Job 20
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered,
Alors Sophar de Naama prit la parole et dit:
2 “Therefore my thoughts answer me, even by reason of my haste that is in me.
C’est pourquoi mes pensées me suggèrent une réponse, et, à cause de mon agitation, j’ai hâte de la donner.
3 I have heard the reproof which puts me to shame. The spirit of my understanding answers me.
J’ai entendu des reproches qui m’outragent; dans mon intelligence, mon esprit trouvera la réplique.
4 Don’t you know this from old time, since man was placed on earth,
Sais-tu bien que, de tout temps, depuis que l’homme a été placé sur la terre,
5 that the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment?
le triomphe des méchants a été court, et la joie de l’impie d’un moment?
6 Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds,
Quand il porterait son orgueil jusqu’au ciel, et que sa tête toucherait aux nues,
7 yet he will perish forever like his own dung. Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
comme son ordure, il périt pour toujours; ceux qui le voyaient disent: « Où est-il? »
8 He will fly away as a dream, and will not be found. Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
Il s’envole comme un songe, et on ne le trouve plus; il s’efface comme une vision de la nuit.
9 The eye which saw him will see him no more, neither will his place see him any more.
L’œil qui le voyait ne le découvre plus; sa demeure ne l’apercevra plus.
10 His children will seek the favour of the poor. His hands will give back his wealth.
Ses enfants imploreront les pauvres, de ses propres mains il restituera ses rapines.
11 His bones are full of his youth, but youth will lie down with him in the dust.
Ses os étaient pleins de ses iniquités cachées; elles dormiront avec lui dans la poussière.
12 “Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue,
Parce que le mal a été doux à sa bouche, qu’il l’a caché sous sa langue,
13 though he spare it, and will not let it go, but keep it still within his mouth,
qu’il l’a savouré sans l’abandonner, et l’a retenu au milieu de son palais:
14 yet his food in his bowels is turned. It is cobra venom within him.
sa nourriture tournera en poison dans ses entrailles, elle deviendra dans son sein le venin de l’aspic.
15 He has swallowed down riches, and he will vomit them up again. God will cast them out of his belly.
Il a englouti des richesses, il les vomira; Dieu les retirera de son ventre.
16 He will suck cobra venom. The viper’s tongue will kill him.
Il a sucé le venin de l’aspic, la langue de la vipère le tuera.
17 He will not look at the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and butter.
Il ne verra jamais couler les fleuves, les torrents de miel et de lait.
18 He will restore that for which he laboured, and will not swallow it down. He will not rejoice according to the substance that he has gotten.
Il rendra ce qu’il a gagné et ne s’en gorgera pas, dans la mesure de ses profits, et il n’en jouira pas.
19 For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor. He has violently taken away a house, and he will not build it up.
Car il a opprimé et délaissé les pauvres, il a saccagé leur maison, et ne l’a pas rétablie:
20 “Because he knew no quietness within him, he will not save anything of that in which he delights.
son avidité n’a pu être rassasiée, il n’emportera pas ce qu’il a de plus cher.
21 There was nothing left that he didn’t devour, therefore his prosperity will not endure.
Rien n’échappait à sa voracité; aussi son bonheur ne subsistera pas.
22 In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress will overtake him. The hand of everyone who is in misery will come on him.
Au sein de l’abondance, il tombe dans la disette; tous les coups du malheur viennent sur lui.
23 When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him. It will rain on him while he is eating.
Voici pour lui remplir le ventre: Dieu enverra sur lui le feu de sa colère, elle pleuvra sur lui jusqu’en ses entrailles.
24 He will flee from the iron weapon. The bronze arrow will strike him through.
S’il échappe aux armes de fer, l’arc d’airain le transperce.
25 He draws it out, and it comes out of his body. Yes, the glittering point comes out of his liver. Terrors are on him.
Il arrache le trait, il sort de son corps, l’acier sort étincelant de son foie; les terreurs de la mort tombent sur lui.
26 All darkness is laid up for his treasures. An unfanned fire will devour him. It will consume that which is left in his tent.
Une nuit profonde engloutit ses trésors; un feu que l’homme n’a pas allumé le dévore, et consume tout ce qui restait dans sa tente.
27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity. The earth will rise up against him.
Les cieux révéleront son iniquité, et la terre s’élèvera contre lui.
28 The increase of his house will depart. They will rush away in the day of his wrath.
L’abondance de sa maison sera dispersée, elle disparaîtra au jour de la colère.
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 au méchant, et l’héritage que lui destine Dieu.
