Deuxième livre des Chroniques 14

BIBLES DES PEUPLES	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Aza fit ce qui est juste et droit au regard de Yahvé son Dieu.	1 Then Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. And his son, Asa, reigned in his place. During his days, the land was quiet for ten years.
2 Il supprima les autels étrangers ainsi que les Hauts-Lieux, il brisa les pierres dressées et coupa les pieux sacrés.	2 Now Asa did what was good and pleasing in the sight of his God. And he overturned the altars of foreign worship, and the high places.
3 Il ordonna aux Judéens de rechercher Yahvé, le Dieu de leurs pères, et de pratiquer la Loi et le Commandement.	3 And he broke apart the statues, and he cut down the sacred groves.
4 Dans toutes les villes de Juda il supprima les Hauts-Lieux et les autels à encens. Le royaume fut en paix sous son autorité.	4 And he instructed Judah that they should seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and that they should carry out the law and all the commandments.
5 Il reconstruisit les villes fortifiées de Juda, car le pays était en paix et en ces années-là personne ne lui fit la guerre: Yahvé lui donna un temps de repos.	5 And he took away, from all the cities of Judah, the altars and the shrines. And he reigned in peace.
6 Il dit donc à Juda: “Construisons ces villes, entourons-les de remparts, de tours, de portes et de verrous pendant que nous sommes maîtres du pays. Nous avons recherché Yahvé notre Dieu, lui aussi nous a recherchés et nous a procuré la paix de tous côtés.” Ils menèrent à bien leurs constructions.	6 Also, he built fortified cities in Judah. For it was quiet, and in his time no wars had arisen. For the Lord was generously granting peace.
7 L’armée d’Aza comptait 300 000 hommes de Juda portant le grand bouclier et la lance, et 280 000 hommes de Benjamin portant le bouclier rond et sachant tirer à l’arc: tous étaient des guerriers entraînés.	7 Then he said to Judah: “Let us build these cities, and strengthen them with walls, and fortify them with towers and gates and bars, while all things are at rest from wars. For we have sought the Lord, the God of our fathers, and he has granted to us peace on every side.” And so they built, and there was nothing to impede them from building.
8 Zérah le Kouchite vint les attaquer avec une armée de mille milliers d’hommes et de trois cents chars: ils arrivèrent à Marécha.	8 Now Asa had in his army three hundred thousand men of Judah, carrying shields and spears, and truly, of Benjamin, two hundred eighty thousand men with shields and bows. All of these were very valiant men.
9 Aza sortit à sa rencontre, on se rangea en bataille dans la vallée de Séfata, près de Marécha.	9 Then Zerah, the Ethiopian, went forth against them with his army of one million men, and three hundred chariots. And he approached as far as Mareshah.
10 Aza pria alors Yahvé, son Dieu: “Yahvé, dit-il, lorsque tu veux secourir, il n’y a pas de différence pour toi entre le puissant et le faible. Secours-nous, Yahvé, notre Dieu! C’est sur toi que nous comptons et c’est en ton Nom que nous marchons contre cette foule. Yahvé, tu es notre Dieu, qu’un homme ne l’emporte pas sur toi!”	10 And Asa traveled to meet him, and he set up a battle line for the war in the Valley of Zephathah, which is near Mareshah.
11 Yahvé battit les Kouchites devant Aza et devant Juda, et les Kouchites prirent la fuite.	11 And he called upon the Lord God, and he said: “O Lord, there is no difference to you, whether you assist by few, or by many. Help us, O Lord our God. For having faith in you and in your name, we have gone forth against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God. Do not allow man to prevail against you.”
12 Aza et son armée les poursuivirent jusqu’à Guérar; il tomba tellement de Kouchites qu’il n’en resta rien: Yahvé et son armée les avaient brisés. On emporta un énorme butin.	12 And so the Lord terrified the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah. And the Ethiopians fled.
13 On frappa toutes les villes autour de Guérar, car la frayeur de Yahvé pesait sur elles, et l’on pilla toutes ces villes où l’on trouva un butin considérable.	13 And Asa, and the people who were with him, pursued them as far as Gerar. And the Ethiopians fell, even unto utter destruction, for the Lord was striking, and his army was battling, and they were destroyed. Therefore, they took many spoils.
14 On s’en prit même aux tentes des nomades et l’on emporta quantité de petit bétail et de chameaux, puis on rentra à Jérusalem.	14 And they struck all the cities surrounding Gerar. For indeed, a great fear had overwhelmed everyone. And they despoiled the cities, and they carried away much plunder.
	15 Then too, destroying the fencing for the sheep, they took an innumerable multitude of cattle and camels. And they returned to Jerusalem.