Genèse 37
1 Cependant Jacob habitait la contrée où séjournait son père, le pays de Canaan.
Now Jacob was living in the land where his father had made a place for himself, in the land of Canaan.
2 C'est ici l'histoire de Jacob. Joseph avait dix-sept ans lorsqu'il faisait avec ses frères paître les brebis; or il était comme jeune garçon auprès des fils de Bilha et des fils de Zilpa, femmes de son père.
These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph, a boy seventeen years old, was looking after the flock, together with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph gave their father a bad account of them.
3 Et Joseph rapportait à son père le mal qu'on disait d'eux. Or Israël préférait Joseph à tous ses autres fils, parce qu'il était le fils de ses vieux jours; et il lui fit une tunique longue à manches.
Now the love which Israel had for Joseph was greater than his love for all his other children, because he got him when he was an old man: and he had a long coat made for him.
4 Et lorsque ses frères virent que le père le préférait à tous ses frères, ils le prirent en haine et ils ne pouvaient lui parler amicalement.
And because his brothers saw that Joseph was dearer to his father than all the others, they were full of hate for him, and would not say a kind word to him.
5 Et Joseph eut un songe, et il le raconta à ses frères, et ils le prirent encore plus en haine.
Now Joseph had a dream, and he gave his brothers an account of it, which made their hate greater than ever.
6 Et il leur dit: Ecoutez donc ce songe que j'ai eu!
And he said to them, Let me give you the story of my dream.
7 Voici, nous étions dans le champ à lier des gerbes; et voilà que ma gerbe se dressa et resta debout; et voilà que vos gerbes entourèrent ma gerbe et s'inclinèrent devant elle.
We were in the field, getting the grain stems together, and my grain kept upright, and yours came round and went down on the earth before mine.
8 Alors ses frères lui dirent: Prétends-tu régner sur nous, et prétends-tu exercer l'empire sur nous? Et ils le haïrent encore davantage à cause de ses songes et de ses discours.
And his brothers said to him, Are you to be our king? will you have authority over us? And because of his dream and his words, their hate for him became greater than ever.
9 Ensuite il eut encore un autre songe: Et voici, le soleil et la lune et onze étoiles s'inclinaient devant moi.
Then he had another dream, and gave his brothers an account of it, saying, I have had another dream: the sun and the moon and eleven stars gave honour to me.
10 Et il le raconta à son père et à ses frères; alors son père le tança et lui dit: Qu'est-ce que ce songe que tu as eu? Faut-il que moi et ta mère et tes frères nous venions nous prosterner contre terre devant toi!
And he gave word of it to his father and his brothers; but his father protesting said, What sort of a dream is this? am I and your mother and your brothers to go down on our faces to the earth before you?
11 Et ses frères furent jaloux de lui, mais son père garda la chose par devers lui.
And his brothers were full of envy; but his father kept his words in mind.
12 Et ses frères partirent pour mener paître les troupeaux de leur père à Sichem.
Now his brothers went to keep watch over their father's flock in Shechem.
13 Alors Israël dit à Joseph: Tes frères ne sont-ils pas au pâturage à Sichem? Viens, je veux t'envoyer vers eux. Et il lui répondit: Me voici.
And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers with the flock in Shechem? come, I will send you to them. And he said to him, Here am I.
14 Et il lui dit: Va donc et vois dans quel état sont tes frères et les troupeaux, et rapporte-m'en des nouvelles. Il l'envoya ainsi de la vallée de Hébron, et il se rendit à Sichem.
And he said to him, Go now, and see if your brothers are well and how the flock is; then come back and give me word. So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 Et un homme le trouva errant dans la campagne; et l'homme l'interrogeant lui dit: Que cherches-tu?
And a man saw him wandering in the country, and said to him, What are you looking for?
16 Et il répondit: Je suis à la recherche de mes frères: indique-moi donc le pâturage où ils sont.
And he said, I am looking for my brothers; please give me word of where they are keeping their flock.
17 Et l'homme dit: Ils sont partis d'ici, car j'ai entendu qu'ils disaient: Allons à Dothan! Alors Joseph se mit sur les traces de ses frères, et les trouva à Dothan.
And the man said, They have gone away from here, for they said in my hearing, Let us go to Dothan. So Joseph went after them and came up with them at Dothan.
18 Et ils l'aperçurent de loin; et avant qu'il fût près d'eux, ils complotèrent de le faire mourir.
But they saw him when he was a long way off, and before he came near them they made a secret design against him to put him to death;
19 Et ils se disaient l'un à l'autre: Voici l'homme aux songes, le personnage arrive!
Saying to one another, See, here comes this dreamer.
20 Eh bien! allons! tuons-le, et nous le jetterons dans une de ces citernes, puis nous dirons: Une bête féroce l'a dévoré; et nous verrons ce qu'il en sera de ses songes.
Let us now put him to death and put his body into one of these holes, and we will say, An evil beast has put him to death: then we will see what becomes of his dreams.
21 Et Ruben entendit, et il le sauva de leurs mains et dit: N'attentons pas à sa vie!
But Reuben, hearing these words, got him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take his life.
22 Et Ruben leur dit: Ne versez point de sang, jetez-le dans cette citerne-ci au désert, mais ne portez point la main sur lui! Son but était de le sauver de leurs mains pour le rendre à son père.
Do not put him to a violent death, but let him be placed in one of the holes; this he said to keep him safe from their hands, with the purpose of taking him back to his father again.
23 Et lorsque Joseph fut arrivé auprès de ses frères, ils le dépouillèrent de sa tunique, de cette tunique longue qu'il portait;
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they took off his long coat which he had on;
24 et ils le prirent et le jetèrent dans la citerne; or la citerne était vide; il n'y avait point d'eau.
And they took him and put him in the hole: now the hole had no water in it.
25 Et ils s'assirent pour manger le pain; alors ils levèrent les yeux et regardèrent, et voilà que c'était une caravane d'Ismaélites arrivant de Galaad; et leurs chameaux étaient chargés d'aromates, de baume et de ladanum; ils étaient en route pour les transporter en Égypte.
Then seating themselves, they took their meal: and looking up, they saw a travelling band of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead on their way to Egypt, with spices and perfumes on their camels.
26 Alors Juda dit à ses frères: A quoi bon tuer notre frère et cacher son sang?
And Judah said to his brothers, What profit is there in putting our brother to death and covering up his blood?
27 Venez, vendons-le aux Ismaélites, et ne portons pas la main sur lui; car c'est notre frère, notre chair. Et ses frères l'écoutèrent.
Let us give him to these Ishmaelites for a price, and let us not put violent hands on him, for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brothers gave ear to him.
28 Et il passait des Madianites, marchands; alors ils retirèrent Joseph de la citerne et vendirent Joseph aux Ismaélites pour vingt sicles d'argent, et ceux-ci emmenèrent Joseph en Egygte.
And some traders from Midian went by; so pulling Joseph up out of the hole, they gave him to the Ishmaelites for twenty bits of silver, and they took him to Egypt.
29 Et lorsque Ruben revint à la citerne, voilà que Joseph n'était plus dans la citerne! et il déchira ses vêtements.
Now when Reuben came back to the hole, Joseph was not there; and giving signs of grief,
30 Et il rejoignit ses frères et dit: L'enfant n'y est plus, et moi, où irai-je?
He went back to his brothers, and said, The child is gone; what am I to do?
31 Et ils prirent la tunique de Joseph, et ayant tué un bouc ils plongèrent la tunique dans son sang,
Then they took Joseph's coat, and put on it some of the blood from a young goat which they had put to death,
32 et ils envoyèrent porter la tunique longue à leur père avec ces paroles: Voici ce que nous avons trouvé, reconnais si c'est ou non la tunique de ton fils!
And they took the coat to their father, and said, We came across this; is it your son's coat or not?
33 Et il la reconnut et dit: La tunique de mon fils! une bête féroce l'a dévoré: Joseph déchiré, déchiré!
And he saw that it was, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast has put him to death; without doubt Joseph has come to a cruel end.
34 Et Jacob déchira ses habits, et entoura ses reins d'un cilice, et garda longtemps le deuil de son fils.
Then Jacob, giving signs of grief, put on haircloth, and went on weeping for his son day after day.
35 Et tous ses fils et toutes ses filles s'approchèrent pour le consoler, mais il ne voulut accepter aucune consolation et dit: Je veux descendre avec mon deuil vers mon fils aux Enfers! et son père le pleurait. (Sheol h7585)
And all his sons and all his daughters came to give him comfort, but he would not be comforted, saying with weeping, I will go down to the underworld to my son. So great was his father's sorrow for him. (Sheol h7585)
36 Cependant les Madianites le vendirent en Égypte à Potiphar eunuque de Pharaon, chef des satellites.
And in Egypt the men of Midian gave him for a price to Potiphar, a captain of high position in Pharaoh's house.
