Livre de Néhémie 9

JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Le vingt-quatrième jour de ce mois, les Israélites, revêtus de sacs et la tête couverte de poussière,se rassemblèrent pour un jeûne.	1 Then, on the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the sons of Israel came together in fasting and in sackcloth, and with soil upon them.
2 La race d'Israël se sépara de tous les gens de souche étrangère: debout, ils confessèrent leurspéchés et les iniquités de leurs pères.	2 And the offspring of the sons of Israel were separated from all the sons of foreigners. And they stood up, and they confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
3 Debout, et chacun à sa place, ils lurent dans le livre de la Loi de Yahvé leur Dieu, durant un quartde la journée; pendant un autre quart, ils confessaient leurs péchés et se prosternaient devant Yahvé leur Dieu.	3 And they arose to stand. And they read in the volume of the law of the Lord their God, four times in the day, and four times they confessed. And they adored the Lord their God.
4 Prenant place sur l'estrade des lévites, Josué, Binnuï, Qadmiel, Shebanya, Bunni, Shérébya, Bani,Kenani crièrent à voix forte vers Yahvé leur Dieu,	4 Then, upon the step of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, and Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani rose up. And they cried out in a great voice to the Lord their God.
5 et les lévites Josué, Qadmiel, Bani, Hashabnéya, Shérébya, Hodiyya, Shebanya, Petahya dirent:"Levez-vous, bénissez Yahvé votre Dieu!" Bénis sois-tu, Yahvé notre Dieu, d'éternité en éternité! Et qu'onbénisse ton Nom de gloire qui surpasse toute bénédiction et louange!	5 And the Levites, Jeshua and Kadmiel, Bunni, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said: “Rise up. Bless the Lord your God, from eternity even to eternity! And blessed be the exalted name of your glory, with all blessing and praise.
6 C'est toi, Yahvé, qui es l'Unique! Tu fis les cieux, les cieux des cieux et toute leur armée, la terre ettout ce qu'elle porte, les mers et tout ce qu'elles renferment. Tout cela, c'est toi qui l'animes et l'armée des cieuxdevant toi se prosterne.	6 You yourself alone, O Lord, made heaven, and the heaven of the heavens, and all their host, the earth and all things that are in it, the seas and all things that are in them. And you gave life to all these things. And the host of heaven adores you.
7 Tu es Yahvé, Dieu, qui fis choix d'Abram, le tiras d'Ur des Chaldéens et lui donnas le nomd'Abraham.	7 You yourself, O Lord God, are the One who chose Abram. And you led him away from the fire of the Chaldeans, and you gave him the name Abraham.
8 Trouvant son coeur fidèle devant toi, tu fis alliance avec lui, pour lui donner le pays du Cananéen,du Hittite et de l'Amorite, du Perizzite, du Jébuséen et du Girgashite, à lui et à sa postérité. Et tu as tenu tespromesses, car tu es juste.	8 And you found his heart to be faithful before you. And you formed a covenant with him, so that you might give to him the land of the Canaanite, of the Hittite, and of the Amorite, and of the Perizzite, and of the Jebusite, and of the Girgashite, so that you might give it to his offspring. And you have fulfilled your words, for you are just.
9 Tu vis la détresse de nos pères en Egypte, tu entendis leur cri près la mer des Roseaux.	9 And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt. And you heard their outcry beside the Red Sea.
10 Tu opéras signes et prodiges contre Pharaon, tous ses valets et tout le peuple de son pays; car tusavais quelle fut envers eux leur arrogance. Tu t'acquis un renom qui dure encore.	10 And you gave signs and portents to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to the people of his land. For you knew that they acted arrogantly against them. And you made a name for yourself, just as it is in this day.
11 La mer, tu l'ouvris devant eux: ils passèrent au milieu de la mer à pied sec. Dans les abîmes tuprécipitas leurs poursuivants, telle une pierre dans des eaux impétueuses.	11 And you divided the sea before them, and they crossed through the midst of the sea on dry land. But their pursuers you cast into the depths, like a stone into great waters.
12 Par une colonne de nuée, tu les guidas le jour, la nuit, par une colonne de feu, pour illuminerdevant eux la voie où ils chemineraient.	12 And in the pillar of cloud, you were their leader by day, and in the pillar of fire, by night, so that they might see the way along which they might advance.
13 Tu es descendu sur le mont Sinaï, et du ciel leur as parlé; et tu leur as donné des ordonnancesjustes, des lois sûres, des préceptes et des commandements excellents;	13 You also descended to mount Sinai, and you spoke with them from heaven. And you gave them upright judgments, and the law of truth, and ceremonies, and good precepts.
14 tu leur fis connaître ton saint sabbat; tu leur prescrivis commandements, préceptes et Loi par leministère de Moïse, ton serviteur.	14 You revealed to them your sanctified Sabbath, and you instructed them in commandments, and ceremonies, and the law, by the hand of Moses, your servant.
15 Du ciel tu leur fournis le pain pour leur faim, du roc tu fis jaillir l'eau pour leur soif. Tu leurcommandas d'aller prendre possession du pays que tu avais fait serment de leur donner.	15 You also gave them bread from heaven in their hunger, and you brought forth water from the rock for them in their thirst. And you said to them that they should enter and possess the land, over which you lifted up your hand so that you might give it to them.
16 Mais nos pères s'enorgueillirent, ils raidirent la nuque, ils n'obéirent point à tes ordres.	16 Yet truly, they and our fathers acted arrogantly, and they hardened their necks, and they did not listen to your commandments.
17 Ils refusèrent d'obéir, oublieux des merveilles que tu avais accomplies pour eux; ils raidirent lanuque, ils se mirent en tête de retourner en Egypte, à leur esclavage. Mais tu es le Dieu des pardons, plein depitié et de tendresse, lent à la colère et riche en bonté: tu ne les as pas abandonnés!	17 And they were not willing to hear, and they did not remember, your miracles which you had accomplished for them. And they hardened their necks, and they offered their head, so that they would return to their servitude, as if in contention. But you, a forgiving God, lenient and merciful, longsuffering and full of compassion, did not abandon them.
18 Même quand ils se fabriquèrent un veau de métal fondu, déclarèrent: "C'est là ton Dieu qui t'a faitmonter d'Egypte!" et commirent de grands blasphèmes,	18 Indeed, even when they had made for themselves a molten calf, and they had said, ‘This is your God, who led you away from Egypt!’ and had committed great blasphemies,
19 toi, dans ton immense tendresse, tu ne les as pas abandonnés au désert: la colonne de nuée nes'écarta point d'eux pour les guider de jour sur la route, ni la colonne de feu la nuit, pour illuminer devant eux laroute où ils chemineraient.	19 even so, in the multitude of your mercies, you did not send them away in the desert. The pillar of cloud did not withdraw from them by day, so that it might lead them on the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, so that it might show them the way along which they might advance.
20 Tu leur as donné ton bon esprit pour les rendre sages, tu n'as pas retenu ta manne loin de leurbouche et tu leur as fourni l'eau pour leur soif.	20 And you gave them your good Spirit, so that he might teach them, and you did not withhold your manna from their mouth, and you gave them water in their thirst.
21 40 ans tu en pris soin au désert: ils ne manquèrent de rien, ni leurs habits ne s'usèrent, ni leurspieds n'enflèrent.	21 For forty years, you fed them in the desert, and nothing was lacking to them; their garments did not grow old, and their feet were not worn down.
22 Et tu leur livras des royaumes et des peuples et les leur attribuas en cantons frontaliers: ils ontpris possession du pays de Sihôn, roi de Heshbôn, et du pays d'Og, roi du Bashân.	22 And you gave them kingdoms and peoples, and you distributed to them by lot. And they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, the king of Bashan.
23 Et tu multiplias leurs fils comme étoiles du ciel et tu les introduisis dans le pays où tu avais dit àleurs pères d'entrer pour en prendre possession.	23 And you multiplied their sons like the stars of heaven. And you led them into the land, about which you had said to their fathers that they would enter and possess it.
24 Les fils envahirent et conquirent ce pays et tu abaissas devant eux les habitants du pays, lesCananéens, que tu livras entre leurs mains, leurs rois et les peuples du pays pour les traiter à leur gré;	24 And the sons arrived and possessed the land. And you humbled the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, before them. And you delivered them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, so that they might do with them just as it was pleasing to them.
25 ils s'emparèrent de villes fortifiées et d'une terre grasse; ils héritèrent de maisons regorgeant detous biens, de citernes déjà creusées, de vignes, d'oliviers, d'arbres fruitiers à profusion: ils mangèrent, ils serassasièrent, ils engraissèrent, ils firent leurs délices de tes immenses biens.	25 And so they seized fortified cities and fat soil. And they possessed houses filled with all kinds of goods, cisterns made by others, vineyards, and olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. And they ate and were satisfied. And they were fattened, and they abounded with delights from your great goodness.
26 Mais voici qu'indociles, révoltés contre toi, ils jetèrent ta Loi derrière leur dos, ils tuèrent lesprophètes qui les avertissaient pour te les ramener et commirent de grands blasphèmes.	26 But they provoked you to wrath, and they withdrew from you, and they cast your law behind their backs. And they killed your prophets, who contended with them so that they might return to you. And they committed great blasphemies.
27 Tu les livras alors aux mains de leurs oppresseurs, qui les opprimèrent. Au temps de leuroppression, ils criaient vers toi, et toi, du ciel, tu les entendais et dans ton immense tendresse tu leur accordaisdes sauveurs qui les délivraient des mains de leurs oppresseurs.	27 And so you gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they afflicted them. And in the time of their tribulation, they cried out to you, and from heaven you heard them. And in accord with your great compassion, you gave to them saviors, who might save them from the hand of their enemies.
28 Mais, sitôt en paix, voilà qu'ils refaisaient le mal devant toi, et tu les abandonnais aux mains deleurs ennemis, qui les tyrannisaient. Eux, de nouveau, criaient vers toi, et toi, du ciel, tu les entendais: que de foisdans ta tendresse ne les délivras-tu pas!	28 But after they had rested, they turned back, so that they did evil in your sight. And you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, and they possessed them. And they converted, and they cried out to you. And from heaven you heeded them, and you freed them many times, by your mercies.
29 Tu les avertis pour les ramener à ta Loi: mais ils s'enorgueillirent, ils n'obéirent pas à tescommandements, ils péchèrent contre tes ordonnances, celles-là mêmes où trouve vie l'homme qui les observe,ils présentèrent une épaule rebelle, raidirent leur nuque et n'obéirent point.	29 And you contended with them, so that they might return to your law. Yet truly, they acted in arrogance, and they did not listen to your commandments, and they sinned against your judgments, which, if a man does them, he shall live by them. And they withdrew from offering their shoulder, and they hardened their neck; neither would they listen.
30 Tu fus patient avec eux bien des années; tu les avertis par ton Esprit, par le ministère de tesprophètes; mais ils n'écoutèrent pas. Alors tu les livras aux mains des peuples des pays.	30 And you continued to forbear them for many years. And you contended with them by your Spirit, through the hand of your prophets. And they did not listen, and so you delivered them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
31 Dans ton immense tendresse, tu ne les as pas exterminés, tu ne les as pas abandonnés, car tu es unDieu plein de pitié et de tendresse.	31 Yet in your very many mercies, you did not cause them to be consumed, nor did you abandon them. For you are a compassionate and lenient God.
32 Et maintenant, ô notre Dieu, toi le Dieu grand, puissant et redoutable, qui maintiens l'alliance etla bonté, ne compte pas pour rien tout cet accablement qui est tombé sur nous, sur nos rois, nos chefs, nosprêtres, nos prophètes et tout ton peuple, depuis le temps des rois d'Assur jusqu'à ce jour.	32 Now therefore, our great God, strong and terrible, who keeps covenant and mercy, may you not avert your face from all the hardship that has found us, we and our kings, and our leaders, and our priests, and our prophets, and our fathers, and all the people, from the days of king Assur, even to this day.
33 Tu as été juste en tout ce qui nous est advenu, car tu as montré ta fidélité, alors que nousagissions mal.	33 For you are just, concerning all things that have overwhelmed us. For you have done truth, but we have acted impiously.
34 Oui, nos rois, nos chefs, nos prêtres et nos pères n'ont pas suivi ta Loi, inattentifs à tescommandements et aux obligations que tu leur imposais.	34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our fathers have not done your law, and they have not been attentive to your commandments and your testimonies, to which you have testified among them.
35 Tant qu'ils furent en leur royaume, parmi les grands biens que tu leur accordais, et dans le vaste etfertile pays que tu avais mis devant eux, ils ne t'ont point servi et ne se sont pas détournés de leurs actionsmauvaises.	35 And they have not served you, in their kingdoms and with your many good things, which you gave to them, and in the very wide and fat land, which you delivered into their sight, nor did they return from their most wicked pursuits.
36 Voici que nous sommes aujourd'hui asservis, et le pays que tu avais donné à nos pères pour jouirde ses fruits et de ses biens, voici que nous y sommes en servitude.	36 Behold, we ourselves this day are servants. And the land, which you gave to our fathers so that they might eat its bread and have its good things, we ourselves are servants within it.
37 Ses produits profitent aux rois, que tu nous imposas, pour nos péchés, et qui disposent à leur gréde nos personnes et de notre bétail. Nous sommes en grande détresse.	37 And its fruits are multiplied for the kings, whom you have set over us because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies, and over our cattle, according to their will. And we are in great tribulation.
	38 Therefore, concerning all of these things, we ourselves are forming and writing a covenant, and our leaders, our Levites, and our priests are signing it.”