Exode 4
1 Répondant, Moïse dit: Ils ne me croiront point, et ils n’écouteront point ma voix, mais ils diront: Non, le Seigneur ne t’a pas 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 Le Seigneur lui dit donc: Qu’est-ce que tu tiens 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 Le Seigneur ajouta: Jette-la à terre. Il la jeta, et elle fut changée en serpent; de sorte que Moïse s’enfuyait.
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 Mais le Seigneur dit: Etends ta main et prends sa queue. Il l’étendit, saisit la queue, et elle fut changée en verge.
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 C’est afin qu’ils croient, ajouta-t-il, que t’a apparu le Seigneur Dieu de leurs pères, le Dieu d’Abraham, le Dieu d’Isaac et le Dieu de Jacob.
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 Et le Seigneur lui dit de nouveau: Mets ta main dans ton sein. Quand il l’eut mise dans son sein, il la retira lépreuse et blanche 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 Remets ta main dans ton sein, ajouta le Seigneur. Il la remit, et il la retira une seconde fois, et elle était semblable au reste de sa 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 S’ils ne te croient point, reprit le Seigneur, et s’ils n’entendent point le langage du premier signe, ils croiront à la parole du signe suivant.
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 Que s’ils ne croient pas même à ces deux signes, et n’écoutent pas ta voix, prends de l’eau du fleuve, et répands-la sur la terre, et tout ce que tu auras puisé au fleuve sera changé en sang.
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 Moïse dit: Je vous conjure. Seigneur, je n’ai pas la parole facile depuis hier et avant-hier; et même depuis que vous avez parlé à votre serviteur, j’ai la langue plus embarrassée et plus lente.
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 Le Seigneur lui dit: Qui a fait la bouche de l’homme? ou qui a formé le muet et le sourd, le voyant et l’aveugle? n’est-ce pas moi?
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, et moi je serai en ta bouche, et je t’enseignerai ce que tu dois dire.
So start going [to Egypt], and I will help you to speak [MTY], and I will tell you what you should say.”
13 Mais lui: Je vous conjure, Seigneur, dit-il, envoyez celui que vous devez envoyer.
But he/I replied, “O, Yahweh, I ask you, please send someone else [instead]!”
14 Le Seigneur, irrité contre Moïse, dit: Je sais qu’Aaron ton frère, le Lévite, parle avec facilité; voilà qu’il sort lui-même au devant de toi, et te voyant, il se réjouira en 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 Parle-lui, et mets mes paroles en sa bouche: et moi, je serai en ta bouche et en sa bouche, et je vous montrerai ce que vous devez 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 Lui parlera pour toi au peuple, et sera ta bouche; et toi, tu le guideras dans les choses qui regardent 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 Prends aussi en ta main cette verge avec laquelle tu dois faire les signes.
[Be sure] to take with you the walking/shepherd’s stick [that is in your hand], because you will perform miracles with it.”
18 Moïse s’en alla, et retourna vers Jéthro, son beau-père, et lui dit: Je m’en irai et je retournerai vers mes frères en Egypte, pour que je voie s’ils vivent encore. 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 Ainsi le Seigneur dit à Moïse à Madian: Va, et retourne en Egypte; car ils sont morts tous ceux qui cherchaient ton âme.
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 Moïse prit donc sa femme et ses fils, les mit sur l’âne et retourna en Egypte, portant 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 le Seigneur lui dit pendant qu’il retournait en Egypte: Aie soin de faire devant Pharaon tous les prodiges que j’ai mis en ta main; moi, j’endurcirai son cœur, et il ne laissera pas 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 Et tu lui diras: Voici ce que dit le Seigneur: Mon fils premier-né est Israël.
Then say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “The Israeli [people] [MTY] are [as dear to] me as firstborn sons [MET].
23 Je t’ai dit: Laisse aller mon fils, afin qu’il me serve, et tu n’as pas voulu le laisser: voilà que que moi, je tuerai ton fils 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, comme Moïse était en chemin, le Seigneur se présenta à lui à l’hôtellerie, et il voulait 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 Séphora prit aussitôt une pierre très aiguë et circoncit son fils, puis elle toucha ses pieds et dit: 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 Et il le laissa, après qu’elle eut 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 Cependant le Seigneur dit à Aaron: Va à la rencontre de Moïse dans le désert. Et il alla au-devant de lui à la montagne de Dieu, et il l’embrassa.
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 par lesquelles le Seigneur l’avait envoyé, et les miracles qu’il lui avait commandés.
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 Ils vinrent donc ensemble, 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 raconta toutes les paroles que le Seigneur avait dites à Moïse; et il fit les miracles devant le 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. C’est ainsi qu’ils apprirent que le Seigneur avait visité les enfants d’Israël, et qu’il avait regardé leur affliction: et inclinés ils adorèrent.
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].
