Job 9
1 Job reprit la parole et dit:
Then Job replied,
2 Oui, je sais qu’il en est ainsi: comment l’homme aurait-il gain de cause avec Dieu?
“Yes, I certainly know that [much of] what you said is true. But (how can anyone say to God, ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it?’/no one can say to God ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it.’) [RHQ]
3 Si nous désirions discuter avec lui, pas une fois sur mille il ne daignerait nous répondre.
If someone wanted to argue with God [about that], God could ask him 1,000 questions, and that person would not be able to answer any of them!
4 Eminemment sage, triomphant de force, qui jamais lui tint tête et s’en trouva bien?
God is very wise [IDM] and very powerful; no one who has tried to challenge God has been able to win.
5 Il déplace les montagnes à l’improviste et les bouleverse dans sa colère.
He even moves mountains, without them (OR, anyone) knowing about it. When he is angry, he turns them upside down.
6 Il fait trembler la terre sur ses bases et ébranle les colonnes qui la supportent.
He sends earthquakes that shake the ground; he causes the pillars that support the earth to tremble.
7 II donne un ordre au soleil, et le soleil ne paraît point; il met un sceau sur les étoiles.
[Some days] he speaks to the sun, and it does not rise, and [some nights] he prevents the stars from shining.
8 A lui seul, il déploie les cieux; il chemine sur la crête des vagues.
He alone (stretched out/put in place) the sky; he alone puts his feet on the waves (OR, on the huge sea monster).
9 Ila fait la Grande Ourse, l’Orion, les Pléiades et les demeures sidérales du Midi.
He put in their places [the clusters/groups of stars that are called] The Dipper/Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the stars in the southern sky.
10 Il accomplit des merveilles sans fin, des prodiges qui ne se peuvent compter.
Only he does great things that we cannot understand; he does more marvelous things than we are able to count.
11 Ah! S’Il passait auprès de moi, je ne le verrais point; s’il se glissait sous mes yeux, je ne le remarquerais pas.
He passes by where I am, but I do not see him; he moves further on, but I do not see him go.
12 Quand il empoigne quelqu’un, qui lui fera lâcher prise? Qui lui dira: "Que fais-tu?"
If he [wants to] snatch something away, no one [RHQ] can hinder him; no one dares to ask him, ‘Why are you doing that?’ [RHQ]
13 Dieu ne refoule pas sa colère; sous ses coups plient les satellites de l’orgueil.
God will not very easily stop being angry; he defeated [MTY] those who [tried to] help Rahab, [the great sea monster].
14 Et moi j’oserais lui répliquer, je ferais assaut de paroles avec lui,
“So, [if God took me to court], what could I say [MTY] to answer him?
15 moi, qui tout innocent que je fusse, ne trouverais rien à lui répondre, et demanderais simplement grâce à mon juge!
Even though I (would be innocent/would not have done what is wrong), I would not be able to answer him. All I could do would be to request God, my judge/accuser, to act mercifully toward me.
16 Dût-il même se rendre à mon appel, je ne croirais pas qu’il écoute ma voix;
If I summoned him to [come to the courtroom] and he said that he would come, I would not believe that he would pay attention to what I would say.
17 car il m’accable sous un vent de tempête et multiplie gratuitement mes blessures.
He sends storms to batter me, and he bruises me many times (without any reason to do that/even though I am innocent).
18 Il ne me permet pas de reprendre haleine, tant il m’abreuve d’amertumes.
[It is as though] he will not let me get/catch my breath, because he causes me to suffer all the time.
19 S’Agit-il de faire preuve de force, il est là! S’Agit-il de jugement, il dira: "Qui pourrait m’assigner?"
If I would try to (wrestle with/fight against) him, [there is no way that I could defeat him, ] [because] he is stronger than I am. If I would request him to appear in court, there is no one who could [RHQ] force him to go there.
20 Fussé-je innocent, ma bouche me déclarerait coupable! Fussé-je sans reproche, elle me convaincrait de perversité!
Even though I was innocent, what I would say would cause him to say that I must be punished [MTY]; even though I had not done anything wrong, he would prove that I am guilty.
21 Oui, je suis sans reproche! Je ne me soucie pas de la vie, je suis las de l’existence.
“I have not done what is wrong, but that is not important. I despise continuing to remain alive.
22 Tout revient au même: aussi dis-je que juste et méchant, il les fait également périr.
But it doesn’t matter, because God will get rid of [all of us, ] both those who are innocent and those who are wicked.
23 Si un cataclysme entraîne des morts soudaines, il se rit de l’épreuve des innocents.
When people experience disaster and it causes them to suddenly die, God laughs at it, even if they are innocent.
24 Par lui, la terre a été livrée aux impies: il voile les yeux de ceux qui y rendent la justice. Si ce n’est lui, qui serait-ce?
God has allowed wicked people to control [what happens in] the world. [It is as though] he has caused judges to be blindfolded, [with the result that they cannot judge fairly]. If it is not God who has put wicked people in control, who has done it?
25 Mes jours sont plus rapides qu’un courrier; ils s’enfuient sans avoir vu le bonheur.
“My days go by very quickly, like a fast runner; [it is as though] they run away, and nothing good happens to me on those days.
26 Ils passent comme des barques de jonc, comme l’aigle qui se précipite sur la proie.
My life goes by very rapidly, like a boat made from reeds sailing swiftly, or like an eagle that swoops down to seize a small animal.
27 Quand je dis: "Je veux oublier ma souffrance, laisser là ma mine attristée et reprendre mes esprits",
If I smile and say [to God], ‘I will forget what I am complaining about; I will stop looking sad and try to be cheerful/happy,’
28 je suis envahi par la crainte de mes tourments, sachant bien que tu ne m’absoudras pas.
then I become afraid because of all that I am suffering, because I know that God does not consider that I am innocent.
29 Je serai déclaré coupable: pourquoi donc prendre une peine inutile?
He will (condemn me/declare that I should be punished), so why should I keep trying in vain [to defend myself]?
30 Dussé-je me laver dans de la neige fondue et purifier mes mains avec de la potasse,
If I washed myself with snow or cleansed my hands with lye/soap [to get rid of my guilt],
31 aussitôt tu me plongerais dans une fosse fangeuse, et mes vêtements mêmes auraient horreur de moi.
he would still throw me into a filthy pit; as a result [it would be as though] even my clothes would detest me.
32 Car il n’est pas un homme comme moi pour que je lui réponde et que nous paraissions ensemble en justice.
“God is not a human, as I am, so there is no way that I could answer him [to prove that I am innocent] if we went together to have a trial [in a courtroom].
33 Il n’existe pas d’arbitre entre nous, qui puisse poser sa main sur tous deux.
There is no one to (mediate/hear us and decide who is right), no one who has authority over both of us [IDM].
34 Qu’il écarte de moi sa verge, et que ses terreurs cessent de peser sur moi.
I wish/desire that he would stop punishing [MTY] me, and that he would not continue to terrify me.
35 Alors je parlerai sans le redouter, car je n’en suis pas là dans le secret de ma conscience.
If he did that, I would declare [that I am innocent] without being afraid of him, because I know that I really have not [done what is wrong like God thinks that I have].”
