< Job 20 >

1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said:
Tsophar, 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 pour cela que mes pensées me poussent à répondre, et c'est pour cette raison que j'ai hâte de le faire:
3 I have heard the reproof which putteth me to shame, but out of my understanding my spirit answereth me.
J'ai entendu une leçon outrageante, mais l'esprit tire de mon intelligence une réponse.
4 Knowest thou not this of old time, since man was placed upon earth,
Ne sais-tu pas que, de tout temps, depuis que Dieu a mis l'homme sur la terre,
5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment?
Le triomphe du méchant est de peu de durée, et la joie de l'impie n'a qu'un moment?
6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
Quand son élévation monterait jusqu'aux cieux, et quand sa tête atteindrait les nues,
7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung; they that have seen him shall say: 'Where is he?'
Il périra pour toujours, comme son ordure; ceux qui le voyaient diront: 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'envolera comme un songe, et on ne le trouvera plus; il s'évanouira comme un rêve 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 l'a vu ne le verra plus, et son lieu ne l'apercevra plus.
10 His children shall appease the poor, and his hands shall restore his wealth.
Ses enfants feront la cour aux pauvres, et ses propres mains restitueront ses biens.
11 His bones are full of his youth, but it shall lie down with him in the dust.
Ses os sont pleins de jeunesse, mais elle reposera avec lui dans la poussière.
12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;
Si le mal est doux à sa bouche, s'il le cache sous sa langue,
13 Though he spare it, and will not let it go, but keep it still within his mouth;
S'il le ménage et ne le rejette point, s'il le retient dans son palais,
14 Yet his food in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.
Sa nourriture se changera dans ses entrailles, et deviendra dans son sein du fiel d'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, et il les vomira; Dieu les arrachera de son ventre.
16 He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him.
Il sucera du venin d'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 plus les ruisseaux, 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 le fruit de son travail, et ne l'avalera pas; il restituera à proportion de ce qu'il aura amassé, et ne s'en réjouira pas.
19 For he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor; he hath violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up.
Parce qu'il a foulé, abandonné le pauvre, pillé la maison au lieu de la bâtir;
20 Because he knew no quietness within him, in his greed he suffered nought to escape,
Parce qu'il n'a pas connu le repos dans son avidité, il ne sauvera rien de ce qu'il a tant désiré;
21 There was nothing left that he devoured not — therefore his prosperity shall not endure.
Rien n'échappait à sa voracité, c'est pourquoi son bonheur ne durera 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 comble de l'abondance, il sera dans la gêne; les mains de tous les malheureux se jetteront 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.
Il arrivera que pour lui remplir le ventre, Dieu enverra contre lui l'ardeur de sa colère; il la fera pleuvoir sur lui et entrer dans sa chair.
24 If he flee from the iron weapon, the bow of brass shall strike him through.
Il fuira devant les armes de fer, l'arc d'airain le transpercera.
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 arrachera la flèche, et elle sortira de son corps, et le fer étincelant, de son foie; les frayeurs de la mort viendront 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.
Toutes les calamités sont réservées à ses trésors, un feu qu'on n'aura pas besoin de souffler le dévorera, et ce qui restera dans sa tente sera consumé.
27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, and the earth shall rise up against him.
Les cieux découvriront 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.
Le revenu de sa maison sera emporté. Tout s'écoulera 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 à l'homme méchant, tel est l'héritage que Dieu lui assigne.

< Job 20 >