Job 20
1 Et Sophar le Minéen dit:
Then Zophar replied,
2 Ce n'est point de cette manière que je voudrais, sur ces choses, discuter avec toi; et vous tous vous ne vous y êtes pas mieux pris.
“I am very perturbed about what you have said, so I want to reply very quickly.
3 Je mettrai à profit ce que m'enseigne ma retenue, et l'esprit d'intelligence répondra pour moi.
By saying these things you have insulted me, but I know how (OR, because I understand very much) I can reply to you.
4 Est-ce que l'on ne sait pas ces choses depuis que l'homme a été placé sur la terre?
“Do you not know that from long ago, ever since people were first put on the earth,
5 Joie des méchants, chute extraordinaire; plaisir des pervers, ruine.
wicked people [like you] do not continue to rejoice for a long time, ungodly people are happy only for a (moment/very short time) [HYP]?
6 Lors même que les présents de l'impie monteraient jusqu'au ciel, et que ses sacrifices atteindraient les nuées;
[Even] though their reputation/pride reaches up to the sky and their fame goes up as high as the clouds,
7 Lors même qu'il serait soutenu par de forts étais, finalement il périra, et ceux qui le connaissaient diront: Où est-il?
they will disappear forever, like their own dung, and those who knew them will ask, ‘(Where did they go/What happened to them)?’
8 On ne le voit non plus qu'un songe évanoui, et il s'est envolé comme une vision nocturne.
They will be forgotten like [SIM] a dream is, and they will exist no more. They will vanish, like visions [that people see] during the night.
9 L'œil a regardé et il n'est plus là, et le lieu qu'il habitait ne s'apercevra plus.
Those who saw those people previously will never see them again; even their families [MTY] will not see them any more.
10 Que ses fils meurent sous les coups des petits; que ses mains ne connaissent plus que les douleurs.
Their children will be forced to return the valuable things that those children stole from poor people [DOU].
11 Ses os ont eu la force de la jeunesse, et ils sont couchés comme lui dans la terre.
Previously their bodies were young and strong, but they will die and [their bodies will] be buried in the ground.
12 Si la méchanceté est douce à sa bouche, il la cachera sous sa langue,
“Doing wicked things was like having sweet food in their mouths, and they wanted to continue to taste it.
13 Il ne s'en fera pas faute, et il n'en laissera rien perdre; et il la fera descendre au fond de son gosier.
And they did not want to stop doing those things,
14 Mais elle ne lui profitera pas; ce sera en ses entrailles un venin d'aspic.
[but some day] the evil things that they enjoyed doing will become like food [that they swallow] [and which becomes] as bitter as snake venom.
15 Il vomira sa richesse injustement acquise, et un ange l'expulsera de la maison où il l'aura amassée.
Wicked people will not continue to keep the money they have accumulated, like people do not keep the food that they vomit. God takes their wealth from them.
16 Puisse-t-il s'allaiter du fiel des dragons; puisse la langue des serpents le faire périr.
What wicked people do is [like] [MET] swallowing snake venom; it will kill them like [MET] the bite of a poisonous snake kills people.
17 Qu'il ne voie plus de lait trait au pâturage; qu'il ne mange ni beurre ni miel.
They will not remain alive to see abundant blessings [IDM] [from God], milk and olive oil and honey, that are [so abundant they are] like [MET] a stream that flows by.
18 Il s'est fatigué pour des choses vaines et insensées, pour des biens dont il ne goûtera pas, qui lui serviront comme un nerf desséché où il n'y a rien à manger ni à boire.
They will be forced to give back the things that they stole from the poor; they will not be able to continue to enjoy those things. They will not remain happy because of what they got from their businesses,
19 Car il a brisé les demeures d'une multitude d'hommes puissants; il les a dépouillés de maisons qu'il n'avait point bâties.
because they oppressed poor people and refused to help them, and they took other people’s houses [by cheating them].
20 Il ne trouvera pas son salut dans ses trésors; il ne sera point sauvé par sa convoitise.
“They were always greedy and never satisfied. They just keep dreaming about owning more and more things.
21 Jamais rien ne reste de ses aliments; aussi ses richesses pour lui ne porteront pas de fleurs.
When they finished eating their food, there was never anything left over [because they had greedily eaten it all]; but now their prosperity will end.
22 A peine à son repas se sera-t-il bien gorgé, qu'il sera oppressé et torturé par toutes sortes d'étreintes.
When they are extremely prosperous/wealthy, they will suddenly experience a lot of trouble. (Misery will strike them and crush them [PRS]/They will suffer very greatly).
23 Si, n'importe comment, tu as rempli sa panse, c'est comme si tu avais fait tomber sur lui le poids de ta colère et des flots de douleurs.
When the wicked people are filling their stomachs, God will show that he is very angry with them and punish them; the punishment [that he gives them] will be like [MET] rain falling on them.
24 Il n'est point à l'abri d'une main armée de fer, ni à l'épreuve d'une flèche d'airain.
They will try to escape from [being killed by] iron weapons, but arrows with bronze points will pierce them.
25 Que le trait entre par sa bouche; que les éclairs sillonnent ses demeures. Que les épouvantements se promènent à ses côtés;
The arrows will [go completely through their bodies and] stick out of their backs; the shiny points of the arrows will have blood dripping from them, and those wicked people will be terrified.
26 Que les ténèbres autour de lui ne se dissipent jamais; que la flamme le dévore sans le consumer; que son hôte ruine sa maison.
Their valuable possessions will all be destroyed; a fire that is not lit by humans, [but by God, ] will burn them up and also destroy the things that are left in their tents.
27 Que le ciel dévoile ses péchés; que la terre s'élève contre lui.
The [angels in] heaven [MTY] will reveal the sins that those wicked people have committed, and [people on] earth will stand up and testify against them.
28 Que sa famille enfin périsse et qu'il voie luire le jour de la colère.
When God punishes [MTY] [people], all the possessions in the wicked people’s houses will be carried away by a flood.
29 Tel est le sort que le Seigneur réserve à l'impie; telle est la part de richesses que lui donnera Celui qui voit tout.
That is what will happen to wicked people [like you]; that is what God has decided will happen to them.”
