< Genèse 37 >
1 Jacob demeura dans le pays des pérégrinations de son père, dans le pays de Canaan.
Jacob settled down and lived in Canaan as his father had done.
2 Voici l’histoire de la descendance de Jacob. Joseph, âgé de dix sept ans, menait paître les brebis avec ses frères. Passant son enfance avec les fils de Bilha et ceux de Zilpa, épouses de son père, Joseph débitait sur leur compte des médisances à leur père.
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 Or Israël préférait Joseph à ses autres enfants parce qu’il était le fils de sa vieillesse; et il lui avait fait une tunique à rayures.
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 Ses frères, voyant que leur père l’aimait de préférence à eux tous, le prirent en haine et ne purent se résoudre à lui parler amicalement.
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 Joseph, ayant eu un songe, le conta à ses frères et leur haine pour lui s’en accrut encore.
Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more.
6 II leur dit: "Écoutez, je vous prie, ce songe que j’ai eu.
“Listen to this dream I had,” he told them.
7 Nous composions des gerbes dans le champ, soudain ma gerbe se dressa; elle resta debout et les vôtres se rangèrent à l’entour et s’inclinèrent devant la mienne."
“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 Ses frères lui dirent: "Quoi! Régnerais-tu sur nous? Deviendrais-tu notre maître?" Et ils le haïrent plus encore, pour ses songes et pour ses propos.
“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 Il eut encore un autre songe et le raconta à ses frères en disant: "J’Ai fait encore un songe où j’ai vu le soleil, la lune et onze étoiles se prosterner 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 II le répéta à son père et à ses frères. Son père le blâma et lui dit: "Qu’est ce qu’un pareil songe? Eh quoi! Nous viendrions, moi et ta mère et tes frères, nous prosterner à terre à tes pieds!"
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 Les frères de Joseph le jalousèrent; mais son père retint l’affaire.
Joseph's brothers became jealous of him, but his father puzzled over the meaning of the dream.
12 Un jour ses frères étaient allés conduire les troupeaux de leur père à Sichem.
One day Joseph's brothers took their father's flocks to graze near Shechem.
13 Israël dit à Joseph: "Tes frères font paître les troupeaux à Sichem. Viens donc, je veux t’envoyer auprès d’eux." II lui répondit: "Je suis prêt."
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 Il reprit: "Va voir, je te prie, comment se portent tes frères, comment se porte le bétail et rapporte m’en des nouvelles." II l’envoya ainsi de la vallée d’Hébron et Joseph se rendit 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 Un homme le rencontra errant dans la campagne; cet homme lui demanda: "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 II répondit: "Ce sont mes frères que je cherche. Veuille me dire où ils font paître leur bétail."
“I'm looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they're looking after the flock?”
17 L’Homme dit: "Ils sont partis d’ici, car je les ai entendus dire: ‘Allons à Dothan’." Joseph s’en alla sur les pas de ses frères et il les trouva à 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 Ils l’aperçurent de loin; et, avant qu’il fût près d’eux, ils complotèrent de 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 Ils se dirent l’un à l’autre: "Voici venir l’homme aux songes.
“Look, here comes the Lord of Dreams!” they said to each other.
20 Or çà, venez, tuons le, jetons le dans quelque citerne, puis nous dirons qu’une bête féroce l’a dévoré. Nous verrons alors ce qui adviendra de ses rêves!"
“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 Ruben l’entendit et voulut le sauver de leurs mains; il se dit: "N’Attentons point à sa vie."
When Reuben heard all this, he tried to save Joseph from them.
22 Ruben leur dit donc: "Ne versez point le sang! Jetez le dans cette citerne qui est dans le désert, mais ne portez point la main sur lui." C’Était pour le sauver de leurs mains et le ramener à 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 En effet, lorsque Joseph fut arrivé près de ses frères ils le dépouillèrent de sa robe, de la tunique à rayures dont il était vêtu;
So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off his robe—the colorful long-sleeved robe he was wearing—
24 et ils le saisirent et ils le jetèrent dans la citerne. Cette citerne était vide et sans eau.
grabbed him and threw him into a pit. (The pit was empty—it didn't have any water in it.)
25 Comme ils étaient assis pour prendre leur repas, ils levèrent les yeux et virent une caravane d’Ismaélites, laquelle venait de Galaad; leurs chameaux étaient chargés d’aromates, de baume et de lotus qu’ils allaient transporter 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 Juda dit à ses frères: "Quel avantage, si nous tuons notre frère et si nous scellons sa mort?
“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 consentirent.
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 Or, plusieurs marchands madianites vinrent à passer, qui tirèrent et firent remonter Joseph de la citerne, puis le vendirent aux Ismaélites pour vingt pièces d’argent. 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 Ruben revint à la citerne et voyant que Joseph n’y était plus, il déchira ses vêtements,
When Reuben came back later and looked into the pit, Joseph was gone. He tore his clothes in grief.
30 retourna vers ses frères et dit: "L’Enfant n’y est plus et moi, où irai je?"
He returned to his brothers. “The boy's gone!” he moaned. “What am I going to do now?”
31 Ils prirent la robe de Joseph, égorgèrent un chevreau et trempèrent la robe dans son sang;
They slaughtered a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in the blood.
32 puis ils envoyèrent cette tunique à rayures, qu’on apporta à leur père en disant: "Voici ce que nous avons trouvé; examine 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 II la reconnut et s’écria: "La tunique de mon fils! Une bête féroce l’a dévoré! Joseph, Joseph a été mis en pièces!"
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 il mit un cilice sur ses reins et il porta longtemps le deuil de son fils.
Jacob tore his clothes in grief and dressed in sackcloth. He mourned the death of his son for a long time.
35 Tous ses fils et toutes ses filles se mirent en devoir de le consoler; mais il refusa toute consolation et dit: "Non! Je rejoindrai, en pleurant, mon fils dans la tombe!" Et son père continua de le pleurer. (Sheol )
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 )
36 Quant aux Madianites, ils le vendirent en Égypte à Putiphar, officier de 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.