Job 41
1 Tireras-tu le Léviathan avec un hameçon? Lui feras-tu baisser la langue avec la ligne?
“[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, lui perceras-tu la mâchoire avec un crochet?
Can you put ropes through their noses [to control them] or thrust hooks through their jaws?
3 Te prodiguera-t-il ses prières? Ou t’adressera-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 un pacte avec toi? L’Engageras-tu comme un esclave perpétuel?
Will they make an agreement with you to work for you, to be your slaves as long as they live?
5 Te servira-t-il de jouet comme un passereau? L’Attacheras-tu pour amuser tes jeunes 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 feront-ils le commerce? Le débiteront-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 et sa tête de harpons barbelés?
Can you pierce their skins by throwing fishing spears at them? Can you pierce their heads with a harpoon?
8 Pose seulement ta main sur lui: tu te souviendras de ce combat et ne recommenceras 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 Vois, espérer la victoire est une illusion: à son seul aspect, n’est-on pas terrassé?
It is useless to try to subdue them. Anyone who tries to subdue one of them will lose his courage.
10 Personne n’est assez téméraire pour l’exciter: qui donc oserait me tenir tête, à moi?
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 rendu un service que j’aie à payer de retour? 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 passerai pas sous silence ses membres, le détail de ses exploits, la beauté de sa structure.
I will tell you about [how strong] crocodiles' legs [are] and how strong their well-formed bodies are.
13 Qui a soulevé le dessous de son vêtement? Qui a pénétré dans la double rangée de sa denture?
(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 battants de sa gueule? La terreur habite autour de ses dents.
(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 Imposantes sont les lignes d’écailles qui lui servent de boucliers et pressées comme un sceau qui adhère fortement.
They have rows of scales on their back which are as hard as a rock (OR, tightly fastened together).
16 Elles se touchent de près, l’air ne pénètre pas entre elles.
The scales are very close together, with the result that not even air can get between them.
17 L’Une est serrée contre l’autre; elles tiennent ensemble sans aucun interstice.
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 De sa bouche partent des flammes, s’échappent des étincelles de feu.
[It is as though] sparks of fire pour out of their mouths [DOU].
20 De ses naseaux sort la fumée, comme d’une marmite bouillante chauffée aux roseaux.
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 haleine allume les charbons, de sa gueule sort une flamme.
Their breath can cause coals to blaze, and flames shoot out from their mouths.
22 Dans son cou la force réside, devant lui bondit la terreur.
Their necks are very strong; wherever they go, they cause people to be very afraid.
23 Les fanons de sa chair sont adhérents, soudés sur lui sans ballotter.
The folds in their flesh are very close together and are very hard/firm.
24 Son cœur est massif comme une pierre, solide comme la meule de dessous.
[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 dresse, les plus vaillants tremblent et se dérobent sous le coup de l’épouvante.
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 L’Attaque-t-on avec l’épée, elle n’a point de prise sur lui, pas plus que lance, javelot ou cuirasse.
[People] [PRS] cannot injure them with swords, and spears or darts or javelins cannot injure them, either.
27 Pour lui, le fer est comme de la paille, l’airain comme du bois pourri.
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 Le fils de l’arc ne le met pas en fuite, les pierres de la fronde se changent pour lui en chaume.
[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 Comme du chaume aussi lui paraît la massue, il se rit du sifflement des dards.
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 Son ventre est garni de tessons pointus, il promène comme une herse 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 les profondeurs comme une chaudière; il rend la mer semblable à un bassin d’onguents.
They stir up the water and cause it to foam [as they churn/swim through it].
32 Le sillage qu’il laisse derrière lui est lumineux: on dirait que les vagues ont la blancheur de la vieillesse.
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 pareil sur la terre, lui qui est fait pour ne rien craindre.
There are no creatures on earth that are as fearless as crocodiles.
34 Il regarde avec dédain tout ce qui est élevé: il est le roi de tous les fauves altiers.
They are the proudest of all the creatures; [it is as though] they [rule like] kings over all the other wild animals.”
