< Jonah 1 >

1 [One day] Yahweh said to [the prophet] Jonah, the son of Amittai,
Or, la parole du Seigneur fut adressée à Jonas, fils d’Amathi, disant:
2 “I have [seen] how wicked [the people of] [MTY] the great city of Nineveh are. Therefore go there and warn the people that [I am planning to] destroy their city [because of their sins].”
Lève-toi, et va dans Ninive la grande cité, et prêches-y, parce que sa malice est montée devant moi.
3 But [instead of going to Nineveh], Jonah [went in the direction] opposite to where Yahweh [told him to go]. He went down to Joppa [city]. There he bought a ticket to travel on a ship that was going to Tarshish [city], in order to avoid [doing what] Yahweh [told him to do]. [He got on the ship, ] and [then went down] to a lower deck, [lay down, and went to sleep].
Et Jonas se leva afin de fuir à Tharsis, de devant la face du Seigneur; et il descendit à Joppé, et il trouva un vaisseau qui allait à Tharsis, et il donna le prix de son passage, et il descendit dans le vaisseau, afin d’aller avec les autres à Tharsis, pour fuir de la face du Seigneur.
4 Then Yahweh caused a very strong wind to blow, and there was such a violent storm that [the sailors thought] the ship would break apart.
Mais le Seigneur envoya un grand vent sur la mer, et il se fit une grande tempête sur la mer, et le vaisseau était en péril d’être brisé.
5 The sailors were very frightened. Because of that, they each [started to] pray to their own gods [to save them]. Then they threw the cargo into the sea to make the ship lighter [in order that it would not sink easily].
Or les matelots craignirent, et les hommes crièrent vers leur Dieu, et ils jetèrent à la mer ce qui était dans le vaisseau, afin qu’il en fût allégé; or Jonas descendit au fond du vaisseau, et il dormait d’un sommeil profond.
6 Then the captain went [down] to where Jonah was sleeping soundly. [He awoke him] and said [to him], “(How can you sleep [during a storm like this]?/You should not be sleeping [during a storm like this]) [RHQ]! Get up and pray to your god! Perhaps he will pity us and save us, in order that we will not drown!” [But Jonah refused to do that].
Et le pilote s’approcha de lui, et lui dit: Pourquoi es-tu accablé par le sommeil? Lève-toi, invoque ton Dieu, peut-être que Dieu songera à nous et que nous ne périrons pas.
7 Then the sailors said to each other, “We need to (cast lots/shake from a container small objects that we have all marked), to determine who has caused [all] this trouble!” So they did that, and [the object with] Jonah’s mark fell out [of the container].
Et chacun dit à son compagnon: Venez, et jetons les sorts pour savoir d’où ce malheur nous est venu. Et ils jetèrent les sorts, et le sort tomba sur Jonas.
8 So [various ones of] them asked him, “Are you the one who has caused us all this trouble?” “What work do you do?” “Where are you [coming] from?” “What country and what people-group do you belong to?”
Et ils lui dirent: Indique-nous à cause de qui ce malheur nous arrive; quelle est ton occupation? quel est ton pays et où vas-tu? ou bien à quel peuple appartiens-tu?
9 Jonah replied, “I am a Hebrew. I worship Yahweh God, who [lives in] heaven. He is the one who made the sea and the land. I am trying to escape from [doing what] Yahweh [told me to do].”
Et il leur dit: Je suis Hébreu, et je crains le Seigneur, le Dieu du ciel, qui a fait la mer et la terre.
10 After the sailors heard that, they were terrified. So they asked him, “Do you realize what [trouble] you have caused?”
Et ces hommes craignirent d’une grande crainte, et ils lui dirent: Pourquoi as-tu fait cela? (Car ces hommes surent qu’il fuyait la face du Seigneur, parce qu’il le leur avait appris.)
11 The [storm kept getting worse and] the waves kept getting bigger. So [one of] the sailors asked Jonah, “What should we do in order to make the sea become calm?”
Et ils lui dirent: Que te ferons-nous, afin que la mer se calme pour nous? parce que la mer allait en grossissant
12 He replied, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. [If you do that], it will become calm. I know that this terrible storm is the result of my [not doing what Yahweh told me to do].”
Et il leur dit: Prenez-moi et jetez-moi dans la mer, et la mer se calmera pour vous, car je sais, moi, que c’est à cause de moi que cette grande tempête est venue sur vous.
13 But the sailors did [not want to do that]. [Instead], they tried hard to row the ship back to the land. But they could not [do that], because the storm continued to get worse.
Et les hommes ramaient afin de revenir vers la terre, et ils ne le pouvaient; car la mer allait en grossissant au-dessus d’eux.
14 Therefore they prayed to Yahweh, and [one of them] prayed, “O Yahweh, please do not let us drown because of our causing this man to die. O Yahweh, you have done what you wanted to do. [We do not know if this man has sinned. If] he has not sinned, do not consider that we are guilty of sinning when we cause him to die!”
Et ils crièrent au Seigneur, et ils dirent: Nous vous prions, Seigneur, de ne pas nous faire périra cause de l’âme de cet homme, et ne faites pas retomber sur nous un sang innocent, parce que vous, Seigneur, comme vous avez voulu, vous avez fait.
15 Then they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea. Then the sea became calm.
Et ils prirent Jonas, et ils le jetèrent dans la mer, et la mer apaisa sa furie.
16 [When that happened], the sailors became greatly awed at Yahweh’s [power]. So they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh, and they strongly promised [him that they would do things that would please him].
Les hommes craignirent d’une grande crainte le Seigneur, et ils immolèrent des hosties au Seigneur, et ils vouèrent des vœux
17 [While they were doing that, ] Yahweh sent a huge fish that swallowed Jonah. Then Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
Et le Seigneur prépara un grand poisson, afin qu’il engloutît Jonas; et Jonas fut dans le ventre du poisson pendant trois jours et trois nuits.

< Jonah 1 >