Livre de la Genèse 37

JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Mais Jacob demeura dans le pays où son père avait séjourné, dans le pays de Canaan.	1 Jacob settled in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
2 Voici l'histoire de Jacob. Joseph avait dix-sept ans. Il gardait le petit bétail avec ses frères, -- il étaitjeune, -- avec les fils de Bilha et les fils de Zilpa, femmes de son père, et Joseph rapporta à leur père le mal qu'ondisait d'eux.	2 This is his family history. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flocks with his brothers; he was an assistant to the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought his father bad reports about them.
3 Israël aimait Joseph plus que tous ses autres enfants, car il était le fils de sa vieillesse, et il lui fitfaire une tunique ornée.	3 Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him a long tunic.
4 Ses frères virent que son père l'aimait plus que tous ses autres fils et ils le prirent en haine, devenusincapables de lui parler amicalement.	4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons, they hated him so much that they would not even greet him.
5 Or Joseph eut un songe et il en fit part à ses frères qui le haïrent encore plus.	5 Once Joseph had a dream, which he told to his brothers:
6 Il leur dit: "Ecoutez le rêve que j'ai fait:	6 "Listen to this dream I had.
7 il me paraissait que nous étions à lier des gerbes dans les champs, et voici que ma gerbe se dressaet qu'elle se tintdebout, et vos gerbes l'entourèrent et elles se prosternèrent devant ma gerbe."	7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly my sheaf rose to an upright position, and your sheaves formed a ring around my sheaf and bowed down to it."
8 Ses frères lui répondirent: "Voudrais-tu donc régner sur nous en roi ou bien dominer en maître?" Etils le haïrent encoreplus, à cause de ses rêves et de ses propos.	8 "Are you really going to make yourself king over us?" his brothers asked him. "Or impose your rule on us?" So they hated him all the more because of his talk about his dreams.
9 Il eut encore un autre songe, qu'il raconta à ses frères. Il dit: "J'ai encore fait un rêve: il meparaissait que lesoleil, la lune et onze étoiles se prosternaient devant moi."	9 Then he had another dream, and this one, too, he told to his brothers. "I had another dream," he said; "this time, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."
10 Il raconta cela à son père et à ses frères, mais son père le gronda et lui dit: "En voilà un rêve quetu as fait!Allons-nous donc, moi, ta mère et tes frères, venir nous prosterner à terre devant toi?"	10 When he also told it to his father, his father reproved him. "What is the meaning of this dream of yours?" he asked. "Can it be that I and your mother and your brothers are to come and bow to the ground before you?"
11 Ses frères furent jaloux de lui, mais son père gardait la chose dans sa mémoire.	11 So his brothers were wrought up against him but his father pondered the matter.
12 Ses frères allèrent paître le petit bétail de leur père à Sichem.	12 One day, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father's flocks at Shechem,
13 Israël dit à Joseph: "Tes frères ne sont-ils pas au pâturage à Sichem? Viens, je vais t'envoyer verseux" et il répondit: "Je suis prêt."	13 Israel said to Joseph, "Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem. Get ready; I will send you to them." "I am ready," Joseph answered.
14 Il lui dit: "Va donc voir comment se portent tes frères et le bétail, et rapporte-moi des nouvelles."Il l'envoya de la vallée d'Hébron et Joseph arriva à Sichem.	14 "Go then," he replied; "see if all is well with your brothers and the flocks, and bring back word." So he sent him off from the valley of Hebron. When Joseph reached Shechem,
15 Un homme le rencontra errant dans la campagne et cet homme lui demanda: "Que cherches-tu?"	15 a man met him as he was wandering about in the fields. "What are you looking for?" the man asked him.
16 Il répondit: "Je cherche mes frères. Indique-moi, je te prie, où ils paissent leurs troupeaux."	16 "I am looking for my brothers," he answered. "Could you please tell me where they are tending the flocks?"
17 L'homme dit: "Ils ont décampé d'ici, je les ai entendus quidisaient: Allons à Dotân"; Joseph partiten quête de ses frères et il les trouva à Dotân.	17 The man told him, "They have moved on from here; in fact, I heard them say, 'Let us go on to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan.
18 Ils l'aperçurent de loin et, avant qu'il n'arrivât près d'eux, ils complotèrent de le faire mourir.	18 They noticed him from a distance, and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him.
19 Ils se dirent entre eux: "Voilà l'homme aux songes qui arrive!	19 They said to one another: "Here comes that master dreamer!
20 Maintenant, venez, tuons-le et jetons-le dans n'importe quelle citerne; nous dirons qu'une bêteféroce l'a dévoré. Nous allons voir ce qu'il adviendra de ses songes!"	20 Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall then see what comes of his dreams."
21 Mais Ruben entendit et il le sauva de leurs mains. Il dit: "N'attentons pas à sa vie!"	21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying: "We must not take his life.
22 Ruben leur dit: "Ne répandez pas le sang! Jetez-le dans cette citerne du désert, mais ne portez pasla main sur lui!"C'était pour le sauver de leurs mains et le ramener à son père.	22 Instead of shedding blood," he continued, "just throw him into that cistern there in the desert; but don't kill him outright." His purpose was to rescue him from their hands and restore him to his father.
23 Donc, lorsque Joseph arriva près de ses frères, ils le dépouillèrent de sa tunique, la tunique ornéequ'il portait.	23 So when Joseph came up to them, they stripped him of the long tunic he had on;
24 Ils se saisirent de lui et le jetèrent dans la citerne; c'était une citerne vide, où il n'y avait pas d'eau.	24 then they took him and threw him into the cistern, which was empty and dry.
25 Puis ils s'assirent pour manger. Comme ils levaient les yeux, voici qu'ils aperçurent une caravaned'Ismaélites qui venait de Galaad. Leurs chameaux étaient chargés de gomme adragante, de baume et deladanum, qu'ils allaient livrer en Egypte.	25 They then sat down to their meal. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, balm and resin to be taken down to Egypt.
26 Alors Juda dit à ses frères: "Quel profit y aurait-il à tuer notre frère et couvrir son sang?	26 Judah said to his brothers: "What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood?
27 Venez, vendons-le aux Ismaélites, mais ne portons pas la main sur lui: il est notre frère, de lamême chair que nous." Et ses frères l'écoutèrent.	27 Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh." His brothers agreed.
28 Or des gens passèrent, des marchands madianites, et ils retirèrent Joseph de la citerne. Ilsvendirent Joseph aux Ismaélites pour vingt sicles d'argent et ceux-ci le conduisirent en Egypte.	28 They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Some Midianite traders passed by, and they pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and took him to Egypt.
29 Lorsque Ruben retourna à la citerne, voilà que Joseph n'y était plus! Il déchira ses vêtements	29 When Reuben went back to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not in it, he tore his clothes,
30 et, revenant vers ses frères, il dit: "L'enfant n'est plus là! Et moi, où vais-je aller?"	30 and returning to his brothers, he exclaimed: "The boy is gone! And I--where can I turn?"
31 Ils prirent la tunique de Joseph et, ayant égorgé un bouc, ils trempèrent la tunique dans le sang.	31 They took Joseph's tunic, and after slaughtering a goat, dipped the tunic in its blood.
32 Ils envoyèrent la tunique ornée, ils la firent porter à leur père avec ces mots: "Voilà ce que nousavons trouvé! Regarde si ce ne serait pas la tunique de ton fils."	32 Then they sent someone to bring the long tunic to their father, with the message: "We found this. See whether it is your son's tunic or not."
33 Celui-ci regarda et dit: "C'est la tunique de mon fils! Une bête féroce l'a dévoré. Joseph a été misen pièces!"	33 He recognized it and exclaimed: "My son's tunic! A wild beast has devoured him! Joseph has been torn to pieces!"
34 Jacob déchira son vêtement, il mit un sac sur ses reins et fit le deuil de son fils pendant longtemps.	34 Then Jacob rent his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned his son many days.
35 Tous ses fils et ses filles vinrent pour le consoler, mais il refusa toute consolation et dit: "Non,c'est en deuil que je veux descendre au shéol auprès de mon fils." Et son père le pleura.	35 Though his sons and daughters tried to console him, he refused all consolation, saying, "No, I will go down mourning to my son in the nether world." Thus did his father lament him.
36 Cependant, les Madianites l'avaient vendu en Egypte à Potiphar, eunuque de Pharaon etcommandant des gardes.	36 The Midianites, meanwhile, sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, a courtier of Pharaoh and his chief steward.