Juges 16
1 Samson, étant allé à Gaza, y remarqua une courtisane et se rendit auprès d’elle.
Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and he went to have sex with her that night.
2 Les gens de Gaza, apprenant que Samson était venu chez eux, passèrent la nuit à faire des rondes et à le guetter aux portes de la ville; ils gardèrent toute la nuit un profond silence, se disant: "D’Ici au point du jour, nous l’aurons tué."
The men of Gaza found out Samson was there, so they gathered to spend the night lying in wait for him at the town gates. They kept quiet all night, whispering to one another, “We'll kill him when it gets light.”
3 Samson resta couché jusqu’à minuit; à minuit il se leva, et, saisissant les battants de la porte de la ville avec les deux poteaux, les arracha en même temps que la barre, mit le tout sur ses épaules et le porta au sommet de la montagne qui regarde Hébron.
But Samson only stayed until halfway through the night. He grabbed hold of the town gates along with their two posts and ripped them up, along with the lock-bar. Putting them on his shoulders, he carried them to the hill opposite Hebron.
4 Plus tard, il s’éprit d’une femme appelée Dalila, dans la vallée de Sorek.
Later he fell in love with a woman named Delilah living in the Sorek Valley.
5 Les princes des Philistins vinrent la trouver et lui dirent: "Tâche, par tes séductions, de découvrir d’où vient sa grande vigueur et comment nous pouvons le vaincre, le lier et le réduire à l’impuissance. Tu recevras alors de chacun de nous onze cents pièces d’argent."
The Philistine leaders approached her, saying, “See if you can seduce him and get him to show you the secret of his incredible strength, and find out how we can overpower him and tie him up so he can't do anything. We'll all give you eleven hundred shekels of silver each.”
6 Dalila dit à Samson: "Apprends-moi donc pourquoi ta force est si grande, et avec quoi il faudrait te lier pour te dompter."
Delilah went and pleaded with Samson, “Please tell me where your incredible strength comes from, and what can be used to tie you up so you can't do anything.”
7 Samson lui répondit: "Si on me liait avec sept cordelettes fraîches et encore humides, je perdrais ma force et deviendrais semblable à un autre homme."
“If I'm tied up with seven supple bowstrings that haven't dried out, I'll become just as weak,” Samson told her.
8 Alors les princes philistins lui procurèrent sept cordelettes humides avec lesquelles elle le lia,
The Philistine leaders brought her seven supple bowstrings that hadn't dried out, and she tied him up with them.
9 tandis que des hommes, apostés par elle, attendaient dans la chambre; puis elle lui dit: "Les Philistins viennent te surprendre, Samson!" Et il rompit ses liens, comme se rompent des liens d’étoupe à l’approche du feu. Et le secret de sa force resta encore inconnu.
Having arranged for men to hide in her bedroom ready to attack him, she shouted out, “Samson, the Philistines are here to get you!” But he snapped the bowstrings like a thread snaps when a flame touches it. So nobody found out where his strength came from.
10 Dalila dit à Samson: "Tu t’es joué de moi, tu m’as dit des mensonges! Voyons, fais-moi savoir avec quoi l’on pourrait te lier."
Later Delilah said to Samson, “You've made me look stupid, telling me these lies! So now please tell me what can be used to tie you up.”
11 Il lui répondit: "Eh bien! si l’on m’attachait avec des cordes neuves et n’ayant pas encore servi, je perdrais ma force et deviendrais comme un autre homme."
“If I'm tied up tight with new ropes that haven't been used before, I'll become just as weak as anyone else,” he told her.
12 Alors Dalila prit des cordes neuves avec lesquelles elle le lia, tandis qu’on était aux aguets dans la chambre, puis elle lui dit: "Les Philistins viennent te surprendre, Samson!" Mais il arracha les cordes de ses bras comme du fil.
So Delilah got some new ropes and tied him up with them. She shouted out, “Samson, the Philistines are here to get you!” As before, men were hiding in her bedroom. But again Samson snapped the ropes from his arms as if they were thin threads.
13 Et Dalila dit à Samson: "Jusqu’à présent tu t’es raillé de moi et ne m’as dit que des mensonges. Apprends-moi comment on pourrait te lier!" Il lui répondit: "Tu n’aurais qu’à entre-tisser les sept boucles de ma chevelure avec la chaîne du tissu."
Delilah said to Samson, “You keep on making me look stupid, telling me these lies! Just tell me what can be used to tie you up!” “If you were to weave the seven braids of my hair into the web on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I'll become as weak as anyone else,” he told her. So while he was asleep, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, weaving them into the web,
14 Lorsqu’elle eut fixé la cheville, elle lui dit: "Les Philistins viennent te surprendre, Samson!" Il se réveilla de son sommeil et arracha du même coup la cheville du métier et le tissu.
and tightening the pin. She shouted out, “Samson, the Philistines are here to get you!” But Samson woke up and ripped out both the pin and the web from the loom.
15 "Quoi! lui dit-elle, tu prétends que tu m’aimes, et ton cœur m’est étranger! Trois fois déjà tu t’es joué de moi, en ne me révélant pas la cause de ta force si grande…"
Then Delilah complained to Samson, “How can you tell me, ‘I love you,’ when you don't let me into your confidence? Three times you've me look stupid, not telling me where your incredible strength comes from!”
16 Tourmenté ainsi chaque jour et harcelé par ses propos, il en fut enfin excédé à la mort,
She nagged and complained all the time, pestering him until he wanted to die.
17 et il lui dévoila tout son cœur, en disant: "Jamais rasoir n’a touché ma tête, car je suis voué à Dieu comme Naziréen depuis le sein maternel; si l’on me coupait les cheveux, je perdrais ma force et je deviendrais faible comme tout autre homme."
Eventually Samson confided in her, sharing everything. “My hair has never been cut, because I've been dedicated as a Nazirite to God from my birth. If I'm shaved, my strength will leave me, and I'll become as weak as anyone else.”
18 Dalila vit alors qu’il lui avait ouvert son cœur, et elle envoya quérir les princes philistins, avec ces mots: "Venez cette fois, il m’a parlé à cœur ouvert." Et les princes philistins montèrent chez elle, munis de la somme d’argent.
Delilah realized that he had truly confided in her and shared everything, she sent a message to the Philistine leaders telling them, “Come back once more, because this time he's confided in me and told me everything.” So the Philistine leaders returned, bringing with them the money to give to her.
19 Elle l’endormit sur ses genoux, et, ayant mandé un homme, lui fit couper les sept boucles de sa chevelure; dès lors elle put le maîtriser, car sa vigueur l’avait abandonné.
Delilah soothed him sleep on her lap, and then called in someone to shave off the seven braids of hair. She started to torment him but he couldn't do anything for his strength left him.
20 Elle cria: "Les Philistins te menacent, Samson!" Il se réveilla et se dit: "J’En sortirai comme toujours et me débarrasserai", ne sachant pas que l’Eternel l’avait abandonné.
She shouted out, “Samson, the Philistines are here to get you!” Samson woke up and thought to himself, “I'll do like before and shake myself free.” But he didn't know that the Lord had left him.
21 Les Philistins se saisirent de lui et lui crevèrent les yeux; puis ils l’emmenèrent à Gaza, où il fut chargé de chaînes et forcé de tourner la meule dans la prison.
The Philistines grabbed him and gouged out his eyes. Then they took him to Gaza where they imprisoned him in bronze chains. He was made to work grinding grain at the mill in the prison.
22 Mais sa chevelure, qu’on avait rasée, commença à repousser.
But his hair began to grow back after it had been shaved off.
23 Or, les princes des Philistins s’assemblèrent pour faire de grands sacrifices à leur dieu Dagon et se livrer à des réjouissances, car, disaient-ils, notre dieu a fait tomber dans nos mains Samson, notre ennemi!
The Philistine leaders gathered for a great religious festival to sacrifice to their god Dagon and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has handed Samson our enemy over to us!”
24 Le peuple aussi, en le voyant, glorifia son dieu et s’écria: "C’Est notre dieu qui nous a livré notre ennemi, le fléau de notre pays, celui qui a tué tant des nôtres!"
When the people saw him, they praised their god, and said, “Our god has handed our enemy over to us, the one who devastated our land and killed so many of us.”
25 Comme ils étaient en belle humeur, ils dirent: "Faites venir Samson, pour qu’il nous divertisse!" Et on le fit venir de la prison, et il les amusa, et on le plaça entre les colonnes.
As they began to get drunk, they shouted, “Summon Samson so he can entertain us!” So they summoned Samson from the prison to entertain them, and made him stand between the two main pillars of the building.
26 Samson dit au jeune garçon qui le conduisait par la main: "Laisse-moi; fais-moi seulement toucher les colonnes qui soutiennent l’édifice, pour que je m’y appuie."
Samson said to the servant boy who was leading him by the hand, “Leave me by the pillars on which the temple rests so I can feel them, and lean against them.”
27 Or, le temple était rempli d’hommes et de femmes; tous les princes philistins s’y trouvaient, et, sur le toit, environ trois mille personnes, hommes et femmes, qui assistaient au divertissement de Samson.
The temple was full of people. All the Philistine rulers were there, and on the roof were the ordinary people watching what Samson was doing.
28 Celui-ci invoqua l’Eternel en disant: "Seigneur Elohim! Daigne te souvenir de moi! daigne me rendre assez fort cette fois seulement, mon Dieu! pour que je fasse payer d’un seul coup mes deux yeux aux Philistins!"
Samson called out to the Lord, “Lord God, please remember me and give me strength. Please God, do this just once more, so that with one act I may pay the Philistines back in revenge for the loss of my two eyes.”
29 Et Samson embrassa, en pesant dessus, les deux colonnes du milieu qui soutenaient le temple, l’une avec le bras droit, l’autre avec le gauche,
Samson reached for the two middle pillars that supported the temple. With his right hand leaning on one pillar and his left hand on the other,
30 en disant: "Meure ma personne avec les Philistins!" Et d’un vigoureux effort, il fit tomber la maison sur les princes et sur toute la foule qui était là; de sorte qu’il fit périr plus de monde à sa mort qu’il n’en avait tué de son vivant.
Samson shouted, “Let me die with the Philistines!” and he pushed with all his strength. The temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. So those killed at his death were more than he killed in his life.
31 Ses frères et toute sa famille vinrent pour emporter son corps, et remontèrent pour l’ensevelir entre Çorea et Echtaol, dans le sépulcre de Manoah, son père. Il avait gouverné Israël vingt années.
Then his brothers and his whole family came and took him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He led Israel as judge for twenty years.
