Job 31
1 J'avais fait un pacte avec mes yeux, disant: Je ne regarderai plus une vierge.
“I solemnly promised myself that I would not look at a young woman with a desire [to have sex with her].
2 Car quelle est la part que d'en haut m'a réservée le Seigneur; quel héritage dois-je attendre du Tout-Puissant qui règne au plus haut des cieux?
[If I did not do what I promised, ] what would God who is in heaven [MTY] do to me [RHQ]? Almighty [God] would certainly not [RHQ] give me any reward!
3 Malheur, perdition à l'injuste, expulsion pour celui qui fait le mal.
[Previously I thought that] surely [RHQ] it was unrighteous people who would experience calamities, and that it was those who do what is wrong who would experience disasters.
4 Le Seigneur ne me tiendra-t-il pas compte de mes voies, ni de la manière dont j'ai marché?
God certainly sees [RHQ] everything that I do, [so why is he causing me to suffer?] [It is as though] he counts every step that I take.
5 Si j'avais été le compagnon des railleurs; si j'avais porté mes pas du côté de la fraude!
[“I solemnly declare that] I have never acted wickedly and have never tried to deceive people.
6 Mais je me suis maintenu sous le joug de la justice, et le Seigneur connaît mon innocence.
I request only that God judge me fairly [MET], and if he does that, he will know that I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong).
7 Si mon pied s'est écarté du droit chemin, si mon cœur a été égayé par mes yeux, si mes mains ont touché des présents,
If [it were true that] I have stopped living righteously, or [that] I [SYN] have desired the things that I look at [MTY], or [that] I am guilty of any other sin,
8 Que d'autres consomment ce que j'ai semé, que sur la terre je devienne sans racines.
then I hope/wish that when I plant [seeds], someone else will [harvest the crops and] eat [them] and that others will uproot the [fruit trees] that I planted.
9 Si mon cœur a convoité la femme d'autrui, si j'ai franchi ses portes,
“If [it were true that] I [SYN] have been attracted by some other man’s wife, or [that] I have hidden myself and waited outside [the] door [to] her [house],
10 Que ma femme plaise à un autre homme; que mes enfants soient humiliés.
I hope/desire that my wife will become the servant/slave of another man and have sex [EUP] with him.
11 Rien ne peut apaiser la colère de Dieu contre celui qui souille la femme de son prochain.
[For me to do] that would be a terrible sin, and the judges would decide that I should be punished.
12 Le feu s'attaquera à toute sa personne et dévorera tout ce qui sera issu de lui.
My [committing adultery] would [produce in me a fire like] [MET] the fire that burns people in hell, and it would burn up everything that I own. (questioned)
13 Si j'avais faussé le jugement que je rendais sur mon serviteur et ma servante, lorsqu'ils recouraient à ma justice,
“And, if [it were true that] I have ever refused to listen to one of my male or female servants when they complained to me about something,
14 Que ferais-je quand à mon tour le Seigneur me jugera? Qu'aurais-je à lui répondre, s'il m'avait surpris en quelque faute?
God would arise [and declare that he would punish me]; and when he would do that, what would I do? If he would ask me [about what I have done], (what would I answer?/I would not be able to answer.) [RHQ]
15 Ceux que j'avais à juger n'avaient-ils pas été comme moi, conçus en des entrailles? n'était-ce pas comme si les mêmes flancs nous avaient portés?
God, who created me, certainly also created my servants [RHQ]; surely he is the one who formed them and me in our mothers’ wombs [RHQ]; [so we all should behave toward each other equally].
16 Aussi les pauvres ont-ils toujours trouvé chez moi ce qui leur manquait; et je n'ai point fait verser de larmes à l'œil de la veuve.
“I have guided orphans from the time that they were born; I have taken care of them since they were young. So, if [it were true that] I ate all my food myself and did not share some of it with orphans, or [that] I refused to give poor people the things that they wanted, or [that] I caused widows to live (in despair/without hope [that they would receive any help from anyone]),
17 Si j'ai mangé seul ma bouchée, si je n'en ai point fait part à l'orphelin;
18 Si dès ma jeunesse, à peine sorti du ventre de ma mère, je n'ai eu de lui des soins paternels;
19 Si j'ai méprisé l'homme nu et abandonné; si je ne l'ai point vêtu;
or [that] I had seen people die [from cold] because they had no clothes, or [that] I had seen poor people who did not have clothes [to keep them warm],
20 Si les indigents ne m'ont point béni; si leurs épaules n'ont pas été réchauffées par les toisons de mes agneaux;
and they were not able to become warm [from clothes made] from the wool of my sheep with the result that they thanked me for [giving them clothes, ]
21 Si j'ai levé la main sur le pupille; si je n'ai point multiplié mes secours avec confiance;
or if [it were true that] I threatened to strike any orphan because I knew that the elders at the city gates would (decide in my favor);
22 Que mon épaule se déboîte, que mon bras soit broyé au-dessous du coude.
[if those things were true about me], I hope/desire that my shoulder blade would be torn out and my arm be torn from my shoulder.
23 En vérité la crainte du Seigneur m'a saisi; je ne puis supporter ce qu'il m'envoie.
I always feared that God would cause me to experience a great disaster [if I did any of those evil things], and I would not have been able to endure the powerful [things that he would do to punish me].
24 Si j'avais amoncelé de l'or, si j'avais estimé surtout les pierres précieuses;
“If [it were true that] I trusted in my gold/money [DOU],
25 Si j'avais mis ma joie en de grandes richesses; si ma main s'était posée sur des trésors innombrables;
or that I rejoiced because I had acquired many things and had become very rich,
26 Je me serais dit: N'ai-je point vu le soleil dans tout son éclat s'éclipser, et la lune au ciel périr? Et rien n'est au-dessus d'eux.
or that I looked at the sun when it was shining or looked at the beautiful moon
27 Et si mon cœur en secret s'est laissé séduire; et si j'ai baisé ma main en la portant à ma bouche,
and I [SYN] had been tempted [to worship them] by kissing my hand to revere them,
28 Que ces fautes me soient gravement imputées; car alors j'ai menti au Seigneur Très-Haut.
those things also would be sins for which the judges would say that I must be punished, because I would have been rejecting God [by doing those things].
29 Et si je me suis réjoui de la chute de mes ennemis, et si dans mon âme j'ai dit: Bien!
“[It is not true that] I [SYN] sinned by requesting God to curse people who hated me with the result that God would cause them to die. It is also not true that I was glad when they were ruined or that I rejoiced when they experienced disasters [DOU].
30 Puisse mon oreille ouïr la malédiction qui sera portée contre moi; puissé-je être signalé à tout le peuple comme un méchant.
31 Si je n'ai pas été bon pour mes servantes, si elles ont dit de moi: Qui nous permettra de nous rassasier de sa chair?
[It is also not true that] I never welcomed travelers to stay in my tent or that I did not open my doors to them, but [forced them to] sleep in the streets. [All] the men who work for me certainly know that [RHQ]!
32 Si j'ai laissé l'étranger passer la nuit en plein air, et si ma porte ne s'est pas ouverte à tout venant.
33 Si ayant failli involontairement, j'ai caché mes péchés;
Some people try to hide their sins, but I have never done that;
34 Retenu par la honte de les avouer devant la multitude; si j'ai souffert que le pauvre sortît de ma maison l'estomac vide;
and I never remained silent and refused to go outside of my home because I was very (afraid of/worried about) what people would say [about me], and that they would hate/scorn me.
35 Qui me donnera quelqu'un qui m'écoute? Si je n'ai point eu crainte de la main du Seigneur; le titre que j'avais contre autrui,
“I wish/desire that there was someone who would hear what I am saying! I solemnly declare [that all that I have said is true]. I wish that those who oppose me would write down [on a scroll] the evil things that they say that I did.
36 Que j'avais lu les épaules ceintes d'une couronne,
[If they did that, ] I would wear that scroll on my shoulder, or wear it on top of my head, [in order that everyone could see it].
37 Si je ne l'ai point remis, après l'avoir déchiré, sans rien exiger du débiteur;
I would tell [God] everything that I have done, and I would approach him [confidently], like a ruler would.
38 Si jamais la terre a gémi contre moi, si ses sillons ont pleuré tous ensemble,
If [it were true that] I have stolen land, with the result that [it was as though] its furrows cried out to accuse me of stealing;
39 Si j'ai consommé ses fruits seul et sans les payer; si en les empruntant j'ai affligé l'âme de son possesseur,
or [if it were true that] I have eaten the crops that grew in someone else’s fields without paying [for those crops], with the result that those farmers who grew those crops died [from hunger];
40 Que les champs, au lieu de froment, ne produisent pour moi que des orties; et au lieu d'orge que des ronces. Et Job cessa de parler.
then I wish/desire that thorns would grow [in my fields] instead of wheat. May bad weeds grow instead of barley!” That is the end of what Job said [to his three friends].
