Job 31
1 J’ai fait alliance avec mes yeux: et comment aurais-je arrêté mes regards sur une vierge?
“I solemnly promised myself that I would not look at a young woman with a desire [to have sex with her].
2 Et quelle aurait été d’en haut [ma] portion de la part de Dieu, et, des hauts lieux, [mon] héritage de la part du Tout-puissant?
[If I did not do what I promised, ] what would God who is in heaven [MTY] do to me [RHQ]? Almighty [God] would certainly not [RHQ] give me any reward!
3 La calamité n’est-elle pas pour l’inique, et le malheur pour ceux qui pratiquent le mal?
[Previously I thought that] surely [RHQ] it was unrighteous people who would experience calamities, and that it was those who do what is wrong who would experience disasters.
4 Lui, ne voit-il pas mon chemin, et ne compte-t-il point tous mes pas?
God certainly sees [RHQ] everything that I do, [so why is he causing me to suffer?] [It is as though] he counts every step that I take.
5 Si j’ai marché avec fausseté, si mes pieds se sont hâtés vers la fraude,
[“I solemnly declare that] I have never acted wickedly and have never tried to deceive people.
6 Qu’il me pèse dans la balance de justice, et Dieu reconnaîtra ma perfection.
I request only that God judge me fairly [MET], and if he does that, he will know that I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong).
7 Si mon pas s’est détourné du chemin, et si mon cœur a suivi mes yeux, et si quelque souillure s’est attachée à ma main,
If [it were true that] I have stopped living righteously, or [that] I [SYN] have desired the things that I look at [MTY], or [that] I am guilty of any other sin,
8 Que je sème et qu’un autre mange, et que mes rejetons soient déracinés!…
then I hope/wish that when I plant [seeds], someone else will [harvest the crops and] eat [them] and that others will uproot the [fruit trees] that I planted.
9 Si mon cœur s’est laissé attirer vers une femme et que j’aie fait le guet à la porte de mon prochain,
“If [it were true that] I [SYN] have been attracted by some other man’s wife, or [that] I have hidden myself and waited outside [the] door [to] her [house],
10 Que ma femme tourne la meule pour un autre, et que d’autres se penchent sur elle;
I hope/desire that my wife will become the servant/slave of another man and have sex [EUP] with him.
11 Car c’est là une infamie, et une iniquité punissable par les juges:
[For me to do] that would be a terrible sin, and the judges would decide that I should be punished.
12 Car c’est un feu qui dévore jusque dans l’abîme et qui détruirait par la racine tout mon revenu…
My [committing adultery] would [produce in me a fire like] [MET] the fire that burns people in hell, and it would burn up everything that I own. (questioned)
13 Si j’ai méprisé le droit de mon serviteur ou de ma servante quand ils contestaient avec moi,
“And, if [it were true that] I have ever refused to listen to one of my male or female servants when they complained to me about something,
14 Que ferais-je quand Dieu se lèverait? et s’il me visitait, que lui répondrais-je?
God would arise [and declare that he would punish me]; and when he would do that, what would I do? If he would ask me [about what I have done], (what would I answer?/I would not be able to answer.) [RHQ]
15 Celui qui m’a fait dans le sein de ma mère, ne les a-t-il pas faits [eux aussi], et un seul et même [Dieu] ne nous a-t-il pas formés dans la matrice?…
God, who created me, certainly also created my servants [RHQ]; surely he is the one who formed them and me in our mothers’ wombs [RHQ]; [so we all should behave toward each other equally].
16 Si j’ai refusé aux misérables leur désir, si j’ai fait défaillir les yeux de la veuve;
“I have guided orphans from the time that they were born; I have taken care of them since they were young. So, if [it were true that] I ate all my food myself and did not share some of it with orphans, or [that] I refused to give poor people the things that they wanted, or [that] I caused widows to live (in despair/without hope [that they would receive any help from anyone]),
17 Si j’ai mangé seul mon morceau, et que l’orphelin n’en ait pas mangé; –
18 Car dès ma jeunesse il m’a honoré comme un père, et dès le ventre de ma mère j’ai soutenu la [veuve]; …
19 Si j’ai vu quelqu’un périr faute de vêtement, et le pauvre manquer de couverture;
or [that] I had seen people die [from cold] because they had no clothes, or [that] I had seen poor people who did not have clothes [to keep them warm],
20 Si ses reins ne m’ont pas béni, et qu’il ne se soit pas réchauffé avec la toison de mes agneaux;
and they were not able to become warm [from clothes made] from the wool of my sheep with the result that they thanked me for [giving them clothes, ]
21 Si j’ai secoué ma main contre un orphelin, parce que je voyais mon appui dans la porte:
or if [it were true that] I threatened to strike any orphan because I knew that the elders at the city gates would (decide in my favor);
22 Que mon épaule se démette de sa jointure, et que mon bras cassé se détache de l’os!
[if those things were true about me], I hope/desire that my shoulder blade would be torn out and my arm be torn from my shoulder.
23 Car la calamité de la part de Dieu m’était une frayeur, et devant sa grandeur je ne pouvais rien…
I always feared that God would cause me to experience a great disaster [if I did any of those evil things], and I would not have been able to endure the powerful [things that he would do to punish me].
24 Si j’ai mis ma confiance dans l’or, si j’ai dit à l’or fin: C’est à toi que je me fie;
“If [it were true that] I trusted in my gold/money [DOU],
25 Si je me suis réjoui de ce que mes biens étaient grands, et de ce que ma main avait beaucoup acquis;
or that I rejoiced because I had acquired many things and had become very rich,
26 Si j’ai vu le soleil quand il brillait, et la lune quand elle marchait dans sa splendeur,
or that I looked at the sun when it was shining or looked at the beautiful moon
27 Et que mon cœur ait été séduit en secret, et que ma bouche ait embrassé ma main, –
and I [SYN] had been tempted [to worship them] by kissing my hand to revere them,
28 Cela aussi serait une iniquité punissable par le juge, car j’aurais renié le Dieu qui est en haut; …
those things also would be sins for which the judges would say that I must be punished, because I would have been rejecting God [by doing those things].
29 Si je me suis réjoui dans la calamité de celui qui me haïssait, si j’ai été ému de joie lorsque le malheur l’a trouvé; –
“[It is not true that] I [SYN] sinned by requesting God to curse people who hated me with the result that God would cause them to die. It is also not true that I was glad when they were ruined or that I rejoiced when they experienced disasters [DOU].
30 Même je n’ai pas permis à ma bouche de pécher, de demander sa vie par une exécration; …
31 Si les gens de ma tente n’ont pas dit: Qui trouvera quelqu’un qui n’ait pas été rassasié de la chair de ses bêtes? –
[It is also not true that] I never welcomed travelers to stay in my tent or that I did not open my doors to them, but [forced them to] sleep in the streets. [All] the men who work for me certainly know that [RHQ]!
32 L’étranger ne passait pas la nuit dehors, j’ouvrais ma porte sur le chemin; …
33 Si j’ai couvert ma transgression comme Adam, en cachant mon iniquité dans mon sein,
Some people try to hide their sins, but I have never done that;
34 Parce que je craignais la grande multitude, et que le mépris des familles me faisait peur, et que je sois resté dans le silence et ne sois pas sorti de ma porte…
and I never remained silent and refused to go outside of my home because I was very (afraid of/worried about) what people would say [about me], and that they would hate/scorn me.
35 Oh! si j’avais quelqu’un pour m’écouter! Voici ma signature. Que le Tout-puissant me réponde, et que ma partie adverse fasse un écrit!
“I wish/desire that there was someone who would hear what I am saying! I solemnly declare [that all that I have said is true]. I wish that those who oppose me would write down [on a scroll] the evil things that they say that I did.
36 Ne le porterais-je pas sur mon épaule? Ne le lierais-je pas sur moi comme une couronne?
[If they did that, ] I would wear that scroll on my shoulder, or wear it on top of my head, [in order that everyone could see it].
37 Je lui déclarerais le nombre de mes pas; comme un prince je m’approcherais de lui…
I would tell [God] everything that I have done, and I would approach him [confidently], like a ruler would.
38 Si ma terre crie contre moi, et que ses sillons pleurent ensemble,
If [it were true that] I have stolen land, with the result that [it was as though] its furrows cried out to accuse me of stealing;
39 Si j’en ai mangé le revenu sans argent, et que j’aie tourmenté à mort l’âme de ses possesseurs,
or [if it were true that] I have eaten the crops that grew in someone else’s fields without paying [for those crops], with the result that those farmers who grew those crops died [from hunger];
40 Que les épines croissent au lieu de froment, et l’ivraie au lieu d’orge! Les paroles de Job sont finies.
then I wish/desire that thorns would grow [in my fields] instead of wheat. May bad weeds grow instead of barley!” That is the end of what Job said [to his three friends].
