Isaïe 40
1 Consolez, consolez mon peuple, dit le Seigneur;
Our God says, “Encourage my people! Encourage them!
2 Prêtres, parlez au cœur de Jérusalem; consolez-la, car son humiliation est accomplie; son péché lui est remis, parce qu'elle a reçu de la main du Seigneur un châtiment double de ses péchés.
Speak kindly to [the people of] Jerusalem; tell them that their suffering is ended, and that I have forgiven them for the sins that they have committed; I [SYN] have fully punished them for their sins.”
3 On entend la voix de celui qui crie dans le désert: Préparez la voie du Seigneur, redressez les sentiers de notre Dieu.
I hear someone who is shouting, “Prepare in the desert a way for Yahweh to come [to you]; make a smooth road for our God (OR, Prepare yourselves to receive Yahweh when he comes, like people make a straight road for an important official [MET]).
4 Toute vallée sera remplie, toute montagne sera abaissée; les chemins tortueux seront redressés, ceux qui étaient raboteux seront aplanis.
Fill in the valleys; flatten every hill and every mountain. Make the uneven ground smooth, and make the rough places smooth.
5 Et la gloire du Seigneur se manifestera, et toute chair verra le salut de Dieu; car le Seigneur a parlé.
[If you do that], it will become known that Yahweh is glorious/great, and all people will realize it at the same time. [Those things will surely happen] because it is Yahweh who has said [MTY] it.”
6 Une voix m'a dit: Crie; et j'ai répondu: Que crierai-je? Toute chair est de l'herbe; toute gloire humaine est comme la fleur des champs.
Someone said to me, “Shout!” I replied, “What should I shout?” [He replied], “[Shout that] people are like [SIM] grass; their influence fades as quickly as flowers in the field.
7 L'herbe s'est desséchée, et la fleur est tombée.
Grass withers and flowers dry up when Yahweh causes a hot wind from the desert to blow on them. And people are [MET] like that.
8 Mais la parole de notre Dieu subsistera dans tous les siècles.
The grass withers and the flowers dry up, but what our God promises will last forever.”
9 Ô toi qui annonce à Sion la bonne nouvelle, monte sur le sommet de la montagne; élève la voix de toutes tes forces, toi qui annonce à Jérusalem la bonne nouvelle; dis-leur: Glorifiez-vous, ne craignez point; dis aux villes de Juda: Voilà votre Dieu.
You [people of] Jerusalem, you have good news to tell to people, so, shout it from the top of a high mountain! Shout it loudly, and do not be afraid! Tell the people in the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming here!”
10 Voilà le Seigneur, le Seigneur vient avec la force, son bras a la puissance; voilà dans ses mains le salaire, et l'œuvre est devant ses yeux.
Yahweh your God will be coming with power; he will rule powerfully [MTY]. And when he comes, he will bring with him the people whom he has freed [MET] [from being slaves in Babylonia].
11 Il fera paître son troupeau comme un pasteur; il rassemblera les agneaux, et il encouragera les brebis pleines.
He will take care of his people like [SIM] a shepherd takes care of his sheep, and carries the young lambs in his arms. He carries them close to his chest and he gently leads the female sheep that are nursing their young lambs.
12 Qui a mesuré les eaux à la main, le ciel à la palme, et toute la terre à la poignée? Qui a placé les montagnes dans une balance? Qui a pesé les forêts?
[There is no one like Yahweh]! (Who else has measured the water in the oceans in the palm of his hand?/No one else has measured the water in the oceans in the palm of his hand!) [RHQ] (Who else has measured the sky with his fingers?/No one else has measured the sky with his fingers!) [RHQ] (Who else knows how much the earth weighs?/No one else knows how much the earth weighs!) [RHQ] (Who else has weighed the mountains and hills on scales?/No one else has weighed the mountains and hills on scales!) [RHQ]
13 Qui sait la pensée du Seigneur? Qui a tenu conseil avec lui pour l'instruire?
And (who else can advise Yahweh’s Spirit?/No one else can advise Yahweh’s Spirit!) [RHQ] (Who can teach him or advise/tell him what he should do?/No one can teach him or advise/tell him what he should do!) [RHQ]
14 Avec qui a-t-il tenu conseil, et qui l'a instruit? Qui lui a enseigné le jugement? Qui lui a montré la voie de la sagesse?
(Has Yahweh consulted anyone else to get advice?/Yahweh has certainly not consulted anyone else to get advice!) [RHQ] (Does he need someone to tell him what is right to do and how to act justly?/He certainly does not need someone to tell him what is right to do and how to act justly!) [RHQ]
15 Est-ce que toutes les nations ne sont pas à ses yeux comme la goutte d'eau qui s'échappe du vase? comme l'oscillation d'une balance? Ne seront- elles pas à ses yeux comme un peu de salive?
[Yahweh considers that] the nations are [as insignificant as] [MET] one drop from a bucket [full of water]. They are [as insignificant as] dust on scales. He is able to weigh islands [as though they weighed no more than] grains of sand.
16 Le Liban ne suffirait pas pour un bûcher; tous les quadrupèdes ne suffiraient pas pour un holocauste.
There would be [not] enough wood from all the trees in Lebanon to make a suitable fire for [sacrificing animals to] him, and there are not enough animals in Lebanon to offer as sacrifices to him.
17 Toutes les nations sont comme un néant; elles sont comptées comme un néant à ses yeux.
The nations of the world are completely insignificant/unimportant to him; he considers that they are worthless and less than nothing [HYP, DOU].
18 A qui avez-vous comparé le Seigneur? A quel simulacre l'avez-vous assimilé?
So, to whom can you compare God? What image resembles him?
19 Est-ce qu'un artisan a jamais fait son image? Est-ce qu'un fondeur, en jetant de l'or dans un moule, l'a fait en or et a reproduit sa ressemblance?
Can you compare him to an idol that is made in a mold, and then is covered with [a thin sheet of] gold and decorated with silver chains?
20 L'ouvrier a choisi un bois incorruptible; puis il cherche avec soin de quelle manière il posera sa statue, pour qu'elle ne soit point ébranlée.
A man who is poor [cannot buy silver or gold for his idol]; [so] he selects a piece of wood that will not rot, and he gives it to a craftsman to carve an idol that will not fall down!
21 Ne savez-vous pas cela? Ne l'avez-vous pas ouï dire? Ne vous l'a-t-on pas appris dès le commencement? Ne connaissez-vous pas les fondements de la terre?
Have you(pl) not heard this? Do you not understand it? Are you unable to hear what God said long ago— [messages that he gave] before he created the earth?
22 C'est lui qui tient dans sa main le cercle de la terre, et, comme une nuée de sauterelles, tous ceux qui l'habitent. C'est lui qui a posé les cieux comme une voûte, et qui les a tendus comme la tente où l'on s'abrite.
God sits [on his throne] above the earth, and the people [on the earth] below seem to be [as small] as [SIM] grasshoppers. He spreads out the sky like a curtain; it is like [SIM] a tent for him to live in.
23 C'est lui par qui règnent les princes, qui sont comme un néant devant lui. C'est lui qui a créé la terre et la regarde comme un néant.
He causes kings to have no more power, and he causes the rulers to be worth nothing.
24 Car ces princes ne planteront pas, ils ne sèmeront pas, et leur racine ne prendra pas en terre. Il a soufflé sur eux, et ils se sont desséchés; la tempête les emportera comme des broussailles.
They start to rule, like small plants start to grow and form roots; but then [he gets rid of them] as though [MET] they withered when he blew on them, like [SIM] chaff that is blown away by the wind.
25 Maintenant donc, à qui m'avez-vous comparé, pour que je m'en glorifie? dit le Saint.
The Holy One asks, “To whom will you compare me? Is anyone equal to me?”
26 Levez les yeux et voyez; qui vous a montré toutes ces choses? C'est celui qui a produit les innombrables ornements des cieux qui dans sa gloire les appelle tous par leur nom, et qui, dans la plénitude de sa puissance, ne vous a rien caché.
Look up toward the sky: Consider who [RHQ] created all the stars. [Yahweh created them], and at night he causes them to appear; he calls each one by its name. Because he is extremely powerful [DOU], all of the stars are there [LIT] [when he calls out their names].
27 Et toi, qu'as-tu dit, Jacob? Pourquoi as-tu ainsi parlé, Israël? Ma voix est ignorée de Dieu, et mon Dieu m'a retiré sa justice, et il s'est éloigné.
You people of Israel [DOU], why do you complain that Yahweh does not see the [troubles that you are experiencing]? Why do you say that he does not act fairly toward you?
28 Et maintenant n'as-tu pas appris, n'as-tu pas entendu? Dieu, c'est l'Éternel; c'est Dieu qui a assigné des limites à la terre; il ne sentira jamais la faim ni la fatigue; et il n'y a pas à pénétrer sa sagesse.
Have you never heard and have you never understood that Yahweh is the everlasting God; he is the one who created the earth, [even the] most distant places on the earth. He never becomes weak or weary, and no one can find out how much he understands.
29 C'est lui qui donne la force aux affamés, et non la tristesse à ceux qui sont dans la douleur.
He strengthens [DOU] those who feel weak and tired.
30 Car les adolescents auront faim, les jeunes gens seront fatigués, les hommes d'élite seront affaiblis.
Even youths become faint and weary, and young men will fall when they are exhausted.
31 Mais ceux qui attendent le Seigneur trouveront des forces nouvelles; il leur poussera des ailes comme aux aiglons; ils courront, et ne seront point fatigués; ils marcheront, et n'auront pas faim.
But those who trust in Yahweh will become strong again; [it will be as though] they will soar/fly high like [SIM] eagles do. They will run [for a long time] and not become weary; they will walk [long distances] and not faint.
