Esdras 10
1 Pendant qu’Esdras, pleurant et prosterné devant la maison de Dieu, faisait cette prière et cette confession, il s’était rassemblé auprès de lui une foule très nombreuse de gens d’Israël, hommes, femmes et enfants, et le peuple répandait d’abondantes larmes.
While I was kneeling down in front of the temple and praying and crying, I was confessing [the sins that the Israeli people had committed]. Many people, men and women and children, gathered around me and also cried very much.
2 Alors Schecania, fils de Jehiel, d’entre les fils d’Élam, prit la parole et dit à Esdras: Nous avons péché contre notre Dieu, en nous alliant à des femmes étrangères qui appartiennent aux peuples du pays. Mais Israël ne reste pas pour cela sans espérance.
Then Shecaniah, the son of Jehiel from the clan of Elam, said this to me: “We have disobeyed God. [Some of] us have married women who are not Israelis. But we can still confidently expect [Yahweh to be merciful to] us Israeli people.
3 Faisons maintenant une alliance avec notre Dieu pour le renvoi de toutes ces femmes et de leurs enfants, selon l’avis de mon seigneur et de ceux qui tremblent devant les commandements de notre Dieu. Et que l’on agisse d’après la loi.
We will do what you, and the others who have an awesome respect for what our God has commanded, tell us to do. We will do what God told us in his laws. We will make an agreement with our God, saying that we will divorce our wives who are not Israelis, and we will send them away with their children.
4 Lève-toi, car cette affaire te regarde. Nous serons avec toi. Prends courage et agis.
(It is your responsibility to/Because you are our leader, you must) [tell us what to do]. So get up, and be courageous, and do [what is necessary]. We will (support you/tell people to do what you say).”
5 Esdras se leva, et il fit jurer aux chefs des sacrificateurs, des Lévites, et de tout Israël, de faire ce qui venait d’être dit. Et ils le jurèrent.
So I stood up and demanded that the leaders of the priests, the [other] descendants of Levi, and all [the other] Israeli people solemnly declare that they would do what Shecaniah said that they should do. So they all solemnly promised to do that.
6 Puis Esdras se retira de devant la maison de Dieu, et il alla dans la chambre de Jochanan, fils d’Éliaschib; quand il y fut entré, il ne mangea point de pain et il ne but point d’eau, parce qu’il était dans la désolation à cause du péché des fils de la captivité.
Then I went away from the front of the temple and went to the room where Jehohanan lived. I stayed there that night, but I did not eat or drink anything. I was still sad because some of the Israelis who had returned [from Babylonia] had not faithfully obeyed [God’s laws].
7 On publia dans Juda et à Jérusalem que tous les fils de la captivité eussent à se réunir à Jérusalem,
Then we sent a message to all [the people in] Jerusalem and [in other towns in] Judah, saying that all those who had returned [from Babylonia] should come to Jerusalem immediately.
8 et que, d’après l’avis des chefs et des anciens, quiconque ne s’y serait pas rendu dans trois jours aurait tous ses biens confisqués et serait lui-même exclu de l’assemblée des fils de la captivité.
We said that if any of them did not arrive within three days, the leaders of the people would order that all the property of those people would be taken from them, and that they would no longer be considered to belong to the Israeli people; [they would be considered to be foreigners].
9 Tous les hommes de Juda et de Benjamin se rassemblèrent à Jérusalem dans les trois jours. C’était le vingtième jour du neuvième mois. Tout le peuple se tenait sur la place de la maison de Dieu, tremblant à cause de la circonstance et par suite de la pluie.
So within three days, on December 19, all the people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem. They were there, sitting in the courtyard in front of the temple. They were trembling because it was raining hard and because they were worried [that they would be punished for what they had done].
10 Esdras, le sacrificateur, se leva et leur dit: Vous avez péché en vous alliant à des femmes étrangères, et vous avez rendu Israël encore plus coupable.
Then I stood up and said to them, “[Some of] you men have committed a very bad sin. You have married women who are not Israelis. By doing that, you have made us Israeli people more guilty [than we were before].
11 Confessez maintenant votre faute à l’Éternel, le Dieu de vos pères, et faites sa volonté! Séparez-vous des peuples du pays et des femmes étrangères.
So now you must confess to Yahweh, the God whom your ancestors [worshiped/belonged to], the sin which you have committed, and you must do what he wants. Separate yourselves from the people of other nations and from the women from those nations whom you have married.”
12 Toute l’assemblée répondit d’une voix haute: A nous de faire comme tu l’as dit!
The whole group answered, shouting loudly, “Yes, what you have said is right! We will do what you have said.”
13 Mais le peuple est nombreux, le temps est à la pluie, et il n’est pas possible de rester dehors; d’ailleurs, ce n’est pas l’œuvre d’un jour ou deux, car il y en a beaucoup parmi nous qui ont péché dans cette affaire.
But then [one of] them said, “But we are a very large group, and it is raining hard. Also, there are many of us who have committed this bad sin. This is something that we cannot (take care of/handle) in one or two days, and we cannot stand here in this rain.
14 Que nos chefs restent donc pour toute l’assemblée; et tous ceux qui dans nos villes se sont alliés à des femmes étrangères viendront à des époques fixes, avec les anciens et les juges de chaque ville, jusqu’à ce que l’ardente colère de notre Dieu se soit détournée de nous au sujet de cette affaire.
So allow our leaders to decide for all of us what we should do. Tell everyone who has married a woman who is not Israeli to come at a time that you decide. They should come with the elders and judges from each city. If we do that, our God will stop being angry with us [because of what we have done].”
15 Jonathan, fils d’Asaël, et Jachzia, fils de Thikva, appuyés par Meschullam et par le Lévite Schabthaï, furent les seuls à combattre cet avis,
Jonathan the son of Asahel, Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah, Meshullam, and Shabbethai, a descendant of Levi, were the only ones who objected to this.
16 auquel se conformèrent les fils de la captivité. On choisit Esdras, le sacrificateur, et des chefs de famille selon leurs maisons paternelles, tous désignés par leurs noms; et ils siégèrent le premier jour du dixième mois pour s’occuper de la chose.
All the others who had returned from Babylonia said that they would do it. So I chose leaders of each of the clans, and I wrote down their names. On December 29, these men came and sat down to investigate the matter.
17 Le premier jour du premier mois, ils en finirent avec tous les hommes qui s’étaient alliés à des femmes étrangères.
By March 27 of the next year they finished determining which men had married women who were not Israelis.
18 Parmi les fils de sacrificateurs, il s’en trouva qui s’étaient alliés à des femmes étrangères: des fils de Josué, fils de Jotsadak, et de ses frères, Maaséja, Éliézer, Jarib et Guedalia,
This is a list of the names of the priests who had married non-Israeli women, and the clans to which they belonged. From the clan of Jeshua and his brothers, who were sons of Jehozadak, there were Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.
19 qui s’engagèrent, en donnant la main, à renvoyer leurs femmes et à offrir un bélier en sacrifice de culpabilité;
They solemnly promised to divorce their wives, and they each sacrificed a ram to be an offering [to atone] for their sins.
20 des fils d’Immer, Hanani et Zebadia;
From the clan of Immer there were Hanani and Zebadiah.
21 des fils de Harim, Maaséja, Élie, Schemaeja, Jehiel et Ozias;
From the clan of Harim there were Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22 des fils de Paschhur, Éljoénaï, Maaséja, Ismaël, Nethaneel, Jozabad et Éleasa.
From the clan of Pashhur there were Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23 Parmi les Lévites: Jozabad, Schimeï, Kélaja ou Kelitha, Pethachja, Juda et Éliézer.
The [other] descendants of Levi [who had married non-Israeli women] were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (whose other name was Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24 Parmi les chantres: Éliaschib. Parmi les portiers: Schallum, Thélem et Uri.
There was Eliashib the musician. From the temple guards there were Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25 Parmi ceux d’Israël: des fils de Pareosch, Ramia, Jizzija, Malkija, Mijamin, Éléazar, Malkija et Benaja;
This is a list of the names of the other Israelis who had married foreign wives: From the clan of Parosh there were Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah, and Benaiah.
26 des fils d’Élam, Matthania, Zacharie, Jehiel, Abdi, Jerémoth et Élie;
From the clan of Elam there were Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
27 des fils de Zatthu, Éljoénaï, Éliaschib, Matthania, Jerémoth, Zabad et Aziza;
From the clan of Zattu there were Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
28 des fils de Bébaï, Jochanan, Hanania, Zabbaï et Athlaï;
From the clan of Bebai there were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
29 des fils de Bani, Meschullam, Malluc, Adaja, Jaschub, Scheal et Ramoth;
From the clan of Bani there were Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.
30 des fils de Pachath-Moab, Adna, Kelal, Benaja, Maaséja, Matthania, Betsaleel, Binnuï et Manassé;
From the clan of Pahath-Moab there were Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.
31 des fils de Harim, Éliézer, Jischija, Malkija, Schemaeja, Siméon,
From the clan of Harim there were Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,
32 Benjamin, Malluc et Schemaria;
Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.
33 des fils de Haschum, Matthnaï, Matthattha, Zabad, Éliphéleth, Jerémaï, Manassé et Schimeï;
From the clan of Hashum there were Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
34 des fils de Bani, Maadaï, Amram, Uel,
From the clan of Bigvai there were Maadai, Amram, Uel,
35 Benaja, Bédia, Keluhu,
Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi,
36 Vania, Merémoth, Éliaschib,
Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
37 Matthania, Matthnaï, Jaasaï,
Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.
38 Bani, Binnuï, Schimeï,
From the clan of Binnui there were Shimei,
39 Schélémia, Nathan, Adaja,
Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,
40 Macnadbaï, Schaschaï, Scharaï,
Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
41 Azareel, Schélémia, Schemaria,
Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,
42 Schallum, Amaria et Joseph;
Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.
43 des fils de Nebo, Jeïel, Matthithia, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddaï, Joël et Benaja.
From the clan of Nebo there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44 Tous ceux-là avaient pris des femmes étrangères, et plusieurs en avaient eu des enfants.
Each of those men had married a woman who was not an Israeli. [But immediately] they divorced those women and sent them and their children away.
