you looking/searching for?”
16 Il répondit: « Je cherche mes frères; indique-moi, je te prie, où ils font paître leur troupeau. »
Joseph replied, “I am looking for my older brothers. Can you tell me where they are taking care of their sheep and goats?”
17 Et l’homme dit: « Ils sont partis d’ici; car je les ai entendus dire: Allons à Dothaïn. » Joseph alla après ses frères, et il les trouva à Dothaïn.
The man replied, “They are not here any more. I heard one of them saying, ‘Let’s take the sheep and goats and go to Dothan [town].’” So Joseph left there and went north, and found his older brothers near Dothan.
18 Ils l’aperçurent de loin et, avant qu’il fût près d’eux, ils complotèrent de le faire mourir.
But they saw him when he was still far away, and they decided to kill him.
19 Ils se dirent l’un à l’autre: « Voici l’homme aux songes; c’est bien lui qui arrive.
They said to each other [things like], “Here comes that dreamer!”
20 Venez donc, tuons-le et jetons-le dans une des citernes, et nous dirons qu’une bête féroce l’a dévoré; nous verrons ce qui en sera de ses songes! »
and “Hey, let’s kill him, and then throw his body into one of the pits/cisterns. Then we will tell people that a ferocious/wild animal attacked and killed him and ate him. And then we will (find out whether his dreams come true/make sure that his dreams do not come true)!”
21 Ruben entendit et il le délivra de leurs mains. Il dit: « Ne le frappons pas à mort. »
Reuben heard what they were saying, so he tried to persuade them not to kill [MTY] Joseph. He said, “No, we should not kill him.
22 Ruben leur dit: « Ne versez pas le sang; jetez-le dans cette citerne qui est dans le désert, et ne portez pas la main sur lui. » — Son dessein était de le délivrer de leurs mains, pour le faire retourner vers son père. —
Do not even shed his blood! We can throw him into this pit/cistern in the desert, but we should not harm him [MTY].” He said that, and then left them, planning to rescue Joseph later and take him back to his father.
23 Lorsque Joseph arriva auprès de ses frères, ils le dépouillèrent de sa robe, de la robe longue qu’il portait;
So when Joseph arrived where his older brothers were, they seized him and ripped off his pretty robe with long sleeves.
24 et, l’ayant pris, ils le jetèrent dans la citerne. Cette citerne était vide: il n’y avait pas d’eau.
Then they took him and threw him into the pit/cistern. But the pit/cistern was dry; there was no water in it.
25 Puis ils s’assirent pour manger. Levant les yeux, ils virent, et voici qu’une caravane d’Ismaélites venait de Galaad; leurs chameaux étaient chargés d’astragale, de baume et de ladanum, qu’ils transportaient en Égypte.
After they sat down to eat some food, they looked up and saw a (caravan/group [of traders]), descendants of Ishmael, coming from the Gilead area. Their camels were loaded with bags of spices and nice-smelling resins. They were going down to Egypt to sell those things there.
26 Alors Juda dit à ses frères: « Que gagnerons-nous à tuer notre frère et à cacher son sang?
Judah said to his [older and younger] brothers, “If we kill our younger brother and hide his body, (what will we gain?/we will not gain anything!) [RHQ]
27 Allons le vendre aux Ismaélites et ne portons pas la main sur lui; car il est notre frère, notre chair. » Ses frères l’écoutèrent
So, instead of harming him, let’s sell him to these men who are descendants of Ishmael. Don’t forget, he is our own younger brother!” So they all agreed to do that.
28 et, quand les marchands madianites passèrent, ils tirèrent Joseph et le firent remonter de la citerne; et ils le vendirent pour vingt pièces d’argent aux Ismaélites, qui l’emmenèrent en Égypte.
When those traders from the Midian area came near, Joseph’s brothers pulled him up out of the pit/cistern. Then they sold him to the men from Midian for 20 pieces of silver. The traders then took Joseph to Egypt.
29 Ruben revint à la citerne, et voici que Joseph n’était plus dans la citerne.
When Reuben returned to the pit/cistern, he saw that his younger brother was not there. He was so grieved that he tore his clothes.
30 Il déchira ses vêtements et, étant retourné vers ses frères, il dit: « L’enfant n’y est plus, et moi, où irai-je? »
He went back to his [younger] brothers and said, “The boy is not in the pit/cistern! What can I do now?” [RHQ]
31 Ils prirent alors la robe de Joseph et, ayant tué un bouc, ils plongèrent la robe dans le sang.
[Joseph’s brothers did not dare to tell their father what they had done. So, they decided to invent a story about what had happened]. They got Joseph’s robe. Then they killed a goat and dipped the robe in the goat’s blood.
32 Et ils envoyèrent à leur père la longue robe, en lui faisant dire: « Voilà ce que nous avons trouvé; reconnais si c’est la robe de ton fils, ou non. »
They took that pretty robe back to their father and said, “We found this robe! Look at it. Is it your son’s robe?”
33 Jacob la reconnut et dit: « C’est la robe de mon fils! Une bête féroce l’a dévoré! Joseph a été mis en pièces! »
He recognized it, and he said, “Yes, it is my son’s robe! Some ferocious/wild animal must have attacked and killed him! I am sure that the animal has torn Joseph to pieces!”
34 Et il déchira ses vêtements, mit un sac sur ses reins et fit le deuil de son fils pendant longtemps.
Jacob was so grieved that he tore his clothes. He put on (sackcloth/clothes that people wear when they are mourning for someone who has died). He mourned/cried for his son for many days.
35 Tous ses fils et toutes ses filles vinrent pour le consoler; mais il refusa d’être consolé; il disait: « Je descendrai dans le deuil vers mon fils au séjour des morts. » Et son père le pleura. (Sheol h7585)
All of his children came to try to comfort him, but he did not pay attention to what they said. He said, “No, I will still be mourning/crying when I die and go to be with my son.” So Joseph’s father continued to cry because of what had happened to his son. (Sheol h7585)
36 Les Madianites le vendirent en Égypte à Putiphar, officier de Pharaon, chef des gardes.
In the meantime, the men/traders from Midian took Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, who was one of the king’s officials. He was the captain of the soldiers who protected the king.
