Job 20
1 Tsophar de Naama prit la parole et dit:
Then Zophar replied,
2 Mes pensées me forcent à répondre, Et mon agitation ne peut se contenir.
“I am very perturbed about what you have said, so I want to reply very quickly.
3 J’ai entendu des reproches qui m’outragent; Le souffle de mon intelligence donnera la réplique.
By saying these things you have insulted me, but I know how (OR, because I understand very much) I can reply to you.
4 Ne sais-tu pas que, de tout temps, 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 Le triomphe des méchants a été court, Et la joie de l’impie momentanée?
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 Quand il s’élèverait jusqu’aux cieux, Et que sa tête toucherait aux nues,
[Even] though their reputation/pride reaches up to the sky and their fame goes up as high as the clouds,
7 Il périra pour toujours comme son ordure, Et ceux qui le voyaient 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 Il s’envolera comme un songe, et on ne le trouvera plus; Il disparaîtra 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 qui le regardait ne le regardera plus, Le lieu qu’il habitait ne l’apercevra plus.
Those who saw those people previously will never see them again; even their families [MTY] will not see them any more.
10 Ses fils seront assaillis par les pauvres, Et ses mains restitueront ce qu’il a pris par violence.
Their children will be forced to return the valuable things that those children stole from poor people [DOU].
11 La vigueur de la jeunesse, qui remplissait ses membres, Aura sa couche avec lui dans la poussière.
Previously their bodies were young and strong, but they will die and [their bodies will] be buried in the ground.
12 Le mal était doux à sa bouche, Il le cachait sous sa langue,
“Doing wicked things was like having sweet food in their mouths, and they wanted to continue to taste it.
13 Il le savourait sans l’abandonner, Il le retenait au milieu de son palais;
And they did not want to stop doing those things,
14 Mais sa nourriture se transformera dans ses entrailles, Elle deviendra dans son corps 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 a englouti des richesses, il les vomira; Dieu les chassera de son ventre.
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 Il a sucé du venin d’aspic, La langue de la vipère le tuera.
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 Il ne reposera plus ses regards sur les ruisseaux, Sur les torrents, sur les fleuves de miel et de lait.
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 rendra ce qu’il a gagné, et n’en profitera plus; Il restituera tout ce qu’il a pris, et n’en jouira plus.
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 opprimé, délaissé les pauvres, Il a ruiné des maisons et ne les a pas rétablies.
because they oppressed poor people and refused to help them, and they took other people’s houses [by cheating them].
20 Son avidité n’a point connu de bornes; Mais il ne sauvera pas ce qu’il avait de plus cher.
“They were always greedy and never satisfied. They just keep dreaming about owning more and more things.
21 Rien n’échappait à sa voracité; Mais son bien-être ne durera pas.
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 Au milieu de l’abondance il sera dans la détresse; La main de tous les misérables se lèvera sur lui.
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 Et voici, pour lui remplir le ventre, Dieu enverra sur lui le feu de sa colère, Et le rassasiera par une pluie de traits.
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 S’il échappe aux armes de fer, L’arc d’airain le transpercera.
They will try to escape from [being killed by] iron weapons, but arrows with bronze points will pierce them.
25 Il arrache de son corps le trait, Qui étincelle au sortir de ses entrailles, Et il est en proie aux terreurs de la mort.
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 Toutes les calamités sont réservées à ses trésors; Il sera consumé par un feu que n’allumera point l’homme, Et ce qui restera dans sa tente en deviendra la pâture.
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 Les cieux dévoileront son iniquité, Et la terre s’élèvera 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 Les revenus de sa maison seront emportés, Ils disparaîtront au jour de la colère de Dieu.
When God punishes [MTY] [people], all the possessions in the wicked people’s houses will be carried away by a flood.
29 Telle est la part que Dieu réserve au méchant, Tel est l’héritage que Dieu lui destine.
That is what will happen to wicked people [like you]; that is what God has decided will happen to them.”
