Job 7
1 Ah! Certes, l’homme sur terre a une corvée de soldat, ses jours sont comme les jours d’un 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 Il est tel qu’un esclave qui aspire à un peu d’ombre, un mercenaire qui 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 C’Est ainsi que j’ai eu en partage des mois de misère et qu’on m’a compté 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 Lorsque je suis couché et que je dis: "Quand me lèverai-je?" la soirée s’allonge, et je suis rassasié d’insomnies jusqu’à l’aube matinale.
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 Mon corps est revêtu de vermine et de croûtes terreuses, ma peau est crevassée et se dissout.
My body is covered with maggots and scabs; pus oozes out of my open sores.
6 Mes jours s’enfuient, plus rapides que la navette, et s’évanouissent sans espoir.
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 Souviens-toi ô Dieu, que ma vie est un souffle: mon œil ne verra plus 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 Le regard qui m’a aperçu ne se posera plus sur moi tu me fixes de ton regard, et c’en est fait de moi.
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].
9 La nuée se dissipe et disparaît; ainsi celui qui descend au Cheol n’en remonte plus. (Sheol h7585)
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 retourne plus dans sa maison, et sa demeure ne le reconnaît plus.
they never return to their houses, and people among whom they lived do not remember them any more.
11 Aussi ne mettrai-je pas de frein à ma bouche: je veux parler dans la détresse de mon esprit, me plaindre 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 donc la mer ou bien un monstre marin, 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 m’imagine que mon lit me consolera, que ma couche enlèvera quelque peu de ma douleur,
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 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 de sorte que mon âme souhaite une fin violente, préférant le trépas, à ce corps misérable.
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 plein de dégoût: je ne vivrai pas éternellement, donne-moi quelque relâche, 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 le mortel que tu le prises tant et portes ton attention sur lui?
“We human beings are not [very important]; so, why do you pay a lot of attention to us [DOU]?
18 Pourquoi lui demander des comptes chaque matin et l’éprouver à tout instant?
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 Jusqu’à quand refuseras-tu de te détourner de moi et de me laisser respirer assez de temps pour 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 failli, qu’ai-je fait contre-toi, ô sévère gardien des hommes? Pourquoi me prendre comme ta cible et faire que je sois 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 ma faute, que n’effaces-tu mon péché? Bien vite je serais couché dans la poussière: tu me chercherais, et je n’y serais 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.”
