Isaïe 37
1 Lorsque le roi Ézéchias les eut ouïs, il déchira ses vêtements, se couvrit d'un cilice, et alla au temple du Seigneur.
When King Hezekiah heard what they reported, he tore his clothes and put on clothes made of rough sackcloth [because he was very distressed]. Then he went into the temple of Yahweh [and prayed].
2 Et il envoya, couverts de cilices, l'économe Éliacim, et le scribe Somna, et les anciens des prêtres, auprès du prophète Isaïe, fils d'Amos.
Then he sent Eliakim, Shebna, and the (older/most important) priests, who were also wearing clothes made of rough sackcloth, to talk to me.
3 Et ils lui dirent: Voici ce que dit Ézéchias: Ce jour est un jour d'affliction et d'opprobre, de reproches et de colère; car les douleurs de l'enfantement sont venues à la femme, mais elle n'a pas la force d'enfanter.
He said to them, “Tell this to Isaiah: ‘King Hezekiah says that this is a day when we are greatly distressed. Other nations are causing us to be insulted and disgraced. We are like [SIM] a woman who is about to give birth to a baby, but she does not have the strength that she needs to do it.
4 Puisse le Seigneur ton Dieu entendre les paroles de Rabsacès, que le roi des Assyriens a envoyé pour outrager le Dieu vivant et le blasphémer par les paroles que le Seigneur ton Dieu a entendues; et prie le Seigneur ton Dieu pour ce qui reste encore des siens.
[But] perhaps Yahweh our God has heard what the official from Assyria said. Perhaps he knows that his boss, the King of Assyria, sent him to insult the all-powerful God, and that Yahweh will punish the King of Assyria for what he said. And the king requests that you pray for the few of us who are still alive [here in Jerusalem].’”
5 Et les serviteurs du roi Ézéchias vinrent auprès d'Isaïe;
After those men gave me that message,
6 Et le prophète leur dit: Dites à votre maître: Voici ce que dit le Seigneur: Ne crains pas les paroles de blasphème que tu as entendues des envoyés du roi des Assyriens.
I replied, “Tell the King, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “Those messengers from the King of Assyria have said evil things about me. But do not be disturbed by what they said.
7 Voilà que je mets en lui un esprit; il va apprendre une nouvelle, et il retournera en son royaume, et il périra par le glaive en son royaume.
Listen to this: I will cause Sennacherib to hear a rumor [that the armies of Babylon are about to attack his country], and that will worry him. So he will return to his own country, and there I will cause him to be assassinated by [men using] swords.”’”
8 Et Rabsacès s'en retourna, et il rejoignit le roi des Assyriens qui assiégeait Lobna, et il avait oui dire qu'il était parti de Lachis.
The official from Assyria found out that the King of Assyria [and his army] had captured Lachish [city] and that they were attacking Libnah, [which is a nearby city]. So the official left Jerusalem and went to Libnah [to report to the king what had happened in Jerusalem].
9 Et Tharaca, roi d'Éthiopie, se mit en campagne pour le combattre; et l'ayant su, il partit, et il envoya des messagers à Ézéchias, disant:
Soon after that, King [Sennacherib] received a report that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was leading his army to attack them. So before King Sennacherib left Libnah [with his army to fight against the army from Ethiopia], he sent other messengers to Hezekiah in Jerusalem with a letter. [In the letter he wrote this] to Hezekiah:
10 Voici ce que vous direz à Ézéchias, roi de la Judée: Que ton Dieu, en qui tu as mis ta confiance, ne te trompe pas, en te disant: Jérusalem ne sera pas livrée au roi des Assyriens.
“Do not allow your god, on whom you are relying, to deceive you by promising you that Jerusalem will not be captured by my army.
11 Ne sais-tu pas de quelle manière les rois des Assyriens ont traité toutes les contrées qu'ils ont détruites? Et toi, tu leur échapperais!
You have certainly heard what the armies of the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries; our armies have destroyed them completely. So, (do you think that you will escape?/do not think that your god will save you!) [RHQ]
12 Est-ce que les dieux des nations, que nos pères ont anéanties, les ont sauvés? ont-ils sauvé Gozan, Harran et Rapheth, qui sont dans la terre de Théémath?
Did the gods of the nations that were about to be destroyed by the armies of the previous kings of Assyria rescue them? Did those gods rescue Gozan [region], and Haran and Rezeph [cities in northern Syria], and the people of Eden [region] who were forced to go to Tel-Assar [city]?
13 Où sont les rois d'Émath? Où sont ceux d'Arphath et de la ville d'Eppharvam, et d'Anagougana?
What happened to the King of Hamath and the King of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah [cities]? [Did their gods rescue them] [RHQ]?”
14 Et Ézéchias prit la lettre de Sennachérib des mains des messagers, et il l'ouvrit devant le Seigneur.
Hezekiah received the letter that the messengers gave him, and he read it. Then he went up to the temple and spread out the letter in front of Yahweh.
15 Et Ézéchias pria le Seigneur, disant:
And [then] Hezekiah prayed this:
16 Seigneur des armées, Dieu d'Israël, qui êtes assis sur les chérubins, vous êtes le seul Dieu de tous les royaumes de la terre; vous avez créé le ciel et la terre.
“O Yahweh, Commander of the armies of angels, the God to whom [we] Israelis belong, you are seated on your throne above the statues of the creatures with wings, [above the Sacred Chest]. Only you are [truly] God. You rule all the kingdoms on this earth. You are the one who created everything on the earth and in the sky.
17 Seigneur, inclinez votre oreille; Seigneur, écoutez; Seigneur, ouvrez les yeux, regardez et voyez les paroles que Sennachérib envoie pour outrager le Dieu vivant.
[So], Yahweh, [please] listen to what I am saying, and look at [what is happening]! And listen to what Sennacherib has said to insult you, the all-powerful God!
18 Il est vrai, Seigneur, que les Assyriens ont dépeuplé toute la terre et les contrées des nations,
Yahweh, it is true that [the armies of] the kings of Assyria have completely destroyed many nations and ruined their land.
19 Et qu'ils ont jeté au feu leurs idoles; car ce n'étaient pas des dieux, mais des œuvres de la main des hommes, du bois, de la pierre, et ils les ont répudiées.
And they have thrown all the idols of those nations into fires and burned them. But they were not [really] gods. They were only idols made of wood and stone, [and that is why they were destroyed easily].
20 Maintenant, Seigneur notre Dieu, délivrez-nous des mains de Sennachérib, afin que tout royaume de la terre sache que vous êtes le seul Dieu.
So now, Yahweh our God, [please] rescue us from the power [MTY] of [the King of Assyria], in order that [the people in] all the kingdoms of the world will know that you, Yahweh, are the only one who is [truly] God.”
21 Et Isaie, fils d'Amos, envoya un messager chez Ézéchias, disant: Voici ce que dit le Seigneur Dieu d'Israël J'ai entendu la prière que tu m'as faite au sujet de Sennachérib, roi des Assyriens;
Then I sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what Yahweh, the God to whom [we] Israelis belong, says: Because you prayed about what King Sennacherib of Assyria [said],
22 Or voici les paroles que Dieu a dites sur lui: il t'a méprisée, ô vierge, fille de Sion, il t'a raillée; il a secoué la tête sur toi, fille de Jérusalem.
this is what I say to him: ‘The people of Jerusalem despise you and make fun of you. They will wag/shake their heads to mock you while you flee from here.
23 Qui as-tu outragé et irrité? Contre qui as-tu élevé la voix? N'as-tu pas levé tes regards hautains contre le Saint d'Israël?
Whom do you think you have been despising and ridiculing? Whom do you think you were shouting at? Whom do you think you were looking at [very] proudly/arrogantly? [It was I], the Holy One whom the Israelis worship!
24 Tu as outragé le Seigneur par tes messagers, et tu as dit: Avec la multitude de mes chars je suis monté sur la cime des montagnes et sur les pics du Liban; j'ai abattu ses grands cèdres et ses plus beaux cyprès, et je suis venu au plus haut de la forêt de chênes.
The messengers whom you sent made fun of me. You said, “With my many chariots I have gone to the highest mountains, [even] to the highest mountains in Lebanon. We have cut down its tallest cedar [trees] and its nicest pine/cypress [trees]. We have been to the most distant/remote peaks and to its densest forests.
25 Et j'ai fait une digue, et j'ai desséché les eaux et tous les rassemblements d'eau.
We have dug wells [in many countries] and drunk water [from them]. And by marching through [MTY] the streams of Egypt, we dried them all up [HYP]!”
26 N'as-tu pas ouï parler des choses que j'ai faites jadis? Dès les anciens jours je les ai ordonnées; et aujourd'hui j'ai montré mon dessein de désoler des nations dans leurs forteresses et les habitants des villes fortes.
[But I, Yahweh, reply], “Have you never heard that long ago I determined [those things]; I planned them long ago, and now I have been causing those things to occur. I planned that your army would destroy cities and cause them to become piles of rubble.
27 J'ai énervé leurs mains, et ils se sont flétris, ils sont devenus comme le gazon des terrasses.
The people in those cities have no power, and as a result they are dismayed and discouraged. They are [as frail as] [MET] grass and plants in the fields, as frail as grass that grows on the roofs of houses and is scorched by the hot east wind.
28 Et maintenant je connais ta demeure, ton départ et ton arrivée.
[But] I know [everything about you]; I know when you are [in your house and] when you go outside; I also know that you are (raging/speaking very angrily) against me.
29 Ta fureur, tes paroles superbes sont parvenues jusqu'à moi; mais je mettrai un harpon dans tes narines et un mors à tes lèvres, et je te renverrai par le chemin que tu as pris en venant.
[So], because you have raged against me and because I have heard you speak very proudly/arrogantly, [it will be as though] I will put a hook in your nose and I will put an iron (bit/metal bar) in your mouth [in order that I can lead you where I want you to go], and I will force you to return [to your own country], on the same road on which you came [here, without conquering Jerusalem].”’
30 Pour toi, Ezéchias, voici mon signe: Mange cette année ce que tu auras semé, et la seconde année, les restes; mais, la troisième année, semez et moissonnez; plantez vos vignes, et vous en mangerez les fruits.
[Then I said to Hezekiah], ‘This will prove to you [that what I said will happen]: “This year, you(pl) will eat [only the crops] that grow by themselves, and next year the same thing will happen. But in the third year you will plant [crops] and harvest them; you will take care of your vineyards and eat the grapes.
31 Et ceux qui seront restés en Judée enfonceront leurs racines dans le sol, et produiront des fruits jusqu'au haut des branches.
And [you] people who are still [here] in Judah, will be strong and prosper again [MET].
32 Car il sortira de Jérusalem des restes, et de la montagne de Sion des hommes sauvés. Et c'est l'amour du Seigneur des armées qui fera ces choses.
A small number of my people will survive, and they will spread out from Jerusalem [DOU].” That will happen because [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, am desiring very much to accomplish it.’
33 A cause de cela, voici ce que dit le Seigneur sur le roi des Assyriens: Il n'entrera point en cette ville; il ne lancera pas contre elle une flèche; il ne poussera pas contre elle un bouclier; il ne l'entourera point de palissades.
And this is what [I], Yahweh, say about the King of Assyria: ‘His [armies] will not enter Jerusalem; they will not [even] shoot arrows into it. His soldiers will not [march outside] the city gates holding their shields, and they will not build high mounds of dirt against the walls of the city [to enable them to attack the city].
34 Il s'en retournera par le chemin qu'il a pris, et il n'entrera point en cette ville: voilà ce que dit le Seigneur.
And their king will return [to his own country] on the same road on which he came [here]. He will not enter this city!’ [That will happen because I], Yahweh, have said it!
35 J'étendrai mon bouclier sur cette ville pour la sauver à cause de moi, et à cause de David, mon serviteur.
For the sake of my own reputation and because of what I promised King David, who served me [well], I will defend this city and prevent it from being destroyed.”
36 Et l'ange du Seigneur s'avança, et il extermina dans le camp des Assyriens cent quatre-vingt-cinq mille hommes; et les survivants se levèrent dès l'aurore, et ils ne trouvèrent que des cadavres.
[That night], an angel from Yahweh went out to where the army of Assyria had set up their tents and killed 185,000 of their soldiers. When [the rest of the soldiers] woke up the next morning, they saw that there were corpses everywhere.
37 Et Sennachérib, roi des Assyriens, partit et il s'en retourna, et il ne sortit plus de Ninive.
Then King Sennacherib left and returned home to Nineveh [in Assyria], and stayed there.
38 Et comme il adorait, dans le temple de Nasarach, le premier de ses dieux, ses fils Adramélech et Sarasar le tuèrent de leurs épées; puis ils se sauvèrent en Arménie, et Asordan, son fils, régna à sa place.
[One day], when he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his two sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords. Then they escaped and went to the Ararat [region northwest of Nineveh]. And another of Sennacherib’s sons, Esarhaddon, became the King of Assyria.
