Job 3
1 Après cela, Job ouvrit la bouche et maudit le jour de sa naissance.
Finally, Job spoke, and he cursed the day that he was born.
2 Il prit la parole et dit:
He said,
3 Périsse le jour où je suis né, Et la nuit qui dit: Un enfant mâle est conçu!
“I wish that the day when I was born could be eradicated, and also the night when I was conceived.
4 Ce jour! Qu’il se change en ténèbres, Que Dieu n’en ait point souci dans le ciel, Et que la lumière ne rayonne plus sur lui!
I wish that the day when I was born would have been covered in darkness. I wish that God who is in heaven [MTY] would have forgotten about that day, and that the sun would not have shone on it.
5 Que l’obscurité et l’ombre de la mort s’en emparent, Que des nuées établissent leur demeure au-dessus de lui, Et que de noirs phénomènes l’épouvantent!
I wish that thick/intense darkness would have filled that day, and that a black cloud would have come over it and blotted out all light and caused people to be terrified.
6 Cette nuit! Que les ténèbres en fassent leur proie, Qu’elle disparaisse de l’année, Qu’elle ne soit plus comptée parmi les mois!
I wish that the night when I was conceived would be erased from the calendar, with the result that it would never again appear as one night in any month, and that it would not be included in any calendar.
7 Que cette nuit devienne stérile, Que l’allégresse en soit bannie!
I wish that no child would again be conceived on that night of the month [MET], and that no one would again be happy on that night.
8 Qu’elle soit maudite par ceux qui maudissent les jours, Par ceux qui savent exciter le léviathan!
I want those people who (curse/put evil spells on) days—those who know how to arouse/awaken the great sea monster—to curse that day.
9 Que les étoiles de son crépuscule s’obscurcissent, Qu’elle attende en vain la lumière, Et qu’elle ne voie point les paupières de l’aurore!
I wish that the stars that shone early in the morning on that day [after I was conceived] will not shine again. I want those stars to have wished in vain for light to shine; and that they would not have shone on that day.
10 Car elle n’a pas fermé le sein qui me conçut, Ni dérobé la souffrance à mes regards.
[That was an evil day] because my mother was able to conceive; instead, I was born, and I have now experienced all these terrible things.
11 Pourquoi ne suis-je pas mort dans le ventre de ma mère? Pourquoi n’ai-je pas expiré au sortir de ses entrailles?
“I wish that I had died [RHQ] when I was born— at the time I emerged from my mother’s womb.
12 Pourquoi ai-je trouvé des genoux pour me recevoir, Et des mamelles pour m’allaiter?
I wish that my mother had not [RHQ] allowed me to live. I wish that she had not nursed me.
13 Je serais couché maintenant, je serais tranquille, Je dormirais, je reposerais,
If I had died at the time when I was born, I would be asleep, resting peacefully [in the place where the dead people are].
14 Avec les rois et les grands de la terre, Qui se bâtirent des mausolées,
I would be resting with kings whose [beautiful palaces] that they built are now in ruins (OR, who rebuilt [palaces] that had previously been destroyed), and I would be resting with their officials [who have also died].
15 Avec les princes qui avaient de l’or, Et qui remplirent d’argent leurs demeures.
I would be resting with princes who were wealthy, whose palaces were filled with gold and silver.
16 Ou je n’existerais pas, je serais comme un avorton caché, Comme des enfants qui n’ont pas vu la lumière.
I wish that I had been buried like a child who died in its mother’s womb and never lived to see the light.
17 Là ne s’agitent plus les méchants, Et là se reposent ceux qui sont fatigués et sans force;
After wicked people die, they do not cause any more troubles; those who are very tired now will rest.
18 Les captifs sont tous en paix, Ils n’entendent pas la voix de l’oppresseur;
Those who were in prison rest peacefully [after they die]; they no longer have slave-drivers who curse them.
19 Le petit et le grand sont là, Et l’esclave n’est plus soumis à son maître.
Rich people and poor people are alike after they die, and those who were slaves are no longer controlled by their masters.
20 Pourquoi donne-t-il la lumière à celui qui souffre, Et la vie à ceux qui ont l’amertume dans l’âme,
(“Why does God allow those who are suffering greatly [like me] to continue to remain alive?/I do not understand why God allows those who are suffering greatly [like me] to continue to remain alive.) [RHQ] Why does he allow those who are very miserable/distressed to keep living [RHQ]?
21 Qui espèrent en vain la mort, Et qui la convoitent plus qu’un trésor,
They long/want to die, but they do not die. They desire to die more than people desire to find a hidden treasure.
22 Qui seraient transportés de joie Et saisis d’allégresse, s’ils trouvaient le tombeau?
When they finally die and are buried, they are very happy.
23 A l’homme qui ne sait où aller, Et que Dieu cerne de toutes parts?
Those who do not know where they are [eventually] going when they die [RHQ], people whom God has forced [MET] to continue to live in misery, (it is not right that they continue to live./why do they continue to live?) [RHQ]
24 Mes soupirs sont ma nourriture, Et mes cris se répandent comme l’eau.
I continually cry very much; as a result, I cannot eat; and I can never stop groaning.
25 Ce que je crains, c’est ce qui m’arrive; Ce que je redoute, c’est ce qui m’atteint.
Things that I always worried might happen to me, have happened to me; things that I always dreaded have happened to me.
26 Je n’ai ni tranquillité, ni paix, ni repos, Et le trouble s’est emparé de moi.
Now I have no peace [in my inner being], I have no peace; I cannot rest; instead, I have only troubles.”
