Psaumes 78
1 Cantique d’Asaph. Écoute, ô mon peuple, mon enseignement; prête l’oreille aux paroles de ma bouche.
My friends, listen to what I am going to teach you; pay careful attention [IDM] to what I say.
2 Je vais ouvrir ma bouche pour dire des sentences, je publierai les mystères des temps anciens.
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],
3 Ce que nous avons entendu, ce que nous avons appris, ce que nos pères nous ont raconté,
things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.
4 nous ne le cacherons pas à leurs enfants; nous dirons à la génération future les louanges de Yahweh, et sa puissance, et les prodiges qu’il a opérés.
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.
5 Il a mis une règle en Jacob, il a établi une loi en Israël, qu’il a enjoint à nos pères d’apprendre à leurs enfants,
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
6 pour qu’elles soient connues des générations suivantes, des enfants qui naîtraient et qui se lèveraient, pour les raconter à leur tour à leurs enfants.
in order that their children would [also] know them and then they would teach them to their children.
7 Ainsi ils mettraient en Dieu leur confiance, ils n’oublieraient point les œuvres de Dieu, et ils observeraient ses préceptes;
In that way, they also would trust in God, and not forget the things that he has done; instead, they would obey his commandments.
8 ils ne seraient point, comme leurs pères, une race indocile et rebelle, une race au cœur volage, dont l’esprit n’est pas fidèle à Dieu.
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.
9 Les fils d’Ephraïm, archers habiles à tirer de l’arc, ont tourné le dos au jour du combat;
[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.
10 ils n’ont pas gardé l’alliance de Dieu, ils ont refusé de marcher selon sa loi;
They did not do what they had agreed with God that they would do; they refused to obey his laws.
11 ils ont mis en oubli ses grandes œuvres, et les merveilles qu’il leur avait montrées.
They forgot what he had done; they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.
12 Devant leurs pères, il avait fait des prodiges, au pays de l’Égypte, dans les campagnes de Tanis.
While our ancestors were watching, God performed miracles in the area around Zoan [city] in Egypt.
13 Il ouvrit la mer pour les faire passer; Il retint les eaux dressées comme un monceau.
[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].
14 Il les conduisit le jour par la nuée, et toute la nuit par un feu brillant.
He led them by a [bright] cloud during the day and by a fiery light during the night.
15 Il fendit les rochers dans le désert, et il donna à boire comme des flots abondants.
He split rocks open in the desert, giving to our ancestors plenty of water from deep inside the earth.
16 Du rocher il fit jaillir des ruisseaux, et couler l’eau par torrents.
He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].
17 Mais ils continuèrent de pécher contre lui, de se révolter contre le Très-Haut dans le désert.
But [our ancestors] continued to sin against God; in the desert they rebelled against the one who is greater than any other god.
18 Ils tentèrent Dieu dans leur cœur, en demandant de la nourriture selon leur convoitise.
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.
19 Ils parlèrent contre Dieu et dirent: « Dieu pourra-t-il dresser une table dans le désert?
They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!
20 Voici qu’il a frappé le rocher, et des eaux ont coulé, et des torrents se sont répandus; pourra-t-il aussi nous donner du pain ou bien procurer de la viande à son peuple? »
[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]
21 Yahweh entendit et il fut irrité, un feu s’alluma contre Jacob, et la colère s’éleva contre Israël,
So, when Yahweh heard that, he became very angry, and he sent a fire to burn up [some of] his Israeli [people]. [MTY, DOU]
22 parce qu’ils n’avaient pas eu foi en Dieu et n’avaient pas espéré en son secours.
[He did that] because they did not trust in him, and they did not believe that he would rescue them.
23 Cependant il commanda aux nuées d’en haut, et il ouvrit les portes du ciel;
But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,
24 il fit pleuvoir sur eux la manne pour les nourrir, et leur donna le froment du ciel.
and [then food] fell down like rain, [food which they named] ‘manna’; God gave them grain from (heaven/the sky).
25 Chacun mangea le pain des forts, Il leur envoya de la nourriture à satiété.
[So] the people ate the food that angels eat, [and] God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.
26 Il fit souffler dans le ciel le vent d’orient, il amena par sa puissance le vent du midi;
[Later], he caused the wind to blow from the east, and by his power he also sent wind from the south,
27 il fit pleuvoir sur eux la viande comme de la poussière, et les oiseaux ailés comme le sable des mers.
and the wind brought birds which were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.
28 Il les fit tomber au milieu de leur camp, autour de leurs tentes.
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.
29 Ils mangèrent et se rassasièrent à l’excès; Dieu leur donna ce qu’ils avaient désiré.
[So] the people [cooked the birds and] ate the meat and their stomachs were full, because God had given them what they wanted.
30 Ils n’avaient pas encore satisfait leur convoitise, et leur nourriture était encore à leur bouche,
But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,
31 quand la colère de Dieu s’éleva contre eux; il frappa de mort les mieux repus, il abattit les jeunes hommes d’Israël.
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.
32 Après tout cela, ils péchèrent encore, et n’eurent pas foi dans ses prodiges.
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].
33 Alors il dissipa leurs jours comme un souffle, et leurs années par une fin soudaine.
So, he caused their lives to end as quickly as a puff of wind ends; they died when disasters suddenly struck them.
34 Quand il les frappait de mort, ils le cherchaient, ils revenaient, empressés à retrouver Dieu,
When God caused [some of] them to die, [the others] turned to God; they repented and earnestly asked God [to save them].
35 ils se rappelaient que Dieu était leur rocher, et le Dieu Très-Haut leur libérateur.
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.
36 Mais ils le trompaient par leurs paroles, et leur langue lui mentait;
But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.
37 leur cœur n’était pas ferme avec lui, ils n’étaient pas fidèles à son alliance.
They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.
38 Mais lui est miséricordieux: il pardonne le péché et ne détruit pas; souvent il retint sa colère, et ne se livra pas à toute sa fureur.
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].
39 Il se souvenait qu’ils n’étaient que chair, un souffle qui s’en va et ne revient plus.
He remembered/considered that they were only humans who die; they [disappear quickly] [SIM], like a wind that blows by and then is gone.
40 Que de fois ils se révoltèrent contre lui dans le désert, ils l’irritèrent dans la solitude!
Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the desert and caused him to become very sad.
41 Ils ne cessèrent de tenter Dieu et de provoquer le Saint d’Israël.
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.
42 Ils ne se souvinrent plus de sa puissance, du jour où il les délivra de l’oppresseur,
They forgot about his [great] power, and they (forgot/did not think) about the time when he rescued them from their enemies.
43 où il montra ses prodiges en Égypte, ses actions merveilleuses dans les campagnes de Tanis.
They forgot about when he performed many miracles in the area near Zoan [city] in Egypt.
44 Il changea leurs fleuves en sang, et ils ne purent boire à leurs ruisseaux.
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.
45 Il envoya contre eux le moucheron qui les dévora, et la grenouille qui les fit périr.
He sent among the people of Egypt swarms of flies that bit them, and he sent frogs that ate up everything.
46 Il livra leurs récoltes à la sauterelle, le produit de leur travail à ses essaims.
He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.
47 Il détruisit leurs vignes par la grêle, et leurs sycomores par les grêlons.
He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.
48 Il abandonna leur bétail à la grêle, et leurs troupeaux aux coups de la foudre.
He sent hail that killed their cattle and sent lightning that killed their sheep and cows.
49 Il déchaîna contre eux le feu de son courroux, la fureur, la rage et la détresse, toute une armée d’anges de malheur.
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].
50 Il donna libre carrière à sa colère, il ne sauva pas leur âme de la mort, il livra leur vie à la destruction.
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.
51 Il frappa tous les premiers-nés en Égypte, les prémices de la force sous les tentes de Cham.
He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.
52 Il fit partir son peuple comme des brebis, il les mena comme un troupeau dans le désert.
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.
53 Il les dirigea sûrement, sans qu’ils eussent rien à craindre, et la mer engloutit leurs ennemis.
He led them safely, and they were not afraid, but their enemies were drowned in the sea.
54 Il les fit arriver jusqu’à sa frontière sainte, jusqu’à la montagne que sa droite a conquise.
[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].
55 Il chassa les nations devant eux, leur assigna par le sort leur part d’héritage, et fit habiter dans leurs tentes les tribus d’Israël.
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.
56 Cependant ils ont encore tenté et provoqué le Dieu Très-Haut, et ils n’ont pas observé ses ordonnances.
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.
57 Ils se sont détournés et ont été infidèles comme leurs pères, ils se sont détournés comme un arc trompeur.
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].
58 Ils l’ont irrité par leurs hauts lieux, ils ont excité sa jalousie par leurs idoles.
Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].
59 Dieu entendit et s’indigna, il prit Israël en grande aversion.
He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.
60 Il dédaigna la demeure de Silo, la tente où il habitait parmi les hommes.
He no longer appeared to them at Shiloh in the tent where he had lived among them.
61 Il livra sa force à la captivité, et sa majesté aux mains de l’ennemi.
He allowed their enemies to capture [the sacred chest], [which was the symbol of] his power and his glory.
62 Il abandonna son peuple au glaive, et il s’indigna contre son héritage.
Because he was angry with his people, he allowed them to be killed [MTY] [by their enemies].
63 Le feu dévora ses jeunes hommes, et ses vierges n’entendirent point le chant nuptial.
Young men were killed in battles, with the result that the young women had no one to marry.
64 Ses prêtres tombèrent par l’épée, et ses veuves ne se lamentèrent point.
[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.
65 Le Seigneur se réveilla, comme un homme endormi, pareil au guerrier subjugué par le vin.
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].
66 Il frappa ses ennemis par derrière, il leur infligea une honte éternelle.
He pushed their enemies back and caused them to be [very] ashamed for a long time [HYP] [because they had been defeated].
67 Mais il prit en aversion la tente de Joseph, et il répudia la tribu d’Ephraïm.
[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].
68 Il choisit la tribu de Juda, la montagne de Sion qu’il aimait.
Instead he chose [the area where] the tribe of Judah [lived]; he chose Zion Hill, which he loves.
69 Et il bâtit son sanctuaire comme les hauteurs du ciel, comme la terre qu’il a fondée pour toujours.
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.
70 Il choisit David, son serviteur, et le tira des bergeries;
He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures
71 Il le prit derrière les brebis mères, pour paître Jacob, son peuple, et Israël, son héritage.
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.
72 Et David les guida dans la droiture de son cœur, et il les conduisit d’une main habile.
David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.
