Job 34
1 Et Élihu reprit la parole et dit:
Then Elihu continued:
2 Sages, écoutez mes paroles, et vous qui avez de la connaissance, prêtez-moi l’oreille;
“You [three] men who [think that you] [SAR] are very wise, hear me; listen to what I am saying, you men who [say that you] know so much.
3 Car l’oreille éprouve les discours, comme le palais goûte les aliments.
When we [SYN] hear what other people [like you] say, we [RHQ] think carefully about what they say [to determine what is good and what is bad], like we [SYN] taste food [to determine what is good].
4 Choisissons pour nous ce qui est juste, et reconnaissons entre nous ce qui est bon.
We need to decide [who is saying] what is right and to determine among ourselves what is good/best.
5 Car Job a dit: Je suis juste, et Dieu a écarté mon droit;
Job has said, ‘I am innocent, but God has refused to judge me fairly/justly.
6 Mentirai-je contre ma droiture? ma blessure est incurable, sans qu’il y ait de transgression.
Even though I have always done what is right, he is lying about me. Even though I have not done what is wrong, he has caused me to suffer, and I will certainly die.’
7 Qui est l’homme qui soit comme Job? Il boit la moquerie comme l’eau;
(Is there any person like Job, who insults others as easily as people accept a drink of water?/There is no person like Job, who insults others as easily as people accept a drink of water.) [RHQ]
8 Il marche dans la compagnie des ouvriers d’iniquité, et il chemine avec les hommes méchants.
He habitually associates with people who do what is evil and spends time with wicked people.
9 Car il a dit: Il ne profite de rien à l’homme de trouver son plaisir en Dieu.
He has said, ‘It is useless for people to try to please God.’
10 C’est pourquoi, hommes de sens, écoutez-moi: Loin de Dieu la méchanceté, et loin du Tout-puissant l’iniquité!
“So, you men who [claim that you] understand everything, listen to me! Almighty God would never consider doing anything that is wicked or wrong [DOU]!
11 Car il rendra à l’homme ce qu’il aura fait, et il fera trouver à chacun selon sa voie.
He (pays back/punishes) people for what they have done; he gives them what they deserve for the way that they have conducted their lives.
12 Certainement Dieu n’agit pas injustement, et le Tout-puissant ne pervertit pas le droit.
Truly, Almighty God never does what is wicked; he always [LIT] does what is fair/just.
13 Qui a confié la terre à ses soins, et qui a placé le monde entier [sous lui]?
The authority that he has to rule everything on the earth, no one [RHQ] gave it to him; no one [RHQ] put him in control of the whole world. [He has always had that authority].
14 S’il ne pensait qu’à lui-même et retirait à lui son esprit et son souffle,
If he would take his spirit back to himself,
15 Toute chair expirerait ensemble et l’homme retournerait à la poussière.
everyone would die [immediately], and their corpses would soon become dirt again.
16 Si [tu as] de l’intelligence, écoute ceci; prête l’oreille à la voix de mes paroles.
“So, [Job], if [you say that you] understand everything, listen to what I am saying.
17 Celui qui hait la justice gouvernera-t-il donc? Et condamneras-tu le juste par excellence?
God could certainly not [RHQ] govern the world if he hated doing what is fair/just. So, will you condemn God, who is righteous and powerful, [saying that what he has done is wrong]?
18 Dira-t-on Bélial, au roi? – Méchants, aux nobles?
He tells [some] kings that they are worthless, and he says to [some] officials that they are wicked.
19 [Combien moins] à celui qui ne fait pas acception de la personne des princes, et qui n’a pas égard au riche plutôt qu’au pauvre; car ils sont tous l’œuvre de ses mains.
He does not favor rulers [more than he favors others]; he does not favor rich people more than poor people, because he created all of them.
20 Ils mourront en un moment; au milieu de la nuit les peuples chancellent et s’en vont, et les puissants sont retirés sans main.
People [often] die suddenly; he strikes them at midnight and they die; he even gets rid of mighty people without the help of any humans [SYN].
21 Car ses yeux sont sur les voies de l’homme, et il voit tous ses pas.
“He sees [MTY] everything that people do; [when we walk, ] he watches every step that we take.
22 Il n’y a pas de ténèbres, il n’y a pas d’ombre de la mort, où puissent se cacher les ouvriers d’iniquité.
There is no gloom or darkness [DOU] that is so dark that sinners can hide [from him] in that darkness.
23 Car il ne pense pas longtemps à un homme pour le faire venir devant Dieu en jugement.
God does not [need to] set a time when we will stand in front of him in order that he may judge us. [He can judge us whenever he wants to].
24 Il brise les puissants, sans examen, et il fait que d’autres se tiennent à leur place;
He destroys mighty people without [needing to] investigate [what they have done], and he appoints others to take their places.
25 En effet il connaît leurs œuvres: il les renverse de nuit, et ils sont écrasés.
Because he [already] knows what they have done, he removes them at night and gets rid of them.
26 Il les frappe comme des méchants dans le lieu où ils sont en vue,
Where [many] people can see it, he strikes/punishes them because of the wicked things that they have done;
27 Parce qu’ils se sont retirés de lui, et qu’ils n’ont pas considéré toutes ses voies,
he strikes them because they turned away from doing what he wanted them to do and did not pay attention to any of his commands.
28 Pour faire monter vers lui le cri du pauvre, en sorte qu’il entende le cri des malheureux.
They [mistreated] the poor people, with the result that those poor people cried out to God [for help], and he heard those afflicted people when they cried out [to him].
29 Quand il donne la tranquillité, qui troublera? Il cache sa face, et qui le verra? [Il fait] ainsi, soit à une nation, soit à un homme,
But if God decides to do nothing [to punish wicked people], no one can criticize/condemn him. If a godless/wicked man rules a nation, a man who tricks/deceives the people,
30 Pour empêcher l’homme impie de régner, pour écarter du peuple les pièges.
and if [God] hides his face [with the result that he does not see that ruler or punish him], no one will be able to prevent that ruler [from doing those things].
31 Car a-t-il [jamais] dit à Dieu: Je porte ma peine, je ne ferai plus de mal;
“Job, have you or anyone else ever said to God, ‘I have been punished [for my sins], and I will not sin any more;
32 Ce que je ne vois pas, montre-le-moi; si j’ai commis l’iniquité, je ne le referai pas?
so teach/show me what [sins I have committed]; if I have done anything that is evil, I will not do it any more’?
33 Rétribuera-t-il selon tes pensées? car tu as rejeté [son jugement], car toi, tu as choisi, et non pas moi; ce que tu sais, dis-le donc.
[Job, ] you object to what God has done to you, but do you think that he will do what you want him to do? It is you who must choose [what you say to God], not I; so tell me what you are thinking about this.
34 Les hommes de sens me diront, et un homme sage qui m’écoute:
“People who have good sense, those who are wise and who listen to what I say, will say to me,
35 Job n’a pas parlé avec connaissance, et ses paroles ne sont pas intelligentes;
‘Job is speaking ignorantly; what he says is nonsense.’
36 Je voudrais que Job soit éprouvé jusqu’au bout, parce qu’il a répondu à la manière des hommes iniques;
I think that Job should be taken to a court and (put on trial/judged), because he answers [us his friends] like wicked men would answer.
37 Car il a ajouté à son péché la transgression; il bat des mains parmi nous, et multiplie ses paroles contre Dieu.
To add to the [other] sins that he has committed, he is rebelling [against God]; he shows us that he does not respect God [IDM], making long speeches [saying that God has punished him unjustly].”
