< Genèse 38 >

1 II arriva, en ce temps là, que Juda s’éloigna de ses frères et s’achemina vers un habitant d’Adoullam, nommé Hira.
Around this time, Judah left his brothers and set up his tents at Adullam, near to a local man named Hirah.
2 Là, Juda vit la fille d’un Cananéen, appelé Choua; il l’épousa et s’approcha d’elle.
There Judah happened to see the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua and married her. He slept with her,
3 Elle conçut et enfanta un fils, à qui il donna le nom d’Ér.
and she became pregnant and had a son he named Er.
4 Elle conçut encore et eut un fils et elle lui donna le nom d’Onàn.
She became pregnant again and had a son she named Onan.
5 De nouveau elle enfanta un fils et elle le nomma Chéla. II était à Kezib lorsqu’elle l’enfanta.
Then she had another son she named Shelah who was born in Kezib.
6 Juda choisit une épouse à Ér, son premier né; elle se nommait Thamar.
Much later, Judah arranged for Er, his firstborn son, to marry a woman named Tamar.
7 Ér, le premier né de Juda, ayant déplu au Seigneur, le Seigneur le fit mourir.
But Er did what was evil in the Lord's sight, so the Lord put him to death.
8 Alors Juda dit à Onàn: "Épouse la femme de ton frère en vertu du lévirat, afin de constituer une postérité à ton frère."
Judah told Onan, “Go and sleep with your brother's wife to fulfill the requirements of a brother-in-law to have children on behalf of your brother.”
9 Onân comprit que cette postérité ne serait pas la sienne; et alors, chaque fois qu’il approchait de la femme de son frère, il corrompait sa voie, afin de ne pas donner de postérité à son frère.
Onan realized that any children he had wouldn't be his own, so whenever he slept with his brother's wife he made sure she wouldn't become pregnant by withdrawing and spilling his semen on the ground. In this way he prevented any children being born on behalf of his brother.
10 Sa conduite déplut au Seigneur, qui le fit mourir de même.
But what he did was evil in the Lord's sight, so he also put Onan to death.
11 Et Juda dit à Thamar, sa belle fille: "Demeure veuve dans la maison de ton père, jusqu’à ce que mon fils Chéla soit plus grand," car il craignait qu’il ne meure, lui aussi, comme ses frères. Et Thamar s’en alla demeurer dans la maison de son père.
Then Judah told his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Go to your father's house and live there as a widow until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “Maybe he'll die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went and stayed in her father's house.
12 Longtemps après mourut la fille de Choua, femme de Juda. Quand Juda se fut consolé, il alla surveiller la tonte de ses brebis, avec Hira son ami l’Adoullamite, à Timna.
A long time later Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah had finished the time of mourning, he went to visit his sheepshearers at Timnah with his friend Hirah from Adullam.
13 On informa Thamar en ces termes: "Ton beau père monte en ce moment à Timna pour tondre ses brebis."
Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going to Timnah to shear his sheep.”
14 Elle quitta ses vêtements de veuve, prit un voile et s’en couvrit; et elle s’assit au carrefour des Deux Sources, qui est sur le chemin de Timna. Car elle voyait que Chéla avait grandi et qu’elle ne lui avait pas été donnée pour épouse.
So she took off her widow's clothes and covered herself with a veil, disguising herself. She sat down beside the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. She had realized that even though Shelah had now grown up, nothing had been done about her marrying him.
15 Juda, l’ayant aperçue, la prit pour une prostituée; car elle avait voilé son visage.
Judah saw her and thought she must be a prostitute because she had veiled her face.
16 II se dirigea de son côté et lui dit: "Laisse moi te posséder." Car il ignorait que ce fût sa belle fille. Elle répondit: "Que me donneras-tu pour me posséder?"
He went over to her at the side of the road and said, “I want to sleep with you.” He didn't know she was his daughter-in-law. “What will you give me if I let you sleep with me?” she asked.
17 II répliqua: "Je t’enverrai un chevreau de mon troupeau." Et elle dit: "Bien, si tu me donnes un gage en attendant cet envoi."
“I'll send you a young goat from my flock,” he replied. “What guarantee will you give me to make sure you'll send it?” she asked.
18 II reprit: "Quel gage te donnerai-je?" Elle répondit: "Ton sceau, ton cordon et le bâton que tu as à la main." II les lui donna, il approcha d’elle et elle conçut de son fait.
“What guarantee do I have to give you?” he asked. “Your signet seal and its cord, and your walking stick that you're holding,” she replied. He handed them over to her. He slept with her and she became pregnant.
19 Elle se leva et partit; elle quitta son voile et reprit les vêtements de son veuvage.
She left, went home, took off her veil, and put on her widow's clothes.
20 Juda envoya le chevreau par l’entremise de son ami l’Adoullamite, pour retirer le gage des mains de cette femme; il ne la trouva point.
Judah sent his friend Hirah from Adullam with a young goat to get back his belongings he'd left as a guarantee from the woman, but he couldn't find her.
21 II questionna les gens de l’endroit, disant: "Où est la prostituée qui se tient aux Deux Sources, sur le chemin?" Ils répondirent: "II n’y a point de prostituée ici."
Hirah asked the men there, “Where's the cult prostitute that sits by the entrance road to Enaim?” “There's no cult prostitute here,” they answered.
22 II retourna auprès de Juda et dit: "Je ne l’ai pas trouvée; et même les habitants de l’endroit ont dit qu’il n’y avait point là de prostituée."
Hirah went back to Judah and told him, “I couldn't find her, and the men there said, ‘There's no cult prostitute here.’”
23 Et Juda dit: "Qu’elle garde ce qu’elle a et que nous n’ayons pas à rougir; car enfin, j’ai envoyé ce chevreau et tu n’as pu la trouver."
“Let her keep what I gave her,” Judah replied. “We'll look ridiculous to people if we go on searching. In any case I did try to send her the young goat as promised but you couldn't find her.”
24 Or, environ trois mois après, on informa Juda, en disant: "Thamar, ta bru, s’est prostituée et elle porte dans son sein le fruit de la débauche." Juda répondit: "Emmenez la et qu’elle soit brûlée!"
Then about three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has had sex like a prostitute and now as a result she's pregnant!” “Bring her out and burn her to death!” Judah ordered.
25 Comme on l’emmenait, elle envoya dire à son beau père: "Je suis enceinte du fait de l’homme à qui ces choses appartiennent." Et elle dit: "Examine, je te prie, à qui appartiennent ce sceau, ces cordons et ce bâton."
As she was brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law, saying, “I'm pregnant by the man who owns these things.” Then she added, “Please look carefully at this signet seal and its cord and walking stick. Who do they belong to?”
26 Juda les reconnut et dit: "Elle est plus juste que moi, car il est vrai que je ne l’ai point donnée à Chéla mon fils." Cependant il cessa, dès lors, de la connaître.
Judah recognized them right away and said, “She has honored the law more than I have, because I didn't give her in marriage to my son Shelah.” He didn't sleep with Tamar again.
27 Or il se trouva, lors de son enfantement, qu’elle portait des jumeaux dans son sein.
When the time came for Tamar to give birth, she was found to be carrying twins.
28 Au moment de sa délivrance, l’un d’eux avança la main; la sage femme la saisit et y attacha un fil d’écarlate, pour indiquer que celui ci était né le premier.
One baby put out his hand, and the midwife tied a scarlet thread around on his wrist and said, “This one came out first.”
29 Comme il retirait sa main, voici que son frère vint au monde. Elle dit: "Avec quelle violence tu te fais jour!" Et on lui donna le nom de Péreç.
But then he pulled back his hand and his brother was born, she said, “How did you burst out?” So he was named Perez.
30 Ensuite naquit son frère, dont la main portait le fil d’écarlate. On lui donna le nom de Zérah.
Then his brother with the scarlet thread on his wrist was born. He was named Zerah.

< Genèse 38 >