Job 34
1 Et Elihou, continuant dit:
Then Elihu continued:
2 Ecoutez-moi, sages et savants; prêtez-moi une oreille attentive,
“You [three] men who [think that you] [SAR] are very wise, hear me; listen to what I am saying, you men who [say that you] know so much.
3 Car l'oreille juge les paroles, comme le gosier goûte les aliments.
When we [SYN] hear what other people [like you] say, we [RHQ] think carefully about what they say [to determine what is good and what is bad], like we [SYN] taste food [to determine what is good].
4 Servons-nous en pour décider; discernons entre elles ce qui est bon.
We need to decide [who is saying] what is right and to determine among ourselves what is good/best.
5 Job a dit: Je suis juste, le Seigneur m'a exclu du jugement;
Job has said, ‘I am innocent, but God has refused to judge me fairly/justly.
6 Il m'a rendu suspect par son arrêt; le trait a été violent, sans que j'eusse commis d'iniquité.
Even though I have always done what is right, he is lying about me. Even though I have not done what is wrong, he has caused me to suffer, and I will certainly die.’
7 Quel est l'homme qu'autant que Job on ait abreuvé de railleries, comme on abreuve d'eau?
(Is there any person like Job, who insults others as easily as people accept a drink of water?/There is no person like Job, who insults others as easily as people accept a drink of water.) [RHQ]
8 Et je n'ai point péché, je n'ai rien fait contre Dieu; je n'ai rien de commun avec les méchants; je n'ai point marché avec les impies.
He habitually associates with people who do what is evil and spends time with wicked people.
9 Ne tiens pas ce langage, car ce qui échappe à la surveillance de l'homme n'échappe pas à celle de Dieu;
He has said, ‘It is useless for people to try to please God.’
10 C'est pourquoi, vous qui m'êtes unis par le cœur, soyez attentifs; puissé-je n'être point impie devant le Seigneur, et satisfaire à ce qui est juste devant le Tout-Puissant.
“So, you men who [claim that you] understand everything, listen to me! Almighty God would never consider doing anything that is wicked or wrong [DOU]!
11 Qu'il rétribue chacun selon ses œuvres, et il saura bien trouver un homme sur sa voie.
He (pays back/punishes) people for what they have done; he gives them what they deserve for the way that they have conducted their lives.
12 Penses-tu Job, que le Seigneur fasse des choses vaines? Le Tout-Puissant fausse-t-il la justice, lui qui a créé la terre?
Truly, Almighty God never does what is wicked; he always [LIT] does what is fair/just.
13 Qui donc a fait l'étendue que le ciel recouvre et tout ce qui l'habite?
The authority that he has to rule everything on the earth, no one [RHQ] gave it to him; no one [RHQ] put him in control of the whole world. [He has always had that authority].
14 S'il lui plaisait de s'abstenir, de retenir son souffle,
If he would take his spirit back to himself,
15 Toute chair au même instant périrait; tout homme retournerait à la terre dont il a été formé.
everyone would die [immediately], and their corpses would soon become dirt again.
16 S'il ne t'a pas averti, écoute ce que je vais te dire, que tes oreilles le recueillent.
“So, [Job], if [you say that you] understand everything, listen to what I am saying.
17 Considère toi-même celui qui hait les pervers, celui qui extermine les méchants, celui qui est éternellement juste.
God could certainly not [RHQ] govern the world if he hated doing what is fair/just. So, will you condemn God, who is righteous and powerful, [saying that what he has done is wrong]?
18 Celui qui ne craint pas d'appeler un roi impie; ni de dire aux grands: vous êtes corrompus, vous vivez dans le péché.
He tells [some] kings that they are worthless, and he says to [some] officials that they are wicked.
19 Celui qui n'a aucun égard pour le rang; qui ne sait point honorer la force ni lui rendre des respects.
He does not favor rulers [more than he favors others]; he does not favor rich people more than poor people, because he created all of them.
20 A prier un homme qui pratique l'iniquité, qui méconnaît les pauvres, on n'obtiendra que des choses vaines.
People [often] die suddenly; he strikes them at midnight and they die; he even gets rid of mighty people without the help of any humans [SYN].
21 Mais Dieu voit les œuvres des mortels; rien de ce qu'ils font ne lui est caché.
“He sees [MTY] everything that people do; [when we walk, ] he watches every step that we take.
22 Il n'est point de lieu où les pervers puissent se soustraire à ses regards.
There is no gloom or darkness [DOU] that is so dark that sinners can hide [from him] in that darkness.
23 Il ne s'y prend pas à deux fois pour juger un homme.
God does not [need to] set a time when we will stand in front of him in order that he may judge us. [He can judge us whenever he wants to].
24 Le Seigneur surveille tout; il est l'auteur d'une multitude de merveilles incompréhensibles et glorieuses.
He destroys mighty people without [needing to] investigate [what they have done], and he appoints others to take their places.
25 Il connaît les travaux des humains, sur eux il ramènera la nuit et ils seront humiliés.
Because he [already] knows what they have done, he removes them at night and gets rid of them.
26 Il a éteint les impies; il ne lui est point échappé
Where [many] people can see it, he strikes/punishes them because of the wicked things that they have done;
27 Qu'ils s'étaient écartés de la loi de Dieu, et qu'ils avaient méconnu ses préceptes.
he strikes them because they turned away from doing what he wanted them to do and did not pay attention to any of his commands.
28 Ils avaient contraint les pauvres de l'invoquer, et il exaucera toujours les indigents.
They [mistreated] the poor people, with the result that those poor people cried out to God [for help], and he heard those afflicted people when they cried out [to him].
29 Seul il donne la paix, et qui donc fera condamner celui à qui il l'accorde? S'il cache son front, qui le verra? Il juge les nations comme les individus.
But if God decides to do nothing [to punish wicked people], no one can criticize/condemn him. If a godless/wicked man rules a nation, a man who tricks/deceives the people,
30 Il place sur le trône un roi hypocrite, à cause des caprices du peuple.
and if [God] hides his face [with the result that he does not see that ruler or punish him], no one will be able to prevent that ruler [from doing those things].
31 Il en est qui disent au Tout-Puissant: Si j'ai pris, je ne retiendrai rien en gage.
“Job, have you or anyone else ever said to God, ‘I have been punished [for my sins], and I will not sin any more;
32 Je ne puis voir par moi-même; faites-moi connaître si j'ai commis quelque iniquité, et je ne recommencerai pas.
so teach/show me what [sins I have committed]; if I have done anything that is evil, I will not do it any more’?
33 Est-il juste que vous m'en punissiez; ne deviez-vous pas la prévenir; n'est-ce pas vous qui choisissez et non moi? Ce que vous savez, déclarez-le.
[Job, ] you object to what God has done to you, but do you think that he will do what you want him to do? It is you who must choose [what you say to God], not I; so tell me what you are thinking about this.
34 S'il est vrai que des cœurs intelligents peuvent parler en ces termes, d'autre part c'est à un homme sage que je parle, et il m'écoute.
“People who have good sense, those who are wise and who listen to what I say, will say to me,
35 Job n'a point raisonné en homme habile, ses discours ne montrent pas de savoir.
‘Job is speaking ignorantly; what he says is nonsense.’
36 O Job, réfléchis donc; ne réponds pas derechef à la manière des insensés.
I think that Job should be taken to a court and (put on trial/judged), because he answers [us his friends] like wicked men would answer.
37 De peur que nous n'ajoutions pas à nos fautes; car il nous sera imputé à péché de nous étendre en longs discours devant le Seigneur.
To add to the [other] sins that he has committed, he is rebelling [against God]; he shows us that he does not respect God [IDM], making long speeches [saying that God has punished him unjustly].”
