Isaïe 40
1 Consolez, consolez mon peuple, dit votre Dieu.
Our God says, “Encourage my people! Encourage them!
2 Parlez au cœur de Jérusalem, et criez-lui: Que sa servitude est finie, que son iniquité est expiée, qu’elle a reçu de la main de Yahweh le double pour ses péchés.
Speak kindly to [the people of] Jerusalem; tell them that their suffering is ended, and that I have forgiven them for the sins that they have committed; I [SYN] have fully punished them for their sins.”
3 Une voix crie: Frayez dans le désert le chemin de Yahweh, aplanissez dans la steppe une route pour notre Dieu!
I hear someone who is shouting, “Prepare in the desert a way for Yahweh to come [to you]; make a smooth road for our God (OR, Prepare yourselves to receive Yahweh when he comes, like people make a straight road for an important official [MET]).
4 Que toute vallée soit relevée, toute montagne et toute colline abaissées; que la hauteur devienne une plaine, et les roches escarpées un vallon!
Fill in the valleys; flatten every hill and every mountain. Make the uneven ground smooth, and make the rough places smooth.
5 Alors la gloire de Yahweh apparaîtra, et toute chair sans exception la verra; car la bouche de Yahweh a parlé.
[If you do that], it will become known that Yahweh is glorious/great, and all people will realize it at the same time. [Those things will surely happen] because it is Yahweh who has said [MTY] it.”
6 Une voix dit: « Crie! » et on répond: « Que crierai-je? » — « Toute chair est comme l’herbe, et toute sa grâce comme la fleur des champs:
Someone said to me, “Shout!” I replied, “What should I shout?” [He replied], “[Shout that] people are like [SIM] grass; their influence fades as quickly as flowers in the field.
7 L’herbe se dessèche, la fleur se flétrit, quand le souffle de Yahweh passe sur elle. Oui, l’homme est comme l’herbe!
Grass withers and flowers dry up when Yahweh causes a hot wind from the desert to blow on them. And people are [MET] like that.
8 L’herbe se dessèche, la fleur se flétrit; mais la parole de Dieu subsiste à jamais! »
The grass withers and the flowers dry up, but what our God promises will last forever.”
9 Monte sur une haute montagne, toi qui portes à Sion la bonne nouvelle; élève la voix avec force, toi qui portes à Jérusalem la bonne nouvelle; élève-la, ne crains point; dis aux villes de Juda: « Voici votre Dieu! »
You [people of] Jerusalem, you have good news to tell to people, so, shout it from the top of a high mountain! Shout it loudly, and do not be afraid! Tell the people in the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming here!”
10 Voici que le Seigneur Yahweh vient avec puissance; son bras exerce la domination; Voici que sa récompense est avec lui, et son salaire est devant lui.
Yahweh your God will be coming with power; he will rule powerfully [MTY]. And when he comes, he will bring with him the people whom he has freed [MET] [from being slaves in Babylonia].
11 Comme un berger, il fera paître son troupeau; il recueillera les agneaux dans ses bras, et les portera dans son sein; il conduira doucement celles qui allaitent.
He will take care of his people like [SIM] a shepherd takes care of his sheep, and carries the young lambs in his arms. He carries them close to his chest and he gently leads the female sheep that are nursing their young lambs.
12 Qui a mesuré les eaux dans le creux de sa main, estimé l’ étendue des cieux à l’empan, jaugé au boisseau toute la poussière de la terre, pesé les montagnes au crochet, et les collines à la balance?
[There is no one like Yahweh]! (Who else has measured the water in the oceans in the palm of his hand?/No one else has measured the water in the oceans in the palm of his hand!) [RHQ] (Who else has measured the sky with his fingers?/No one else has measured the sky with his fingers!) [RHQ] (Who else knows how much the earth weighs?/No one else knows how much the earth weighs!) [RHQ] (Who else has weighed the mountains and hills on scales?/No one else has weighed the mountains and hills on scales!) [RHQ]
13 Qui a dirigé l’esprit de Yahweh, et quel a été son conseiller pour l’instruire?
And (who else can advise Yahweh’s Spirit?/No one else can advise Yahweh’s Spirit!) [RHQ] (Who can teach him or advise/tell him what he should do?/No one can teach him or advise/tell him what he should do!) [RHQ]
14 Avec qui a-t-il tenu conseil, pour qu’il l’éclaire, pour qu’il lui enseigne le sentier de la justice, pour qu’il lui enseigne la sagesse, et lui montre le chemin de l’intelligence?
(Has Yahweh consulted anyone else to get advice?/Yahweh has certainly not consulted anyone else to get advice!) [RHQ] (Does he need someone to tell him what is right to do and how to act justly?/He certainly does not need someone to tell him what is right to do and how to act justly!) [RHQ]
15 Voici que les nations sont comme la goutte suspendue à un seau, elles sont réputées comme la poussière dans la balance; voici que les îles sont la poudre menue qui s’envole.
[Yahweh considers that] the nations are [as insignificant as] [MET] one drop from a bucket [full of water]. They are [as insignificant as] dust on scales. He is able to weigh islands [as though they weighed no more than] grains of sand.
16 Le Liban ne suffit pas pour le feu, et ses animaux ne suffisent pas pour l’holocauste.
There would be [not] enough wood from all the trees in Lebanon to make a suitable fire for [sacrificing animals to] him, and there are not enough animals in Lebanon to offer as sacrifices to him.
17 Toutes les nations sont devant lui comme rien; il les compte pour néant et vanité.
The nations of the world are completely insignificant/unimportant to him; he considers that they are worthless and less than nothing [HYP, DOU].
18 À qui donc comparerez-vous Dieu, et quelle image lui préparerez-vous?
So, to whom can you compare God? What image resembles him?
19 Quand l’ouvrier a coulé une idole, l’orfèvre la recouvre d’or, et il lui fond des chaînettes d’argent.
Can you compare him to an idol that is made in a mold, and then is covered with [a thin sheet of] gold and decorated with silver chains?
20 Le pauvre, qui ne peut offrir beaucoup, choisit un bois qui ne pourrisse point; et il va chercher un ouvrier habile, pour faire une idole qui ne branle point.
A man who is poor [cannot buy silver or gold for his idol]; [so] he selects a piece of wood that will not rot, and he gives it to a craftsman to carve an idol that will not fall down!
21 Ne savez-vous pas? N’avez-vous pas entendu dire? Ne vous a-t-on pas annoncé dès le commencement? N’avez-vous pas appris qui a posé les fondements de la terre?
Have you(pl) not heard this? Do you not understand it? Are you unable to hear what God said long ago— [messages that he gave] before he created the earth?
22 Il trône par dessus la voûte de la terre, — et ses habitants sont comme des sauterelles; — il étend les cieux comme un voile, et les déploie comme une tente pour y habiter;
God sits [on his throne] above the earth, and the people [on the earth] below seem to be [as small] as [SIM] grasshoppers. He spreads out the sky like a curtain; it is like [SIM] a tent for him to live in.
23 Il livre au néant les puissants, et réduit à rien les juges de la terre:
He causes kings to have no more power, and he causes the rulers to be worth nothing.
24 à peine sont-ils plantés, à peine sont-ils semés, à peine leur tronc a-t-il pris racine en terre, il souffle sur eux, et ils sèchent, et l’ouragan les emporte comme le chaume.
They start to rule, like small plants start to grow and form roots; but then [he gets rid of them] as though [MET] they withered when he blew on them, like [SIM] chaff that is blown away by the wind.
25 À qui donc me comparerez-vous, que je lui sois pareil, dit le Saint?
The Holy One asks, “To whom will you compare me? Is anyone equal to me?”
26 Levez les yeux en haut et regardez: qui a créé ces choses? Celui qui fait marcher en ordre leur armée, et qui les appelle toutes par leur nom; et, à cause de la grandeur de sa puissance et de l’énergie de sa force, pas une ne fait défaut.
Look up toward the sky: Consider who [RHQ] created all the stars. [Yahweh created them], and at night he causes them to appear; he calls each one by its name. Because he is extremely powerful [DOU], all of the stars are there [LIT] [when he calls out their names].
27 Pourquoi dis-tu, ô Jacob, et parles-tu ainsi, ô Israël: « Ma voie est cachée à Yahweh, et mon droit passe inaperçu devant mon Dieu? »
You people of Israel [DOU], why do you complain that Yahweh does not see the [troubles that you are experiencing]? Why do you say that he does not act fairly toward you?
28 Ne sais-tu pas, n’as-tu pas entendu? Yahweh est un Dieu éternel, qui a créé les extrémités de la terre, qui ne se fatigue ni ne se lasse, et dont la sagesse est insondable.
Have you never heard and have you never understood that Yahweh is the everlasting God; he is the one who created the earth, [even the] most distant places on the earth. He never becomes weak or weary, and no one can find out how much he understands.
29 Il donne de la force à celui qui est fatigué et redouble la vigueur de celui qui est défaillant.
He strengthens [DOU] those who feel weak and tired.
30 Les jeunes gens se fatiguent et se lassent, et les jeunes gens chancellent,
Even youths become faint and weary, and young men will fall when they are exhausted.
31 Mais ceux qui se confient en Yahweh renouvellent leurs forces; ils élèveront leur vol comme les aigles; ils courront et ne se fatigueront point; ils marcheront et ne se lasseront point.
But those who trust in Yahweh will become strong again; [it will be as though] they will soar/fly high like [SIM] eagles do. They will run [for a long time] and not become weary; they will walk [long distances] and not faint.
