Néhémie 6

1 Et il arriva que, lorsque Sanballat, et Tobija, et Guéshem, l’Arabe, et le reste de nos ennemis, apprirent que j’avais bâti la muraille et qu’il n’y restait aucune brèche, quoique jusqu’à ce temps-là je n’aie pas posé les battants aux portes,

Now when word was given to Sanballat and Tobiah and to Geshem the Arabian and to the rest of our haters, that I had done the building of the wall and that there were no more broken places in it (though even then I had not put up the doors in the doorways);

2 Sanballat et Guéshem m’envoyèrent dire: Viens et rencontrons-nous ensemble dans les villages de la vallée d’Ono. Mais ils pensaient à me faire du mal.

Sanballat and Geshem sent to me saying, Come, let us have a meeting in one of the little towns in the lowland of Ono. But their purpose was to do me evil.

3 Et je leur envoyai des messagers, disant: Je fais un grand travail et je ne puis descendre. Pourquoi le travail cesserait-il pendant que je le quitterais et que je descendrais vers vous?

And I sent men to them saying, I am doing a great work, so that it is not possible for me to come down: is the work to be stopped while I go away from it and come down to you?

4 Et ils m’envoyèrent dire la même chose quatre fois, et je leur répondis de la même manière.

And four times they sent to me in this way, and I sent them the same answer.

5 Et Sanballat m’envoya son serviteur, une cinquième fois, de la même manière, une lettre ouverte à la main.

Then Sanballat sent his servant to me a fifth time with an open letter in his hand;

6 Il y était écrit: On entend dire parmi les nations, et Gashmu le dit, que toi et les Juifs vous pensez à vous révolter; c’est pour cela que tu bâtis la muraille; et, d’après ces dires, c’est toi qui deviendras leur roi.

And in it these words were recorded: It is said among the nations, and Geshem says so, that you and the Jews are hoping to make yourselves free from the king's authority; and that this is why you are building the wall: and they say that it is your purpose to be their king;

7 Et même tu as établi des prophètes pour proclamer et dire de toi dans Jérusalem: Il y a un roi en Juda! Et maintenant, on fera entendre au roi ces mêmes choses; viens donc maintenant, et tenons conseil ensemble.

And that you have prophets preaching about you in Jerusalem, and saying, There is a king in Judah: now an account of these things will be sent to the king. So come now, and let us have a discussion.

8 Et je lui envoyai dire: Aucune des choses dont tu parles n’a eu lieu; mais tu les inventes dans ton propre cœur.

Then I sent to him, saying, No such things as you say are being done, they are only a fiction you have made up yourself.

9 Car ils voulaient tous nous effrayer, disant: Leurs mains se lasseront du travail, et il ne se fera pas. Maintenant donc, fortifie mes mains!

For they were hoping to put fear in us, saying, Their hands will become feeble and give up the work so that it may not get done. But now, O God, make my hands strong.

10 Et moi, je vins à la maison de Shemahia, fils de Delaïa, fils de Mehétabeël (et il s’était enfermé); et il dit: Rencontrons-nous dans la maison de Dieu, à l’intérieur du temple, et fermons les portes du temple, car ils vont venir pour te tuer, et c’est de nuit qu’ils vont venir pour te tuer.

And I went to the house of Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us have a meeting in the house of God, inside the Temple, and let the doors be shut: for they will come to put you to death; truly, in the night they will come to put you to death.

11 Et je dis: Un homme comme moi fuirait-il? Et quel homme comme moi entrerait dans le temple et vivrait? Je n’entrerai pas.

And I said, Am I the sort of man to go in flight? what man, in my position, would go into the Temple to keep himself safe? I will not go in.

12 Et je reconnus que, voici, ce n’était pas Dieu qui l’avait envoyé, car il prononçait cette prophétie contre moi, et Tobija et Sanballat le soudoyaient.

Then it became clear to me that God had not sent him: he had given this word of a prophet against me himself: and Tobiah and Sanballat had given him money to do so.

13 C’est pour cela qu’il était payé, pour que j’aie peur et que je fasse ainsi et pèche, et qu’ils aient de quoi me faire un mauvais renom, afin de me couvrir d’opprobre.

For this reason they had given him money, in order that I might be overcome by fear and do what he said and do wrong, and so they would have reason to say evil about me and put shame on me.

14 Souviens-toi, ô Dieu, de Tobija et de Sanballat selon ces œuvres qu’ils ont faites; et aussi de Noadia, la prophétesse, et du reste des prophètes qui voulaient m’effrayer!

Keep in mind, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat and what they did, and Noadiah, the woman prophet, and the rest of the prophets whose purpose was to put fear into me.

15 Et la muraille fut achevée le vingt-cinquième [jour du mois] d’Élul, en 52 jours.

So the wall was complete on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.

16 Et il arriva que, lorsque tous nos ennemis l’apprirent, toutes les nations qui nous environnaient craignirent et furent fort abaissées à leurs propres yeux, et elles reconnurent que cette œuvre avait été faite de par notre Dieu.

And when our haters had news of this, all the nations round about us were full of fear and were greatly shamed, for they saw that this work had been done by our God.

17 En ces jours-là aussi, des nobles de Juda envoyèrent lettres sur lettres à Tobija, et celles de Tobija leur arrivaient;

And further, in those days the chiefs of Judah sent a number of letters to Tobiah, and his letters came to them.

18 car plusieurs en Juda lui avaient prêté serment, car il était gendre de Shecania, fils d’Arakh, et Jokhanan, son fils, avait pris la fille de Meshullam, fils de Bérékia.

For in Judah there were a number of people who had made an agreement by oath with him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah, the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had taken as his wife the daughter of Meshullam, the son of Berechiah.

19 Ils disaient aussi devant moi ses bonnes actions, et ils lui rapportaient mes paroles. Tobija envoyait des lettres pour m’effrayer.

And they said much before me of the good he had done, and gave him accounts of my words. And Tobiah sent letters with the purpose of causing me fear.