Job 7
1 La vie de l’homme sur la terre est un temps de service, et ses jours sont comme ceux du mercenaire.
“People need to work hard on this earth, like soldiers do; all during the time that we are alive, we work hard [RHQ], like laborers/servants do.
2 Comme l’esclave soupire après l’ombre, comme l’ouvrier attend son salaire,
We are like [SIM] slaves who keep wanting to be in the cool shade, and we are like [SIM] workers who are waiting to be paid.
3 ainsi j’ai eu en partage des mois de douleur, pour mon lot, des nuits de souffrance.
God has given me many months [in which I think that it is] useless [to remain alive]; he has allotted/given to me many nights during which I feel miserable.
4 Si je me couche, je dis: « Quand me lèverai-je? Quand finira la nuit? » et je suis rassasié d’angoisses jusqu’au jour.
When I lie down [at night] I say, ‘How long will it be until morning?’ But nights are long, and I (toss/turn over and over) [on my bed] until dawn.
5 Ma chair se couvre de vers et d’une croûte terreuse, ma peau se gerce et coule.
My body is covered with maggots and scabs; pus oozes out of my open sores.
6 Mes jours passent plus rapides que la navette, ils s’évanouissent: plus d’espérance!
My days pass as quickly as a weaver’s (shuttle/stick that takes the thread back and forth), and they end without my confidently expecting [that things will be better the next day].
7 Ô Dieu, souviens-toi que ma vie n’est qu’un souffle! Mes yeux ne reverront pas le bonheur.
God, do not forget that my life is [as short as] a breath [MET]; I [think that] I [SYN] will never again be happy.
8 L’œil qui me regarde ne m’apercevra plus; ton œil me cherchera, et je ne serai plus.
God, you [SYN] see me now, but [some day] you will not see me any more. You will search for me, but I will be gone [because I will be dead].
Like [SIM] clouds (disperse/break up) and then disappear, people [die and] descend to the place where dead people are, and they do not return; (Sheol h7585)
10 il ne retournera plus dans sa maison; le lieu qu’il habitait ne le reconnaîtra plus.
they never return to their houses, and people among whom they lived do not remember them any more.
11 C’est pourquoi je ne retiendrai pas ma langue, je parlerai dans l’angoisse de mon esprit, j’exhalerai mes plaintes dans l’amertume de mon âme.
So, I will not be silent; while I am suffering I will speak; I will complain [to God about what has happened to me] because I [SYN] am very angry.
12 Suis-je la mer ou un monstre marin, pour que tu poses une barrière autour de moi?
[God, ] why do you watch closely what I am doing? [Do you think that] I am a [dangerous] sea monster?
13 Quand je dis: « Mon lit me soulagera, ma couche calmera mes soupirs, »
When [I lie down at night, ] I think, ‘I will be comforted here on my bed; my pain will be less while I am sleeping.’
14 alors tu m’effraies par des songes, tu m’épouvantes par des visions.
But then you give me dreams that cause me to be afraid; you give me visions that terrify me,
15 Ah! Mon âme préfère la mort violente, mes os appellent le trépas.
with the result that I would prefer to be strangled to death than to continue to [be alive] being only a bunch of bones.
16 Je suis en proie à la dissolution, la vie m’échappe pour jamais; laisse-moi, car mes jours ne sont qu’un souffle.
I detest continuing to be alive; I do not want to live for many years [HYP]. Allow me to be alone, [because I will be alive] for only a very short remaining time [HYP].
17 Qu’est-ce que l’homme, pour que tu en fasses tant d’estime, que tu daignes t’occuper de lui,
“We human beings are not [very important]; so, why do you pay a lot of attention to us [DOU]?
18 que tu le visites chaque matin, et qu’à chaque instant tu l’éprouves?
You look at us every morning [to see what we are doing], and examine us every moment [to see if we are doing what is right].
19 Quand cesseras-tu d’avoir le regard sur moi? Quand me laisseras-tu le temps d’avaler ma salive?
(When will you stop looking at me and leave me alone [for a little time], long enough to swallow my spit?/Please stop looking at me and leave me alone [for a little time], long enough to swallow my spit.) [RHQ]
20 Si j’ai péché, que puis-je te faire, ô Gardien des hommes? Pourquoi me mettre en butte à tes traits, et me rendre à charge à moi-même?
[Why do] you watch me constantly? If I sin, that certainly does not harm you! Why have you set me up like a target to shoot at? Do you consider me to be a heavy load that you are forced to carry?
21 Que ne pardonnes-tu mon offense? Que n’oublies-tu mon iniquité? Car bientôt je dormirai dans la poussière; tu me chercheras, et je ne serai plus.
[If I have sinned, ] are you not able to forgive me for my sins— the things that I have done that are wrong? Soon I will lie in my grave; you will search for me, but [you will not find me because] I will be [dead and] gone.”
