Juges 14
1 Et Samson descendit en Thamnatha, ou il vit une femme parmi les filles des Philistins.
One day when Samson was in Timnah [town], he saw a young Philistine woman there.
2 Il s'en retourna, et il l'apprit à son père et à sa mère, et il dit: J'ai vu, en Thamnatha, une femme parmi les filles des Philistins; maintenant, prenez-la, et me la donnez pour femme.
When he returned home, he told his mother and father, “I saw a young Philistine woman in Timnah, and I want you to get her for me so I can marry her.”
3 Son père et sa mère lui répondirent: N'y a-t-il point de filles de tes frères? n'est-il point une seule femme parmi tout notre peuple, pour que tu ailles prendre femme chez des étrangers incirconcis? Et Samson dit à son père: Prends-la pour moi, parce qu'elle est à mes yeux celle qui me convient.
His mother and father objected very strongly. They said, “Is there no woman from our tribe, or from the other Israeli tribes, that you could marry? Why must you go to the heathen Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She is the one I want!”
4 Son père et sa mère ne savaient pas qu'il agissait par la volonté du Seigneur, et qu'il cherchait un sujet de vengeance contre les Philistins; car, en ce temps-là, les Philistins dominaient sur Israël.
His mother and father did not realize that Yahweh was arranging this. He was preparing a way for [Samson to defeat] the Philistines, who were ruling over Israel at that time.
5 Samson descendit donc avec son père et sa mère en Thamnatha, et il alla seul jusqu'à la vigne de Thamnatha, et voici venir à sa rencontre un jeune lion rugissant.
So, as Samson was going down to Timnah, followed by his mother and father, a young lion attacked Samson near the vineyards close to Timnah.
6 L'Esprit du Seigneur s'élança sur Samson, qui broya le lionceau comme il eut broyé une jeune chèvre; or, il n'avait rien dans les mains, et il ne raconta ce qu'il avait fait ni à son père ni à sa mère.
Then Yahweh’s Spirit came upon Samson powerfully, with the result that he tore the lion apart with his hands. He did it [as easily] as if it were a young goat. But he did not tell his mother and father about it.
7 Ils reprirent leur route, et ils parlèrent à la femme; et, aux yeux de Samson, elle était celle qui lui convenait.
When they arrived in Timnah, Samson talked with the young woman, and he liked her very much. [And his father made arrangements for the wedding].
8 Quelque temps après, il y alla de nouveau, afin de l'épouser, et il se détourna pour voir le cadavre du lion, et voilà qu'il y avait dans sa gueule un essaim d'abeilles et du miel.
Later, when Samson returned to Timnah for the wedding, he turned off the path to see the carcass of the lion. He discovered that [after other creatures had eaten all the flesh], a swarm of bees [had made a hive in the skeleton and] had made some honey.
9 Il prit du miel dans ses mains, et il s'en alla en mangeant. Quand il eut rejoint son père et sa mère, il leur en donna, et ils en mangèrent; mais il ne dit point qu'il l'avait pris dans la gueule du lion.
So he scooped some of the honey into his hands and ate some of it as he was walking along. He also gave some of it to his mother and father, but he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the skeleton of the lion, [because anyone dedicated to God was not to touch any corpse].
10 Son père descendit auprès de la femme; et là, Samson prépara un festin pour sept jours, parce qu'ainsi font les jeunes gens.
As his father was making the final arrangements for the marriage, Samson gave a party [for the young men in that area]. That was the custom for men to do when they were about to be married.
11 Quand les gens le virent, ils invitèrent trente convives, et ceux-ci se tinrent auprès de lui.
Thirty young man were invited to the party.
12 Et Samson leur dit: Je vous propose une énigme; si vous la devinez très-bien, pendant ces sept jours de festin, et si vous l'expliquez, je vous donnerai trente suaires et trente tuniques pour vous vêtir.
Samson said to them, “Allow me to tell you a riddle. If you tel me the meaning of my riddle during these seven days of the celebration, I will give each of you a linen robe and an extra set of clothes.
13 Si vous ne pouvez me l'expliquer, vous me donnerez trente vêtements de lin et trente tuniques changeantes. Et ils répondirent: Propose ton énigme, que nous l'entendions.
But if you cannot tell me the meaning, you must each give me a linen robe and an extra set of clothes.” They replied, “All right. Tell us your riddle.”
14 Et il leur dit: L'aliment a été tiré du mangeur; la douceur de la force. Or, ils passèrent trois jours sans pouvoir expliquer l'énigme.
So he said, “From the thing that eats came something to eat; out of something strong came something sweet.” But for three days they could not tell him the meaning of the riddle.
15 Le quatrième jour, ils dirent à la femme de Samson: Trompe ton mari, et qu'il t'explique l'énigme; sinon nous te livrerons aux flammes, toi et la maison de ton père. Est-ce que vous nous avez invités pour nous extorquer nos biens?
On the fourth day, they said to Samson’s bride, “Ask your husband to tell you the meaning of the riddle. If you do not do that, we will burn down your father’s house, with you inside it! Did you invite us here only to make us poor [by forcing us to buy a lot of clothes for your husband]?”
16 Alors, la femme de Samson pleura auprès de lui, et elle lui dit: Sans doute tu me hais; tu ne m'aimes point, puisque tu ne m'as pas expliqué l'énigme que tu as proposée aux enfants de mon peuple. Samson répondit: Si je ne l'ai expliqué ni a mon père ni a ma mère, te l'expliquerai-je à toi?
So Samson’s wife came to him, crying, and said to him, “You do not really love me. You hate me! You have told a riddle to my friends, but you have not told me the meaning of the riddle!” He replied, “I have not told the meaning of the riddle even to my mother and father, so why should I tell it to you?”
17 Et elle pleura auprès de lui pendant le reste des sept jours que dura le festin; le septième jour, il lui expliqua l'énigme, parce qu'elle ne cessait de le troubler; et elle l'expliqua aux enfants de son peuple.
She continued to cry every time she was with him, all during the rest of the celebration. Finally, on the seventh day, because she continued to nag him, he told her the meaning of the riddle. Then she told it to the young men.
18 Les hommes de la ville lui dirent donc le septième jour, avant le lever du soleil: Qu'y a-t-il de plus doux que le miel? Qu'y a-t-il de plus fort que le lion? Et Samson leur dit: Si vous n'aviez point labouré avec ma génisse, vous ne sauriez point mon énigme.
So, before sunset on the seventh day, the young men came to Samson and said to him, “What/Nothing is sweeter than honey [RHQ]. What/Nothing is stronger than a lion [RHQ]!” Samson replied, “[You should not force a heifer to] plow a field [MET]. Similarly, if you had not forced my bride to ask me about the riddle [MET], you would not have known the answer to my riddle!”
19 Aussitôt, l'Esprit du Seigneur s'élança sur lui; il alla en Ascalon, il y tua trente hommes, il prit leurs vêtements, et il donna leurs tuniques changeantes à ceux qui avaient expliqué l'énigme. Et Samson fut courroucé, et il revint à la maison de son père.
Then Yahweh’s Spirit powerfully took control of Samson. He went down to [the coast at] Ashkelon [town], and killed 30 men. He took their clothes [and went back to Timnah] and gave them to the men who had told him the meaning of the riddle. But he was very angry about what had happened, so he went back home to live with his mother and father.
20 Et la femme de Samson épousa l'un des amis qu'il aimait.
So (Samson’s wife was given/the bride’s father gave Samson’s wife) to the man who who had been Samson’s best man at the wedding, [but Samson did not know that].
