Job 41
1 Prendras-tu le serpent à l'hameçon? passeras-tu dans ses dents une bride?
“[Think also about] (crocodiles/great sea dragons). Can you catch them with a fishhook or fasten their jaws with a rope?
2 Attacheras-tu à son nez un anneau? perceras-tu ses lèvres d'un cercle?
Can you put ropes through their noses [to control them] or thrust hooks through their jaws?
3 Te parlera-t-il, te priera-t-il, te fera-t-il entendre de douces supplications?
Will they plead with you to act mercifully toward them or (use sweet talk/speak to you nicely) [in order that you will not harm them]?
4 S'engagera-t-il avec toi par un pacte? En feras-tu ton esclave dans les siècles des siècles?
Will they make an agreement with you to work for you, to be your slaves as long as they live?
5 Te joueras-tu de lui comme d'un oisillon, le mettras-tu en cage comme un passereau pour ton petit enfant?
Can you cause them to become pets like you cause birds to become your pets? Can you put a leash/rope around their [necks] so that your servant girls [can play with them]?
6 Les nations s'en nourrissent; les peuples phéniciens se le partagent.
Will merchants try to buy them [in the market]? Will they cut them up into pieces and sell the meat?
7 Ils attachent de sa peau à leurs navires, et sa tête à leurs barques de pêcheurs.
Can you pierce their skins by throwing fishing spears at them? Can you pierce their heads with a harpoon?
8 Tu le maîtriseras en te souvenant de la guerre qu'il a causée, et qu'elle ne se renouvelle plus.
If you grab one of them with your hands, it will fight you in a way that you will never forget, and you will never try to do it again!
9 Ne l'as-tu pas vu? N'as-tu pas été surpris de ce qui a été dit?
It is useless to try to subdue them. Anyone who tries to subdue one of them will lose his courage.
10 N'as-tu pas été effrayé parce que je l'avais préparé? car quel est celui qui s'était opposé à moi?
No one dares/tries to (arouse them/cause them to be angry). So, [since I am much more powerful than they are, ] (who would dare to cause me to be angry?/no one would dare to cause me to be angry!) [RHQ]
11 Et qui donc après m'avoir contredit persistera, puisque tout ce que le ciel recouvre m'appartient?
Also, everything on the earth is mine. Therefore, no one [RHQ] is able to give anything to me and require me to pay [money] for it!
12 Je ne me tairai point à cause lui, et la puissance de mes paroles, justes à son regard, excitera sa compassion.
I will tell you about [how strong] crocodiles' legs [are] and how strong their well-formed bodies are.
13 Qui découvrira la face que voile son vêtement? qui pénétrera jusqu'au fond de sa poitrine?
(Can anyone strip off their hides?/No one is able to strip off their hides.) [RHQ] (Can anyone try to put bridles on them?/No one can try to put bridles on them.) [RHQ] (OR, Can anyone pierce their very thick hides?)
14 Qui ouvrira les portes qui le cachent? Le grincement de ses dents inspire à l'entour la terreur.
(Can anyone pry open their jaws, which have terrible teeth in them?/No one can pry open their jaws, which have terrible teeth in them!) [RHQ]
15 Ses entrailles sont des aspics d'airain; son ensemble est comme de la pierre d'émeri.
They have rows of scales on their back which are as hard as a rock (OR, tightly fastened together).
16 Les aspérités de son corps sont tout d'une pièce; jamais l'esprit de l'a traversé.
The scales are very close together, with the result that not even air can get between them.
17 Tel un homme est uni à son frère, tels ces deux frères sont toujours inséparables.
The scales are joined very closely to each other, and they cannot be separated.
18 S'il éternue des étincelles jaillissent; ses yeux brillent comme l'étoile du matin.
When crocodiles sneeze, [the tiny drops of water that come out of their noses] sparkle in the sunlight. Their eyes are red like the rising sun.
19 Sa bouche vomit comme des lampes, leur flamme se répand à l'entour, comme des brasiers pleins de feu.
[It is as though] sparks of fire pour out of their mouths [DOU].
20 De ses narines sort une fumée semblable à celle d'une fournaise où brûle de l'anthracite.
Smoke pours out of their nostrils/noses like steam comes out of a pot that is put over a fire made from dry reeds.
21 Son âme est de charbon embrasé; sa bouche exhale du feu.
Their breath can cause coals to blaze, and flames shoot out from their mouths.
22 La force réside en son encolure; la perdition court devant lui.
Their necks are very strong; wherever they go, they cause people to be very afraid.
23 Les chairs de son corps forment un bloc; elles ont été coulées sur lui; rien ne peut les émouvoir.
The folds in their flesh are very close together and are very hard/firm.
24 Son cœur est condensé comme une pierre; il est inflexible comme une enclume.
[They are fearless, because] the inner parts of their bodies are as hard as a rock, as hard as the lower millstone [on which grain is ground].
25 S'il se retourne, il répand l'effroi, parmi les bêtes fauves qui bondissent sur la terre.
When they rise up, they cause [even] very strong people to be terrified. As a result, people (fall back/run away) when crocodiles thrash around.
26 Les javelines, les traits, les cuirasses ne peuvent rien contre lui.
[People] [PRS] cannot injure them with swords, and spears or darts or javelins cannot injure them, either.
27 Il fait cas de l'airain comme du bois pourri, et du fer comme de la paille.
They [certainly are not afraid of weapons made of] straw or rotten wood, but [they are not even afraid of weapons made of] iron or bronze!
28 La flèche ne le percera pas; la pierre d'une fronde lui fait l'effet d'un brin d'herbe.
[Shooting] arrows [at them] does not cause them to run away. [Hurling] stones at them from a sling is like [hurling] bits of chaff at them.
29 Les marteaux sont pour lui comme des joncs; il rit des tremblements de terre et des éruptions de flammes.
They are not afraid of clubs [any more than they would be afraid of men throwing] bits of straw [at them], and they laugh when they hear the whirl/sound of javelins [being thrown at them].
30 Il a pour couche des obélisques aigus; l'or de la mer qu'il foule aux pieds lui semble une boue dont on ne dit rien.
Their bellies are covered with scales that are as sharp as broken pieces of pottery. When they drag themselves through the mud, their bellies tear up the ground like a plow.
31 Il fait bouillir l'abîme comme une marmite; il prend la mer pour un vase à parfums,
They stir up the water and cause it to foam [as they churn/swim through it].
32 Le Tartare de l'abîme pour un captif, l'abîme pour un lieu de promenade.
As they go through the water, the (wakes/trails in the water behind them) glisten. People [who see it] would think that the foam in those wakes had become white hair.
33 Il n'est rien sur la terre de semblable à lui qui a été créé pour être raillé par mes anges.
There are no creatures on earth that are as fearless as crocodiles.
34 Il voit tout ce qui s'élève; il est roi de tout ce que contiennent les eaux.
They are the proudest of all the creatures; [it is as though] they [rule like] kings over all the other wild animals.”
