Job 20
1 Alors Sophar de Naama prit la parole et dit:
Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2 C’est pourquoi mes pensées me suggèrent une réponse, et, à cause de mon agitation, j’ai hâte de la donner.
“So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer, because of the turmoil within me.
3 J’ai entendu des reproches qui m’outragent; dans mon intelligence, mon esprit trouvera la réplique.
I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding prompts a reply.
4 Sais-tu bien que, de tout temps, depuis que l’homme a été placé sur la terre,
Do you not know that from antiquity, since man was placed on the earth,
5 le triomphe des méchants a été court, et la joie de l’impie d’un moment?
the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
6 Quand il porterait son orgueil jusqu’au ciel, et que sa tête toucherait aux nues,
Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds,
7 comme son ordure, il périt pour toujours; ceux qui le voyaient disent: « Où est-il? »
he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’
8 Il s’envole comme un songe, et on ne le trouve plus; il s’efface comme une vision de la nuit.
He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.
9 L’œil qui le voyait ne le découvre plus; sa demeure ne l’apercevra plus.
The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will no longer behold him.
10 Ses enfants imploreront les pauvres, de ses propres mains il restituera ses rapines.
His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth.
11 Ses os étaient pleins de ses iniquités cachées; elles dormiront avec lui dans la poussière.
The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust.
12 Parce que le mal a été doux à sa bouche, qu’il l’a caché sous sa langue,
Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue,
13 qu’il l’a savouré sans l’abandonner, et l’a retenu au milieu de son palais:
though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth,
14 sa nourriture tournera en poison dans ses entrailles, elle deviendra dans son sein le venin de l’aspic.
yet in his stomach his food sours into the venom of cobras within him.
15 Il a englouti des richesses, il les vomira; Dieu les retirera de son ventre.
He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach.
16 Il a sucé le venin de l’aspic, la langue de la vipère le tuera.
He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.
17 Il ne verra jamais couler les fleuves, les torrents de miel et de lait.
He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18 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.
He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.
19 Car il a opprimé et délaissé les pauvres, il a saccagé leur maison, et ne l’a pas rétablie:
For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build.
20 son avidité n’a pu être rassasiée, il n’emportera pas ce qu’il a de plus cher.
Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure.
21 Rien n’échappait à sa voracité; aussi son bonheur ne subsistera pas.
Nothing is left for him to consume; thus his prosperity will not endure.
22 Au sein de l’abondance, il tombe dans la disette; tous les coups du malheur viennent sur lui.
In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him.
23 Voici pour lui remplir le ventre: Dieu enverra sur lui le feu de sa colère, elle pleuvra sur lui jusqu’en ses entrailles.
When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.
24 S’il échappe aux armes de fer, l’arc d’airain le transperce.
Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.
25 Il arrache le trait, il sort de son corps, l’acier sort étincelant de son foie; les terreurs de la mort tombent sur lui.
It is drawn out of his back, the gleaming point from his liver. Terrors come over him.
26 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.
Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.
27 Les cieux révéleront son iniquité, et la terre s’élèvera contre lui.
The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.
28 L’abondance de sa maison sera dispersée, elle disparaîtra au jour de la colère.
The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.
29 Telle est la part que Dieu réserve au méchant, et l’héritage que lui destine Dieu.
This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the inheritance God has appointed him.”
