Genèse 29
1 Jacob se mit en marche, et s’en alla au pays des fils de l’Orient.
Jacob continued on the road [MTY], and he arrived at the land that was east of Canaan.
2 Il regarda. Et voici, il y avait un puits dans les champs; et voici, il y avait à côté trois troupeaux de brebis qui se reposaient, car c’était à ce puits qu’on abreuvait les troupeaux. Et la pierre sur l’ouverture du puits était grande.
There he [was surprised to] see a well in a field, and three flocks of sheep were lying near the well. It was the well from which shepherds habitually got water for their sheep. There was a large stone covering the top of the well.
3 Tous les troupeaux se rassemblaient là; on roulait la pierre de dessus l’ouverture du puits, on abreuvait les troupeaux, et l’on remettait la pierre à sa place sur l’ouverture du puits.
When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would work together to roll the stone away from the top of the well and get water for the sheep. When they finished doing that, they would put the stone back in its place over the top of the well.
4 Jacob dit aux bergers: Mes frères, d’où êtes-vous? Ils répondirent: Nous sommes de Charan.
[On that day], Jacob asked the shepherds who were sitting there, “Where are you from?” They replied, “We are from Haran.”
5 Il leur dit: Connaissez-vous Laban, fils de Nachor? Ils répondirent: Nous le connaissons.
He asked them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” They replied, “Yes, we know him.”
6 Il leur dit: Est-il en bonne santé? Ils répondirent: Il est en bonne santé; et voici Rachel, sa fille, qui vient avec le troupeau.
Jacob asked them, “Is Laban well?” They replied, “Yes, he is well. Look! Here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep!”
7 Il dit: Voici, il est encore grand jour, et il n’est pas temps de rassembler les troupeaux; abreuvez les brebis, puis allez, et faites-les paître.
Jacob said, “Hey! The sun is still high in the sky. It is not time for the flocks to be gathered for nighttime. Give the sheep some water and then take them back to (graze/eat grass) in the pastures!”
8 Ils répondirent: Nous ne le pouvons pas, jusqu’à ce que tous les troupeaux soient rassemblés; c’est alors qu’on roule la pierre de dessus l’ouverture du puits, et qu’on abreuve les brebis.
They replied, “No, we cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered here and the stone is removed from the top of the well. After that, we will give water to the sheep.”
9 Comme il leur parlait encore, survint Rachel avec le troupeau de son père; car elle était bergère.
While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep. She was the one who took care of her father’s sheep.
10 Lorsque Jacob vit Rachel, fille de Laban, frère de sa mère, et le troupeau de Laban, frère de sa mère, il s’approcha, roula la pierre de dessus l’ouverture du puits, et abreuva le troupeau de Laban, frère de sa mère.
When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, who was his mother’s brother, [Jacob was so excited that] he went over and [by himself] rolled away the stone that covered the top of the well, and he got water for his uncle’s sheep.
11 Et Jacob baisa Rachel, il éleva la voix et pleura.
Then Jacob kissed Rachel [on the cheek], and he cried loudly [because he was so happy].
12 Jacob apprit à Rachel qu’il était parent de son père, qu’il était fils de Rebecca. Et elle courut l’annoncer à son père.
Jacob told Rachel that he was one of her father’s relatives, the son of her aunt Rebekah. So she ran and told that to her father.
13 Dès que Laban eut entendu parler de Jacob, fils de sa sœur, il courut au-devant de lui, il l’embrassa et le baisa, et il le fit venir dans sa maison. Jacob raconta à Laban toutes ces choses.
As soon as Laban heard that Jacob, his sister’s son, was there, he ran to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him [on the cheek]. Then he brought him to his home, and Jacob told him all that had happened to him.
14 Et Laban lui dit: Certainement, tu es mon os et ma chair. Jacob demeura un mois chez Laban.
Then Laban said to him, “Truly, you are part of my family!” After Jacob had stayed there and worked for Laban for a month,
15 Puis Laban dit à Jacob: Parce que tu es mon parent, me serviras-tu pour rien? Dis-moi quel sera ton salaire.
Laban said to him “(You should not work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine!/Why should you work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine?) [RHQ] Tell me how much you want me to pay you.”
16 Or, Laban avait deux filles: l’aînée s’appelait Léa, et la cadette Rachel.
Well, Laban had two daughters. The older one was named Leah, and the younger one was named Rachel.
17 Léa avait les yeux délicats; mais Rachel était belle de taille et belle de figure.
Leah had pretty eyes, but Rachel had a very attractive figure and was beautiful.
18 Jacob aimait Rachel, et il dit: Je te servirai sept ans pour Rachel, ta fille cadette.
Jacob (was in love with/wanted very much to be married to) Rachel, and he said, “I will work for you for seven years. That will be my payment for your letting me marry your younger daughter, Rachel.”
19 Et Laban dit: J’aime mieux te la donner que de la donner à un autre homme. Reste chez moi!
Laban replied, “It is better for me to let you marry her than for her to marry some other man!”
20 Ainsi Jacob servit sept années pour Rachel: et elles furent à ses yeux comme quelques jours, parce qu’il l’aimait.
So Jacob worked for Laban for seven years to get Rachel, but to him it seemed like it was only a few days, because he loved her so much.
21 Ensuite Jacob dit à Laban: Donne-moi ma femme, car mon temps est accompli: et j’irai vers elle.
After the seven years were ended, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me marry Rachel now, because the time we agreed upon for me to work for you is ended, and I want to marry her. [EUP]”
22 Laban réunit tous les gens du lieu, et fit un festin.
So Laban gathered together all the people who lived in that area and made a feast.
23 Le soir, il prit Léa, sa fille, et l’amena vers Jacob, qui s’approcha d’elle.
But that evening, instead of taking Rachel to Jacob, Laban took his older daughter, Leah, to him. But because it was already dark, he could not see that it was Leah and not Rachel, and he had sex [EUP] with her.
24 Et Laban donna pour servante à Léa, sa fille, Zilpa, sa servante.
(Laban had already given his slave girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid/servant.)
25 Le lendemain matin, voilà que c’était Léa. Alors Jacob dit à Laban: Qu’est-ce que tu m’as fait? N’est-ce pas pour Rachel que j’ai servi chez toi? Pourquoi m’as-tu trompé?
The next morning, Jacob was shocked to see that it was Leah who was with him! So he went to Laban [and told him] very angrily, “(What you have done to me is disgusting!/What is this that you have done to me?) [RHQ] I worked for you to get Rachel, did I not? So why did you deceive me?”
26 Laban dit: Ce n’est point la coutume dans ce lieu de donner la cadette avant l’aînée.
Laban replied, “In this land, it is not our custom to give a younger daughter to be married before we let someone marry our firstborn daughter.
27 Achève la semaine avec celle-ci, et nous te donnerons aussi l’autre pour le service que tu feras encore chez moi pendant sept nouvelles années.
After we finish this week of celebration, we will let you marry the younger one also. But in return, you must pay for Rachel by working for me for another seven years.”
28 Jacob fit ainsi, et il acheva la semaine avec Léa; puis Laban lui donna pour femme Rachel, sa fille.
So that is what Jacob did. After the week of celebration was ended, Laban gave him his daughter, Rachel, to be his wife.
29 Et Laban donna pour servante à Rachel, sa fille, Bilha, sa servante.
Laban gave his slave girl, Bilhah, to Rachel to be her maid/servant.
30 Jacob alla aussi vers Rachel, qu’il aimait plus que Léa; et il servit encore chez Laban pendant sept nouvelles années.
Jacob had sex [EUP] with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than he loved Leah. And Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years.
31 L’Éternel vit que Léa n’était pas aimée; et il la rendit féconde, tandis que Rachel était stérile.
When Yahweh saw that Jacob did not love Leah [very much], he enabled her to become pregnant. But Rachel was not able to become pregnant.
32 Léa devint enceinte, et enfanta un fils, à qui elle donna le nom de Ruben; car elle dit: L’Éternel a vu mon humiliation, et maintenant mon mari m’aimera.
Leah gave birth to a son, whom she named Reuben, [which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘Look, a son]!’ She said, “Yahweh has seen that I was miserable, and because of that he has given me a son. Now, surely my husband will love me for giving birth to a son for him.”
33 Elle devint encore enceinte, et enfanta un fils, et elle dit: L’Éternel a entendu que je n’étais pas aimée, et il m’a aussi accordé celui-ci. Et elle lui donna le nom de Siméon.
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “Because Yahweh has heard that my husband doesn’t love me, he has given me this son, too.” So she named him Simeon, [which means ‘someone who hears’].
34 Elle devint encore enceinte, et enfanta un fils, et elle dit: Pour cette fois, mon mari s’attachera à moi; car je lui ai enfanté trois fils. C’est pourquoi on lui donna le nom de Lévi.
Later she became pregnant again, and gave birth to another son. She said, “Now, finally, my husband will hold me close to him.” So she named him Levi, [which means ‘hold close’].
35 Elle devint encore enceinte, et enfanta un fils, et elle dit: Cette fois, je louerai l’Éternel. C’est pourquoi elle lui donna le nom de Juda. Et elle cessa d’enfanter.
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “(This time/Now) I will praise Yahweh.” So she called his name Judah, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘praise’]. After that, she did not give birth to any more children [for several years].
