Job 20
1 Alors Sophar de Naama prit la parole et dit:
Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said:
2 C'est pourquoi mes pensées me suggèrent une réponse, et, à cause de mon agitation, j'ai hâte de la donner.
For this do my thoughts lead me to reply, And for this is my ardor within me.
3 J'ai entendu des reproches qui m'outragent; dans mon intelligence, mon esprit trouvera la réplique.
I have heard my shameful rebuke; And the spirit, from my understanding, answereth for me.
4 Sais-tu bien que, de tout temps, depuis que l'homme a été placé sur la terre,
Knowest thou not, that from the days of old, From the time when man was placed upon the earth,
5 le triomphe des méchants a été court, et la joie de l'impie d'un moment?
The triumphing of the wicked hath been short, And the joy of the impious but for a moment?
6 Quand il porterait son orgueil jusqu'au ciel, et que sa tête toucherait aux nues,
Though his greatness mount up to the heavens, And his head reach to the clouds,
7 comme son ordure, il périt pour toujours; ceux qui le voyaient disent: « Où est-il? »
Yet shall he perish for ever, and be mingled with dust; They who saw him shall say, 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 shall flee away like a dream, and shall not be found; Yea, he shall disappear like a vision of the nigh.
9 L'œil qui le voyait ne le découvre plus; sa demeure ne l'apercevra plus.
The eye also which saw him shall see him no more, And his dwelling-place shall never more behold him.
10 Ses enfants imploreront les pauvres, de ses propres mains il restituera ses rapines.
His sons shall seek the favor of the poor, And their hands shall give back his wealth.
11 Ses os étaient pleins de ses iniquités cachées; elles dormiront avec lui dans la poussière.
His bones are full of his youth, But they shall 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 wickedness be sweet in his mouth, Though he hide it under his tongue,
13 qu'il l'a savouré sans l'abandonner, et l'a retenu au milieu de son palais:
Though he cherish it, and will not part with it, And keep it fast in his mouth,
14 sa nourriture tournera en poison dans ses entrailles, elle deviendra dans son sein le venin de l'aspic.
Yet his meat shall be changed within him, And become to him the poison of asps.
15 Il a englouti des richesses, il les vomira; Dieu les retirera de son ventre.
He hath glutted himself with riches, And he shall throw them up again; Yea, God shall cast them out of his body.
16 Il a sucé le venin de l'aspic, la langue de la vipère le tuera.
He shall suck the poison of asps; The tongue of the viper shall destroy him.
17 Il ne verra jamais couler les fleuves, les torrents de miel et de lait.
He shall never see the flowing streams, And the rivers of honey and milk.
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.
The fruits of his toil he shall give back, and shall not enjoy them: It is substance to be restored, and he shall not rejoice therein.
19 Car il a opprimé et délaissé les pauvres, il a saccagé leur maison, et ne l'a point rétablie:
Because he hath oppressed and abandoned the poor, And seized upon the house which he did not build;
20 son avidité n'a pu être rassasiée, il n'emportera pas ce qu'il a de plus cher.
Because he knew no rest in his bosom, He shall not save that in which he delighteth.
21 Rien n'échappait à sa voracité; aussi son bonheur ne subsistera pas.
Because nothing escaped his greediness, His prosperity shall not endure.
22 Au sein de l'abondance, il tombe dans la disette; tous les coups du malheur viennent sur lui.
In the fulness of his abundance he shall be brought low; Every hand of the wretched shall 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.
He shall, indeed, have wherewith to fill himself: God shall send upon him the fury of his anger, And rain it down upon him for his food.
24 S'il échappe aux armes de fer, l'arc d'airain le transperce.
If he fleeth from the iron weapon, The bow of brass shall pierce him through.
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.
He draweth the arrow, and it cometh forth from his body; Yea, the glittering steel cometh out of his gall. Terrors are upon 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.
Calamity of every kind is treasured up for him. A fire not blown shall consume him; It shall consume whatever is left in his tent.
27 Les cieux révéleront son iniquité, et la terre s'élèvera contre lui.
The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth shall rise up against him.
28 L'abondance de sa maison sera dispersée, elle disparaîtra au jour de la colère.
The substance of his house shall disappear; It shall flow away in the day of His wrath.
29 Telle est la part que Dieu réserve au méchant, et l'héritage que lui destine Dieu.
Such is the portion of the wicked man from God, And the inheritance appointed for him by the Almighty.
