Genèse 31

1 Or après que Jacob eut entendu les paroles des fils de Laban, qui disaient: Jacob a enlevé tout ce qui était à notre père, et enrichi de son bien, il est devenu un grand personnage,

Someone told Jacob that Laban’s sons were complaining and saying, “Jacob has become very rich by taking everything [HYP] that belonged to our father.”

2 Et qu’il eut aussi remarqué que le visage de Laban n’était pas pour lui comme hier et avant-hier,

And Jacob noticed that Laban was not acting friendly toward him as he had done before.

3 Surtout le Seigneur lui ayant dit: Retourne au pays de tes pères et vers ta famille, et je serai avec toi,

Then Yahweh said to Jacob, “Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will help you there.”

4 Il envoya et appela Rachel et Lia dans le champ où il paissait les troupeaux,

So Jacob sent a message to Rachel and Leah, telling them to come out to the pastures where his flocks of sheep and goats were.

5 Et il leur dit: Je vois que le visage de votre père n’est pas pour moi comme hier et avant-hier; mais le Dieu de mon père a été avec moi;

When they arrived, he said to them, “I see that your father does not act friendly toward me as he did previously. But God, whom my father worshiped, has helped me.

6 Et vous-mêmes vous savez que c’est de toutes mes forces que j’ai servi votre père.

You two know that I have worked very hard for your father,

7 Mais votre père m’a trompé, et il a changé dix fois ma récompense; et cependant Dieu ne l’a pas laissé me nuire.

but many times [HYP] he has cheated me by decreasing my wages. But God has not allowed him to harm me.

8 Quand il a dit: Les petits mouchetés seront ta récompense; toutes les brebis avaient des petits mouchetés; quand au contraire il a dit: Tu recevras tous les blancs pour récompense, tous les troupeaux ont fait des petits blancs.

When Laban said, ‘The speckled animals are the ones that I will give you to be your wages,’ then all the animals gave birth to young ones that were speckled. When he changed and said, ‘The ones that have black and white stripes on them will be your wages,’ then all the animals gave birth to young ones that were striped.

9 C’est ainsi que Dieu a pris le bien de votre père, et me l’a donné.

In that way, God has taken away the livestock that belonged to your father and has given them to me.

10 Car lorsque le temps de la conception des brebis fut venu, je levai mes yeux, et je vis en songe les mâles couvrant les femelles, mouchetés, tachetés, et de diverses couleurs.

“One time, when the animals were mating, I had a dream. In my dream I [looked up and was surprised to] see that some of the male goats that were mating with the female goats had black and white stripes on them, some were speckled, and some were spotted.

11 Et l’ange de Dieu me dit en songe: Jacob. Et moi je répondis: Me voici.

An angel who was sent by God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob!’ I replied, ‘I am here!’

12 Il ajouta: Lève les yeux et vois: tous les mâles couvrant les femelles sont mouchetés, tachetés et parsemés de marques de diverses couleurs; car j’ai vu tout ce que t’a fait Laban.

He said to me, ‘Look up and you will see that all the male goats that are mating have black and white stripes on them, or are speckled or spotted. This is happening because I have seen all that Laban has done to you.

13 Je suis le Dieu de Béthel, où tu as oint une pierre, et où tu m’as voué un vœu. Maintenant donc lève-toi, sors de cette terre, retournant dans le pays de ta naissance.

I am God who appeared to you at Bethel, where you set up a stone to show that the place was holy, and you poured [olive] oil on the stone and made a solemn promise to me. So now leave this land immediately, and return to the land where you were born.’”

14 Rachel et Lia répondirent: Nous reste-t-il quelque chose des biens et de l’héritage de la maison de notre père?

Rachel and Leah replied, “Our father will not give us anything more when he dies [RHQ].

15 N’est-ce pas comme des étrangères qu’il nous a considérées et vendues; et n’a-t-il pas mangé le prix de notre vente?

He treats us as though we were foreigners [RHQ]! [Your working for him all these years was like a payment] that you gave him as a price for us, but we will not inherit any of that money that he got as a price for us. He has spent it all!

16 Mais Dieu a pris les richesses de notre père, et nous les a données, à nous et à nos fils: ainsi, tout ce que Dieu t’a commandé, fais-le.

Surely all of the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has told you to do!”

17 C’est pourquoi Jacob se leva, et ses enfants et ses femmes placés sur des chameaux, il s’en alla,

Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels.

18 Et emporta toutes ses richesses, tous ses troupeaux et tout ce qu’il avait acquis en Mésopotamie, se dirigeant vers Isaac son père dans la terre de Chanaan.

He made all his livestock go ahead of him. Besides the livestock, he took along all the other things that he had acquired while living in Paddan-Aram. And they prepared to return to his father Isaac, in the Canaan region.

19 En ce temps-là Laban était allé tondre ses brebis, et Rachel déroba les idoles de son père.

Before they left, while Laban was shearing his sheep, Rachel stole the [small wooden] idols [that were in her father’s tent].

20 Jacob ne voulut pas avouer à son beau-père qu’il fuyait.

Furthermore, Jacob deceived Laban, who belonged to the Aram people-group, by not telling him that they were planning to leave.

21 Lors donc qu’il fut parti, et lui et tout ce qui était à lui de plein droit, et que, le fleuve traversé, il s’avançait vers la montagne de Galaad,

So Jacob and his family fled with all their possessions, and they crossed the Euphrates River, and then started traveling south toward the hilly Gilead region.

22 On annonça à Laban, le troisième jour, que Jacob fuyait.

On the third day after they left, someone told Laban that Jacob and his family had left.

23 Laban ayant pris ses frères avec lui, le poursuivit durant sept jours, et l’atteignit à la montagne de Galaad.

So he took some of his relatives with him and started to pursue Jacob. They continued walking for seven days.

24 Et il vit en songe Dieu qui lui dit: Garde-toi de rien dire à Jacob avec dureté.

Then God appeared to Laban in a dream at night, and said to him, “When you catch up to Jacob, be sure that you do not say anything at all [HYP] to him in an angry manner!”

25 Or Jacob avait déjà tendu sa tente sur la montagne; et quand Laban l’eut atteint avec ses frères, c’est sur la même montagne de Galaad qu’il planta sa tente,

The next day, by the time Laban caught up with Jacob, Jacob and his household had set up their tents in the hilly Gilead region. So Laban and his relatives set up their tents there, too.

26 Et il dit à Jacob: Pourquoi as-tu agi ainsi, que d’emmener mes filles à mon insu, comme des captives du glaive?

Then Laban went to Jacob and said to him, “Why have you done this? You have deceived me by carrying away my daughters as though you had captured them in a war [MTY]!

27 Pourquoi, moi l’ignorant, as-tu voulu fuir, et ne pas m’avertir, pour que je t’accompagnasse avec joie, avec des chants, des tambours et des harpes?

Why did you run away and deceive me? Why did you not tell me that you were going to leave, so that we could have rejoiced and sung while people played music on tambourines and harps before I said ‘goodbye’ to you?

28 Tu ne m’as laissé embrasser ni mes fils ni mes filles; tu as agi en insensé: et maintenant certes,

(You did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye before they left!/Why did you not allow me to kiss my grandchildren and daughters goodbye before they left?) [RHQ] What you have done was foolish!

29 Ma main peut te rendre le mal; mais le Dieu de ton père m’a dit hier: Garde-toi de dire à Jacob rien de trop dur.

My relatives and I have the power to harm you, but last night the God whom your father worships said to me in a dream, ‘Be sure that you do not say anything at all to Jacob in an angry way.’

30 Eh bien, soit, tu désirais aller vers les tiens; et la maison de ton père était pour toi un objet de regret; pourquoi m’as-tu dérobé mes dieux?

Now, I know you have left because you long to go back home. But why did you steal my [wooden] idols?”

31 Jacob répondit: Si je suis parti à ton insu, c’est que j’ai craint que tu ne m’enlevasses violemment tes filles.

Jacob replied to Laban, saying, “I did not tell you that we were planning to leave, because I was afraid. I thought that [if I told you], you would forcefully take your daughters away from me.

32 Mais quant au larcin que tu me reproches, que celui chez qui tu trouveras tes dieux soit mis à mort devant nos frères: fouille; tout ce que tu trouveras à toi chez moi, emporte-le. Disant cela, il ignorait que Rachel avait enlevé les idoles.

But if you find anyone here who has your wooden idols, we will execute that person. While our relatives are watching, search for yourself to see if there is anything that belongs to you that is here with me. If you find anything, you can take it!” When Jacob said that, he did not know that Rachel had stolen the wooden idols.

33 Laban étant donc entré dans la tente de Jacob, de Lia et des deux servantes, ne trouva rien. Mais quand il entra dans la tente de Rachel,

Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and then into Leah’s tent, and then into the tents of the two female slaves and searched for the idols, but he did not find them. After he left their tents, he entered Rachel’s tent.

34 Celle-ci se hâtant, cacha les idoles sous le bât de son chameau, et elle s’assit dessus; et comme il fouillait toute la tente, et qu’il ne trouvait rien,

But Rachel had previously taken the idols and put them in the saddle of a camel, and she was sitting on the saddle. So when Laban searched all over for them inside Rachel’s tent, he did not find them.

35 Elle lui dit: Que mon seigneur ne se fâche point de ce que je ne puis me lever en sa présence; car ce qui est ordinaire aux femmes, m’arrive en ce moment. Ainsi elle dépista ces minutieuses perquisitions.

Rachel said to her father, “Do not be angry with me, sir, but I cannot get up in your presence [to show respect for you], because I am having my monthly menstrual period. [EUP]” So when Laban searched some more, he did not find the [wooden] idols.

36 Alors s’emportant, Jacob lui dit avec reproche: Pour quelle faute, et pour quel péché t’es-tu ainsi enflammé après moi,

Then Jacob became angry. He rebuked Laban, saying, “What crime did I commit? For what sin that I committed have you pursued me?

37 Et as-tu fouillé tous mes objets? Qu’as-tu trouvé de tout ce qui appartient à ta maison? Mets-le ici devant mes frères et tes frères, et qu’ils jugent entre moi et toi.

Now you have searched through all my possessions, and what did you find from all these possessions that belongs to you? Put it here in front of my relatives and your relatives, so that they can decide who is right, you or me!

38 Est-ce pour cela que j’ai été vingt ans avec toi? tes brebis et tes chèvres n’ont pas été stériles; je n’ai pas mangé les béliers de ton troupeau:

I was with you for 20 years. In all that time, your sheep and goats have (not miscarried/always given birth to animals safely). I have not [killed and] eaten any rams from your flocks.

39 Et pour ce qui avait été pris par les bêtes sauvages, je ne t’en ai pas averti; c’est moi qui en réparais tout le dommage: tout ce qui avait été dérobé, c’est de moi que tu l’exigeais.

When one of your animals was attacked and mauled/killed by a wild animal, I did not bring it to you. I replaced the dead animal with a living one of my own animals. Whenever one of your animals was stolen, during the day or during the night, you demanded that I replace it with one of my own animals.

40 Le jour et la nuit j’étais brûlé par la chaleur et glacé par le froid; et le sommeil fuyait de mes yeux.

I suffered from the heat during the day and from the cold at night. I was often not even able to sleep [PRS]!

41 C’est ainsi que pendant vingt ans je t’ai servi dans ta maison, quatorze pour tes filles, et six pour tes troupeaux: et tu as changé ma récompense dix fois.

I lived in your household for 20 years. I worked for you for 14 years to buy your two daughters, and for six more years to buy some of your sheep and goats. During that time, you changed and reduced my wages many times [HYP].

42 Si le Dieu de mon père Abraham et la crainte d’Isaac ne m’avaient protégé, peut-être m’aurais-tu maintenant renvoyé nu; mais Dieu a regardé mon affliction et le travail de mes mains, et il t’a fait hier des reproches.

If God, the one whom my grandfather Abraham worshiped and before whom my father Isaac trembled in fear, had not been with me and helped me, you would have sent me away (with nothing in my hands/owning nothing)! But God saw how much I was suffering and how hard I was working, so last night he told you that what you have done to me was wrong.”

43 Laban lui répondit: Mes filles et mes fils, tes troupeaux, et tout ce que tu vois, sont à moi, que puis-je faire à mes filles et à mes petits-fils?

Laban replied, “These two women are my daughters, and their children are my grandchildren, and the animals are my animals. Everything you see here is mine [HYP]! But what can I do today to keep my daughters or the children they have given birth to [RHQ]?

44 Viens donc et faisons une alliance, pour qu’elle soit en témoignage entre moi et toi.

I cannot do anything in order to keep them, so hey, we should make a peace agreement, you and I, and do something that will remind us about our agreement.”

45 C’est pourquoi Jacob mit une pierre, et l’érigea en monument.

So Jacob took a [large] stone and set it on its end.

46 Et il dit à ses frères: Apportez des pierres. Ceux-ci en ayant rassemblé firent un grand tas. et mangèrent dessus;

Then Jacob said to his relatives, “You also gather some stones.” So they gathered some rocks and put them in a heap, and they ate some food there near the heap.

47 Laban l’appela Monceau du témoin, et Jacob, Monceau du témoignage, chacun selon la propriété de sa langue.

Laban gave the heap the Aramaic name Jegar-Sahadutha, [which means ‘rock-pile to remind us’, ] but Jacob gave the rock-pile the Hebrew name Galeed, [which has the same meaning].

48 Et Laban dit: Ce monceau sera témoin entre moi et toi aujourd’hui; et c’est pourquoi on l’a appelé du nom de Galaad, c’est-à-dire. Monceau du témoin.

Laban said to Jacob, “This pile of rocks we have put here today will help us to remember our agreement.” That is why Jacob called it Galeed.

49 Que le Seigneur considère et juge entre nous, quand nous serons éloignés l’un de l’autre.

They also named the place Mizpah, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘watchtower’, ] because Laban said, “We will ask Yahweh to watch you and me while we are separated from each other, [so that we do not try to harm each other].

50 Si tu affliges mes filles, et si tu prends d’autres femmes avec elles, nul n’est témoin de nos paroles, excepté Dieu, qui présent, nous regarde.

If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take other women to be your wives, even if no one tells me about it, don’t forget that God sees what you and I are doing!”

51 Il dit de nouveau à Jacob: Voilà que ce monceau et la pierre que j’ai dressée entre moi et toi

Laban also said to Jacob, “You see this large stone and this pile of rocks that we have set up to be between us.

52 Sera témoin: que ce monceau, dis-je, et cette pierre soient en témoignage, si moi je les franchis, venant vers toi, ou si toi tu les dépasses, méditant le mal contre moi.

Both this pile of rocks and this large stone will remind us, that I will not go past these rocks to harm you, and you will not go past these rocks to harm me.

53 Que le Dieu d’Abraham, le Dieu de Nachor, le Dieu de leur père juge entre nous. Jacob donc jura par la crainte de son père Isaac;

We will ask the God whom [your grandfather] Abraham and [his father] Nahor worshiped to punish [MTY] either one of us, [if we harm the other one].” So Jacob solemnly promised to do what they said in their peace agreement. And he asked God, the one before whom his father Isaac trembled, to listen to what they promised.

54 Puis, des victimes immolées sur la montagne, il invita ses frères à manger du pain. Lorsqu’ils eurent mangé, ils demeurèrent là.

He offered a sacrifice to God there in the hilly area, and he invited his relatives to eat with him. After they had eaten, they slept there that night.

55 Mais Laban, se levant de nuit, embrassa ses fils et ses filles, et les bénit, et il s’en retourna dans sa demeure.

The next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters [goodbye] and asked God to bless them. Then he [and his men] left them and returned home.