Job 20
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered,
Çophar de Naama prit la parole et dit:
2 "Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, even by reason of my haste that is in me.
Eh bien! Mes réflexions m’incitent à répliquer et aussi les impressions que je ressens.
3 I have heard the reproof which puts me to shame. The spirit of my understanding answers me.
Quand j’entends des reproches qui sont un affront pour moi, ma raison me dicte une réponse.
4 Do you not know this from old time, since humankind was placed on earth,
Connais-tu ce fait qui a existé de tout temps, depuis que l’homme est placé sur la terre:
5 that the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment?
que le triomphe des méchants est éphémère et que la joie du pervers ne dure qu’un instant?
6 Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds,
Dût sa stature monter jusqu’au ciel et sa tête atteindre les nuages,
7 yet he shall perish forever like his own dung. Those who have seen him shall say, 'Where is he?'
aussi sûrement que ses excréments, il périra sans retour: ceux qui le voyaient diront: "Où est-il?"
8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found. Yes, he shall 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 The eye which saw him shall see him no more, neither shall his place any more see him.
L’Œil qui l’a contemplé ne le découvre plus; sa demeure n’a plus de regard pour lui.
10 His children shall seek the favor of the poor. His hands shall give back his wealth.
Ses fils devront solliciter la pitié des pauvres, et ses propres mains restituer la fortune acquise.
11 His bones are full of his youth, but youth shall lie down with him in the dust.
Ses membres, tout pleins encore de vigueur juvénile, se verront couchés dans la poussière.
12 "Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue,
S’Il arrive que la perversité soit douce à sa bouche, qu’il la fasse glisser sous sa langue;
13 though he spare it, and will not let it go, but keep it still within his mouth;
qu’il la ménage longtemps, ne cessant de la savourer, et la retienne encore au fond de son palais,
14 yet his food in his bowels is turned. It is cobra venom within him.
alors son aliment se transforme dans ses entrailles et devient dans son sein l’amer venin de l’aspic.
15 He has swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again. God will cast them out of his belly.
Il a dévoré une fortune et il faut qu’il la rejette: Dieu l’expulsera de ses intestins.
16 He shall suck cobra venom. The viper's tongue shall kill him.
C’Est du poison d’aspic qu’il suçait: il périra par la langue de la vipère.
17 He shall not look at the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and butter.
Qu’il n’espère point se délecter aux flots des ruisseaux de miel, des torrents de lait!
18 That for which he labored he shall restore, and shall not swallow it down. According to the substance that he has gotten, he shall not rejoice.
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 For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor. He has violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up.
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 no quietness within him, he shall not save anything of that in which he delights.
C’Est qu’il n’a pas connu la paix intérieure: il ne sauvera rien de ses plus chers trésors.
21 There was nothing left that he did not devour, therefore his prosperity shall not endure.
Rien n’échappait à ses appétits; aussi son bien-être n’aura-t-il aucune durée.
22 In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress shall overtake him. The hand of everyone who is in misery shall come on him.
Alors qu’il regorge de biens, il est dans la gêne; la main de tout misérable s’abattra sur lui.
23 When he is about to fill his belly, he will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him. It will rain on him while he is 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 He shall flee from the iron weapon. The bronze arrow shall strike him through.
II voudra fuir les armes de fer: il sera transpercé par un arc d’airain.
25 He draws it forth, and it comes out of his body. Yes, the glittering point comes out of his liver. Terrors are on him.
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 All darkness is laid up for his treasures. An unfanned fire shall devour him. It shall consume that which 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 shall reveal his iniquity. The earth shall rise up against him.
Les cieux dénoncent son crime et la terre se soulève contre lui.
28 The increase of his house shall depart. They shall rush away in 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, the heritage appointed to him by 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.
