Job 24
1 Pourquoi le Tout-Puissant ne met-il pas des temps en réserve, Et pourquoi ceux qui le connaissent ne voient-ils pas ses jours?
“(Why does Almighty [God] not set a time when he will judge [evil people]?/I do not understand why Almighty [God does] not set a time when he will judge [evil people].) [RHQ] Those who know him never [RHQ] see him do that!
2 On déplace les bornes, On vole des troupeaux, et on les fait paître;
[Some evil people] remove the markers of boundaries of [other people’s] land, [in order to steal their land]; they seize/steal [other people’s] sheep and put them in their own pastures.
3 On enlève l’âne de l’orphelin, On prend pour gage le bœuf de la veuve;
[Some] (take away/steal) the donkeys that belong to orphans, and they take widow’s oxen to guarantee that the widows will pay back the money that they loaned to those widows.
4 On repousse du chemin les indigents, On force tous les malheureux du pays à se cacher.
[Some] shove poor people off the road (OR, prevent poor people from (obtaining their rights/being treated justly)), and they force poor people to find places to hide from them.
5 Et voici, comme les ânes sauvages du désert, Ils sortent le matin pour chercher de la nourriture, Ils n’ont que le désert pour trouver le pain de leurs enfants;
The result is that poor people have to search for food in the desert like wild donkeys do.
6 Ils coupent le fourrage qui reste dans les champs, Ils grappillent dans la vigne de l’impie;
The poor people harvest left-over grain in other people’s fields, and gather grapes from vineyards that belong to wicked men.
7 Ils passent la nuit dans la nudité, sans vêtement, Sans couverture contre le froid;
During the night they have nothing to cover their bodies, nothing to keep them warm.
8 Ils sont percés par la pluie des montagnes, Et ils embrassent les rochers comme unique refuge.
When it rains on the mountains, the poor people become very wet, so they huddle under the rock ledges to be protected [from the rain].
9 On arrache l’orphelin à la mamelle, On prend des gages sur le pauvre.
[Some evil men] snatch infants away from their widowed mothers [SYN], and they say ‘I will return your babies to you when you repay the money that I lent to you.’
10 Ils vont tout nus, sans vêtement, Ils sont affamés, et ils portent les gerbes;
But the poor people walk around with no clothes on; they are hungry while they are working to carry [other people’s] bundles of grain [to the places where their grain will be threshed].
11 Dans les enclos de l’impie ils font de l’huile, Ils foulent le pressoir, et ils ont soif;
Poor people press olives to make [olive] oil; they tread on grapes [to make juice for wine], but [they are not allowed to drink any of it when] they become thirsty.
12 Dans les villes s’exhalent les soupirs des mourants, L’âme des blessés jette des cris… Et Dieu ne prend pas garde à ces infamies!
In the cities, people who are wounded and dying cry out [to God for help], but God does not heed their prayers.
13 D’autres sont ennemis de la lumière, Ils n’en connaissent pas les voies, Ils n’en pratiquent pas les sentiers.
Some wicked people avoid the light [because they do evil things in the dark]; they do not walk on roads that are lighted.
14 L’assassin se lève au point du jour, Tue le pauvre et l’indigent, Et il dérobe pendant la nuit.
Murderers steal things during the night, and then they arise before dawn in order that they may [go out again and] kill needy [DOU] people.
15 L’œil de l’adultère épie le crépuscule; Personne ne me verra, dit-il, Et il met un voile sur sa figure.
Those who want to commit adultery wait for twilight/evening; they say ‘I do not want anyone to see me,’ so they keep their faces covered.
16 La nuit ils forcent les maisons, Le jour ils se tiennent enfermés; Ils ne connaissent pas la lumière.
It is during the night that robbers break into houses [to steal things], but during the day they hide because they want to avoid [being seen in] the light.
17 Pour eux, le matin c’est l’ombre de la mort, ils en éprouvent toutes les terreurs.
All of those [people] want to do their evil things at night, not in the morning [when it is light], because they are not afraid of [the things that happen during the] night that terrify others.”
18 Eh quoi! L’impie est d’un poids léger sur la face des eaux, Il n’a sur la terre qu’une part maudite, Il ne prend jamais le chemin des vignes!
“[But it is wicked people] who are swept/carried away by floods, and God curses the land that they own, and no one goes to work in their vineyards.
19 Comme la sécheresse et la chaleur absorbent les eaux de la neige, Ainsi le séjour des morts engloutit ceux qui pèchent! (Sheol h7585)
Just like the snow melts away when it is hot and there is no rain, those who have sinned disappear into the place where dead people are. (Sheol h7585)
20 Quoi! Le sein maternel l’oublie, Les vers en font leurs délices, On ne se souvient plus de lui! L’impie est brisé comme un arbre,
Not even their mothers remember them now; wicked people are destroyed like trees that are cut down, and maggots eat their corpses.
21 Lui qui dépouille la femme stérile et sans enfants, Lui qui ne répand aucun bienfait sur la veuve!…
They mistreat women who have been unable to give birth to children and women who no longer have children [to take care of them], and they never do good things for widows.
22 Non! Dieu par sa force prolonge les jours des violents, Et les voilà debout quand ils désespéraient de la vie;
But God, by his power, gets rid of mighty/influential people. God acts and causes the wicked people to die.
23 Il leur donne de la sécurité et de la confiance, Il a les regards sur leurs voies.
God allows them to think that they are secure and safe, but he is watching [MTY] them all the time.
24 Ils se sont élevés; et en un instant ils ne sont plus, Ils tombent, ils meurent comme tous les hommes, Ils sont coupés comme la tête des épis.
They prosper for a little while, and then [suddenly] they are gone; they disappear like weeds wither and die; they are like [SIM] stalks of grain that have been cut off.
25 S’il n’en est pas ainsi, qui me démentira, Qui réduira mes paroles à néant?
If this is not true, is there [RHQ] anyone who will show that I am a liar and prove that what I have said is not true?”
