Job 15
1 Éliphaz de Théman prit la parole et dit:
Then Eliphaz replied to Job:
2 Le sage répond-il par un vain savoir? Se gonfle-t-il la poitrine du vent d’orient?
“If you were truly wise [RHQ], you would not have replied to us by claiming that you know a lot; what you are saying is just a lot of hot air [MET].
3 Est-ce par d’inutiles propos qu’il se défend? Est-ce par des discours qui ne servent à rien?
You should not [RHQ] be saying things that do not benefit anyone, using words that do no one any good.
4 Toi, tu détruis même la crainte de Dieu, Tu anéantis tout mouvement de piété devant Dieu.
[By what you say, ] you show that you do not revere God, and you are hindering people from meditating/thinking about God.
5 Ton iniquité dirige ta bouche, Et tu prends le langage des hommes rusés.
[It is as though] your sins are telling you what to say; you talk like people who will not admit that they are wicked.
6 Ce n’est pas moi, c’est ta bouche qui te condamne. Ce sont tes lèvres qui déposent contre toi.
Everything that you say [MTY] shows that you should be punished; so, it is not necessary for me to show that.
7 Es-tu né le premier des hommes? As-tu été enfanté avant les collines?
[“Tell me do you know more than everyone else because you think that] you are the first person who was ever born? [SAR, RHQ] Were you born before the hills [were created]?
8 As-tu reçu les confidences de Dieu? As-tu dérobé la sagesse à ton profit?
Were you listening when God made all his plans? [SAR, RHQ] Or do you think that you are the only person who is wise?
9 Que sais-tu que nous ne sachions pas? Quelle connaissance as-tu que nous n’ayons pas?
(What do you know that we do not know?/You do not know anything that we do not know.) [RHQ] You do not understand [RHQ] anything that is not also clear to us.
10 Il y a parmi nous des cheveux blancs, des vieillards, Plus riches de jours que ton père.
My friends and I are also wise; we acquired [wisdom] from old gray-haired people, from people who were born before your father was born.
11 Tiens-tu pour peu de chose les consolations de Dieu, Et les paroles qui doucement se font entendre à toi?…
God wants to comfort you, and to speak gently/kindly to you; (is that not enough for you/do you need more than that)?
12 Où ton cœur t’entraîne-t-il, Et que signifie ce roulement de tes yeux?
Why do you allow yourself to be (carried away/excited) by your emotions? Why are [you very angry, with the result that] your eyes flash?
13 Quoi! C’est contre Dieu que tu tournes ta colère Et que ta bouche exhale de pareils discours!
You are angry [IDM] with God, and so you [MTY] are criticizing/denouncing him.
14 Qu’est-ce que l’homme, pour qu’il soit pur? Celui qui est né de la femme peut-il être juste?
“(How can any person, [including you, ] be sinless?/No person, [including you], can be sinless.) [RHQ] (How can anyone on the earth be [completely] righteous?/No one on the earth can be [completely] righteous.) [RHQ]
15 Si Dieu n’a pas confiance en ses saints, Si les cieux ne sont pas purs devant lui,
Hey, God does not even trust his angels; he does not consider even them to be [completely] pure.
16 Combien moins l’être abominable et pervers, L’homme qui boit l’iniquité comme l’eau!
So, he certainly does not [trust] abominable/disgusting and depraved/corrupt people who do evil things [as easily] as they drink water [MET].
17 Je vais te parler, écoute-moi! Je raconterai ce que j’ai vu,
Job, listen to what I will tell you. I will declare to you what I know,
18 Ce que les sages ont fait connaître, Ce qu’ils ont révélé, l’ayant appris de leurs pères.
things that wise men have told me, truths that their ancestors did not keep hidden.
19 A eux seuls appartenait le pays, Et parmi eux nul étranger n’était encore venu.
God gave this land to those ancestors, who were truly wise; no one from another country caused them to think wrongly [IDM].
20 Le méchant passe dans l’angoisse tous les jours de sa vie, Toutes les années qui sont le partage de l’impie.
It is wicked people who suffer with great pain all the time that they are alive; that is what happens to those who (oppress/act violently toward) others.
21 La voix de la terreur retentit à ses oreilles; Au sein de la paix, le dévastateur va fondre sur lui;
They constantly hear sounds that terrify them; while they are prospering, bandits attack them.
22 Il n’espère pas échapper aux ténèbres, Il voit l’épée qui le menace;
Wicked people surely know that they will not escape from darkness/death, because [they are sure that someone] is waiting to kill them with a sword.
23 Il court çà et là pour chercher du pain, Il sait que le jour des ténèbres l’attend.
They wander around, searching for food, saying ‘Where can I find some?’ And they know that they will soon experience disasters.
24 La détresse et l’angoisse l’épouvantent, Elles l’assaillent comme un roi prêt à combattre;
Because they are afraid of those things happening to them, they are afraid and worry that these things will come to them like [the army of] a king comes to attack [their enemies and cause them to suffer] [SIM].
25 Car il a levé la main contre Dieu, Il a bravé le Tout-Puissant,
[Those things happen to them] because they (shook their fists/dared to fight) against Almighty God, and thought that they were strong enough to defeat him.
26 Il a eu l’audace de courir à lui Sous le dos épais de ses boucliers.
They stubbornly [IDM] rush to attack God [as though they were carrying] a strong shield [to protect themselves].
27 Il avait le visage couvert de graisse, Les flancs chargés d’embonpoint;
They are so fat [that they are unable to fight].
28 Et il habite des villes détruites, Des maisons abandonnées, Sur le point de tomber en ruines.
They will live in cities that have been abandoned, cities which have become a heap of ruins.
29 Il ne s’enrichira plus, sa fortune ne se relèvera pas, Sa prospérité ne s’étendra plus sur la terre.
But they will not remain rich very long; Everything that they own will be taken from them; their possessions will all disappear.
30 Il ne pourra se dérober aux ténèbres, La flamme consumera ses rejetons, Et Dieu le fera périr par le souffle de sa bouche.
They will not escape from the darkness [of death]; they will be like trees whose branches are burned by fire and whose blossoms are blown away by the wind.
31 S’il a confiance dans le mal, il se trompe, Car le mal sera sa récompense.
Since they are very foolish, with the result that they trust in things that are really worthless, then things that are worthless will be all that they get.
32 Elle arrivera avant le terme de ses jours, Et son rameau ne verdira plus.
Before they are old, they will wither; they will be like [MET] branches that wither and never become green again.
33 Il sera comme une vigne dépouillée de ses fruits encore verts, Comme un olivier dont on a fait tomber les fleurs.
They will be like [SIM] vines whose grapes fall off before they are ripe, like olive trees whose blossoms fall off before they produce any fruit.
34 La maison de l’impie deviendra stérile, Et le feu dévorera la tente de l’homme corrompu.
Wicked/godless people will not have any descendants, and fires will completely burn up the homes of [those who built those homes using] money they received from bribes.
35 Il conçoit le mal et il enfante le mal, Il mûrit dans son sein des fruits qui le trompent.
They plan to cause trouble and to do evil things, and they are always preparing to deceive people.”
