Genèse 29
1 Puis, s'étant remis en marche, Jacob s'en alla en la terre d'Orient chez Laban, fils de Bathuel le Syrien, frère de Rébécca, mère de Jacob et d'Esaü.
Jacob continued on the road [MTY], and he arrived at the land that was east of Canaan.
2 Il aperçut un puits, dans la plaine et trois troupeaux de brebis, arrêtés près du puits, car c'était là que l'on abreuvait les troupeaux, et il y avait une grande pierre sur l'ouverture du puits.
There he [was surprised to] see a well in a field, and three flocks of sheep were lying near the well. It was the well from which shepherds habitually got water for their sheep. There was a large stone covering the top of the well.
3 Lorsque tous les troupeaux étaient rassemblés, les pâtres faisaient rouler la pierre de l'ouverture du puits, et ils donnaient à boire au bétail, puis, ils remettaient la pierre à sa place, au-dessus du puits.
When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would work together to roll the stone away from the top of the well and get water for the sheep. When they finished doing that, they would put the stone back in its place over the top of the well.
4 Et Jacob dit: Frères, d'où êtes-vous? Nous sommes, répondirent-ils, d'Haran.
[On that day], Jacob asked the shepherds who were sitting there, “Where are you from?” They replied, “We are from Haran.”
5 Il ajouta: Connaissez-vous Laban, petit-fils de Nachor? et ils dirent: Nous le connaissons.
He asked them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” They replied, “Yes, we know him.”
6 Et il leur dit: Se porte-t-il bien? et ils répondirent il se porte bien; voilà Rachel sa fille, qui vient avec ses brebis.
Jacob asked them, “Is Laban well?” They replied, “Yes, he is well. Look! Here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep!”
7 Le jour est encore grand, dit Jacob, et ce n'est point l'heure où l'on rassemble les troupeaux; faites donc boire vos brebis et ramenez-les au pâturage.
Jacob said, “Hey! The sun is still high in the sky. It is not time for the flocks to be gathered for nighttime. Give the sheep some water and then take them back to (graze/eat grass) in the pastures!”
8 Ils repartirent: Nous ne le pourrons avant la réunion de tous les pâtres; à eux tous, ils détourneront la pierre de l'ouverture du puits, et nous ferons boire notre bétail.
They replied, “No, we cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered here and the stone is removed from the top of the well. After that, we will give water to the sheep.”
9 Comme il leur parlait encore, Rachel, fille de Laban, les rejoignit avec les brebis de son père, car elle menait paître les brebis de son père.
While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep. She was the one who took care of her father’s sheep.
10 Et lorsque Jacob vit Rachel, fille de Laban, frère de sa mère, et les brebis de Laban, frère de sa mère, s'étant approché, il détourna la pierre de l'ouverture du puits, et fit boire les brebis de Laban, frère de sa mère;
When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, who was his mother’s brother, [Jacob was so excited that] he went over and [by himself] rolled away the stone that covered the top of the well, and he got water for his uncle’s sheep.
11 Et Jacob donna un baiser à Rachel, et, élevant la voix, il pleura.
Then Jacob kissed Rachel [on the cheek], and he cried loudly [because he was so happy].
12 Il apprit à Rachel qu'il était neveu de son père, et fils de Rébécca; aussitôt s'étant mise à courir, elle raconta tout à son père.
Jacob told Rachel that he was one of her father’s relatives, the son of her aunt Rebekah. So she ran and told that to her father.
13 À peine Laban eut-il entendu le nom de Jacob, fils de sa sœur, qu'il courut à sa rencontre, et l'ayant serré dans ses bras, il le baisa; puis il le conduisit en sa demeure, et Jacob raconta à Laban toutes choses.
As soon as Laban heard that Jacob, his sister’s son, was there, he ran to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him [on the cheek]. Then he brought him to his home, and Jacob told him all that had happened to him.
14 Laban lui dit: Tu es de mes os et de ma chair. Et Jacob resta avec lui tous les jours d'une lune.
Then Laban said to him, “Truly, you are part of my family!” After Jacob had stayed there and worked for Laban for a month,
15 Laban dit ensuite à Jacob: Parce que tu es mon frère, tu ne dois pas me servir gratuitement; dis-moi donc quelle récompense tu veux.
Laban said to him “(You should not work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine!/Why should you work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine?) [RHQ] Tell me how much you want me to pay you.”
16 Or, Laban avait deux filles: I'aînée se nommait Lia, et la plus jeune Rachel.
Well, Laban had two daughters. The older one was named Leah, and the younger one was named Rachel.
17 Lia avait les yeux faibles, Rachel était belle de visage et pleine de grâces.
Leah had pretty eyes, but Rachel had a very attractive figure and was beautiful.
18 Jacob aimait Rachel, et il dit: Je te servirai sept ans pour Rachel, ta plus jeune fille.
Jacob (was in love with/wanted very much to be married to) Rachel, and he said, “I will work for you for seven years. That will be my payment for your letting me marry your younger daughter, Rachel.”
19 Mieux vaut, lui dit Laban, la donner à toi qu'à un autre homme; demeure donc avec nous.
Laban replied, “It is better for me to let you marry her than for her to marry some other man!”
20 Jacob servit donc sept années pour Rachel, et les ans furent devant lui comme de courtes journées, à cause de la tendresse qu'il avait pour elle.
So Jacob worked for Laban for seven years to get Rachel, but to him it seemed like it was only a few days, because he loved her so much.
21 Et Jacob dit à Laban: Donne-moi ma femme afin que j'habite avec elle, car les jours sont accomplis.
After the seven years were ended, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me marry Rachel now, because the time we agreed upon for me to work for you is ended, and I want to marry her. [EUP]”
22 Lahan réunit tous les hommes du lieu, et il célébra les noces.
So Laban gathered together all the people who lived in that area and made a feast.
23 Mais, le soir venu, il prit sa fille Lia et l'introduisit auprès de Jacob, qui s'approcha d'elle.
But that evening, instead of taking Rachel to Jacob, Laban took his older daughter, Leah, to him. But because it was already dark, he could not see that it was Leah and not Rachel, and he had sex [EUP] with her.
24 Or, Laban donna à sa fille Lia, pour servante, Zelpha, qui lui appartenait.
(Laban had already given his slave girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid/servant.)
25 Lorsque le matin parut, Jacob reconnut Lia, et il dit à Laban: Pourquoi m'as-tu fait cela; n'est-ce pas pour Rachel que je t'ai servi? Pourquoi m'as- tu trompé?
The next morning, Jacob was shocked to see that it was Leah who was with him! So he went to Laban [and told him] very angrily, “(What you have done to me is disgusting!/What is this that you have done to me?) [RHQ] I worked for you to get Rachel, did I not? So why did you deceive me?”
26 Laban répondit: Il n'est point d'usage en notre pays de donner la plus jeune avant l'aînée.
Laban replied, “In this land, it is not our custom to give a younger daughter to be married before we let someone marry our firstborn daughter.
27 Achève la semaine de celle-ci, et je le donnerai encore l'autre pour prix des travaux que tu feras ensuite pour moi pendant sept autres années.
After we finish this week of celebration, we will let you marry the younger one also. But in return, you must pay for Rachel by working for me for another seven years.”
28 Jacob fit ainsi: il acheva la semaine de Lia, et Laban lui donna pour femme sa fille Rachel.
So that is what Jacob did. After the week of celebration was ended, Laban gave him his daughter, Rachel, to be his wife.
29 Laban donna à sa fille, pour servante, Balla qui lui appartenait.
Laban gave his slave girl, Bilhah, to Rachel to be her maid/servant.
30 Et Jacob s'approcha de Rachel; il la chérit plus que Lia, et il servit pour elle sept autres années.
Jacob had sex [EUP] with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than he loved Leah. And Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years.
31 Mais le Seigneur ayant vu que Lia était haïe, lui ouvrit les entrailles, tandis que Rachel resta stérile.
When Yahweh saw that Jacob did not love Leah [very much], he enabled her to become pregnant. But Rachel was not able to become pregnant.
32 Et Lia ayant conçu, enfanta à Jacob un fils qu'elle appela Ruben, disant: Le Seigneur a vu mon humiliation, et il m'a donné un fils; maintenant donc mon époux m'aimera,
Leah gave birth to a son, whom she named Reuben, [which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘Look, a son]!’ She said, “Yahweh has seen that I was miserable, and because of that he has given me a son. Now, surely my husband will love me for giving birth to a son for him.”
33 Elle conçut derechef, et elle enfanta un second fils, et elle dit: Le Seigneur a entendu que je suis haïe, et il m'a donné encore celui-ci; elle l'appela Siméon.
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “Because Yahweh has heard that my husband doesn’t love me, he has given me this son, too.” So she named him Simeon, [which means ‘someone who hears’].
34 Elle conçut une troisième fois, et elle enfanta un fils, et elle dit: Désormais mon époux sera avec moi, car je lui ai donné trois fils; à cause de cela elle l'appela Lévi.
Later she became pregnant again, and gave birth to another son. She said, “Now, finally, my husband will hold me close to him.” So she named him Levi, [which means ‘hold close’].
35 Et ayant encore conçu, elle enfanta un fils, et elle dit: Maintenant encore en ceci je louerai le Seigneur; c'est pourquoi elle donna à l'enfant le nom de Juda; puis elle cessa d'enfanter.
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “(This time/Now) I will praise Yahweh.” So she called his name Judah, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘praise’]. After that, she did not give birth to any more children [for several years].
