Habakkuk 1
1 [I am] Habakkuk, a prophet. This is the [message that Yahweh] gave to me in a vision.
Oracle révélé à Habacuc, le prophète.
2 [I said, ] “Yahweh, how long must I continue to call [to you] for help before you respond? I cry out to you [for help], saying that [people are acting] violently [everywhere], but you do not rescue us!
Jusqu’à quand, ô Éternel?… J’ai crié, Et tu n’écoutes pas! J’ai crié vers toi à la violence, Et tu ne secours pas!
3 (Must I/I do not want to) continue seeing people doing what is unjust [RHQ]. Why do you not punish people who are doing what is wrong [RHQ]? I see people destroying things and [acting] violently. There is fighting and quarreling [everywhere].
Pourquoi me fais-tu voir l’iniquité, Et contemples-tu l’injustice? Pourquoi l’oppression et la violence sont-elles devant moi? Il y a des querelles, et la discorde s’élève.
4 No one obeys laws [PRS], and judges [PRS] never do what is fair/just. Wicked people always defeat righteous people [in the courts], with the result that matters are never decided fairly/justly.”
Aussi la loi n’a point de vie, La justice n’a point de force; Car le méchant triomphe du juste, Et l’on rend des jugements iniques.
5 [Yahweh replied to me, ] “[I know that what you say is true, but] look around at [what is happening in] the other nations; [if you look, ] you will be amazed, because I am doing something during this time that you would not believe [would happen], even if someone told you about it.
Jetez les yeux parmi les nations, regardez, Et soyez saisis d’étonnement, d’épouvante! Car je vais faire en vos jours une œuvre, Que vous ne croiriez pas si on la racontait.
6 The soldiers of Babylonia are fierce/cruel and swift. And now I am causing them [to become very powerful]; they will march across the world and conquer [many] other countries.
Voici, je vais susciter les Chaldéens, Peuple furibond et impétueux, Qui traverse de vastes étendues de pays, Pour s’emparer de demeures qui ne sont pas à lui.
7 They are people whom [others] fear very much [DOU], and they do whatever they want to, paying no attention to the laws of other countries.
Il est terrible et formidable; De lui seul viennent son droit et sa grandeur.
8 The horses [that pull their chariots] go faster than leopards, and they are fiercer than wolves are in the evening. The horses on which the soldiers ride gallop swiftly; the soldiers riding them come from distant places. They are like [SIM] eagles that swoop down to [snatch and] kill small animals.
Ses chevaux sont plus rapides que les léopards, Plus agiles que les loups du soir, Et ses cavaliers s’avancent avec orgueil; Ses cavaliers arrivent de loin, Ils volent comme l’aigle qui fond sur sa proie.
9 As they ride along, [they are] determined to act violently. They advance like [SIM] a wind from the desert, gathering prisoners that are as [numerous as grains of] sand.
Tout ce peuple vient pour se livrer au pillage; Ses regards avides se portent en avant, Et il assemble des prisonniers comme du sable.
10 They make fun of kings and princes [of other countries], and they ridicule all the cities that have high walls around them. They pile dirt [outside those walls] [in order to climb up] and capture those cities.
Il se moque des rois, Et les princes font l’objet de ses railleries; Il se rit de toutes les forteresses, Il amoncelle de la terre, et il les prend.
11 They rush past like the wind, and then they go [to attack other cities]. But they are very guilty, because [they think that] their own power is their god.”
Alors son ardeur redouble, Il poursuit sa marche, et il se rend coupable. Sa force à lui, voilà son dieu!
12 [Then I said, ] “Yahweh, you have certainly [RHQ] always/forever been God. You are my Holy One; you will not die. So [why] have you appointed those men [from Babylonia] to judge and get rid of [us]? You are like [MET] a huge rock [under which we are protected/safe], so why have you sent them to punish us?
N’es-tu pas de toute éternité, Éternel, mon Dieu, mon Saint? Nous ne mourrons pas! O Éternel, tu as établi ce peuple pour exercer tes jugements; O mon rocher, tu l’as suscité pour infliger tes châtiments.
13 You [SYN] are pure, and you cannot endure looking at what is evil, [so why] are you ignoring men who are treacherous? Why do you do nothing [to punish] those wicked men [from Babylonia] who destroy people who are more righteous than they [are]?
Tes yeux sont trop purs pour voir le mal, Et tu ne peux pas regarder l’iniquité. Pourquoi regarderais-tu les perfides, et te tairais-tu, Quand le méchant dévore celui qui est plus juste que lui?
14 [Do you consider that] we are like fish in the sea, or like other creatures in the sea, that have no ruler?
Traiterais-tu l’homme comme les poissons de la mer, Comme le reptile qui n’a point de maître?
15 [The soldiers of Babylonia think that we are fish] [RHQ] for them to pull out of the sea with hooks or to catch in their nets, while they rejoice and celebrate.
Il les fait tous monter avec l’hameçon, Il les attire dans son filet, Il les assemble dans ses rets: Aussi est-il dans la joie et dans l’allégresse.
16 If they catch us, they will [worship] their weapons [MET] with which they captured us, and offer sacrifices to them and burn incense in front of them! [They will say] ‘Those weapons have enabled us to become rich and be able to eat expensive food.’
C’est pourquoi il sacrifie à son filet, Il offre de l’encens à ses rets; Car par eux sa portion est grasse, Et sa nourriture succulente.
17 [Will you allow] them to continue [to conquer people] [MET] forever? [Will you allow] them to destroy people of other nations without their being merciful [to anyone]?”
Videra-t-il pour cela son filet, Et toujours égorgera-t-il sans pitié les nations?
