Job 30
1 Et maintenant j’excite les moqueries de gens plus jeunes que moi, dont les pères m’inspiraient trop de mépris pour les mettre avec les chiens de mon troupeau.
“But now men who are younger than I am make fun of me— men whose fathers I greatly despised, with the result that I would not even have allowed them to help my dogs guard my sheep.
2 Aussi bien, à quoi m’eût servi le concours de leurs mains? Pour eux il n’y a point de maturité.
They were men who were old and (weak/worn out); so (what could I gain from them working for me?/I would have gained nothing from them working for me.) [RHQ]
3 Epuisés par les privations et la faim, ils rôdent dans le désert, lugubre région de désolation et d’horreur,
They were very poor and hungry, with the result that they chewed on roots [at night] in dry and desolate places.
4 cueillant des plantes sauvages près des arbrisseaux, se nourrissant de la racine des genêts.
They pulled up plants in the desert [and ate them] and warmed themselves by [burning] the roots of broom trees.
5 On les chasse du milieu des hommes et on les poursuit de cris comme des voleurs.
Everyone shouted at them as though they were thieves and expelled them [from their areas].
6 Ils sont contraints d’habiter dans d’effrayants ravins, dans les excavations du sol et les crevasses des rochers.
They were forced to live in caves in the hills, in holes in the ground, and in the sides of cliffs.
7 Ils grognent au milieu des buissons et s’entassent sous les broussailles;
In the bushes they howled [like animals because they were hungry], and they huddled together under thornbushes.
8 troupe méprisable, gens sans aveu, ils se voient expulsés du pays!
They were people without good sense, whose names no one knows; they have been expelled from the land [where they were born].
9 Et à présent, ils me chansonnent; je suis pour eux un thème à railleries.
“And now their [children] sing songs to make fun of me. They tell jokes about me.
10 Ils me témoignent leur dégoût, ils s’écartent de moi et ne se privent pas de me cracher à la figure.
They are disgusted with me, and they [usually] stay away from me, [but when they see me, ] they are happy to spit in my face.
11 C’Est que Dieu a brisé les rênes que je tenais en mains, et il m’a humilié; ces gens ont secoué le frein que je leur imposais.
Because [it is as though] [MET] God has cut my bowstring, [he has caused me to be unable to defend myself, ] and he has humbled me, and my enemies have done to me whatever they wanted.
12 A ma droite se lève une jeunesse insolente, qui fait glisser mes pas et se fraie vers moi ses routes de malheur.
(Gangs/Groups of violent youths) attack me and force me to run away; they prepare to destroy me.
13 Ils défoncent mon chemin, coopèrent à ma ruine, sans avoir besoin d’assistance.
They prevent me from escaping, and they [do] not [need] anyone to help them (OR, there is no one to help me).
14 Ils montent à' l’assaut comme par une large brèche, ils se précipitent au milieu du fracas.
[It is as though I am a city wall and] [SIM] they have broken through the wall, and they have come crashing down on me.
15 Des terreurs me poursuivent, chassant comme le vent mon honneur; ma prospérité a passé comme un nuage.
I am very terrified; My dignity/honor has been taken away as though [SIM] [it has been] blown away by the wind, and my prosperity has disappeared like [SIM] clouds disappear.
16 Et maintenant mon âme se fond en moi, les jours de misère m’ont enserré.
“And now I [SYN] am about to die [IDM]; I suffer every day.
17 La nuit ronge les os de mon corps, mes nerfs ne jouissent d’aucun repos.
My bones ache during the night, and the pain that torments me never stops.
18 Par l’extrême violence du choc mon vêtement se déforme: elle m’étreint comme l’encolure d’une tunique.
[It is as though God] seizes my clothes and chokes me with the collar of my coat.
19 Dieu m’a plongé dans la fange, et j’ai l’air d’être poussière et cendre.
He has thrown me into the mud; I am [not worth anything more than] dust and ashes.
20 Je crie vers toi, et tu ne me réponds pas; je me tiens là, et tu me regardes fixement.
“I cry out to God, but he does not answer/help me; I stand up [and pray], but he does not pay any attention.
21 Tu es devenu inexorable pour moi, tu me combats avec toute la force de ta main.
He acts very cruelly toward me; with all of his power [MTY] he causes me to suffer.
22 Tu m’enlèves sur les ailes du vent, tu m’y fais chevaucher, et tu me fais fondre dans la tempête.
He [allows] the wind to lift me up and blow me away, and he tosses me up and down in a violent storm.
23 Car je sais bien que tu me mènes à la mort, au rendez-vous de tous les vivants.
I know that he will cause me to die, which is what happens to everyone [MTY] who is alive.
24 Mais est-ce qu’on n’étend pas la main quand on s’effondre? Ne crie-t-on pas au secours lorsqu’on succombe au malheur?
“When people experience disasters, and they sit on a pile of ruins and cry out for help, others surely [RHQ] reach out their hand to help them.
25 Moi-même n’ai-je pas pleuré sur les victimes du sort? Mon cœur ne s’est-il point serré à la vue du malheureux?
[That is what I did previously]. I wept for people who were experiencing troubles, and I felt sorry for poor/needy people.
26 J’Espérais le bien, et le mal a fondu sur moi; j’attendais la lumière, les ténèbres sont venues.
But when I expected good things [to happen to me], evil things happened; when I waited for light/happiness, all I experienced was darkness/unhappiness [MET].
27 Mes entrailles bouillonnent sans relâche, les jours de misère m’ont assailli.
I am very distressed [IDM], all the time; I suffer every day.
28 Je marche tout noirci et non par le fait du soleil. Je me lève dans l’assemblée et pousse des cris.
I go about very discouraged; I stand up and plead for people to help me.
29 Je suis devenu le frère des chacals, le compagnon des autruches.
My wailing sounds as sad as [MET] the cries of jackals/foxes and ostriches.
30 Ma peau, toute noircie, se détache de moi, et mes os sont brûlés par le feu de la fièvre.
My skin has become dark/black and is peeling off, and I have a fever [which causes my body to feel like it is] burning.
31 Et ainsi ma harpe s’est changée en instrument de deuil, et ma flûte émet des sanglots.
Previously, I played joyful music on my harp and with my flute, but now I play only the sad music of those who mourn.”
