Job 41
1 « Pouvez-vous faire sortir un Léviathan avec un hameçon, ou presser sa langue avec une corde?
“[Think also about] (crocodiles/great sea dragons). Can you catch them with a fishhook or fasten their jaws with a rope?
2 Pouvez-vous mettre une corde dans son nez, ou lui transpercer la mâchoire avec un crochet?
Can you put ropes through their noses [to control them] or thrust hooks through their jaws?
3 Il vous adressera de nombreuses requêtes, ou vous dira-t-il des mots doux?
Will they plead with you to act mercifully toward them or (use sweet talk/speak to you nicely) [in order that you will not harm them]?
4 Il conclura une alliance avec vous, pour que vous le preniez comme serviteur pour toujours?
Will they make an agreement with you to work for you, to be your slaves as long as they live?
5 Allez-vous jouer avec lui comme avec un oiseau? Ou allez-vous le lier pour vos filles?
Can you cause them to become pets like you cause birds to become your pets? Can you put a leash/rope around their [necks] so that your servant girls [can play with them]?
6 Les commerçants le troqueront-ils? Le partageront-ils avec les marchands?
Will merchants try to buy them [in the market]? Will they cut them up into pieces and sell the meat?
7 Pouvez-vous remplir sa peau de fers barbelés, ou sa tête avec des lances à poisson?
Can you pierce their skins by throwing fishing spears at them? Can you pierce their heads with a harpoon?
8 Pose ta main sur lui. Souvenez-vous de la bataille, et ne le faites plus.
If you grab one of them with your hands, it will fight you in a way that you will never forget, and you will never try to do it again!
9 Voici, l'espérance de celui-ci est vaine. Ne sera-t-on pas abattu à sa vue?
It is useless to try to subdue them. Anyone who tries to subdue one of them will lose his courage.
10 Nul n'est assez féroce pour oser l'agiter. Qui donc est celui qui peut se tenir devant moi?
No one dares/tries to (arouse them/cause them to be angry). So, [since I am much more powerful than they are, ] (who would dare to cause me to be angry?/no one would dare to cause me to be angry!) [RHQ]
11 Qui m'a donné le premier, pour que je lui rende la pareille? Tout ce qui est sous les cieux est à moi.
Also, everything on the earth is mine. Therefore, no one [RHQ] is able to give anything to me and require me to pay [money] for it!
12 « Je ne garderai pas le silence sur ses membres, ni sa force puissante, ni sa belle charpente.
I will tell you about [how strong] crocodiles' legs [are] and how strong their well-formed bodies are.
13 Qui peut se dépouiller de son vêtement de dessus? Qui s'approchera de ses mâchoires?
(Can anyone strip off their hides?/No one is able to strip off their hides.) [RHQ] (Can anyone try to put bridles on them?/No one can try to put bridles on them.) [RHQ] (OR, Can anyone pierce their very thick hides?)
14 Qui peut ouvrir les portes de son visage? Autour de ses dents, c'est la terreur.
(Can anyone pry open their jaws, which have terrible teeth in them?/No one can pry open their jaws, which have terrible teeth in them!) [RHQ]
15 Des balances solides sont sa fierté, fermés ensemble par un sceau étanche.
They have rows of scales on their back which are as hard as a rock (OR, tightly fastened together).
16 L'un est si proche de l'autre, qu'aucun air ne puisse s'interposer entre eux.
The scales are very close together, with the result that not even air can get between them.
17 Ils sont unis l'un à l'autre. Ils se collent ensemble, pour qu'on ne puisse pas les séparer.
The scales are joined very closely to each other, and they cannot be separated.
18 Ses éternuements font jaillir la lumière. Ses yeux sont comme les paupières du matin.
When crocodiles sneeze, [the tiny drops of water that come out of their noses] sparkle in the sunlight. Their eyes are red like the rising sun.
19 De sa bouche sortent des torches enflammées. Des étincelles de feu jaillissent.
[It is as though] sparks of fire pour out of their mouths [DOU].
20 Une fumée sort de ses narines, comme d'une marmite en ébullition sur un feu de roseaux.
Smoke pours out of their nostrils/noses like steam comes out of a pot that is put over a fire made from dry reeds.
21 Son souffle allume des charbons. Une flamme sort de sa bouche.
Their breath can cause coals to blaze, and flames shoot out from their mouths.
22 Il a de la force dans le cou. La terreur danse devant lui.
Their necks are very strong; wherever they go, they cause people to be very afraid.
23 Les lambeaux de sa chair se rejoignent. Ils sont fermes à son égard. Ils ne peuvent pas être déplacés.
The folds in their flesh are very close together and are very hard/firm.
24 Son cœur est ferme comme une pierre, oui, ferme comme la meule inférieure.
[They are fearless, because] the inner parts of their bodies are as hard as a rock, as hard as the lower millstone [on which grain is ground].
25 Quand il se lève, les puissants ont peur. Ils battent en retraite devant sa raclée.
When they rise up, they cause [even] very strong people to be terrified. As a result, people (fall back/run away) when crocodiles thrash around.
26 Si on l'attaque avec l'épée, elle ne peut prévaloir; ni la lance, ni le dard, ni la tige pointue.
[People] [PRS] cannot injure them with swords, and spears or darts or javelins cannot injure them, either.
27 Il considère le fer comme de la paille, et le bronze comme du bois pourri.
They [certainly are not afraid of weapons made of] straw or rotten wood, but [they are not even afraid of weapons made of] iron or bronze!
28 La flèche ne peut pas le faire fuir. Les pierres de fronde sont comme de la paille pour lui.
[Shooting] arrows [at them] does not cause them to run away. [Hurling] stones at them from a sling is like [hurling] bits of chaff at them.
29 Les massues sont comptées comme du chaume. Il rit de la précipitation du javelot.
They are not afraid of clubs [any more than they would be afraid of men throwing] bits of straw [at them], and they laugh when they hear the whirl/sound of javelins [being thrown at them].
30 Ses dessous sont comme des tessons aigus, laissant une trace dans la boue comme un traîneau de battage.
Their bellies are covered with scales that are as sharp as broken pieces of pottery. When they drag themselves through the mud, their bellies tear up the ground like a plow.
31 Il fait bouillir les profondeurs comme une marmite. Il rend la mer comme un pot de pommade.
They stir up the water and cause it to foam [as they churn/swim through it].
32 Il fait briller un chemin après lui. On pourrait croire que le profond a des cheveux blancs.
As they go through the water, the (wakes/trails in the water behind them) glisten. People [who see it] would think that the foam in those wakes had become white hair.
33 Sur terre, il n'y a pas d'égal à lui, qui est fait sans crainte.
There are no creatures on earth that are as fearless as crocodiles.
34 Il voit tout ce qui est élevé. Il est le roi de tous les fils de l'orgueil. »
They are the proudest of all the creatures; [it is as though] they [rule like] kings over all the other wild animals.”
