Genèse 37
1 Et Jacob habita dans le pays où son père avait séjourné, dans le pays de Canaan.
Jacob settled down and lived in Canaan as his father had done.
2 Ce sont ici les générations de Jacob: Joseph, âgé de 17 ans, paissait le menu bétail avec ses frères, et, [encore] jeune garçon, il était avec les fils de Bilha et les fils de Zilpa, femmes de son père; et Joseph rapporta à leur père leur mauvaise renommée.
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 Et Israël aimait Joseph plus que tous ses fils, parce qu’il était pour lui le fils de sa vieillesse, et il lui fit une tunique bigarrée.
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 Et ses frères virent que leur père l’aimait plus que tous ses frères; et ils le haïssaient, et ne pouvaient lui parler paisiblement.
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 Et Joseph songea un songe, et le raconta à ses frères, et ils le haïrent encore davantage.
Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more.
6 Et il leur dit: Écoutez, je vous prie, ce songe que j’ai songé:
“Listen to this dream I had,” he told them.
7 Voici, nous étions à lier des gerbes au milieu des champs; et voici, ma gerbe se leva, et elle se tint debout; et voici, vos gerbes l’entourèrent, 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 Et ses frères lui dirent: Est-ce que tu dois donc régner sur nous? Domineras-tu sur nous? Et ils le haïrent encore davantage, à cause de ses songes et de ses paroles.
“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 Et il songea encore un autre songe, et le raconta à ses frères. Et il dit: Voici, j’ai encore songé un songe; et voici, le soleil, et la lune, et onze étoiles, se prosternaient 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 Et il le conta à son père et à ses frères. Et son père le reprit, et lui dit: Qu’est-ce que ce songe que tu as songé? Est-ce que moi, et ta mère, et tes frères, nous viendrons 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 Et ses frères furent jaloux de lui; mais son père gardait cette parole.
Joseph's brothers became jealous of him, but his father puzzled over the meaning of the dream.
12 Et ses frères allèrent paître le menu bétail de leur père à Sichem.
One day Joseph's brothers took their father's flocks to graze near Shechem.
13 Et Israël dit à Joseph: Tes frères ne paissent-ils pas [le troupeau] à Sichem? Viens, et je t’enverrai vers eux. Et il lui dit: 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 Et il lui dit: Va, je te prie; vois si tes frères se portent bien, et si le bétail est en bon état, et rapporte-m’en des nouvelles. Et il l’envoya de la vallée de Hébron; et il vint 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 Et un homme le trouva, et voici, il errait dans les champs. Et l’homme lui demanda, disant: 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 Et il dit: Je cherche mes frères; indique-moi, je te prie, où ils paissent [le troupeau].
“I'm looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they're looking after the flock?”
17 Et l’homme dit: Ils sont partis d’ici, car j’ai entendu qu’ils disaient: Allons à Dothan. Et Joseph alla après ses frères, et il les trouva en 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 Et ils le virent de loin; et avant qu’il soit proche d’eux, ils complotèrent contre lui pour le faire mourir.
But they saw him coming way off in the distance, and before he got to them, they made plans to kill him.
19 Et ils se dirent l’un à l’autre: Le voici, il vient, ce maître songeur!
“Look, here comes the Lord of Dreams!” they said to each other.
20 Et maintenant, venez, tuons-le, et jetons-le dans une des citernes, et nous dirons: Une mauvaise bête l’a dévoré; et nous verrons ce que deviendront ses songes.
“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 Et Ruben entendit [cela], et le délivra de leurs mains; et il dit: Ne le frappons pas à mort.
When Reuben heard all this, he tried to save Joseph from them.
22 Et Ruben leur dit: Ne versez pas le sang. Jetez-le dans cette citerne qui est dans le désert, et ne mettez pas la main sur lui. [C’était] afin de le délivrer de leurs mains, pour le faire retourner vers 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 Et il arriva, lorsque Joseph fut venu auprès de ses frères, qu’ils dépouillèrent Joseph de sa tunique, de la tunique bigarrée qui était sur lui;
So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off his robe—the colorful long-sleeved robe he was wearing—
24 et ils le prirent et le jetèrent dans la citerne; or la citerne était vide: il n’y avait point d’eau dedans.
grabbed him and threw him into a pit. (The pit was empty—it didn't have any water in it.)
25 Et ils s’assirent pour manger le pain; et ils levèrent les yeux et regardèrent, et voici, une caravane d’Ismaélites venait de Galaad; et leurs chameaux portaient des épices, du baume, et de la myrrhe, qu’ils allaient porter 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 Et Juda dit à ses frères: Quel profit aurons-nous 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 que notre main ne soit pas sur lui; car il est notre frère, notre chair. Et 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 Et les hommes madianites, des marchands, passèrent. Et ils tirèrent Joseph de la citerne et le firent remonter; et ils vendirent Joseph pour 20 pièces d’argent aux Ismaélites; et ceux-ci emmenèrent 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 Et Ruben retourna à la citerne; et voici, Joseph n’était pas dans la citerne; et il déchira ses vêtements,
When Reuben came back later and looked into the pit, Joseph was gone. He tore his clothes in grief.
30 et retourna vers ses frères, et dit: L’enfant n’y est pas, et moi, où irai-je?
He returned to his brothers. “The boy's gone!” he moaned. “What am I going to do now?”
31 Et ils prirent la tunique de Joseph, et tuèrent un bouc, et plongèrent la tunique dans le sang;
They slaughtered a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in the blood.
32 et ils envoyèrent la tunique bigarrée, et la firent parvenir à leur père, et dirent: Nous avons trouvé ceci; reconnais 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 Et il la reconnut, et dit: C’est la tunique de mon fils; une mauvaise bête l’a dévoré: Joseph a certainement été déchiré!
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 Et Jacob déchira ses vêtements, et mit un sac sur ses reins, et mena deuil sur son fils plusieurs jours.
Jacob tore his clothes in grief and dressed in sackcloth. He mourned the death of his son for a long time.
35 Et tous ses fils se levèrent, et toutes ses filles, pour le consoler; mais il refusa de se consoler, et dit: Certainement je descendrai, menant deuil, vers mon fils, au shéol. Et son père le pleura. (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 Et les Madianites le vendirent en Égypte à Potiphar, officier du Pharaon, 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.
