Job 31
1 J’avais fait un pacte avec mes yeux, Et je n’aurais pas arrêté mes regards sur une vierge.
“I solemnly promised myself that I would not look at a young woman with a desire [to have sex with her].
2 Quelle part Dieu m’eût-il réservée d’en haut? Quel héritage le Tout-Puissant m’eût-il envoyé des cieux?
[If I did not do what I promised, ] what would God who is in heaven [MTY] do to me [RHQ]? Almighty [God] would certainly not [RHQ] give me any reward!
3 La ruine n’est-elle pas pour le méchant, Et le malheur pour ceux qui commettent l’iniquité?
[Previously I thought that] surely [RHQ] it was unrighteous people who would experience calamities, and that it was those who do what is wrong who would experience disasters.
4 Dieu n’a-t-il pas connu mes voies? N’a-t-il pas compté tous mes pas?
God certainly sees [RHQ] everything that I do, [so why is he causing me to suffer?] [It is as though] he counts every step that I take.
5 Si j’ai marché dans le mensonge, Si mon pied a couru vers la fraude,
[“I solemnly declare that] I have never acted wickedly and have never tried to deceive people.
6 Que Dieu me pèse dans des balances justes, Et il reconnaîtra mon intégrité!
I request only that God judge me fairly [MET], and if he does that, he will know that I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong).
7 Si mon pas s’est détourné du droit chemin, Si mon cœur a suivi mes yeux, Si quelque souillure s’est attachée à mes mains,
If [it were true that] I have stopped living righteously, or [that] I [SYN] have desired the things that I look at [MTY], or [that] I am guilty of any other sin,
8 Que je sème et qu’un autre moissonne, Et que mes rejetons soient déracinés!
then I hope/wish that when I plant [seeds], someone else will [harvest the crops and] eat [them] and that others will uproot the [fruit trees] that I planted.
9 Si mon cœur a été séduit par une femme, Si j’ai fait le guet à la porte de mon prochain,
“If [it were true that] I [SYN] have been attracted by some other man’s wife, or [that] I have hidden myself and waited outside [the] door [to] her [house],
10 Que ma femme tourne la meule pour un autre, Et que d’autres la déshonorent!
I hope/desire that my wife will become the servant/slave of another man and have sex [EUP] with him.
11 Car c’est un crime, Un forfait que punissent les juges;
[For me to do] that would be a terrible sin, and the judges would decide that I should be punished.
12 C’est un feu qui dévore jusqu’à la ruine, Et qui aurait détruit toute ma richesse.
My [committing adultery] would [produce in me a fire like] [MET] the fire that burns people in hell, and it would burn up everything that I own. (questioned)
13 Si j’ai méprisé le droit de mon serviteur ou de ma servante Lorsqu’ils étaient en contestation avec moi,
“And, if [it were true that] I have ever refused to listen to one of my male or female servants when they complained to me about something,
14 Qu’ai-je à faire, quand Dieu se lève? Qu’ai-je à répondre, quand il châtie?
God would arise [and declare that he would punish me]; and when he would do that, what would I do? If he would ask me [about what I have done], (what would I answer?/I would not be able to answer.) [RHQ]
15 Celui qui m’a créé dans le ventre de ma mère ne l’a-t-il pas créé? Le même Dieu ne nous a-t-il pas formés dans le sein maternel?
God, who created me, certainly also created my servants [RHQ]; surely he is the one who formed them and me in our mothers’ wombs [RHQ]; [so we all should behave toward each other equally].
16 Si j’ai refusé aux pauvres ce qu’ils demandaient, Si j’ai fait languir les yeux de la veuve,
“I have guided orphans from the time that they were born; I have taken care of them since they were young. So, if [it were true that] I ate all my food myself and did not share some of it with orphans, or [that] I refused to give poor people the things that they wanted, or [that] I caused widows to live (in despair/without hope [that they would receive any help from anyone]),
17 Si j’ai mangé seul mon pain, Sans que l’orphelin en ait eu sa part,
18 Moi qui l’ai dès ma jeunesse élevé comme un père, Moi qui dès ma naissance ai soutenu la veuve;
19 Si j’ai vu le malheureux manquer de vêtements, L’indigent n’avoir point de couverture,
or [that] I had seen people die [from cold] because they had no clothes, or [that] I had seen poor people who did not have clothes [to keep them warm],
20 Sans que ses reins m’aient béni, Sans qu’il ait été réchauffé par la toison de mes agneaux;
and they were not able to become warm [from clothes made] from the wool of my sheep with the result that they thanked me for [giving them clothes, ]
21 Si j’ai levé la main contre l’orphelin, Parce que je me sentais un appui dans les juges;
or if [it were true that] I threatened to strike any orphan because I knew that the elders at the city gates would (decide in my favor);
22 Que mon épaule se détache de sa jointure, Que mon bras tombe et qu’il se brise!
[if those things were true about me], I hope/desire that my shoulder blade would be torn out and my arm be torn from my shoulder.
23 Car les châtiments de Dieu m’épouvantent, Et je ne puis rien devant sa majesté.
I always feared that God would cause me to experience a great disaster [if I did any of those evil things], and I would not have been able to endure the powerful [things that he would do to punish me].
24 Si j’ai mis dans l’or ma confiance, Si j’ai dit à l’or: Tu es mon espoir;
“If [it were true that] I trusted in my gold/money [DOU],
25 Si je me suis réjoui de la grandeur de mes biens, De la quantité des richesses que j’avais acquises;
or that I rejoiced because I had acquired many things and had become very rich,
26 Si j’ai regardé le soleil quand il brillait, La lune quand elle s’avançait majestueuse,
or that I looked at the sun when it was shining or looked at the beautiful moon
27 Et si mon cœur s’est laissé séduire en secret, Si ma main s’est portée sur ma bouche;
and I [SYN] had been tempted [to worship them] by kissing my hand to revere them,
28 C’est encore un crime que doivent punir les juges, Et j’aurais renié le Dieu d’en haut!
those things also would be sins for which the judges would say that I must be punished, because I would have been rejecting God [by doing those things].
29 Si j’ai été joyeux du malheur de mon ennemi, Si j’ai sauté d’allégresse quand les revers l’ont atteint,
“[It is not true that] I [SYN] sinned by requesting God to curse people who hated me with the result that God would cause them to die. It is also not true that I was glad when they were ruined or that I rejoiced when they experienced disasters [DOU].
30 Moi qui n’ai pas permis à ma langue de pécher, De demander sa mort avec imprécation;
31 Si les gens de ma tente ne disaient pas: Où est celui qui n’a pas été rassasié de sa viande?
[It is also not true that] I never welcomed travelers to stay in my tent or that I did not open my doors to them, but [forced them to] sleep in the streets. [All] the men who work for me certainly know that [RHQ]!
32 Si l’étranger passait la nuit dehors, Si je n’ouvrais pas ma porte au voyageur;
33 Si, comme les hommes, j’ai caché mes transgressions, Et renfermé mes iniquités dans mon sein,
Some people try to hide their sins, but I have never done that;
34 Parce que j’avais peur de la multitude, Parce que je craignais le mépris des familles, Me tenant à l’écart et n’osant franchir ma porte…
and I never remained silent and refused to go outside of my home because I was very (afraid of/worried about) what people would say [about me], and that they would hate/scorn me.
35 Oh! Qui me fera trouver quelqu’un qui m’écoute? Voilà ma défense toute signée: Que le Tout-Puissant me réponde! Qui me donnera la plainte écrite par mon adversaire?
“I wish/desire that there was someone who would hear what I am saying! I solemnly declare [that all that I have said is true]. I wish that those who oppose me would write down [on a scroll] the evil things that they say that I did.
36 Je porterai son écrit sur mon épaule, Je l’attacherai sur mon front comme une couronne;
[If they did that, ] I would wear that scroll on my shoulder, or wear it on top of my head, [in order that everyone could see it].
37 Je lui rendrai compte de tous mes pas, Je m’approcherai de lui comme un prince.
I would tell [God] everything that I have done, and I would approach him [confidently], like a ruler would.
38 Si ma terre crie contre moi, Et que ses sillons versent des larmes;
If [it were true that] I have stolen land, with the result that [it was as though] its furrows cried out to accuse me of stealing;
39 Si j’en ai mangé le produit sans l’avoir payée, Et que j’aie attristé l’âme de ses anciens maîtres;
or [if it were true that] I have eaten the crops that grew in someone else’s fields without paying [for those crops], with the result that those farmers who grew those crops died [from hunger];
40 Qu’il y croisse des épines au lieu de froment, Et de l’ivraie au lieu d’orge! Fin des paroles de Job.
then I wish/desire that thorns would grow [in my fields] instead of wheat. May bad weeds grow instead of barley!” That is the end of what Job said [to his three friends].
