1 Samuel 24
1 Et il arriva que, quand Saül fut revenu de la poursuite des Philistins, on lui rapporta, en disant: Voici, David est au désert d’En-Guédi.
After Saul [and his soldiers] returned [home] after fighting against the Philistia army, someone reported to Saul that David [and his men] had gone into the desert near En-Gedi.
2 Et Saül prit 3 000 hommes d’élite de tout Israël, et il s’en alla pour chercher David et ses hommes sur les rochers des bouquetins.
[When] Saul [heard that, he] chose 3,000 men from various areas in Israel, and they went to search for David and his men at a place named Rocks of Wild Goats.
3 Et il vint aux parcs du menu bétail, sur le chemin; et là il y avait une caverne, et Saül y entra pour se couvrir les pieds; et David et ses hommes étaient assis au fond de la caverne.
At a place where the road was alongside some sheep pens, Saul [left the road and] entered a cave to defecate [EUP]. [He did not know that] David and his men were hiding further inside that same cave!
4 Et les hommes de David lui dirent: Voici le jour dont l’Éternel t’a dit: Voici, je livre ton ennemi en ta main, et tu lui feras comme il sera bon à tes yeux. Et David se leva et coupa secrètement le pan de la robe de Saül.
David’s men [saw Saul and] whispered to David, “Today is the day that Yahweh spoke about when he said, ‘I will enable you to defeat your enemy.’ You can do to him whatever you want to!” So David crept toward the entrance of the cave and [with his knife] he cut off a piece of Saul’s robe.
5 Et il arriva, après cela, que le cœur de David le reprit de ce qu’il avait coupé le pan [de la robe] de Saül.
[And then he returned to his men]. But then David felt guilty for having cut off a piece of Saul’s robe.
6 Et il dit à ses hommes: Loin de moi, de par l’Éternel, que je fasse une telle chose à mon seigneur, à l’oint de l’Éternel, que d’étendre ma main sur lui; car il est l’oint de l’Éternel.
He said to his men, “I should not have done that to the king! I hope/desire that Yahweh will never allow me to attack the one whom God has appointed, because Yahweh is the one who chose him [to be the king].”
7 Et David retint ses hommes par ses paroles, et ne leur permit pas de s’élever contre Saül. Et Saül se leva de la caverne, et alla son chemin.
By saying that, David restrained his men, and did not allow them to kill Saul.
8 Et après cela, David se leva, et sortit de la caverne, et cria après Saül, disant: Ô roi, mon seigneur! Et Saül regarda derrière lui, et David s’inclina le visage contre terre et se prosterna.
After Saul left the cave and started to walk on the road again, David came out of the cave and shouted to Saul, “King Saul!” Saul turned around and looked, and David bowed down with his face touching the ground.
9 Et David dit à Saül: Pourquoi écouterais-tu les paroles des hommes qui disent: Voici, David cherche à te faire du mal?
Then he said to Saul, “(Why do you pay attention to people when they say ‘David wants to harm you’?/You should not pay attention to people when they say ‘David wants to harm you’.) [RHQ]
10 Voici, tes yeux ont vu en ce jour que l’Éternel t’a livré aujourd’hui en ma main, dans la caverne. Et on m’a dit de te tuer; et [mon œil] t’a épargné, et j’ai dit: Je n’étendrai point ma main sur mon seigneur, car il est l’oint de l’Éternel.
Today you can see with your own eyes that [what they say is not true]. Yahweh put you in a place where my men and I could have killed you when you were in this cave. Some of my men told me that I should do that, but I did not do that. I said to them, ‘I will not harm my master, because he is the king whom Yahweh appointed.’
11 Et regarde, mon père, regarde le pan de ta robe dans ma main; car en ce que j’ai coupé le pan de ta robe et ne t’ai point tué, sache et vois qu’il n’y a pas de mal en ma main, ni de transgression, et que je n’ai pas péché contre toi; et toi, tu fais la chasse à mon âme pour la prendre.
Your majesty, look at this piece of your robe that is in my hand! I cut it from your robe, but I did not kill you. So now you should be able to understand that I am not planning to do anything evil to you. I have not done anything wrong to you, but you are searching for me to kill me.
12 L’Éternel jugera entre moi et toi, et l’Éternel me vengera de toi; mais ma main ne sera pas sur toi.
I hope/desire that Yahweh will judge and decide which of us ([is doing what is right/pleases him]). And I hope/desire that he will punish you for the wrong things that you have done to me. But I will not try to harm you.
13 Comme dit le proverbe des anciens: Des méchants vient la méchanceté; mais ma main ne sera pas sur toi.
There is a proverb that has the words, ‘Evil things are done by evil people.’ But [I am not evil, so] I will not do evil things to you.
14 Après qui est sorti le roi d’Israël? Qui poursuis-tu? Un chien mort, une puce!
“You are the king of Israel. So (why are you pursuing me?/you should not be pursuing me.) [RHQ] I am [as harmless as] [MET] a dead dog or a flea.
15 Et l’Éternel sera juge, et il jugera entre moi et toi; et il verra et plaidera ma cause, et me fera droit [en me délivrant] de ta main.
I hope/desire that Yahweh will judge which of us [is doing what (he wants/is right)]. I trust that he will [act like a lawyer and] judge (my case/what I have done), and that he will rescue me from your power [MTY].”
16 Et lorsque David eut achevé de dire ces paroles à Saül, Saül dit: Est-ce là ta voix, mon fils David? Et Saül éleva sa voix et pleura.
When David finished speaking, Saul [called out to him and] asked, “My son David, is that your voice [that I am hearing]?” Then he began to cry loudly.
17 Et il dit à David: Tu es plus juste que moi, car toi tu m’as rendu le bien, et moi je t’ai rendu le mal;
He said, “You are a better man than I am. You have done something very good to me when I tried to do something very bad to you.
18 et tu as fait connaître aujourd’hui que tu agissais en bien envers moi, en ce que l’Éternel m’avait livré en ta main, et que tu ne m’as pas tué.
When Yahweh put me in a place [in that cave] where you could have easily killed me, you did not do that.
19 Et si un homme a trouvé son ennemi, le laissera-t-il aller sain et sauf? Que l’Éternel te fasse du bien, en récompense de ce que tu as fait aujourd’hui à mon égard!
(Who else would/No one else would) find his enemy and allow his enemy to escape [when he could kill him instead] [RHQ]. I hope/desire that Yahweh will reward you for being kindly to me today.
20 Et maintenant, voici, je sais que certainement tu régneras, et que le royaume d’Israël sera établi en ta main.
I know that [some day] you will surely become the king, and that your kingdom will prosper as you rule the Israeli people.
21 Et maintenant, jure-moi par l’Éternel que tu ne retrancheras point ma semence après moi, et que tu n’ôteras point mon nom de la maison de mon père.
Now while Yahweh is listening, solemnly promise to me that you will not kill my family and get rid of all my descendants.”
22 Et David le jura à Saül; et Saül s’en alla dans sa maison; et David et ses hommes montèrent au lieu fort.
David solemnly promised Saul that he would not [harm Saul’s family]. Then Saul went back home, and David and his men went back up into the place where they had been hiding.
