Daniel 2
1 La seconde année du règne de Nebucadnetsar, Nebucadnetsar eut des songes. Il avait l’esprit agité, et ne pouvait dormir.
[One night] during the second year that Nebuchadnezzar ruled, he had a dream. The dream worried him very much; and [as a result] he could not sleep.
2 Le roi fit appeler les magiciens, les astrologues, les enchanteurs et les Chaldéens, pour qu’ils lui disent ses songes. Ils vinrent, et se présentèrent devant le roi.
[The next morning] he summoned his men who worked magic, fortune-tellers, those who worked sorcery, and those who studied the stars. [Because he had forgotten what he had dreamed, ] he insisted that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood there in front of the king,
3 Le roi leur dit: J’ai eu un songe; mon esprit est agité, et je voudrais connaître ce songe.
he said, “I had a dream [last night] that worries me. [Tell me what I dreamed, because] I want to know what the dream [means].”
4 Les Chaldéens répondirent au roi en langue araméenne: O roi, vis éternellement! Dis le songe à tes serviteurs, et nous en donnerons l’explication.
The men who studied the stars replied to the king, speaking in the Aramaic [language]. They said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we hope that you will live a long time! Tell us what you dreamed, and [then] we will tell you what it means!”
5 Le roi reprit la parole et dit aux Chaldéens: La chose m’a échappé; si vous ne me faites connaître le songe et son explication, vous serez mis en pièces, et vos maisons seront réduites en un tas d’immondices.
But the king replied, “I have firmly decided that you must tell me the dream, and [also tell me] what it means. If you do not do that, I will [order my soldiers to] cut you into pieces, and to cause your houses to become only piles of stones!
6 Mais si vous me dites le songe et son explication, vous recevrez de moi des dons et des présents, et de grands honneurs. C’est pourquoi dites-moi le songe et son explication.
But if you tell me what I dreamed and what it means, I will reward you. I will give you wonderful gifts and greatly honor you. So tell me what I dreamed and what it means!”
7 Ils répondirent pour la seconde fois: Que le roi dise le songe à ses serviteurs, et nous en donnerons l’explication.
But again they said, “Tell us what you dreamed, and [then] we will tell you what it means.”
8 Le roi reprit la parole et dit: Je m’aperçois, en vérité, que vous voulez gagner du temps, parce que vous voyez que la chose m’a échappé.
The king replied, “I know that you are just trying to get more time, because you know that I will do to you what I said that I would do.
9 Si donc vous ne me faites pas connaître le songe, la même sentence vous enveloppera tous; vous voulez vous préparer à me dire des mensonges et des faussetés, en attendant que les temps soient changés. C’est pourquoi dites-moi le songe, et je saurai si vous êtes capables de m’en donner l’explication.
If you do not tell me what I dreamed, you will be punished. [I think that] you have all agreed to tell me lies and [other] wicked things, because you hope that I will change ([my mind/what I am thinking]). But tell me the dream, and [then] I will know that you can [also] tell me what it means.”
10 Les Chaldéens répondirent au roi: Il n’est personne sur la terre qui puisse dire ce que demande le roi; aussi jamais roi, quelque grand et puissant qu’il ait été, n’a exigé une pareille chose d’aucun magicien, astrologue ou Chaldéen.
The men who studied the stars replied, “There is no one on the earth who can do what you ask! There is no king, [even] a great and mighty king, who has [ever] asked his men who work magic or his fortune-tellers or men who study the stars to do something like that!
11 Ce que le roi demande est difficile; il n’y a personne qui puisse le dire au roi, excepté les dieux, dont la demeure n’est pas parmi les hommes.
What you are asking [us to do] is impossible. Only the gods can tell you what you dreamed, and they do not live among us!”
12 Là-dessus le roi se mit en colère, et s’irrita violemment. Il ordonna qu’on fasse périr tous les sages de Babylone.
The king was very angry when he heard that, so he commanded [his soldiers] that they execute all such wise men in Babylon.
13 La sentence fut publiée, les sages étaient mis à mort, et l’on cherchait Daniel et ses compagnons pour les faire périr.
And because of what the king commanded, they sent some men to find me and my [three] friends, to execute us [also].
14 Alors Daniel s’adressa d’une manière prudente et sensée à Arjoc, chef des gardes du roi, qui était sorti pour mettre à mort les sages de Babylone.
Arioch, the commander of the king’s guards, came to kill us. But I spoke to him very wisely and tactfully/skillfully.
15 Il prit la parole et dit à Arjoc, commandant du roi: Pourquoi la sentence du roi est-elle si sévère? Arjoc exposa la chose à Daniel.
I asked Arioch, “Why has the king made such a harsh/terrible decree?” So Arioch told me all that had happened [because of the king’s dream].
16 Et Daniel se rendit vers le roi, et le pria de lui accorder du temps pour donner au roi l’explication.
I [immediately] went to talk to the king and requested that the king give me some time, so that I could find out [what the dream was and] what the dream meant.
17 Ensuite Daniel alla dans sa maison, et il instruisit de cette affaire Hanania, Mischaël et Azaria, ses compagnons,
Then I went home, and I told my friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, what had happened.
18 les engageant à implorer la miséricorde du Dieu des cieux, afin qu’on ne fît pas périr Daniel et ses compagnons avec le reste des sages de Babylone.
I urged them to ask God, who lives/rules in heaven, to have mercy on us by telling us the secret [meaning of what the king dreamed], in order that we and the other wise men in Babylon would not be executed.
19 Alors le secret fut révélé à Daniel dans une vision pendant la nuit. Et Daniel bénit le Dieu des cieux.
And that night [God] gave to me a vision in which he revealed the secret. Then I praised God,
20 Daniel prit la parole et dit: Béni soit le nom de Dieu, d’éternité en éternité! A lui appartiennent la sagesse et la force.
saying, “We should praise God [MTY] forever, because [only] he truly is wise and powerful.
21 C’est lui qui change les temps et les circonstances, qui renverse et qui établit les rois, qui donne la sagesse aux sages et la science à ceux qui ont de l’intelligence.
He determines what events will happen through the years. He removes [some] kings and gives their authority to [new] kings. He is the one who causes people to become wise and enables those who study to understand [many] things.
22 Il révèle ce qui est profond et caché, il connaît ce qui est dans les ténèbres, et la lumière demeure avec lui.
He reveals things that are very mysterious; he is surrounded by light, but he knows things that are hidden [as though they were] in the darkness.
23 Dieu de mes pères, je te glorifie et je te loue de ce que tu m’as donné la sagesse et la force, et de ce que tu m’as fait connaître ce que nous t’avons demandé, de ce que tu nous as révélé le secret du roi.
God, whom my ancestors [worshiped], I thank you and I praise you, because you have caused me to be wise and made me strong. You have told me what my friends and I asked you to tell us; and you have revealed to us what the king demanded to know.”
24 Après cela, Daniel se rendit auprès d’Arjoc, à qui le roi avait ordonné de faire périr les sages de Babylone; il alla, et lui parla ainsi: Ne fais pas périr les sages de Babylone! Conduis-moi devant le roi, et je donnerai au roi l’explication.
Then I went to Arioch, the man whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men in Babylon. I said to him, “Do not kill those wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him what his dream means.”
25 Arjoc conduisit promptement Daniel devant le roi, et lui parla ainsi: J’ai trouvé parmi les captifs de Juda un homme qui donnera l’explication au roi.
So Arioch quickly took me to the king. He said to the king, “I have found [this man], one of the men whom we brought from Judah who [says he can] can tell you what your dream means!”
26 Le roi prit la parole et dit à Daniel, qu’on nommait Beltschatsar: Es-tu capable de me faire connaître le songe que j’ai eu et son explication?
The king said to me, whose [new] name was Belteshazzar, “[Is this true]? Can you tell me what I dreamed and what it means?”
27 Daniel répondit en présence du roi et dit: Ce que le roi demande est un secret que les sages, les astrologues, les magiciens et les devins, ne sont pas capables de découvrir au roi.
I replied, “There are no wise men or fortune-tellers or men who work magic or men who work sorcery who can tell such things to you.
28 Mais il y a dans les cieux un Dieu qui révèle les secrets, et qui a fait connaître au roi Nebucadnetsar ce qui arrivera dans la suite des temps. Voici ton songe et les visions que tu as eues sur ta couche.
But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets. And he has shown in [your dream] what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you what you dreamed, the vision you saw [as you were lying] on your bed.
29 Sur ta couche, ô roi, il t’est monté des pensées touchant ce qui sera après ce temps-ci; et celui qui révèle les secrets t’a fait connaître ce qui arrivera.
O King, while you were sleeping, you dreamed about events that will happen in the future. The one who reveals mysteries has shown you what is going to happen.
30 Si ce secret m’a été révélé, ce n’est point qu’il y ait en moi une sagesse supérieure à celle de tous les vivants; mais c’est afin que l’explication soit donnée au roi, et que tu connaisses les pensées de ton cœur.
And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else on earth that I know the meaning of this mysterious dream. It is because God wanted you to understand what you were thinking.
31 O roi, tu regardais, et tu voyais une grande statue; cette statue était immense, et d’une splendeur extraordinaire; elle était debout devant toi, et son aspect était terrible.
O King, [in your vision] you saw in front of you a huge and terrifying statue [of a man. It was] shining very brightly, and it was frightening and awesome.
32 La tête de cette statue était d’or pur; sa poitrine et ses bras étaient d’argent; son ventre et ses cuisses étaient d’airain;
The head of the statue was [made] of pure gold. Its chest and arms [were made of] silver. Its belly and thighs [were made of] bronze.
33 ses jambes, de fer; ses pieds, en partie de fer et en partie d’argile.
Its legs [were made of] iron, and its feet were a mixture of clay and iron.
34 Tu regardais, lorsqu’une pierre se détacha sans le secours d’aucune main, frappa les pieds de fer et d’argile de la statue, et les mit en pièces.
As you watched, something cut a rock [from a mountain, but it was] not a human [who cut it]. The rock [tumbled down and] smashed the feet of the statue, feet [that were made of] iron and clay. It smashed them to bits.
35 Alors le fer, l’argile, l’airain, l’argent et l’or, furent brisés ensemble, et devinrent comme la balle qui s’échappe d’une aire en été; le vent les emporta, et nulle trace n’en fut retrouvée. Mais la pierre qui avait frappé la statue devint une grande montagne, et remplit toute la terre.
Then the rest of the statue collapsed into a big heap of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. The pieces of the statue were as small as bits of chaff on the ground where it is threshed, and the wind blew away all the tiny pieces. There was nothing left. But the rock that smashed the statue became a large mountain that covered the whole earth.
36 Voilà le songe. Nous en donnerons l’explication devant le roi.
That was what you dreamed. Now I will tell you what it means.
37 O roi, tu es le roi des rois, car le Dieu des cieux t’a donné l’empire, la puissance, la force et la gloire;
You are a king [who rules] over [many other] kings. The God who rules in heaven has caused you to rule over them and has given you great power [DOU] and has honored you.
38 il a remis entre tes mains, en quelque lieu qu’ils habitent, les enfants des hommes, les bêtes des champs et les oiseaux du ciel, et il t’a fait dominer sur eux tous: c’est toi qui es la tête d’or.
He has caused you to be the ruler over all people, and [even] the animals and birds are controlled by you. [So] the head [of the statue] represents you.
39 Après toi, il s’élèvera un autre royaume, moindre que le tien; puis un troisième royaume, qui sera d’airain, et qui dominera sur toute la terre.
But after your [kingdom/rule] ends, there will be another [great] kingdom, [but it] will not be as great as yours. [The silver parts of the statue represent that kingdom]. Then there will be a third [great] kingdom [whose king] will rule over the whole earth. The bronze parts [of the statue represent] that kingdom.
40 Il y aura un quatrième royaume, fort comme du fer; de même que le fer brise et rompt tout, il brisera et rompra tout, comme le fer qui met tout en pièces.
After that kingdom ends, there will be a fourth [great] kingdom. The iron [parts of the statue represent that kingdom]. [The army of] that kingdom will smash the previous kingdoms, just like iron smashes everything that it strikes.
41 Et comme tu as vu les pieds et les orteils en partie d’argile de potier et en partie de fer, ce royaume sera divisé; mais il y aura en lui quelque chose de la force du fer, parce que tu as vu le fer mêlé avec l’argile.
The feet and toes of the statue that you saw, that were a mixture of iron and clay, indicate that the kingdom they represent will [later] be divided.
42 Et comme les doigts des pieds étaient en partie de fer et en partie d’argile, ce royaume sera en partie fort et en partie fragile.
Some parts of that kingdom will be as strong as iron, but some parts will not remain together, just as iron and clay do not stick together.
43 Tu as vu le fer mêlé avec l’argile, parce qu’ils se mêleront par des alliances humaines; mais ils ne seront point unis l’un à l’autre, de même que le fer ne s’allie point avec l’argile.
The mixture of iron and clay [in the statue] shows also that the rulers of those kingdoms that separate from each other will try to form alliances with each other as a result of members of the royal families of those kingdoms marrying each other. But that will not succeed, just as iron and clay do not stick together.
44 Dans le temps de ces rois, le Dieu des cieux suscitera un royaume qui ne sera jamais détruit, et qui ne passera point sous la domination d’un autre peuple; il brisera et anéantira tous ces royaumes-là, et lui-même subsistera éternellement.
But while those kings are ruling, God who rules in heaven will establish a kingdom that will never end. No one will ever defeat its king. He will completely destroy all those kingdoms, but his kingdom will remain forever.
45 C’est ce qu’indique la pierre que tu as vue se détacher de la montagne sans le secours d’aucune main, et qui a brisé le fer, l’airain, l’argile, l’argent et l’or. Le grand Dieu a fait connaître au roi ce qui doit arriver après cela. Le songe est véritable, et son explication est certaine.
That is the meaning of the rock that something cut from the mountain, the rock that will crush to tiny bits the statue that is made of iron, bronze, silver, and gold. O king, the great God has shown you what will truly happen in the future. And you can trust [what I told you about] the meaning of the dream.”
46 Alors le roi Nebucadnetsar tomba sur sa face et se prosterna devant Daniel, et il ordonna qu’on lui offrît des sacrifices et des parfums.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar prostrated himself in front of me [in great respect]. He commanded [his people] that they burn incense and burn an offering of grain to honor me.
47 Le roi adressa la parole à Daniel et dit: En vérité, votre Dieu est le Dieu des dieux et le Seigneur des rois, et il révèle les secrets, puisque tu as pu découvrir ce secret.
The king said to me, “[Your God has enabled] you to tell me the meaning of this dream/mystery, so now I truly know that your God is greater than all the other gods and all other kings. He reveals [to people] things that they cannot know.”
48 Ensuite le roi éleva Daniel, et lui fit de nombreux et riches présents; il lui donna le commandement de toute la province de Babylone, et l’établit chef suprême de tous les sages de Babylone.
Then the king gave many gifts to me, and he [also] appointed me to rule over the entire province of Babylon, and [also] to be the boss of all his wise men.
49 Daniel pria le roi de remettre l’intendance de la province de Babylone à Schadrac, Méschac et Abed-Nego. Et Daniel était à la cour du roi.
I asked the king to appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to [also] have important positions in Babylon province, and the king did what I asked him to do. But [I did my work while] I stayed at the king’s palace.
