Job 20
1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said:
Alors Sophar de Naama prit la parole et dit:
2 Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, even by reason of mine agitation that is in me.
C’est pourquoi mes pensées me suggèrent une réponse, et, à cause de mon agitation, j’ai hâte de la donner.
3 I have heard the reproof which putteth me to shame, but out of my understanding my spirit answereth me.
J’ai entendu des reproches qui m’outragent; dans mon intelligence, mon esprit trouvera la réplique.
4 Knowest thou not this of old time, since man was placed upon earth,
Sais-tu bien que, de tout temps, depuis que l’homme a été placé sur la terre,
5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment?
le triomphe des méchants a été court, et la joie de l’impie d’un moment?
6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
Quand il porterait son orgueil jusqu’au ciel, et que sa tête toucherait aux nues,
7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung; they that have seen him shall say: 'Where is he?'
comme son ordure, il périt pour toujours; ceux qui le voyaient disent: « Où est-il? »
8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found; yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
Il s’envole comme un songe, et on ne le trouve plus; il s’efface comme une vision de la nuit.
9 The eye which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.
L’œil qui le voyait ne le découvre plus; sa demeure ne l’apercevra plus.
10 His children shall appease the poor, and his hands shall restore his wealth.
Ses enfants imploreront les pauvres, de ses propres mains il restituera ses rapines.
11 His bones are full of his youth, but it shall lie down with him in the dust.
Ses os étaient pleins de ses iniquités cachées; elles dormiront avec lui dans la poussière.
12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;
Parce que le mal a été doux à sa bouche, qu’il l’a caché sous sa langue,
13 Though he spare it, and will not let it go, but keep it still within his mouth;
qu’il l’a savouré sans l’abandonner, et l’a retenu au milieu de son palais:
14 Yet his food in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.
sa nourriture tournera en poison dans ses entrailles, elle deviendra dans son sein le venin de l’aspic.
15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again; God shall cast them out of his belly.
Il a englouti des richesses, il les vomira; Dieu les retirera de son ventre.
16 He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him.
Il a sucé le venin de l’aspic, la langue de la vipère le tuera.
17 He shall not look upon the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and curd.
Il ne verra jamais couler les fleuves, les torrents de miel et de lait.
18 That which he laboured for shall he give back, and shall not swallow it down; according to the substance that he hath gotten, he shall not rejoice.
Il rendra ce qu’il a gagné et ne s’en gorgera pas, dans la mesure de ses profits, et il n’en jouira pas.
19 For he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor; he hath violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up.
Car il a opprimé et délaissé les pauvres, il a saccagé leur maison, et ne l’a pas rétablie:
20 Because he knew no quietness within him, in his greed he suffered nought to escape,
son avidité n’a pu être rassasiée, il n’emportera pas ce qu’il a de plus cher.
21 There was nothing left that he devoured not — therefore his prosperity shall not endure.
Rien n’échappait à sa voracité; aussi son bonheur ne subsistera pas.
22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits; the hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him.
Au sein de l’abondance, il tombe dans la disette; tous les coups du malheur viennent sur lui.
23 It shall be for the filling of his belly; He shall cast the fierceness of His wrath upon him, and shall cause it to rain upon him into his flesh.
Voici pour lui remplir le ventre: Dieu enverra sur lui le feu de sa colère, elle pleuvra sur lui jusqu’en ses entrailles.
24 If he flee from the iron weapon, the bow of brass shall strike him through.
S’il échappe aux armes de fer, l’arc d’airain le transperce.
25 He draweth it forth, and it cometh out of his body; yea, the glittering point cometh out of his gall; terrors are upon him.
Il arrache le trait, il sort de son corps, l’acier sort étincelant de son foie; les terreurs de la mort tombent sur lui.
26 All darkness is laid up for his treasures; a fire not blown by man shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tent.
Une nuit profonde engloutit ses trésors; un feu que l’homme n’a pas allumé le dévore, et consume tout ce qui restait dans sa tente.
27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, and the earth shall rise up against him.
Les cieux révéleront son iniquité, et la terre s’élèvera contre lui.
28 The increase of his house shall depart, his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
L’abondance de sa maison sera dispersée, elle disparaîtra au jour de la colère.
29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.
Telle est la part que Dieu réserve au méchant, et l’héritage que lui destine Dieu.
