< Exode 4 >

1 Et Moïse répondit, et dit: mais voici, ils ne me croiront point, et n'obéiront point à ma parole; car ils diront: l'Eternel ne t'est point apparu.
Moses/I replied, “But what if [the Israeli people] (do not believe me/are not convinced) or not do what I tell them? What if they say, ‘Yahweh did not appear to you!’”
2 Et l'Eternel lui dit: Qu'est-ce [que tu as] en ta main? Il répondit: une verge.
Yahweh said to him/me, “[Look at] that thing you are holding in your hand. What is it?” He/I replied, “A (walking stick/shepherd’s stick).”
3 Et [Dieu lui] dit: jette-la par terre; et il la jeta par terre, et elle devint un serpent. Et Moïse s'enfuyait de devant lui.
He said, “Throw it down on the ground!” So, he/I threw it on the ground, and it became a snake! And he/I ran/jumped away from it.
4 Et l'Eternel dit à Moïse: étends ta main, et saisis sa queue; et il étendit sa main, et l'empoigna; et il redevint une verge en sa main.
But Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Reach down and pick it up by its tail!” So he/I reached down and caught it, and [when he/I picked it up], it became a stick in his/my hand [again.]
5 Et [cela], afin qu'ils croient que l'Eternel, le Dieu de leurs pères, le Dieu d'Abraham, le Dieu d'Isaac, et le Dieu de Jacob, t'est apparu.
Yahweh said, “[Do the same thing in front of the Israeli people], in order that they may believe that [I], Yahweh God, the one Abraham and Isaac and Jacob worshiped, truly appeared to you.”
6 L'Eternel lui dit encore: mets maintenant ta main dans ton sein, et il mit sa main dans son sein; puis il la tira; et voici, sa main [était blanche] de lèpre comme la neige.
Yahweh spoke to Moses/me again, saying “Put your hand inside your robe [MTY]!” He/I did that. And when he/I took it out again, [surprisingly], his/my hand was white. It had a skin disease [that made it] as white as snow.
7 Et [Dieu lui] dit: remets ta main dans ton sein; et il remit sa main dans son sein; puis il la retira hors de son sein; et voici, elle était redevenue comme son autre chair.
Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your robe [MTY]!” So he/I did that, and when he/I took it out again, surprisingly, it was normal again, just like the rest of his/my body!
8 Mais s'il arrive qu'ils ne te croient point, et qu'ils n'obéissent point à la voix du premier signe, ils croiront à la voix du second signe.
God said, “[You can do that in front of the Israeli people, too]. If they do not pay attention to what you say because of [seeing] the first miracle, they will (believe [you/be convinced) when you perform] the second miracle.
9 Et s'il arrive qu'ils ne croient point à ces deux signes, et qu'ils n'obéissent point à ta parole, tu prendras de l'eau du fleuve, et tu la répandras sur la terre, et les eaux que tu auras prises du fleuve, deviendront du sang sur la terre.
If they do not believe you or do what you say, even [after you perform] those two miracles, get some water from the Nile [River] and pour it on the ground. [When you do that], the water from the river that you pour on the ground will become blood [MTY] (OR, [red like] blood).”
10 Et Moïse répondit à l'Eternel: hélas, Seigneur! Je ne [suis] point un homme qui ait ni d'hier, ni de devant hier, la parole aisée, même depuis que tu as parlé à ton serviteur; car j'ai la bouche et la langue empêchées.
Moses/I replied, “O Yahweh! I am not an eloquent [speaker]! I was not an eloquent speaker before, and I have not become one since you started talking to me! I am not a good speaker [MTY], and I speak very slowly.”
11 Et l'Eternel lui dit: qui [est-ce] qui a fait la bouche de l'homme? ou qui a fait le muet, ou le sourd, ou le voyant, ou l'aveugle? n'est-ce pas moi, l'Eternel?
Then Yahweh said to him/me, “[You seem to forget] who it is that makes people able to speak [RHQ]! Who is it that enables people to be unable to speak or unable to hear, or able to see or not to see? It is I, Yahweh [RHQ]!
12 Va donc maintenant, et je serai avec ta bouche, et je t'enseignerai ce que tu auras à dire.
So start going [to Egypt], and I will help you to speak [MTY], and I will tell you what you should say.”
13 Et [Moïse] répondit: hélas! Seigneur, envoie, je te prie, celui que tu dois envoyer.
But he/I replied, “O, Yahweh, I ask you, please send someone else [instead]!”
14 Et la colère de l'Eternel s'embrasa contre Moïse, et il lui dit: Aaron le Lévite n'est-il pas ton frère? je sais qu'il parlera très-bien, et même le voilà qui sort à ta rencontre, et quand il te verra, il se réjouira dans son cœur.
Then Yahweh became very angry with Moses/me. He said, “[What about] your [older] brother Aaron, who is [also] a descendant of Levi? I know that he is a very good/eloquent speaker. He is actually on his way here [right now], and he will be very happy to see you.
15 Tu lui parleras donc et tu mettras ces paroles en sa bouche; et je serai avec ta bouche et avec la sienne, et je vous enseignerai ce que vous aurez à faire.
You can talk to him and tell him what to say [MTY], and I will help both of you [SYN] to know what to say [MTY]. And I will tell you both what you should do.
16 Et il parlera pour toi au peuple, et ainsi il te sera pour bouche, et tu lui seras pour Dieu.
He will speak for you to the [Israeli] people. He will be (your spokesman/as though he was your mouth) [MET], and you will be to him as though you are [his] god.
17 Tu prendras aussi en ta main cette verge, avec laquelle tu feras ces signes-là.
[Be sure] to take with you the walking/shepherd’s stick [that is in your hand], because you will perform miracles with it.”
18 Ainsi Moïse s'en alla, et retourna vers Jéthro son beau-père, et lui dit: je te prie, que je m'en aille, et que je retourne vers mes frères qui [sont] en Egypte, pour voir s'ils vivent encore. Et Jéthro lui dit: Va en paix.
Moses/I returned to his/my father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me go back to Egypt, to see my fellow Israelis there. I want to know if they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses/me, “Go, and may [God give you inner] peace.”
19 Or l'Eternel dit à Moïse au pays de Madian: Va, [et] retourne en Egypte; car tous ceux qui cherchaient ta vie sont morts.
Yahweh said to Moses/me [before he/I left] Midian, “You can [safely] return to Egypt, because the men who were wanting to kill you [MTY] are [now] dead.”
20 Ainsi Moïse prit sa femme, et ses fils, et les mit sur un âne, et retourna au pays d'Egypte. Moïse prit aussi la verge de Dieu en sa main.
So Moses/I took his/my wife and sons and put them on donkeys, and they/we returned to Egypt. And Moses/I took in his/my hand the stick that God [told him/me to take along].
21 Et L'Eternel avait dit à Moïse: quand tu t'en iras pour retourner en Egypte, tu prendras garde à tous les miracles que j'ai mis en ta main; et tu les feras devant Pharaon; mais j'endurcirai son cœur, et il ne laissera point aller le peuple.
Yahweh said to Moses/me, “When you return to Egypt, be sure to perform all the miracles that I have given you power [to do], while the king is watching. But I will make him stubborn [IDM], with the result that he will not let the Israeli people leave [Egypt].
22 Tu diras donc à Pharaon, ainsi a dit L'Eternel: Israël est mon fils, mon premier-né.
Then say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “The Israeli [people] [MTY] are [as dear to] me as firstborn sons [MET].
23 Et je t'ai dit: laisse aller mon fils, afin qu'il me serve; mais tu as refusé de le laisser aller. Voici, je m'en vais tuer ton fils, ton premier-né.
I told you to let my people [MTY] leave [Egypt], in order that they may worship me [in the desert]. If you refuse to let them go, I warn you, I will kill your firstborn son!”’”
24 Or il arriva que [comme Moïse était] en chemin dans l'hôtellerie, l'Eternel le rencontra, et chercha de le faire mourir.
[One night], as they were camping on the way [to Egypt], Yahweh appeared to Moses/me. He wanted/threatened to kill Moses/me [for disobeying his command that boys/sons be circumcised].
25 Et Séphora prit un couteau tranchant, et en coupa le prépuce de son fils, et le jeta à ses pieds, et dit: certes tu m'[es] un époux de sang.
Then [his/my wife] Zipporah took a flint knife and circumcised her son. Then she touched the boy’s feet (OR, genitals) with the piece of skin [she had cut off], and she said, “The blood [which flowed when I circumcised you] will protect you [from being harmed by Yahweh] [MET].”
26 Alors [l'Eternel] se retira de lui; et elle dit: époux de sang; à cause de la circoncision.
She said to him, “You are safe now [MET] because you have been circumcised.” So Yahweh did not harm her son.
27 Et l'Eternel dit à Aaron: va-t'en au devant de Moïse au désert. Il y alla donc, et le rencontra en la montagne de Dieu et le baisa.
Yahweh said to Aaron, “Go into the desert to meet/see Moses!” So he went [there from Egypt] and met him/me at [Sinai], the mountain dedicated to God, and [greeted him/me by] kissing him/me [on the cheek].
28 Et Moïse raconta à Aaron toutes les paroles de l'Eternel qui l'avait envoyé, et tous les signes qu'il lui avait commandés [de faire].
Moses/I told Aaron everything that Yahweh had said to him/me when he told him/me to return to Egypt. He/I also told Aaron about all the miracles that Yahweh told him/me to perform.
29 Moïse donc poursuivit son chemin avec Aaron; et ils assemblèrent tous les anciens des enfants d'Israël.
[So Aaron and Moses/I] returned [to Egypt]. There they/we gathered together all the Israeli elders/leaders.
30 Et Aaron dit toutes les paroles que l'Eternel avait dit à Moïse; et fit les signes devant les yeux du peuple.
Aaron told them everything that Yahweh had told Moses/me, and Aaron performed [all] the miracles as the people watched.
31 Et le peuple crut; et ils apprirent que l'Eternel avait visité les enfants d'Israël, et qu'il avait vu leur affliction; et ils s'inclinèrent, et se prosternèrent.
They believed [that what they/we were saying was true]. When they heard that Yahweh had seen how the Israeli people were being cruelly oppressed and that he was going to help them, they bowed down and worshiped [Yahweh].

< Exode 4 >