Jonas 1

1 Et la parole du Seigneur vint à Jonas, fils d'Amathi, disant

[One day] Yahweh said to [the prophet] Jonah, the son of Amittai,

2 Lève-toi, et pars pour Ninive, la grande ville, et proclame dans ses murs que le cri de sa méchanceté est monté jusqu'à Moi.

“I have [seen] how wicked [the people of] [MTY] the great city of Nineveh are. Therefore go there and warn the people that [I am planning to] destroy their city [because of their sins].”

3 Et Jonas se leva pour s'enfuir à Tharsis, loin de la face du Seigneur; et il descendit à Joppé; il y trouva une barque allant à Tharsis, et il paya son passage, et il s'embarqua pour naviguer avec les matelots, jusqu'à Tharsis, loin de la face du Seigneur.

But [instead of going to Nineveh], Jonah [went in the direction] opposite to where Yahweh [told him to go]. He went down to Joppa [city]. There he bought a ticket to travel on a ship that was going to Tarshish [city], in order to avoid [doing what] Yahweh [told him to do]. [He got on the ship, ] and [then went down] to a lower deck, [lay down, and went to sleep].

4 Et le Seigneur excita un grand vent sur la mer, et les vagues s'élevèrent, et la barque fut en danger de se rompre.

Then Yahweh caused a very strong wind to blow, and there was such a violent storm that [the sailors thought] the ship would break apart.

5 Et les matelots eurent crainte, et ils crièrent chacun vers son dieu, et ils lancèrent à la mer le chargement de la barque, pour s'en alléger. Jonas descendit à fond de cale, et là il s'endormit, et il ronfla.

The sailors were very frightened. Because of that, they each [started to] pray to their own gods [to save them]. Then they threw the cargo into the sea to make the ship lighter [in order that it would not sink easily].

6 Et le pilote l'alla trouver, et il lui dit: Pourquoi ronfles-tu? Lève- toi, et invoque ton Dieu, afin que Dieu nous sauve, et que nous ne mourions pas.

Then the captain went [down] to where Jonah was sleeping soundly. [He awoke him] and said [to him], “(How can you sleep [during a storm like this]?/You should not be sleeping [during a storm like this]) [RHQ]! Get up and pray to your god! Perhaps he will pity us and save us, in order that we will not drown!” [But Jonah refused to do that].

7 Et chacun des matelots dit à son voisin: Allons, agitons les sorts, et sachons par qui ce malheur nous arrive. Et ils agitèrent des sorts, et le sort tomba sur Jonas.

Then the sailors said to each other, “We need to (cast lots/shake from a container small objects that we have all marked), to determine who has caused [all] this trouble!” So they did that, and [the object with] Jonah’s mark fell out [of the container].

8 Et ils lui dirent: Déclare-nous quel est ton métier; d'où viens-tu? de quelle contrée, de quel peuple es-tu?

So [various ones of] them asked him, “Are you the one who has caused us all this trouble?” “What work do you do?” “Where are you [coming] from?” “What country and what people-group do you belong to?”

9 Et il leur dit: Je suis un serviteur du Seigneur; j'adore le Seigneur Dieu du ciel, qui a créé la mer et la terre.

Jonah replied, “I am a Hebrew. I worship Yahweh God, who [lives in] heaven. He is the one who made the sea and the land. I am trying to escape from [doing what] Yahweh [told me to do].”

10 Et ces hommes eurent grande crainte, et ils lui dirent: Pourquoi as-tu fait cela? Car ces hommes connurent qu'il fuyait loin de la face du Seigneur; car il le leur avait déclaré.

After the sailors heard that, they were terrified. So they asked him, “Do you realize what [trouble] you have caused?”

11 Et ils lui dirent: Que te ferons-nous, afin que pour nous la mer se calme? Car la mer allait, et soulevait encore plus de vagues.

The [storm kept getting worse and] the waves kept getting bigger. So [one of] the sailors asked Jonah, “What should we do in order to make the sea become calm?”

12 Et Jonas leur dit: Prenez-moi et jetez-moi à la mer, et la mer se calmera pour vous; car je sais que c'est à cause de moi qu'il y a contre vous ces grandes vagues.

He replied, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. [If you do that], it will become calm. I know that this terrible storm is the result of my [not doing what Yahweh told me to do].”

13 Et ces hommes s'efforcèrent de retourner à la côte; mais ils ne le purent, parce que la mer allait et soulevait contre eux toujours plus de vagues.

But the sailors did [not want to do that]. [Instead], they tried hard to row the ship back to the land. But they could not [do that], because the storm continued to get worse.

14 Et ils crièrent au Seigneur, et ils dirent: Non, Seigneur, que nous ne périssions pas pour la vie de cet homme; ne fais pas retomber sur nous un sang innocent; car, Seigneur, Tu as fait selon Ta volonté.

Therefore they prayed to Yahweh, and [one of them] prayed, “O Yahweh, please do not let us drown because of our causing this man to die. O Yahweh, you have done what you wanted to do. [We do not know if this man has sinned. If] he has not sinned, do not consider that we are guilty of sinning when we cause him to die!”

15 Et ils prirent Jonas, et ils le lancèrent à la mer; et la mer cessa de s'agiter.

Then they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea. Then the sea became calm.

16 Et ces hommes eurent grande crainte du Seigneur; et ils offrirent au Seigneur un sacrifice, et ils Lui firent des vœux.

[When that happened], the sailors became greatly awed at Yahweh’s [power]. So they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh, and they strongly promised [him that they would do things that would please him].

17 Et le Seigneur prescrivit à une grande baleine d'avaler Jonas, et Jonas fut dans le ventre de la baleine trois jours et trois nuits.

[While they were doing that, ] Yahweh sent a huge fish that swallowed Jonah. Then Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.