Job 31
1 “I solemnly promised myself that I would not look at a young woman with a desire [to have sex with her].
J’ai fait un pacte avec mes yeux pour ne pas même penser à une vierge.
2 [If I did not do what I promised, ] what would God who is in heaven [MTY] do to me [RHQ]? Almighty [God] would certainly not [RHQ] give me any reward!
Car autrement quelle part d’en haut aurait Dieu pour moi, et quel héritage des cieux, le Tout-Puissant?
3 [Previously I thought that] surely [RHQ] it was unrighteous people who would experience calamities, and that it was those who do what is wrong who would experience disasters.
Est-ce que la ruine n’est pas pour le méchant, et l’aliénation des héritages pour ceux qui opèrent l’injustice?
4 God certainly sees [RHQ] everything that I do, [so why is he causing me to suffer?] [It is as though] he counts every step that I take.
Dieu ne considère-t-il pas mes voies, et tous mes pas, ne les compte-t-il point?
5 [“I solemnly declare that] I have never acted wickedly and have never tried to deceive people.
Si j’ai marché dans la vanité; si mon pied s’est hâté dans la ruse;
6 I request only that God judge me fairly [MET], and if he does that, he will know that I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong).
Que Dieu me pèse dans une balance juste, et qu’il connaisse ma simplicité.
7 If [it were true that] I have stopped living righteously, or [that] I [SYN] have desired the things that I look at [MTY], or [that] I am guilty of any other sin,
Que si mon pas s’est détourné de la voie, et si mon cœur a suivi mes yeux, et si à mes mains s’est attachée quelque souillure;
8 then I hope/wish that when I plant [seeds], someone else will [harvest the crops and] eat [them] and that others will uproot the [fruit trees] that I planted.
Que je sème et qu’un autre mange, et que ma race soit arrachée jusqu’à la racine.
9 “If [it were true that] I [SYN] have been attracted by some other man’s wife, or [that] I have hidden myself and waited outside [the] door [to] her [house],
Si mon cœur a été séduit au sujet d’une femme, et si à la porte de mon ami j’ai dressé des embûches;
10 I hope/desire that my wife will become the servant/slave of another man and have sex [EUP] with him.
Que ma femme soit la prostituée d’un autre, et que d’autres la déshonorent.
11 [For me to do] that would be a terrible sin, and the judges would decide that I should be punished.
Car l’adultère est un crime énorme, et une iniquité très grande.
12 My [committing adultery] would [produce in me a fire like] [MET] the fire that burns people in hell, and it would burn up everything that I own. (questioned)
C’est un feu qui dévore jusqu’à la perdition, et qui extirpe toutes les productions.
13 “And, if [it were true that] I have ever refused to listen to one of my male or female servants when they complained to me about something,
Si j’ai dédaigné d’aller en jugement avec mon serviteur et ma servante, lorsqu’ils disputaient contre moi.
14 God would arise [and declare that he would punish me]; and when he would do that, what would I do? If he would ask me [about what I have done], (what would I answer?/I would not be able to answer.) [RHQ]
(Car que ferai-je, lorsque Dieu se lèvera pour me juger? et lorsqu’il m’interrogera, que lui répondrai-je?
15 God, who created me, certainly also created my servants [RHQ]; surely he is the one who formed them and me in our mothers’ wombs [RHQ]; [so we all should behave toward each other equally].
N’est-ce pas celui qui m’a fait dans le sein de ma mère, qui l’a fait lui aussi, et le même qui m’a formé en elle?)
16 “I have guided orphans from the time that they were born; I have taken care of them since they were young. So, if [it were true that] I ate all my food myself and did not share some of it with orphans, or [that] I refused to give poor people the things that they wanted, or [that] I caused widows to live (in despair/without hope [that they would receive any help from anyone]),
Si j’ai refusé aux pauvres ce qu’ils voulaient, et si j’ai fait attendre les yeux de la veuve;
Si j’ai mangé seul ma bouchée de pain, et si le pupille n’en a pas mangé aussi:
(Car dès mon enfance la compassion a crû avec moi, et du sein de ma mère elle est sortie avec moi.)
19 or [that] I had seen people die [from cold] because they had no clothes, or [that] I had seen poor people who did not have clothes [to keep them warm],
Si j’ai détourné mes yeux de celui qui mourait, parce qu’il n’avait pas de quoi se couvrir, et du pauvre qui était sans vêtement;
20 and they were not able to become warm [from clothes made] from the wool of my sheep with the result that they thanked me for [giving them clothes, ]
Si ses flancs ne m’ont pas béni, et s’il n’a pas été réchauffé par les toisons de mes brebis:
21 or if [it were true that] I threatened to strike any orphan because I knew that the elders at the city gates would (decide in my favor);
Si j’ai levé ma main contre un orphelin, même lorsque je me voyais supérieur à la porte de la ville:
22 [if those things were true about me], I hope/desire that my shoulder blade would be torn out and my arm be torn from my shoulder.
Que mon épaule tombe séparée de sa jointure, et que mon bras avec tous mes os soit entièrement brisé:
23 I always feared that God would cause me to experience a great disaster [if I did any of those evil things], and I would not have been able to endure the powerful [things that he would do to punish me].
Car j’ai toujours craint Dieu comme des îlots soulevés au-dessus de moi, et je n’ai pu supporter le poids de sa majesté.
24 “If [it were true that] I trusted in my gold/money [DOU],
Si j’ai pris l’or pour ma force, et si j’ai dit à l’or affiné: Tu es ma confiance:
25 or that I rejoiced because I had acquired many things and had become very rich,
Si je me suis livré à l’allégresse à cause de mes abondantes richesses, et parce que ma main a trouvé des biens en très grand nombre;
26 or that I looked at the sun when it was shining or looked at the beautiful moon
Si j’ai vu le soleil, lorsqu’il brillait de son vif éclat, et la lune marchant dans son clair,
27 and I [SYN] had been tempted [to worship them] by kissing my hand to revere them,
Et si mon cœur s’est livré à la joie en secret, et si j’ai baisé ma main de ma bouche;
28 those things also would be sins for which the judges would say that I must be punished, because I would have been rejecting God [by doing those things].
Ce qui est une iniquité très grande, et nier le Dieu très haut:
29 “[It is not true that] I [SYN] sinned by requesting God to curse people who hated me with the result that God would cause them to die. It is also not true that I was glad when they were ruined or that I rejoiced when they experienced disasters [DOU].
Si je me suis réjoui de la ruine de celui qui me haïssait, et si j’ai bondi de joie de ce que le malheur l’avait atteint:
(Car je n’ai pas permis à ma bouche de pécher en cherchant à maudire son âme.)
31 [It is also not true that] I never welcomed travelers to stay in my tent or that I did not open my doors to them, but [forced them to] sleep in the streets. [All] the men who work for me certainly know that [RHQ]!
Si les hommes de ma tente n’ont pas dit: Qui nous donnera de nous rassasier de sa chair?
(L’étranger en effet n’est pas resté dehors; ma porte a toujours été ouverte au voyageur.)
33 Some people try to hide their sins, but I have never done that;
Si comme homme, j’ai tenu mon péché secret, et si j’ai caché dans mon sein mon iniquité;
34 and I never remained silent and refused to go outside of my home because I was very (afraid of/worried about) what people would say [about me], and that they would hate/scorn me.
Si j’ai été saisi d’effroi à cause de la grande multitude, et si le mépris de mes reproches m’a épouvanté, et si je ne me suis pas plutôt tenu dans le silence, sans sortir de ma porte:
35 “I wish/desire that there was someone who would hear what I am saying! I solemnly declare [that all that I have said is true]. I wish that those who oppose me would write down [on a scroll] the evil things that they say that I did.
Qui me donnera quelqu’un qui m’entende, afin que le Tout-Puissant écoute mon désir, et que celui qui juge, écrive lui-même un livre,
36 [If they did that, ] I would wear that scroll on my shoulder, or wear it on top of my head, [in order that everyone could see it].
Afin que sur mon épaule je porte ce livre, et que je le mette comme une couronne autour de ma tête?
37 I would tell [God] everything that I have done, and I would approach him [confidently], like a ruler would.
À chacun de mes pas j’en prononcerai les paroles, et je le présenterai comme à un prince.
38 If [it were true that] I have stolen land, with the result that [it was as though] its furrows cried out to accuse me of stealing;
Si la terre qui m’appartient crie contre moi, et que ses sillons pleurent avec elle;
39 or [if it were true that] I have eaten the crops that grew in someone else’s fields without paying [for those crops], with the result that those farmers who grew those crops died [from hunger];
Si j’ai mangé ses fruits sans argent, et si j’ai affligé l’âme de ses cultivateurs:
40 then I wish/desire that thorns would grow [in my fields] instead of wheat. May bad weeds grow instead of barley!” That is the end of what Job said [to his three friends].
Qu’au lieu de blé il me naisse des ronces, et au lieu d’orge, des épines.
