Job 41
1 Tireras-tu Léviathan avec un hameçon, et lui serreras-tu la 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 Lui passeras-tu un jonc dans les narines, et lui perceras-tu la mâchoire avec un anneau?
Can you put ropes through their noses [to control them] or thrust hooks through their jaws?
3 T’adressera-t-il d’ardentes prières, te dira-t-il de douces paroles?
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 Fera-t-il une alliance avec toi, le prendras-tu toujours à ton service?
Will they make an agreement with you to work for you, to be your slaves as long as they live?
5 Joueras-tu avec lui comme avec un passereau, l’attacheras-tu pour amuser tes 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 pêcheurs associés en font-ils le commerce, le partagent-ils entre les marchands?
Will merchants try to buy them [in the market]? Will they cut them up into pieces and sell the meat?
7 Cribleras-tu sa peau de dards, perceras-tu sa tête du harpon?
Can you pierce their skins by throwing fishing spears at them? Can you pierce their heads with a harpoon?
8 Essaie de mettre la main sur lui: souviens-toi du combat, et tu n’y reviendras 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 que le chasseur est trompé dans son attente; la vue du monstre suffit à le terrasser.
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 hardi pour provoquer Léviathan: qui donc oserait me résister en face?
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 obligé, pour que j’aie à lui rendre? Tout ce qui est sous le ciel 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 veux pas taire ses membres, sa force, l’harmonie de sa structure.
I will tell you about [how strong] crocodiles' legs [are] and how strong their well-formed bodies are.
13 Qui jamais a soulevé le bord de sa cuirasse? Qui a franchi la double ligne de son râtelier?
(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 a ouvert les portes de sa gueule? Autour de ses dents habite 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 Superbes sont les lignes de ses écailles, comme des sceaux étroitement serrés.
They have rows of scales on their back which are as hard as a rock (OR, tightly fastened together).
16 Chacune touche sa voisine; un souffle ne passerait pas entre elles.
The scales are very close together, with the result that not even air can get between them.
17 Elles adhèrent l’une à l’autre, elles sont jointes et ne sauraient se 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 de l’aurore.
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 Des flammes jaillissent de sa gueule, il s’en échappe des étincelles de feu.
[It is as though] sparks of fire pour out of their mouths [DOU].
20 Une fumée sort de ses narines, comme d’une chaudière ardente et bouillante.
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 les charbons, de sa bouche s’élance la flamme.
Their breath can cause coals to blaze, and flames shoot out from their mouths.
22 Dans son cou réside la force, devant lui bondit l’épouvante.
Their necks are very strong; wherever they go, they cause people to be very afraid.
23 Les muscles de sa chair tiennent ensemble; fondus sur lui, inébranlables.
The folds in their flesh are very close together and are very hard/firm.
24 Son cœur est dur comme la pierre, dur 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 plus braves ont peur, l’épouvante les fait défaillir.
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 Qu’on l’attaque avec l’épée, l’épée ne résiste pas, ni la lance, ni le javelot, ni la flèche.
[People] [PRS] cannot injure them with swords, and spears or darts or javelins cannot injure them, either.
27 Il tient le fer pour de la paille, l’airain comme un bois vermoulu.
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 fille de l’arc ne le fait pas fuir, les pierres de la fronde sont pour lui un fétu;
[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 la massue, un brin de chaume; il se rit du fracas des piques.
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 Sous son ventre sont des tessons aigus: on dirait une herse qu’il étend sur le limon.
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 bouillonner l’abîme comme une chaudière, il fait de la mer un vase de parfums.
They stir up the water and cause it to foam [as they churn/swim through it].
32 Il laisse après lui un sillage de lumière, on dirait que l’abîme 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 Il n’a pas son égal sur la terre, il a été créé pour ne rien craindre.
There are no creatures on earth that are as fearless as crocodiles.
34 Il regarde en face tout ce qui est élevé, il est le roi des plus fiers animaux.
They are the proudest of all the creatures; [it is as though] they [rule like] kings over all the other wild animals.”
