2 Chroniques 16
1 La trente-sixième du règne d’Asa, Baasa, roi d’Israël, étant venu attaquer Juda, fortifia Rama, pour ne pas laisser l’entrée libre à Asa, roi de Juda.
When Asa had been ruling [Judah] for almost 36 years, King Baasha of Israel went [with his army] to attack Judah. They [captured the town of] Ramah [north of Jerusalem] and started to build a wall around [it], in order to prevent any people from entering or leaving the area in Judah that was ruled by King Asa [because the only road into Judah from Israel went through Ramah].
2 Alors Asa sortit de l’argent et de l’or des trésors de la maison du Seigneur et de la maison du roi, et les envoya à Ben-Hadad, roi de Syrie, résidant à Damas, avec ces paroles:
So Asa told his workers to take all the silver and gold that was in the storerooms of the temple and in his own palace, and take and give it to Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, who was ruling in Damascus. [He sent him a message, ] saying
3 "Toi et moi soyons alliés, comme mon père fut allié du tien. Je t’envoie de l’argent et de l’or, afin que tu rompes ton alliance avec Baasa, roi d’Israël, et qu’il se retire de chez moi."
“I want there to be a peace treaty between me and you, like there was between my father and your father. Look, I am sending you [a lot of] silver and gold. So please cancel the treaty that you have made with Baasha, the king of Israel, in order that he will take his soldiers away from attacking mine, [because he will be afraid of your army].”
4 Ben-Hadad, accédant à la demande du roi Asa, envoya ses généraux contre les villes d’Israël. Ils prirent de vive force Iyyôn, Dan, Abel-Mayim et tous les magasins d’approvisionnement des villes de Nephtali.
Ben-Hadad agreed to do what King Asa [suggested]. He sent the commanders of his armies [with their soldiers] to attack some of the towns in Israel. They captured Ijon, Dan, Abel-Beth-Maacah and all the cities in the area belonging to the tribe of Naphtali where supplies were kept.
5 Lorsque Baasa en fut informé, il renonça à fortifier Rama et arrêta ses travaux.
When Baasha heard about that, he [commanded his troops to] stop fortifying Ramah and doing other work there.
6 Le roi Asa fit venir tout Juda pour enlever les pierres et le bois destinés aux constructions de Baasa, et il s’en servit pour fortifier Ghéba et Miçpa.
Then King Asa gathered all the men of Judah, and they took away from Ramah all the stones and timber that Baasha’s men had been using [to build the wall around that town]. They took those materials to [the town of] Geba and [the city of] Mizpah [north of Jerusalem] and built walls around them.
7 A cette époque, Hanani le Voyant alla trouver Asa, roi de Juda, et lui dit: "Puisque tu t’es appuyé sur le roi de Syrie au lieu de t’appuyer sur l’Eternel, ton Dieu, l’armée du roi de Syrie s’est échappée de tes mains.
At that time the prophet Hanani went to King Asa and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria and not on Yahweh our God, you missed your opportunity to destroy the army of the king of Syria.
8 Assurément, les Ethiopiens et les Libyens formaient une armée considérable, disposant de chars et de cavaliers extrêmement nombreux, et parce que tu as cherché ton appui en l’Eternel, il les a livrés en ton pouvoir.
The huge armies from Ethiopia and Libya with all their chariots and soldiers [riding] on horses [were certainly very powerful. But] when you relied on Yahweh, he enabled your army to defeat them.
9 C’Est que l’Eternel promène ses regards sur toute la terre, pour soutenir ceux dont le cœur lui appartient entièrement. Tu as agi follement en cette occurrence. Aussi désormais tu ne cesseras d’être en guerre."
That happened because Yahweh sees [what is happening] all over the earth, and he strengthens those who completely trust him. You have done a very foolish thing, so from now on other armies will be fighting your army.”
10 Asa s’emporta contre le Voyant et le fit jeter en prison, tant il était courroucé contre lui pour ce discours. Asa maltraita aussi une partie du peuple à ce moment.
Asa was very angry with the prophet because of what the prophet had said. So he [commanded his officials to] put Hanani in prison. At that same time, he started to treat some of his people very cruelly.
11 Or, l’histoire d’Asa, du commencement à la fin, est consignée dans le Livre des Rois de Juda et d’Israël.
All the things that Asa did while he was ruling, from the time he started to rule until he died, are written in the scroll containing the record of the [activities of the] kings of Judah and Israel.
12 La trente-neuvième année de son règne, Asa eut les pieds malades. Cette maladie fut extrêmement grave; pourtant, même dans sa maladie il ne s’adressa pas à l’Eternel, mais aux médecins.
When Asa had been ruling for almost 39 years, he was afflicted with a disease in his feet. The disease was very severe, but in spite of that, he did not request help from Yahweh. Instead he sought help only from doctors.
13 Asa s’endormit avec ses pères; il mourut dans la quarante-unième année de son règne.
When he had been ruling for almost 40 years, he died.
14 On l’ensevelit dans les chambres funéraires qu’il s’était creusées dans la Cité de David, on le déposa sur la couche qui avait été garnie d’aromates et de parfums, préparés selon l’art des parfumeurs; et l’on alluma en son honneur un très grand bûcher.
He was buried in the tomb that his workers had made for him in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. They laid his corpse on a bed covered with spices and various perfumes that had been mixed together. They also lit a huge fire to honor him.
