Genèse 29
1 Et Jacob se mit en marche, et s’en alla au pays des fils de l’orient.
Jacob continued on the road [MTY], and he arrived at the land that was east of Canaan.
2 Et il regarda, et voici un puits dans les champs, et voilà trois troupeaux de menu bétail couchés auprès, (car de ce puits-là on abreuvait les troupeaux); et il y avait une grosse pierre sur l’ouverture du puits.
There he [was surprised to] see a well in a field, and three flocks of sheep were lying near the well. It was the well from which shepherds habitually got water for their sheep. There was a large stone covering the top of the well.
3 Et tous les troupeaux se rassemblaient là, et on roulait la pierre de dessus l’ouverture du puits, et on abreuvait le bétail; puis on remettait la pierre à sa place, sur l’ouverture du puits.
When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would work together to roll the stone away from the top of the well and get water for the sheep. When they finished doing that, they would put the stone back in its place over the top of the well.
4 Et Jacob leur dit: Mes frères, d’où êtes-vous? Et ils dirent: Nous sommes de Charan.
[On that day], Jacob asked the shepherds who were sitting there, “Where are you from?” They replied, “We are from Haran.”
5 Et il leur dit: Connaissez-vous Laban, fils de Nakhor? Et ils dirent: Nous le connaissons.
He asked them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” They replied, “Yes, we know him.”
6 Et il leur dit: Se porte-t-il bien? Et ils dirent: Bien; et voici Rachel, sa fille, qui vient avec le bétail.
Jacob asked them, “Is Laban well?” They replied, “Yes, he is well. Look! Here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep!”
7 Et il dit: Voici, il est encore grand jour, il n’est pas temps de rassembler les troupeaux; abreuvez le bétail, et allez, faites-le paître.
Jacob said, “Hey! The sun is still high in the sky. It is not time for the flocks to be gathered for nighttime. Give the sheep some water and then take them back to (graze/eat grass) in the pastures!”
8 Et ils dirent: Nous ne le pouvons pas, jusqu’à ce que tous les troupeaux soient rassemblés; alors on roule la pierre de dessus l’ouverture du puits, et nous abreuvons le bétail.
They replied, “No, we cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered here and the stone is removed from the top of the well. After that, we will give water to the sheep.”
9 Comme il parlait encore avec eux, Rachel vint avec le bétail qui était à son père; car elle était bergère.
While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep. She was the one who took care of her father’s sheep.
10 Et il arriva, quand Jacob vit Rachel, fille de Laban, frère de sa mère, et le bétail de Laban, frère de sa mère, que Jacob s’approcha, et roula la pierre de dessus l’ouverture du puits, et abreuva le bétail de Laban, frère de sa mère.
When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, who was his mother’s brother, [Jacob was so excited that] he went over and [by himself] rolled away the stone that covered the top of the well, and he got water for his uncle’s sheep.
11 Et Jacob embrassa Rachel, et éleva sa voix, et pleura.
Then Jacob kissed Rachel [on the cheek], and he cried loudly [because he was so happy].
12 Et Jacob apprit à Rachel qu’il était frère de son père et qu’il était fils de Rebecca; et elle courut le rapporter à son père.
Jacob told Rachel that he was one of her father’s relatives, the son of her aunt Rebekah. So she ran and told that to her father.
13 Et il arriva que, lorsque Laban apprit les nouvelles de Jacob, fils de sa sœur, il courut à sa rencontre, et l’embrassa et lui donna un baiser, et le fit entrer dans sa maison; et [Jacob] raconta à Laban toutes ces choses.
As soon as Laban heard that Jacob, his sister’s son, was there, he ran to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him [on the cheek]. Then he brought him to his home, and Jacob told him all that had happened to him.
14 Et Laban lui dit: Certes, tu es mon os et ma chair. Et il demeura avec lui un mois de temps.
Then Laban said to him, “Truly, you are part of my family!” After Jacob had stayed there and worked for Laban for a month,
15 Et Laban dit à Jacob: Parce que tu es mon frère, me serviras-tu pour rien? Dis-moi quel sera ton salaire?
Laban said to him “(You should not work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine!/Why should you work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine?) [RHQ] Tell me how much you want me to pay you.”
16 Or Laban avait deux filles; le nom de l’aînée était Léa, et le nom de la plus jeune, Rachel.
Well, Laban had two daughters. The older one was named Leah, and the younger one was named Rachel.
17 Et Léa avait les yeux délicats; mais Rachel était belle de taille et belle de visage.
Leah had pretty eyes, but Rachel had a very attractive figure and was beautiful.
18 Et Jacob aimait Rachel, et il dit: Je te servirai sept ans pour Rachel, ta plus jeune fille.
Jacob (was in love with/wanted very much to be married to) Rachel, and he said, “I will work for you for seven years. That will be my payment for your letting me marry your younger daughter, Rachel.”
19 Et Laban dit: Mieux vaut que je te la donne que de la donner à un autre homme; demeure avec moi.
Laban replied, “It is better for me to let you marry her than for her to marry some other man!”
20 Et Jacob servit pour Rachel sept années; et elles furent à ses yeux comme peu de jours, parce qu’il l’aimait.
So Jacob worked for Laban for seven years to get Rachel, but to him it seemed like it was only a few days, because he loved her so much.
21 Et Jacob dit à Laban: Donne-moi ma femme; car mes jours sont accomplis, et je viendrai vers elle.
After the seven years were ended, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me marry Rachel now, because the time we agreed upon for me to work for you is ended, and I want to marry her. [EUP]”
22 Et Laban rassembla tous les gens du lieu, et fit un festin.
So Laban gathered together all the people who lived in that area and made a feast.
23 Et il arriva, le soir, qu’il prit Léa, sa fille, et la lui amena; et il vint vers elle.
But that evening, instead of taking Rachel to Jacob, Laban took his older daughter, Leah, to him. But because it was already dark, he could not see that it was Leah and not Rachel, and he had sex [EUP] with her.
24 Et Laban donna Zilpa, sa servante, à Léa, sa fille, pour servante.
(Laban had already given his slave girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid/servant.)
25 Et il arriva, au matin, que voici, c’était Léa. Et il dit à Laban: Que m’as-tu fait? N’est-ce pas pour Rachel que je t’ai servi? et pourquoi m’as-tu trompé?
The next morning, Jacob was shocked to see that it was Leah who was with him! So he went to Laban [and told him] very angrily, “(What you have done to me is disgusting!/What is this that you have done to me?) [RHQ] I worked for you to get Rachel, did I not? So why did you deceive me?”
26 Et Laban dit: On ne fait pas ainsi, dans notre lieu, de donner la plus jeune avant l’aînée.
Laban replied, “In this land, it is not our custom to give a younger daughter to be married before we let someone marry our firstborn daughter.
27 Accomplis la semaine de celle-ci, et nous te donnerons aussi celle-là, pour le service que tu feras chez moi encore sept autres années.
After we finish this week of celebration, we will let you marry the younger one also. But in return, you must pay for Rachel by working for me for another seven years.”
28 Et Jacob fit ainsi, et il accomplit la semaine de celle-ci. Et [Laban] lui donna Rachel, sa fille, pour femme.
So that is what Jacob did. After the week of celebration was ended, Laban gave him his daughter, Rachel, to be his wife.
29 Et Laban donna Bilha, sa servante, à Rachel, sa fille, pour servante.
Laban gave his slave girl, Bilhah, to Rachel to be her maid/servant.
30 Et il vint aussi vers Rachel; et il aima aussi Rachel plus que Léa. Et il servit Laban encore sept autres années.
Jacob had sex [EUP] with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than he loved Leah. And Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years.
31 Et l’Éternel vit que Léa était haïe, et il ouvrit sa matrice; mais Rachel était stérile.
When Yahweh saw that Jacob did not love Leah [very much], he enabled her to become pregnant. But Rachel was not able to become pregnant.
32 Et Léa conçut, et enfanta un fils, et elle appela son nom Ruben, car elle dit: Parce que l’Éternel a regardé mon affliction; car maintenant mon mari m’aimera.
Leah gave birth to a son, whom she named Reuben, [which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘Look, a son]!’ She said, “Yahweh has seen that I was miserable, and because of that he has given me a son. Now, surely my husband will love me for giving birth to a son for him.”
33 Et elle conçut encore, et enfanta un fils, et dit: Parce que l’Éternel a entendu que j’étais haïe, il m’a donné aussi celui-ci; et elle appela son nom Siméon.
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “Because Yahweh has heard that my husband doesn’t love me, he has given me this son, too.” So she named him Simeon, [which means ‘someone who hears’].
34 Et elle conçut encore, et enfanta un fils, et dit: Maintenant, cette fois, mon mari s’attachera à moi, car je lui ai enfanté trois fils; c’est pourquoi on appela son nom Lévi.
Later she became pregnant again, and gave birth to another son. She said, “Now, finally, my husband will hold me close to him.” So she named him Levi, [which means ‘hold close’].
35 Et elle conçut encore, et enfanta un fils, et dit: Cette fois, je louerai l’Éternel; c’est pourquoi elle appela son nom Juda; et elle cessa d’enfanter.
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “(This time/Now) I will praise Yahweh.” So she called his name Judah, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘praise’]. After that, she did not give birth to any more children [for several years].
