Genèse 42
1 Jacob, voyant qu’il y avait du blé en Égypte, dit à ses fils: Pourquoi vous regardez-vous les uns les autres?
When someone told Jacob that there was grain in Egypt that people could buy, he said to his sons, “(Why do you just sit there looking at each other?/Do not just sit there looking at each other!) [RHQ] We need some grain!”
2 Il dit: Voici, j’apprends qu’il y a du blé en Égypte; descendez-y, pour nous en acheter là, afin que nous vivions et que nous ne mourions pas.
He said to them, “Someone told me that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, in order that we will not die!”
3 Dix frères de Joseph descendirent en Égypte, pour acheter du blé.
So Joseph’s ten [older] brothers went down to Egypt to buy some grain.
4 Jacob n’envoya point avec eux Benjamin, frère de Joseph, dans la crainte qu’il ne lui arrivât quelque malheur.
But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s [younger] brother, to go with the others, because he was afraid/worried that something terrible might happen to him like what happened to Joseph.
5 Les fils d’Israël vinrent pour acheter du blé, au milieu de ceux qui venaient aussi; car la famine était dans le pays de Canaan.
So Jacob’s other sons went down from Canaan to Egypt to buy grain, and others from there went too, because there was a famine in Canaan also.
6 Joseph commandait dans le pays; c’est lui qui vendait du blé à tout le peuple du pays. Les frères de Joseph vinrent, et se prosternèrent devant lui la face contre terre.
At that time Joseph was the governor of Egypt. He was the one who sold grain to people who came from all over Egypt and from many other countries [HYP] to buy grain. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, [they were told that it was necessary for them to talk with Joseph. So they went to him and] prostrated themselves before him with their faces to the ground.
7 Joseph vit ses frères et les reconnut; mais il feignit d’être un étranger pour eux, il leur parla durement, et leur dit: D’où venez-vous? Ils répondirent: Du pays de Canaan, pour acheter des vivres.
As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he pretended that he did not know them. He spoke harshly to them, saying, “Where do you come from?” One of them replied, “We have come from Canaan, to buy some grain.”
8 Joseph reconnut ses frères, mais eux ne le reconnurent pas.
Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.
9 Joseph se souvint des songes qu’il avait eus à leur sujet, et il leur dit: Vous êtes des espions; c’est pour observer les lieux faibles du pays que vous êtes venus.
And then Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about them many years previously. [But he decided not to tell them yet that he was their younger brother]. He said to them, “You are spies! You have come to find out whether we will be able to defend ourselves [if you attack us]!”
10 Ils lui répondirent: Non, mon seigneur, tes serviteurs sont venus pour acheter du blé.
One of them replied, “No, sir! We have come to buy grain.
11 Nous sommes tous fils d’un même homme; nous sommes sincères, tes serviteurs ne sont pas des espions.
We are all sons of one man. We are honest men, not spies.”
12 Il leur dit: Nullement; c’est pour observer les lieux faibles du pays que vous êtes venus.
He said to them, “[I do not believe you]. You have come just to see whether we would be able to defend ourselves if we were attacked!”
13 Ils répondirent: Nous, tes serviteurs, sommes douze frères, fils d’un même homme au pays de Canaan; et voici, le plus jeune est aujourd’hui avec notre père, et il y en a un qui n’est plus.
But one of them replied, “No, that is not true! Originally there were twelve of us who were brothers, the sons of one man. Our younger brother is with our father. One [younger] brother has died. [EUP]”
14 Joseph leur dit: Je viens de vous le dire, vous êtes des espions.
Joseph replied, “[You are lying! I think] it is just as I told you. You are spies!
15 Voici comment vous serez éprouvés. Par la vie de Pharaon! Vous ne sortirez point d’ici que votre jeune frère ne soit venu.
But this is how I will determine whether what you are saying is true. I think that as surely as the king lives, you are spies. And you will not leave this place until your youngest brother comes here!
16 Envoyez l’un de vous pour chercher votre frère; et vous, restez prisonniers. Vos paroles seront éprouvées, et je saurai si la vérité est chez vous; sinon, par la vie de Pharaon! Vous êtes des espions.
Send one of your group to go and get your younger brother and bring him here. I will put the rest of you in prison, in order that I may test what you have said to find out whether what you are telling me is true. If the one who goes does not bring your younger brother here, then, just as surely as the king lives, it will be clear that you are lying and that you are spies.”
17 Et il les mit ensemble trois jours en prison.
Then Joseph put them all in prison for three days.
18 Le troisième jour, Joseph leur dit: Faites ceci, et vous vivrez. Je crains Dieu!
On the third day, Joseph went to the prison and said to them, “I am a man who fears that God [will punish me if I do not do what I promise]. So do what I tell you, and I will spare your lives.
19 Si vous êtes sincères, que l’un de vos frères reste enfermé dans votre prison; et vous, partez, emportez du blé pour nourrir vos familles,
If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, and the rest of you can take some grain back to your families who are very hungry because of the famine.
20 et amenez-moi votre jeune frère, afin que vos paroles soient éprouvées et que vous ne mouriez point. Et ils firent ainsi.
But if you come back here again, you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that you can prove that what you told me is true, and as a result I will not have you executed.” So they agreed to do that.
21 Ils se dirent alors l’un à l’autre: Oui, nous avons été coupables envers notre frère, car nous avons vu l’angoisse de son âme, quand il nous demandait grâce, et nous ne l’avons point écouté! C’est pour cela que cette affliction nous arrive.
They said to each other, “It is surely because of what we did to our [younger] brother that (we are being punished/God is punishing us)! We saw that he [SYN] was very distressed when he pleaded with us not to harm him. But we did not pay any attention to him, and that is why we are having this trouble!”
22 Ruben, prenant la parole, leur dit: Ne vous disais-je pas: Ne commettez point un crime envers cet enfant? Mais vous n’avez point écouté. Et voici, son sang est redemandé.
Reuben said to them, “I told you not to harm the boy [RHQ], but you did not pay attention to what I said! Now we are being (paid back/punished) for killing him [MTY]!”
23 Ils ne savaient pas que Joseph comprenait, car il se servait avec eux d’un interprète.
While they were talking with Joseph, they were speaking through (an interpreter/someone who knew their language and the Egyptian language), but when they said these things among themselves, they were speaking in their own language, and they did not know that Joseph could understand their language, and that he could understand what they were saying.
24 Il s’éloigna d’eux, pour pleurer. Il revint, et leur parla; puis il prit parmi eux Siméon, et le fit enchaîner sous leurs yeux.
[Because of what they said, Joseph realized that they admitted that what they had done to him many years previously was wrong]. He could not keep from crying, [and he did not want them to see him crying], so he left them and went outside the room and began to cry. But then he returned to them and talked to them again. Then he took Simeon, and while they were watching, he told his servants to tie him up. He left Simeon in the prison and told the others that they could go.
25 Joseph ordonna qu’on remplît de blé leurs sacs, qu’on remît l’argent de chacun dans son sac, et qu’on leur donnât des provisions pour la route. Et l’on fit ainsi.
Joseph told his servants to fill the men’s sacks with grain, but he also told them to put the money that each one had paid for the grain in the top of his sack. He also told them to give them food to eat along the way. After the servants did those things for Joseph’s older brothers,
26 Ils chargèrent le blé sur leurs ânes, et partirent.
his older brothers loaded the sacks of grain on their donkeys and left.
27 L’un d’eux ouvrit son sac pour donner du fourrage à son âne, dans le lieu où ils passèrent la nuit, et il vit l’argent qui était à l’entrée du sac.
At the place where they stopped to sleep that night, one of them opened his sack to get some grain for his donkey. He was amazed to see his money in the top of the sack.
28 Il dit à ses frères: Mon argent a été rendu, et le voici dans mon sac. Alors leur cœur fut en défaillance; et ils se dirent l’un à l’autre, en tremblant: Qu’est-ce que Dieu nous a fait?
He exclaimed to his brothers, “Someone has returned my money! Here it is in my sack!” They started shaking with fear, and said to each other, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 Ils revinrent auprès de Jacob, leur père, dans le pays de Canaan, et ils lui racontèrent tout ce qui leur était arrivé. Ils dirent:
When they returned to their father in Canaan land, they told him all that had happened to them. One of them said,
30 L’homme, qui est le seigneur du pays, nous a parlé durement, et il nous a pris pour des espions.
“The man who governs the whole land of Egypt talked very harshly to us. He acted toward us as though we were spying on his country.
31 Nous lui avons dit: Nous sommes sincères, nous ne sommes pas des espions.
But we told him, ‘We are honest men! We are not spies.
32 Nous sommes douze frères, fils de notre père; l’un n’est plus, et le plus jeune est aujourd’hui avec notre père au pays de Canaan.
Originally there were twelve of us who were brothers, the sons of one father. One has died [EUP], and our youngest brother is with our father in Canaan.’
33 Et l’homme, qui est le seigneur du pays, nous a dit: Voici comment je saurai si vous êtes sincères. Laissez auprès de moi l’un de vos frères, prenez de quoi nourrir vos familles, partez, et amenez-moi votre jeune frère.
The man who is the governor of the land [did not believe us], so he said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are truly honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me. Then the rest of you can take some grain for your families that are starving from hunger and go.
34 Je saurai ainsi que vous n’êtes pas des espions, que vous êtes sincères; je vous rendrai votre frère, et vous pourrez librement parcourir le pays.
But when you return, bring your youngest brother to me, in order that I will know that you are not spies, but instead, that you are honest men. Then I will release your brother for you. And then you can buy whatever you want in this country.’”
35 Lorsqu’ils vidèrent leurs sacs, voici, le paquet d’argent de chacun était dans son sac. Ils virent, eux et leur père, leurs paquets d’argent, et ils eurent peur.
As they were emptying their sacks, they were surprised that in each man’s sack was his pouch of money! When they and their father saw all the pouches of money, they were frightened.
36 Jacob, leur père, leur dit: Vous me privez de mes enfants! Joseph n’est plus, Siméon n’est plus, et vous prendriez Benjamin! C’est sur moi que tout cela retombe.
Their father Jacob said to them, “You have caused two of my children to be taken from me! Joseph is dead, and Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin from me! It is I who am suffering because of all these things that are happening!”
37 Ruben dit à son père: Tu feras mourir mes deux fils si je ne te ramène pas Benjamin; remets-le entre mes mains, et je te le ramènerai.
Reuben said to his father, “I will be responsible for Benjamin. [I will take him to Egypt and] bring him back to you. Let me take care of him. If I do not bring Benjamin back to you, you may kill both of my sons.”
38 Jacob dit: Mon fils ne descendra point avec vous; car son frère est mort, et il reste seul; s’il lui arrivait un malheur dans le voyage que vous allez faire, vous feriez descendre mes cheveux blancs avec douleur dans le séjour des morts. (Sheol h7585)
But Jacob said, “No, I will not let my son go down there with you. His [older] brother is dead, and he is the only [one of my wife Rachel’s] sons who is left! If something harms him while you are traveling, you would cause me, a gray-haired old man, to die because of sorrow.” (Sheol h7585)
