Psaumes 78
1 Cantique d’Asaph. Mon peuple, écoute mes instructions! Prêtez l’oreille aux paroles de ma bouche!
A maschil of Asaph. Hear my teaching, my people, listen to the words of my mouth.
2 J’ouvre la bouche par des sentences, Je publie la sagesse des temps anciens.
I will open my mouth in parables; I will sing about hidden things about the past.
3 Ce que nous avons entendu, ce que nous savons, Ce que nos pères nous ont raconté,
These are things that we have heard and learned, things that our ancestors have 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 not keep them from their descendants. We will tell the next generation about the praiseworthy deeds of Yahweh, his strength, and the wonders 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,
For he established covenant decrees in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel. He commanded our ancestors that they were 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,
He commanded this so that the generation to come might know his decrees, the children not yet born, who should tell them in turn to their own 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,
Then they would place their hope in God and not forget his deeds but keep 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.
Then they would not be like their ancestors, who were a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose hearts were not right, and whose spirits were not committed and faithful to God.
9 Les fils d’Éphraïm, armés et tirant de l’arc, Tournèrent le dos le jour du combat.
The Ephraimites were armed with bows, but they turned back on the day of battle.
10 Ils ne gardèrent point l’alliance de Dieu, Et ils refusèrent de marcher selon sa loi.
They did not keep the covenant with God, and they refused to obey his law.
11 Ils mirent en oubli ses œuvres, Ses merveilles qu’il leur avait fait voir.
They forgot his deeds, the wonderful things that he had shown them.
12 Devant leurs pères il avait fait des prodiges, Au pays d’Égypte, dans les campagnes de Tsoan.
They forgot the marvelous things he did in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the land of Zoan.
13 Il fendit la mer et leur ouvrit un passage, Il fit dresser les eaux comme une muraille.
He divided the sea and led them across it; he made the waters to stand like walls.
14 Il les conduisit le jour par la nuée, Et toute la nuit par un feu éclatant.
In the daytime he led them with a cloud and all the night with the light of fire.
15 Il fendit des rochers dans le désert, Et il donna à boire comme des flots abondants;
He split the rocks in the wilderness, and he gave them water abundantly, enough to fill the depths of the sea.
16 Du rocher il fit jaillir des sources, Et couler des eaux comme des fleuves.
He made streams flow out of the rock and made the water flow like rivers.
17 Mais ils continuèrent à pécher contre lui, A se révolter contre le Très-Haut dans le désert.
Yet they continued to sin against him, rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
18 Ils tentèrent Dieu dans leur cœur, En demandant de la nourriture selon leur désir.
They challenged God in their hearts by asking for food to satisfy their appetites.
19 Ils parlèrent contre Dieu, Ils dirent: Dieu pourrait-il Dresser une table dans le désert?
They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really lay out a table for us in the wilderness?
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?
See, when he struck the rock, waters gushed out and streams overflowed. But can he give bread also? Will he provide meat for his people?”
21 L’Éternel entendit, et il fut irrité; Un feu s’alluma contre Jacob, Et la colère s’éleva contre Israël,
When Yahweh heard this, he was angry; so his fire burned against Jacob, and his anger attacked Israel,
22 Parce qu’ils ne crurent pas en Dieu, Parce qu’ils n’eurent pas confiance dans son secours.
because they did not believe in God and did not trust in his salvation.
23 Il commanda aux nuages d’en haut, Et il ouvrit les portes des cieux;
Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of the sky.
24 Il fit pleuvoir sur eux la manne pour nourriture, Il leur donna le blé du ciel.
He rained down manna for them to eat, and gave them the grain from heaven.
25 Ils mangèrent tous le pain des grands, Il leur envoya de la nourriture à satiété.
People ate the bread of angels. He sent them food in abundance.
26 Il fit souffler dans les cieux le vent d’orient, Et il amena par sa puissance le vent du midi;
He caused the east wind to blow in the sky, and by his power he guided the south wind.
27 Il fit pleuvoir sur eux la viande comme de la poussière, Et comme le sable des mers les oiseaux ailés;
He rained down meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sands of the sea.
28 Il les fit tomber au milieu de leur camp, Tout autour de leurs demeures.
They fell in the middle of their camp, all around their tents.
29 Ils mangèrent et se rassasièrent abondamment: Dieu leur donna ce qu’ils avaient désiré.
So they ate and were full. He gave them what they craved.
30 Ils n’avaient pas satisfait leur désir, Ils avaient encore leur nourriture dans la bouche,
But they had not yet filled up; their food was still in their mouths.
31 Lorsque la colère de Dieu s’éleva contre eux; Il frappa de mort les plus vigoureux, Il abattit les jeunes hommes d’Israël.
Then God's anger attacked them and killed the strongest of them. He brought down the young men of Israel.
32 Malgré tout cela, ils continuèrent à pécher, Et ne crurent point à ses prodiges.
Despite this, they continued to sin and did not believe his wonderful deeds.
33 Il consuma leurs jours par la vanité, Et leurs années par une fin soudaine.
Therefore God cut short their days; their years were filled with terror.
34 Quand il les frappait de mort, ils le cherchaient, Ils revenaient et se tournaient vers Dieu;
Whenever God afflicted them, they would start to seek him, and they would return and look earnestly for him.
35 Ils se souvenaient que Dieu était leur rocher, Que le Dieu Très-Haut était leur libérateur.
They would call to mind that God was their rock and that the Most High God was their rescuer.
36 Mais ils le trompaient de la bouche, Et ils lui mentaient de la langue;
But they would flatter him with their mouth and lie to him with their words.
37 Leur cœur n’était pas ferme envers lui, Et ils n’étaient pas fidèles à son alliance.
For their hearts were not firmly fixed on him, and they were not faithful to his covenant.
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.
Yet he, being merciful, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. Yes, many times he held back his anger and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 Il se souvint qu’ils n’étaient que chair, Un souffle qui s’en va et ne revient pas.
He called to mind that they were made of flesh, a wind that passes away and does not return.
40 Que de fois ils se révoltèrent contre lui dans le désert! Que de fois ils l’irritèrent dans la solitude!
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the barren regions!
41 Ils ne cessèrent de tenter Dieu, Et de provoquer le Saint d’Israël.
Again and again they challenged God and offended the Holy One of Israel.
42 Ils ne se souvinrent pas de sa puissance, Du jour où il les délivra de l’ennemi,
They did not think about his power, how he had rescued them from the enemy
43 Des miracles qu’il accomplit en Égypte, Et de ses prodiges dans les campagnes de Tsoan.
when he performed his terrifying signs in Egypt and his wonders in the region of Zoan.
44 Il changea leurs fleuves en sang, Et ils ne purent en boire les eaux.
He turned the Egyptians' rivers to blood so that they could not drink from their streams.
45 Il envoya contre eux des mouches venimeuses qui les dévorèrent, Et des grenouilles qui les détruisirent.
He sent swarms of flies that devoured them and frogs that overran their land.
46 Il livra leurs récoltes aux sauterelles, Le produit de leur travail aux sauterelles.
He gave their crops to the grasshopper and their labor to the locust.
47 Il fit périr leurs vignes par la grêle, Et leurs sycomores par la gelée.
He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore trees with more hail.
48 Il abandonna leur bétail à la grêle, Et leurs troupeaux au feu du ciel.
He rained hail on their cattle and hurled lightning bolts at their livestock.
49 Il lança contre eux son ardente colère, La fureur, la rage et la détresse, Une troupe de messagers de malheur.
The fierceness of his anger lashed out against them. He sent wrath, fury, and trouble like agents who bring disaster.
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 leveled a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague.
51 Il frappa tous les premiers-nés en Égypte, Les prémices de la force sous les tentes de Cham.
He killed all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstborn of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 Il fit partir son peuple comme des brebis, Il les conduisit comme un troupeau dans le désert.
He led his own people out like sheep and guided them through the wilderness like a flock.
53 Il les dirigea sûrement, pour qu’ils fussent sans crainte, Et la mer couvrit leurs ennemis.
He led them secure and unafraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 Il les amena vers sa frontière sainte, Vers cette montagne que sa droite a acquise.
Then he brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountain that his right hand acquired.
55 Il chassa devant eux les nations, Leur distribua le pays en héritage, Et fit habiter dans leurs tentes les tribus d’Israël.
He drove out the nations from before them and assigned them their inheritance. He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 Mais ils tentèrent le Dieu Très-Haut et se révoltèrent contre lui, Et ils n’observèrent point ses ordonnances.
Yet they challenged and defied the Most High God and did not keep his solemn commands.
57 Ils s’éloignèrent et furent infidèles, comme leurs pères, Ils tournèrent, comme un arc trompeur.
They were unfaithful and acted treacherously like their fathers; they were as undependable as a faulty bow.
58 Ils l’irritèrent par leurs hauts lieux, Et ils excitèrent sa jalousie par leurs idoles.
For they made him angry with their high places and provoked him to jealous anger with their idols.
59 Dieu entendit, et il fut irrité; Il repoussa fortement Israël.
When God heard this, he was angry and completely rejected Israel.
60 Il abandonna la demeure de Silo, La tente où il habitait parmi les hommes;
He abandoned the sanctuary of Shiloh, the tent where he had lived among people.
61 Il livra sa gloire à la captivité, Et sa majesté entre les mains de l’ennemi.
He allowed his strength to be captured and gave his glory into the enemy's hand.
62 Il mit son peuple à la merci du glaive, Et il s’indigna contre son héritage.
He handed his people over to the sword, and he was angry with his heritage.
63 Le feu dévora ses jeunes hommes, Et ses vierges ne furent pas célébrées;
Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs.
64 Ses sacrificateurs tombèrent par l’épée, Et ses veuves ne pleurèrent pas.
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows could not weep.
65 Le Seigneur s’éveilla comme celui qui a dormi, Comme un héros qu’a subjugué le vin.
Then the Lord awakened as one from sleep, like a warrior who shouts because of wine.
66 Il frappa ses adversaires en fuite, Il les couvrit d’un opprobre éternel.
He drove his adversaries back; he put them to everlasting shame.
67 Cependant il rejeta la tente de Joseph, Et il ne choisit point la tribu d’Éphraïm;
He rejected the tent of Joseph, and he did not chose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 Il préféra la tribu de Juda, La montagne de Sion qu’il aimait.
He chose the tribe of Judah and Mount Zion that he loved.
69 Et il bâtit son sanctuaire comme les lieux élevés, Comme la terre qu’il a fondée pour toujours.
He built his sanctuary like the heavens, like the earth that he has established forever.
70 Il choisit David, son serviteur, Et il le tira des bergeries;
He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.
71 Il le prit derrière les brebis qui allaitent, Pour lui faire paître Jacob, son peuple, Et Israël, son héritage.
He took him from following the ewes with their young, and he brought him to be shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his heritage.
72 Et David les dirigea avec un cœur intègre, Et les conduisit avec des mains intelligentes.
David shepherded them with the integrity of his heart, and he guided them with the skill of his hands.
