Job 20
1 Then answered Zophar the Na'amathite, and said,
Çophar de Naama prit la parole et dit:
2 Even therefore do my inmost thoughts give me an answer, and for this reason do I feel a strong excitement within me.
Eh bien! Mes réflexions m’incitent à répliquer et aussi les impressions que je ressens.
3 Reproof which casteth shame on me must I hear; yet out of my understanding will the spirit give me an answer.
Quand j’entends des reproches qui sont un affront pour moi, ma raison me dicte une réponse.
4 Dost thou know this? from the very beginning of things, from the very time when man was placed upon earth it was,
Connais-tu ce fait qui a existé de tout temps, depuis que l’homme est placé sur la terre:
5 That the triumphal shouting of the wicked is ever of but a recent date, and the joy of the hypocrite endureth only for a moment.
que le triomphe des méchants est éphémère et que la joie du pervers ne dure qu’un instant?
6 Though his exaltation should mount up to the heavens, and his head should reach unto the clouds;
Dût sa stature monter jusqu’au ciel et sa tête atteindre les nuages,
7 Yet when he but turneth round will he vanish for ever; those who have seen him will say, Where is he?
aussi sûrement que ses excréments, il périra sans retour: ceux qui le voyaient diront: "Où est-il?"
8 Like a dream will he fly away, and men will find him no more; yea, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
Comme un songe, il s’envole, et l’on perd ses traces; il s’évanouit comme une vision nocturne.
9 If an eye have surveyed him, it will not do so again, and it will not behold him any more in his place.
L’Œil qui l’a contemplé ne le découvre plus; sa demeure n’a plus de regard pour lui.
10 His children will suffer oppression from the indigent, and his hands will have to restore his [ill-gotten] wealth.
Ses fils devront solliciter la pitié des pauvres, et ses propres mains restituer la fortune acquise.
11 [Now] his bones are full of his youthful vigor; but it will [suddenly] lie down with him in the dust.
Ses membres, tout pleins encore de vigueur juvénile, se verront couchés dans la poussière.
12 If the evil be sweet in his mouth, he will conceal it under his tongue;
S’Il arrive que la perversité soit douce à sa bouche, qu’il la fasse glisser sous sa langue;
13 He will cherish it, and not forsake it; and hold it back within his palate;
qu’il la ménage longtemps, ne cessant de la savourer, et la retienne encore au fond de son palais,
14 His food is thus changed within his bowels, and becometh the venom of asps within him.
alors son aliment se transforme dans ses entrailles et devient dans son sein l’amer venin de l’aspic.
15 The wealth which he hath swallowed, will he have to vomit up again; God will drive it out of his belly.
Il a dévoré une fortune et il faut qu’il la rejette: Dieu l’expulsera de ses intestins.
16 The poison of asps will he have to suck; the viper's tongue will slay him.
C’Est du poison d’aspic qu’il suçait: il périra par la langue de la vipère.
17 He shall not look with pleasure on streams, on flowing brooks of honey and cream.
Qu’il n’espère point se délecter aux flots des ruisseaux de miel, des torrents de lait!
18 He restoreth what he hath labored for, and will not swallow it down; however much he may have obtained by toil, he will not have any joy of it.
Il faut qu’il rende le fruit de son labeur, avant de le consommer; il en sera de même des biens qu’il s’est acquis par ses échanges: il n’en tirera aucun plaisir.
19 Because he oppressed and forsook the indigent; because he took violently away a house, shall he not rebuild it;
C’Est qu’il a écrasé les faibles et les a abandonnés à eux-mêmes; il a ruiné des maisons par la rapine et ne les a point rebâties.
20 Because he knew not quietness in his bosom, shall he not escape through what is the most precious to him.
C’Est qu’il n’a pas connu la paix intérieure: il ne sauvera rien de ses plus chers trésors.
21 Nothing was spared from his craving to eat: therefore shall his wealth not prosper.
Rien n’échappait à ses appétits; aussi son bien-être n’aura-t-il aucune durée.
22 In the fulness of his abundance will distress assail him: every hand of [those he] troubled will come against him.
Alors qu’il regorge de biens, il est dans la gêne; la main de tout misérable s’abattra sur lui.
23 In order to fill his belly, [God] will send out against him the fury of his wrath, and will rain it upon him for his eating.
Dieu se dispose à lui bourrer le ventre en lâchant contre lui son ardente colère, en la faisant pleuvoir sur lui en guise de nourriture.
24 If he flee from the iron weapon, the brazen bow will strike him through.
II voudra fuir les armes de fer: il sera transpercé par un arc d’airain.
25 He draweth it, and it cometh out of the body; yea, out of his gall the glittering [arrow] cometh forth: over him come the terrors [of death].
La flèche qui l’atteint, il la retire de son corps; elle sort étincelante du foie qu’elle a percé; l’épouvante le saisit.
26 Entire darkness is laid by for his treasures: a fire not urged by blowing will consume him; it will destroy any one that is left in his tent.
Tous les noirs désastres menacent les trésors qu’il a amassés; un feu que personne n’a attisé le consume et dévore tout ce qui est resté dans sa demeure.
27 The heavens will lay open his iniquity; and the earth will raise herself up against him.
Les cieux dénoncent son crime et la terre se soulève contre lui.
28 The product of his house will be banished, flowing away on the day of his wrath.
Les biens de sa maison s’en vont; tout s’écroule au jour de la colère divine.
29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and his decreed heritage from God.
Telle est la part que Dieu réserve à l’homme pervers; tel est l’héritage qui lui est destiné par la parole du Tout-Puissant.
