2 Samuel 17
1 Achitophel dit à Absalom: Laisse-moi choisir douze mille hommes! Je me lèverai, et je poursuivrai David cette nuit même.
Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Allow me to choose 12,000 men, and I will leave [with them] tonight to pursue David.
2 Je le surprendrai pendant qu’il est fatigué et que ses mains sont affaiblies, je l’épouvanterai, et tout le peuple qui est avec lui s’enfuira. Je frapperai le roi seul,
We will attack him while he is tired and discouraged, and cause him to be very frightened. All the soldiers who are with him will run away. We will kill only the king.
3 et je ramènerai à toi tout le peuple; la mort de l’homme à qui tu en veux assurera le retour de tous, et tout le peuple sera en paix.
Then we will bring back all his soldiers to you, like [SIM] a (bride/woman comes to her husband when she is married). You are wanting to kill only one man; so the other people will not be harmed.”
4 Cette parole plut à Absalom et à tous les anciens d’Israël.
Absalom and all the Israeli leaders [who were with him] thought that what Ahithophel said would be good to do.
5 Cependant Absalom dit: Appelez encore Huschaï, l’Arkien, et que nous entendions aussi ce qu’il dira.
But Absalom said, “Summon Hushai also, and we will hear what he suggests.”
6 Huschaï vint auprès d’Absalom, et Absalom lui dit: Voici comment a parlé Achitophel: devons-nous faire ce qu’il a dit, ou non? Parle, toi!
So when Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had suggested. Then he asked Hushai, “What do you think we should do? If you do not think that we should do what Ahithophel suggests, tell us [what you think that we should do].”
7 Huschaï répondit à Absalom: Pour cette fois le conseil qu’a donné Achitophel n’est pas bon.
Hushai replied, “This time what Ahithophel has suggested is not good advice.
8 Et Huschaï dit: Tu connais la bravoure de ton père et de ses gens, ils sont furieux comme le serait dans les champs une ourse à qui l’on aurait enlevé ses petits. Ton père est un homme de guerre, et il ne passera pas la nuit avec le peuple;
You know that your father and the men who are with him are strong soldiers, and that now they are very angry, like [SIM] a mother bear whose cubs have been stolen from her. Furthermore, your father knows how to fight because he has fought in many battles. He will not stay with his troops during the night.
9 voici maintenant, il est caché dans quelque fosse ou dans quelque autre lieu. Et si, dès le commencement, il en est qui tombent sous leurs coups, on ne tardera pas à l’apprendre et l’on dira: Il y a une défaite parmi le peuple qui suit Absalom!
Right now he is probably already hiding in one of the pits, or in some other place. [If his soldiers start to attack your soldiers, and] if they kill some of them, whoever hears about that will say ‘Many of the soldiers with Absalom have been killed!’
10 Alors le plus vaillant, eût-il un cœur de lion, sera saisi d’épouvante; car tout Israël sait que ton père est un héros et qu’il a des braves avec lui.
Then your other soldiers, even if they are as fearless [SIM, IDM] as lions, they will become very afraid. Do not forget that everyone in Israel knows that your father is a great/strong soldier, and that the soldiers who are with him are also very brave/courageous.
11 Je conseille donc que tout Israël se rassemble auprès de toi, depuis Dan jusqu’à Beer-Schéba, multitude pareille au sable qui est sur le bord de la mer. Tu marcheras en personne au combat.
“So what I suggest is that you summon all the Israeli soldiers, from Dan [in the far north] to Beersheba [in the far south]. They will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore [HYP]. And then you yourself lead us into the battle.
12 Nous arriverons à lui en quelque lieu que nous le trouvions, et nous tomberons sur lui comme la rosée tombe sur le sol; et pas un n’échappera, ni lui ni aucun des hommes qui sont avec lui.
We will find [your father], wherever he is, and we will attack him [from all sides], like [SIM] dew covers all the ground. And neither he nor any of the soldiers who are with him will survive.
13 S’il se retire dans une ville, tout Israël portera des cordes vers cette ville, et nous la traînerons au torrent, jusqu’à ce qu’on n’en trouve plus une pierre.
If he escapes into some city, all our soldiers will bring ropes and pull that city down into the valley. As a result, not one stone will be left there [on top of the hill where that city was]!”
14 Absalom et tous les gens d’Israël dirent: Le conseil de Huschaï, l’Arkien, vaut mieux que le conseil d’Achitophel. Or l’Éternel avait résolu d’anéantir le bon conseil d’Achitophel, afin d’amener le malheur sur Absalom.
Absalom and all the other Israeli men [who were with him] said, “What Hushai suggests is better than what Ahithophel suggested.” The reason that happened was that Yahweh had determined that if they would accept the good advice that Ahithophel had given them, [they would have been able to defeat/kill David]. But [as a result of their doing what Hushai suggested], Yahweh would cause a disaster to happen to Absalom.
15 Huschaï dit aux sacrificateurs Tsadok et Abiathar: Achitophel a donné tel et tel conseil à Absalom et aux anciens d’Israël; et moi, j’ai conseillé telle et telle chose.
Then Hushai told the two priests, Zadok and Abiathar, what both he and Ahithophel had suggested to Absalom and the Israeli leaders.
16 Maintenant, envoyez tout de suite informer David et faites-lui dire: Ne passe point la nuit dans les plaines du désert, mais va plus loin, de peur que le roi et tout le peuple qui est avec lui ne soient exposés à périr.
Then he said to them, “Send [a message] quickly to David. Tell him to not stay at the place where people walk across the river, near the desert. Instead, he and his soldiers must cross [the Jordan River] immediately, in order that they will not be killed/wiped out.”
17 Jonathan et Achimaats se tenaient à En-Roguel. Une servante vint leur dire d’aller informer le roi David; car ils n’osaient pas se montrer et entrer dans la ville.
[The priest’s two sons, ] Jonathan and Ahimaaz, were waiting at En-Rogel [Spring], outside Jerusalem. They did not [dare to] enter the city, because if someone saw them, [he would report it to Absalom]. [While they were at En-Rogel, ] a female servant [of the two priests] would frequently go to them and report to them [what was happening], and then they would go and report it to King David.
18 Un jeune homme les aperçut, et le rapporta à Absalom. Mais ils partirent tous deux en hâte, et ils arrivèrent à Bachurim à la maison d’un homme qui avait un puits dans sa cour, et ils y descendirent.
But a young man saw them, and went and reported it to Absalom. [They found out what the young man had done, ] so both of them left quickly and went to stay in the house of a man in Bahurim. That man had a well in his courtyard; so the two men went down into the well [to hide].
19 La femme prit une couverture qu’elle étendit sur l’ouverture du puits, et elle y répandit du grain pilé pour qu’on ne se doutât de rien.
The man’s wife took a cloth/mat and covered the well, and scattered grain on top of it in order that no one would know [that two men were hiding inside it].
20 Les serviteurs d’Absalom entrèrent dans la maison auprès de cette femme, et dirent: Où sont Achimaats et Jonathan? La femme leur répondit: Ils ont passé le ruisseau. Ils cherchèrent, et ne les trouvant pas, ils retournèrent à Jérusalem.
Some of Absalom’s soldiers [found out where the two men had gone. So they] went to the house, and asked the woman, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” She replied, “They crossed the river.” So the soldiers [crossed the river and] searched for them. But they could not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.
21 Après leur départ, Achimaats et Jonathan remontèrent du puits et allèrent informer le roi David. Ils dirent à David: Levez-vous et hâtez-vous de passer l’eau, car Achitophel a conseillé contre vous telle chose.
After they had gone, the two men came out of the well and went and reported to King David [what had happened and] what Ahithophel had suggested. Then they said to him, “Cross the river quickly!”
22 David et tout le peuple qui était avec lui se levèrent et ils passèrent le Jourdain; à la lumière du matin, il n’y en avait pas un qui fût resté à l’écart, pas un qui n’eût passé le Jourdain.
So David and all his soldiers quickly started to cross the Jordan [River], and by dawn they had all crossed to the other side.
23 Achitophel, voyant que son conseil n’était pas suivi, sella son âne et partit pour s’en aller chez lui dans sa ville. Il donna ses ordres à sa maison, et il s’étrangla. C’est ainsi qu’il mourut, et on l’enterra dans le sépulcre de son père.
When Ahithophel realized that Absalom was not going to do what he suggested, he put a saddle on his donkey and returned to his own town. He gave [to his family] instructions about his possessions, and then he hanged himself [because he knew that Absalom would be defeated and that he would be considered a traitor and be killed]. His body was buried in the tomb where his ancestors [had been buried].
24 David arriva à Mahanaïm. Et Absalom passa le Jourdain, lui et tous les hommes d’Israël avec lui.
David [and his soldiers] arrived at Mahanaim. And Absalom [and all his Israeli soldiers] also crossed the Jordan [River].
25 Absalom mit Amasa à la tête de l’armée, en remplacement de Joab; Amasa était fils d’un homme appelé Jithra, l’Israélite, qui était allé vers Abigal, fille de Nachasch et sœur de Tseruja, mère de Joab.
Absalom had appointed [his cousin] Amasa to be the commander of his army, instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Jether, a descendant of Ishmael. Amasa’s mother was Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and the sister of Joab’s mother Zeruiah.
26 Israël et Absalom campèrent dans le pays de Galaad.
Absalom and his Israeli soldiers set up their tents in [the] Gilead [region].
27 Lorsque David fut arrivé à Mahanaïm, Schobi, fils de Nachasch, de Rabba des fils d’Ammon, Makir, fils d’Ammiel, de Lodebar, et Barzillaï, le Galaadite, de Roguelim,
When David [and his soldiers] arrived at Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah [city] in the Ammon area, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-Debar [city], and Barzillai from Rogelim [town] in [the] Gilead [region]
28 apportèrent des lits, des bassins, des vases de terre, du froment, de l’orge, de la farine, du grain rôti, des fèves, des lentilles, des pois rôtis,
brought sleeping mats, bowls, clay pots, barley, wheat flour, parched grain, beans, and lentils to them.
29 du miel, de la crème, des brebis, et des fromages de vache. Ils apportèrent ces choses à David et au peuple qui était avec lui, afin qu’ils mangeassent; car ils disaient: Ce peuple a dû souffrir de la faim, de la fatigue et de la soif, dans le désert.
They brought honey and curds, sheep, and some cream/cheese for David and his soldiers to eat. They knew that David and his soldiers would be hungry and tired and thirsty [from marching] in the desert.
