< 2 Samuel 17 >
1 Et Achitophel dit à Absalom: Laisse-moi donc douze mille hommes à mon choix! je veux entreprendre la poursuite de David cette nuit même
Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Allow me to choose 12,000 men, and I will leave [with them] tonight to pursue David.
2 et le surprendre dans le moment où il est fatigué et a les mains énervées, et lui donner l'alarme, et la troupe qui l'accompagne prendra la fuite, et mes coups porteront sur le Roi seul;
We will attack him while he is tired and discouraged, and cause him to be very frightened. All the soldiers who are with him will run away. We will kill only the king.
3 et ainsi, je ferai revenir à toi tout le peuple, comme une fiancée revient à son époux. C'est à la vie d'un homme que tu en veux, et tout le peuple aura la paix.
Then we will bring back all his soldiers to you, like [SIM] a (bride/woman comes to her husband when she is married). You are wanting to kill only one man; so the other people will not be harmed.”
4 Et la proposition plut à Absalom et à tous les Anciens d'Israël.
Absalom and all the Israeli leaders [who were with him] thought that what Ahithophel said would be good to do.
5 Et Absalom dit: Appelez donc aussi Husaï d'Erech, afin que nous l'entendions aussi s'exprimer.
But Absalom said, “Summon Hushai also, and we will hear what he suggests.”
6 Et Husaï vint chez Absalom qui lui parla en ces termes: Achitophel ouvre tel et tel avis: mettrons-nous son avis à effet? si non, dis toi-même ton opinion.
So when Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had suggested. Then he asked Hushai, “What do you think we should do? If you do not think that we should do what Ahithophel suggests, tell us [what you think that we should do].”
7 Et Husaï dit à Absalom: Le conseil donné cette fois par Achitophel n'est pas bon.
Hushai replied, “This time what Ahithophel has suggested is not good advice.
8 Et Husaï dit: Tu connais ton père et ses hommes pour des braves, exaspérés dans l'âme comme l'ourse dans les champs, à qui on a enlevé ses petits; et ton père est un guerrier qui n'est pas homme à passer la nuit au repos avec sa troupe.
You know that your father and the men who are with him are strong soldiers, and that now they are very angry, like [SIM] a mother bear whose cubs have been stolen from her. Furthermore, your father knows how to fight because he has fought in many battles. He will not stay with his troops during the night.
9 Voilà que maintenant il s'est caché dans quelque ravin ou autre lieu. Et si d'emblée il fond sur eux, au premier bruit on dira: La déroute est dans la troupe qui suit Absalom!
Right now he is probably already hiding in one of the pits, or in some other place. [If his soldiers start to attack your soldiers, and] if they kill some of them, whoever hears about that will say ‘Many of the soldiers with Absalom have been killed!’
10 et même le brave qui a un cœur de lion, prendra l'épouvante; car tout Israël sait que ton père est un héros, et que des braves l'accompagnent.
Then your other soldiers, even if they are as fearless [SIM, IDM] as lions, they will become very afraid. Do not forget that everyone in Israel knows that your father is a great/strong soldier, and that the soldiers who are with him are also very brave/courageous.
11 Je donne plutôt ce conseil: Qu'autour de toi viennent se grouper tous les Israélites, de Dan à Béerséba, nombreux comme les grains de sable sur le bord de la mer, et en personne marche au combat.
“So what I suggest is that you summon all the Israeli soldiers, from Dan [in the far north] to Beersheba [in the far south]. They will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore [HYP]. And then you yourself lead us into the battle.
12 Et si nous le joignons dans l'un des endroits où il se tient, nous fondrons sur lui, comme la rosée sur le sol, et de lui et de tous les hommes qui l'accompagnent, il ne restera pas un seul.
We will find [your father], wherever he is, and we will attack him [from all sides], like [SIM] dew covers all the ground. And neither he nor any of the soldiers who are with him will survive.
13 Que s'il se retire dans une ville, tout Israël enceindra de câbles cette ville, et nous la culbuterons dans le torrent, jusqu'à ne pas y laisser un seul caillou.
If he escapes into some city, all our soldiers will bring ropes and pull that city down into the valley. As a result, not one stone will be left there [on top of the hill where that city was]!”
14 Et Absalom et tous les hommes d'Israël dirent: Mieux vaut le conseil d'Husaï d'Erech que le conseil d'Achitophel. Or l'Éternel avait résolu de rendre inutile le conseil d'Achitophel, qui était le bon, afin d'attirer le désastre sur Absalom.
Absalom and all the other Israeli men [who were with him] said, “What Hushai suggests is better than what Ahithophel suggested.” The reason that happened was that Yahweh had determined that if they would accept the good advice that Ahithophel had given them, [they would have been able to defeat/kill David]. But [as a result of their doing what Hushai suggested], Yahweh would cause a disaster to happen to Absalom.
15 Et Husaï dit aux Prêtres Tsadoc et Abiathar: Achitophel a conseillé Absalom et les Anciens d'Israël dans tel et tel sens, et moi je les ai conseillés dans tel et tel sens.
Then Hushai told the two priests, Zadok and Abiathar, what both he and Ahithophel had suggested to Absalom and the Israeli leaders.
16 Maintenant envoyez en hâte informer David en ces termes: Ne reste pas cette nuit dans les plaines du désert, mais passe plus loin, afin de prévenir la perte du Roi et de toute la troupe qui l'accompagne.
Then he said to them, “Send [a message] quickly to David. Tell him to not stay at the place where people walk across the river, near the desert. Instead, he and his soldiers must cross [the Jordan River] immediately, in order that they will not be killed/wiped out.”
17 Cependant Jonathan et Ahimaats étaient postés près de la Fontaine du Foulon, et la servante vint leur apporter l'avis d'aller informer le Roi David; car il n'y avait pas possibilité pour eux de se faire remarquer en entrant dans la ville.
[The priest’s two sons, ] Jonathan and Ahimaaz, were waiting at En-Rogel [Spring], outside Jerusalem. They did not [dare to] enter the city, because if someone saw them, [he would report it to Absalom]. [While they were at En-Rogel, ] a female servant [of the two priests] would frequently go to them and report to them [what was happening], and then they would go and report it to King David.
18 Mais ayant été aperçus par un jeune garçon qui fit rapport à Absalom, aussitôt ils partirent tous les deux en hâte et ils gagnèrent la maison d'un homme à Bahurim, lequel avait une citerne dans son enclos, et ils s'y dévalèrent.
But a young man saw them, and went and reported it to Absalom. [They found out what the young man had done, ] so both of them left quickly and went to stay in the house of a man in Bahurim. That man had a well in his courtyard; so the two men went down into the well [to hide].
19 Et sa femme prit la couverture qu'elle étendit sur l'ouverture de la citerne et par-dessus elle répandit des gruaux pour qu'on ne se doutât de rien.
The man’s wife took a cloth/mat and covered the well, and scattered grain on top of it in order that no one would know [that two men were hiding inside it].
20 Alors les serviteurs d'Absalom entrèrent chez la femme dans la maison et dirent: Où sont Ahimaats et Jonathan? Et la femme leur dit: Ils ont passé le Filet-d'eau. Et ils cherchèrent et ne trouvèrent pas et ils regagnèrent Jérusalem.
Some of Absalom’s soldiers [found out where the two men had gone. So they] went to the house, and asked the woman, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” She replied, “They crossed the river.” So the soldiers [crossed the river and] searched for them. But they could not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.
21 Et après le départ des serviteurs, ils sortirent de la citerne, et ils allèrent porter l'avis au Roi David et dirent à David: Debout! et hâtez-vous de passer l'eau; car Achitophel a donné tel et tel conseil contre vous.
After they had gone, the two men came out of the well and went and reported to King David [what had happened and] what Ahithophel had suggested. Then they said to him, “Cross the river quickly!”
22 Alors David se mit sur pied avec toute la troupe qui l'accompagnait, et ils passèrent le Jourdain, et au lever du jour, tous, sans qu'il en manquât un seul, avaient franchi le Jourdain.
So David and all his soldiers quickly started to cross the Jordan [River], and by dawn they had all crossed to the other side.
23 Et lorsque Achitophel vit que son conseil n'avait pas été mis à exécution, il sella son âne et partit et regagna sa maison, sa cité, et après avoir mis ordre à ses affaires domestiques, il s'étrangla; et il mourut, et on lui donna la sépulture dans le tombeau de ses pères.
When Ahithophel realized that Absalom was not going to do what he suggested, he put a saddle on his donkey and returned to his own town. He gave [to his family] instructions about his possessions, and then he hanged himself [because he knew that Absalom would be defeated and that he would be considered a traitor and be killed]. His body was buried in the tomb where his ancestors [had been buried].
24 Cependant David gagna Mahanaïm, et Absalom passa le Jourdain, lui et tous les hommes d'Israël avec lui.
David [and his soldiers] arrived at Mahanaim. And Absalom [and all his Israeli soldiers] also crossed the Jordan [River].
25 Et Absalom substitua Amasa à Joab dans le commandement de l'armée. Or Amasa était fils d'un homme nommé Jithra l'Israélite, qui avait habité avec Abigal, fille de Nahas, sœur de Tseruïa, mère de Joab.
Absalom had appointed [his cousin] Amasa to be the commander of his army, instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Jether, a descendant of Ishmael. Amasa’s mother was Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and the sister of Joab’s mother Zeruiah.
26 Et Israël et Absalom campèrent sur le territoire de Galaad.
Absalom and his Israeli soldiers set up their tents in [the] Gilead [region].
27 Et lorsque David fut arrivé à Mahanaïm, Sobi, fils de Nahas, de Rabba des Ammonites, et Machir, fils d'Ammiel, de Lodebar, et Barzillaï, le Galaadite, de Roglim,
When David [and his soldiers] arrived at Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah [city] in the Ammon area, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-Debar [city], and Barzillai from Rogelim [town] in [the] Gilead [region]
28 apportèrent des lits et des tapis et de la vaisselle de potier, du froment et de l'orge et de la farine et du grain rôti et des fèves et des lentilles et du grain rôti
brought sleeping mats, bowls, clay pots, barley, wheat flour, parched grain, beans, and lentils to them.
29 et du miel et du caillé et des moutons et des fromages de vache, à David et à la troupe qui l'accompagnait, pour se nourrir; car ils s'étaient dit: La troupe a eu faim, fatigue et soif dans le désert.
They brought honey and curds, sheep, and some cream/cheese for David and his soldiers to eat. They knew that David and his soldiers would be hungry and tired and thirsty [from marching] in the desert.