Psaumes 78
1 Cantique d’Asaph. Mon peuple, écoute mes instructions! Prêtez l’oreille aux paroles de ma bouche!
My friends, listen to what I am going to teach you; pay careful attention [IDM] to what I say.
2 J’ouvre la bouche par des sentences, Je publie la sagesse des temps anciens.
I am going to give you some sayings that wise people have said. They will be sayings about things that happened long ago, things that were difficult to understand [MET],
3 Ce que nous avons entendu, ce que nous savons, Ce que nos pères nous ont raconté,
things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.
4 Nous ne le cacherons point à leurs enfants; Nous dirons à la génération future les louanges de l’Éternel, Et sa puissance, et les prodiges qu’il a opérés.
We will tell these things to our children [LIT], and we will also tell to our grandchildren [about] Yahweh’s power and the glorious/great things that he has done.
5 Il a établi un témoignage en Jacob, Il a mis une loi en Israël, Et il a ordonné à nos pères de l’enseigner à leurs enfants,
He gave laws and commandments to the Israeli people, [those who are the descendants of] Jacob [DOU], and he told our ancestors to teach them to their children
6 Pour qu’elle fût connue de la génération future, Des enfants qui naîtraient, Et que, devenus grands, ils en parlassent à leurs enfants,
in order that their children would [also] know them and then they would teach them to their children.
7 Afin qu’ils missent en Dieu leur confiance, Qu’ils n’oubliassent pas les œuvres de Dieu, Et qu’ils observassent ses commandements,
In that way, they also would trust in God, and not forget the things that he has done; instead, they would obey his commandments.
8 Afin qu’ils ne fussent pas, comme leurs pères, Une race indocile et rebelle, Une race dont le cœur n’était pas ferme, Et dont l’esprit n’était pas fidèle à Dieu.
They would not be like their ancestors, who were very stubborn and kept rebelling [against God]; they did not continue firmly trusting in God, and they did not worship only him.
9 Les fils d’Éphraïm, armés et tirant de l’arc, Tournèrent le dos le jour du combat.
[The soldiers of] the tribe of Ephraim had bows [and arrows] but they ran away [from their enemies] on the day that they fought a battle with their enemies.
10 Ils ne gardèrent point l’alliance de Dieu, Et ils refusèrent de marcher selon sa loi.
They did not do what they had agreed with God that they would do; they refused to obey his laws.
11 Ils mirent en oubli ses œuvres, Ses merveilles qu’il leur avait fait voir.
They forgot what he had done; they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.
12 Devant leurs pères il avait fait des prodiges, Au pays d’Égypte, dans les campagnes de Tsoan.
While our ancestors were watching, God performed miracles in the area around Zoan [city] in Egypt.
13 Il fendit la mer et leur ouvrit un passage, Il fit dresser les eaux comme une muraille.
[Then] he caused the [Red] Sea to divide, causing the water [on each side] to pile up like a wall, with the result that [our ancestors] walked through it [on dry ground].
14 Il les conduisit le jour par la nuée, Et toute la nuit par un feu éclatant.
He led them by a [bright] cloud during the day and by a fiery light during the night.
15 Il fendit des rochers dans le désert, Et il donna à boire comme des flots abondants;
He split rocks open in the desert, giving to our ancestors plenty of water from deep inside the earth.
16 Du rocher il fit jaillir des sources, Et couler des eaux comme des fleuves.
He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].
17 Mais ils continuèrent à pécher contre lui, A se révolter contre le Très-Haut dans le désert.
But [our ancestors] continued to sin against God; in the desert they rebelled against the one who is greater than any other god.
18 Ils tentèrent Dieu dans leur cœur, En demandant de la nourriture selon leur désir.
By demanding that God give them the food that they desired, they tried to find out if he would always do what they requested him to do.
19 Ils parlèrent contre Dieu, Ils dirent: Dieu pourrait-il Dresser une table dans le désert?
They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!
20 Voici, il a frappé le rocher, et des eaux ont coulé, Et des torrents se sont répandus; Pourra-t-il aussi donner du pain, Ou fournir de la viande à son peuple?
[It is true that] he struck the rock, with the result that water gushed/flowed out, [but] (can he also provide bread and meat for [us], his people?/we doubt that he can also provide bread and meat for us, his people.)” [RHQ]
21 L’Éternel entendit, et il fut irrité; Un feu s’alluma contre Jacob, Et la colère s’éleva contre Israël,
So, when Yahweh heard that, he became very angry, and he sent a fire to burn up [some of] his Israeli [people]. [MTY, DOU]
22 Parce qu’ils ne crurent pas en Dieu, Parce qu’ils n’eurent pas confiance dans son secours.
[He did that] because they did not trust in him, and they did not believe that he would rescue them.
23 Il commanda aux nuages d’en haut, Et il ouvrit les portes des cieux;
But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,
24 Il fit pleuvoir sur eux la manne pour nourriture, Il leur donna le blé du ciel.
and [then food] fell down like rain, [food which they named] ‘manna’; God gave them grain from (heaven/the sky).
25 Ils mangèrent tous le pain des grands, Il leur envoya de la nourriture à satiété.
[So] the people ate the food that angels eat, [and] God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.
26 Il fit souffler dans les cieux le vent d’orient, Et il amena par sa puissance le vent du midi;
[Later], he caused the wind to blow from the east, and by his power he also sent wind from the south,
27 Il fit pleuvoir sur eux la viande comme de la poussière, Et comme le sable des mers les oiseaux ailés;
and the wind brought birds which were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.
28 Il les fit tomber au milieu de leur camp, Tout autour de leurs demeures.
God caused those birds to fall [dead] in the middle of (their camp)/the area where the people had put up their tents. [There were dead birds] all around their tents.
29 Ils mangèrent et se rassasièrent abondamment: Dieu leur donna ce qu’ils avaient désiré.
[So] the people [cooked the birds and] ate the meat and their stomachs were full, because God had given them what they wanted.
30 Ils n’avaient pas satisfait leur désir, Ils avaient encore leur nourriture dans la bouche,
But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,
31 Lorsque la colère de Dieu s’éleva contre eux; Il frappa de mort les plus vigoureux, Il abattit les jeunes hommes d’Israël.
God was [still] very angry with them, and he caused their strongest men to die; he got rid of [many of] the finest [young] Israeli men.
32 Malgré tout cela, ils continuèrent à pécher, Et ne crurent point à ses prodiges.
In spite of all that, the people continued to sin; in spite of all the miracles that God had performed, they still did not trust that he [would take care of them].
33 Il consuma leurs jours par la vanité, Et leurs années par une fin soudaine.
So, he caused their lives to end as quickly as a puff of wind ends; they died when disasters suddenly struck them.
34 Quand il les frappait de mort, ils le cherchaient, Ils revenaient et se tournaient vers Dieu;
When God caused [some of] them to die, [the others] turned to God; they repented and earnestly asked God [to save them].
35 Ils se souvenaient que Dieu était leur rocher, Que le Dieu Très-Haut était leur libérateur.
They remembered that God is [like] a huge rock ledge [under which they would be safe] [MET], and that he, who was greater than any other god, is the one who protected/rescued them.
36 Mais ils le trompaient de la bouche, Et ils lui mentaient de la langue;
But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.
37 Leur cœur n’était pas ferme envers lui, Et ils n’étaient pas fidèles à son alliance.
They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.
38 Toutefois, dans sa miséricorde, il pardonne l’iniquité et ne détruit pas; Il retient souvent sa colère et ne se livre pas à toute sa fureur.
But God was merciful to his people. He forgave them for having sinned and did not get rid of them. Many times he refrained from becoming angry [with them] and restrained from furiously/severely [punishing them] [MTY].
39 Il se souvint qu’ils n’étaient que chair, Un souffle qui s’en va et ne revient pas.
He remembered/considered that they were only humans who die; they [disappear quickly] [SIM], like a wind that blows by and then is gone.
40 Que de fois ils se révoltèrent contre lui dans le désert! Que de fois ils l’irritèrent dans la solitude!
Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the desert and caused him to become very sad.
41 Ils ne cessèrent de tenter Dieu, Et de provoquer le Saint d’Israël.
Many times they did evil things, to find out [if they could do those things without God punishing them]. They frequently caused the holy God of Israel to become disgusted/sad.
42 Ils ne se souvinrent pas de sa puissance, Du jour où il les délivra de l’ennemi,
They forgot about his [great] power, and they (forgot/did not think) about the time when he rescued them from their enemies.
43 Des miracles qu’il accomplit en Égypte, Et de ses prodiges dans les campagnes de Tsoan.
They forgot about when he performed many miracles in the area near Zoan [city] in Egypt.
44 Il changea leurs fleuves en sang, Et ils ne purent en boire les eaux.
He caused the [Nile] River (OR, their sources of water) to become [red like] blood, with the result that the people of Egypt had no water to drink.
45 Il envoya contre eux des mouches venimeuses qui les dévorèrent, Et des grenouilles qui les détruisirent.
He sent among the people of Egypt swarms of flies that bit them, and he sent frogs that ate up everything.
46 Il livra leurs récoltes aux sauterelles, Le produit de leur travail aux sauterelles.
He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.
47 Il fit périr leurs vignes par la grêle, Et leurs sycomores par la gelée.
He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.
48 Il abandonna leur bétail à la grêle, Et leurs troupeaux au feu du ciel.
He sent hail that killed their cattle and sent lightning that killed their sheep and cows.
49 Il lança contre eux son ardente colère, La fureur, la rage et la détresse, Une troupe de messagers de malheur.
Because God was fiercely angry with the people of Egypt, he caused them to be very distressed. The disasters that struck them were like a group of angels that destroyed [everything].
50 Il donna libre cours à sa colère, Il ne sauva pas leur âme de la mort, Il livra leur vie à la mortalité;
He did not lessen his being angry [with them], and he did not (spare their lives/prevent them from dying); he sent a (plague/serious illness) that killed [many of] them.
51 Il frappa tous les premiers-nés en Égypte, Les prémices de la force sous les tentes de Cham.
He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.
52 Il fit partir son peuple comme des brebis, Il les conduisit comme un troupeau dans le désert.
Then he led his people out [of Egypt] like [a shepherd leads] his sheep [SIM], and he guided them [while they walked] through the desert.
53 Il les dirigea sûrement, pour qu’ils fussent sans crainte, Et la mer couvrit leurs ennemis.
He led them safely, and they were not afraid, but their enemies were drowned in the sea.
54 Il les amena vers sa frontière sainte, Vers cette montagne que sa droite a acquise.
[Later] he brought them to [Canaan], his sacred land, to [Zion] Hill (OR, the hilly area) and by his power [MTY] he enabled them to conquer [the people who were living there].
55 Il chassa devant eux les nations, Leur distribua le pays en héritage, Et fit habiter dans leurs tentes les tribus d’Israël.
He expelled the people-groups while his people were advancing; he allotted part of the land for [each tribe] to possess, and he gave to the Israeli people the houses of those people who had been expelled.
56 Mais ils tentèrent le Dieu Très-Haut et se révoltèrent contre lui, Et ils n’observèrent point ses ordonnances.
However, the Israeli people rebelled against God, who is greater than any other god, and they did many evil things to see if they could do those things without God punishing them, and they did not obey his commandments.
57 Ils s’éloignèrent et furent infidèles, comme leurs pères, Ils tournèrent, comme un arc trompeur.
Instead, like their ancestors did, they rebelled against God and (were not loyal to/did not faithfully [obey]) him; they were as [unreliable as] a crooked arrow [that does not go straight] [SIM].
58 Ils l’irritèrent par leurs hauts lieux, Et ils excitèrent sa jalousie par leurs idoles.
Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].
59 Dieu entendit, et il fut irrité; Il repoussa fortement Israël.
He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.
60 Il abandonna la demeure de Silo, La tente où il habitait parmi les hommes;
He no longer appeared to them at Shiloh in the tent where he had lived among them.
61 Il livra sa gloire à la captivité, Et sa majesté entre les mains de l’ennemi.
He allowed their enemies to capture [the sacred chest], [which was the symbol of] his power and his glory.
62 Il mit son peuple à la merci du glaive, Et il s’indigna contre son héritage.
Because he was angry with his people, he allowed them to be killed [MTY] [by their enemies].
63 Le feu dévora ses jeunes hommes, Et ses vierges ne furent pas célébrées;
Young men were killed in battles, with the result that the young women had no one to marry.
64 Ses sacrificateurs tombèrent par l’épée, Et ses veuves ne pleurèrent pas.
[Many] priests were killed by [their enemies’] swords, and (the people did not allow the priests’ widows/the priests’ widows were not allowed) to mourn.
65 Le Seigneur s’éveilla comme celui qui a dormi, Comme un héros qu’a subjugué le vin.
Later, [it was as though] the Lord awoke from sleeping; he was like a strong man who (became stimulated/felt that he was strong) by (OR, became sober after) [drinking] a lot of wine [SIM].
66 Il frappa ses adversaires en fuite, Il les couvrit d’un opprobre éternel.
He pushed their enemies back and caused them to be [very] ashamed for a long time [HYP] [because they had been defeated].
67 Cependant il rejeta la tente de Joseph, Et il ne choisit point la tribu d’Éphraïm;
[But] he did not set up his tent where [the people of] the tribe of Ephraim lived; he did not choose their area [to do that].
68 Il préféra la tribu de Juda, La montagne de Sion qu’il aimait.
Instead he chose [the area where] the tribe of Judah [lived]; he chose Zion Hill, which he loves.
69 Et il bâtit son sanctuaire comme les lieux élevés, Comme la terre qu’il a fondée pour toujours.
He [decided to have] his temple built [there], high up, like [his home in] heaven; he caused it to be firm, [and intended that] his temple would last forever, like the earth.
70 Il choisit David, son serviteur, Et il le tira des bergeries;
He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures
71 Il le prit derrière les brebis qui allaitent, Pour lui faire paître Jacob, son peuple, Et Israël, son héritage.
where he was taking care of his [father’s] sheep, and appointed him to be the leader [MET] of the Israeli people, the people who belong to God.
72 Et David les dirigea avec un cœur intègre, Et les conduisit avec des mains intelligentes.
David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.
