Job 9
1 Job prit la parole et dit:
Then Job replied,
2 Je sais bien qu’il en est ainsi; Comment l’homme serait-il juste devant Dieu?
“Yes, I certainly know that [much of] what you said is true. But (how can anyone say to God, ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it?’/no one can say to God ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it.’) [RHQ]
3 S’il voulait contester avec lui, Sur mille choses il ne pourrait répondre à une seule.
If someone wanted to argue with God [about that], God could ask him 1,000 questions, and that person would not be able to answer any of them!
4 A lui la sagesse et la toute-puissance: Qui lui résisterait impunément?
God is very wise [IDM] and very powerful; no one who has tried to challenge God has been able to win.
5 Il transporte soudain les montagnes, Il les renverse dans sa colère.
He even moves mountains, without them (OR, anyone) knowing about it. When he is angry, he turns them upside down.
6 Il secoue la terre sur sa base, Et ses colonnes sont ébranlées.
He sends earthquakes that shake the ground; he causes the pillars that support the earth to tremble.
7 Il commande au soleil, et le soleil ne paraît pas; Il met un sceau sur les étoiles.
[Some days] he speaks to the sun, and it does not rise, and [some nights] he prevents the stars from shining.
8 Seul, il étend les cieux, Il marche sur les hauteurs de la mer.
He alone (stretched out/put in place) the sky; he alone puts his feet on the waves (OR, on the huge sea monster).
9 Il a créé la Grande Ourse, l’Orion et les Pléiades, Et les étoiles des régions australes.
He put in their places [the clusters/groups of stars that are called] The Dipper/Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the stars in the southern sky.
10 Il fait des choses grandes et insondables, Des merveilles sans nombre.
Only he does great things that we cannot understand; he does more marvelous things than we are able to count.
11 Voici, il passe près de moi, et je ne le vois pas, Il s’en va, et je ne l’aperçois pas.
He passes by where I am, but I do not see him; he moves further on, but I do not see him go.
12 S’il enlève, qui s’y opposera? Qui lui dira: Que fais-tu?
If he [wants to] snatch something away, no one [RHQ] can hinder him; no one dares to ask him, ‘Why are you doing that?’ [RHQ]
13 Dieu ne retire point sa colère; Sous lui s’inclinent les appuis de l’orgueil.
God will not very easily stop being angry; he defeated [MTY] those who [tried to] help Rahab, [the great sea monster].
14 Et moi, comment lui répondre? Quelles paroles choisir?
“So, [if God took me to court], what could I say [MTY] to answer him?
15 Quand je serais juste, je ne répondrais pas; Je ne puis qu’implorer mon juge.
Even though I (would be innocent/would not have done what is wrong), I would not be able to answer him. All I could do would be to request God, my judge/accuser, to act mercifully toward me.
16 Et quand il m’exaucerait, si je l’invoque, Je ne croirais pas qu’il eût écouté ma voix,
If I summoned him to [come to the courtroom] and he said that he would come, I would not believe that he would pay attention to what I would say.
17 Lui qui m’assaille comme par une tempête, Qui multiplie sans raison mes blessures,
He sends storms to batter me, and he bruises me many times (without any reason to do that/even though I am innocent).
18 Qui ne me laisse pas respirer, Qui me rassasie d’amertume.
[It is as though] he will not let me get/catch my breath, because he causes me to suffer all the time.
19 Recourir à la force? Il est tout-puissant. A la justice? Qui me fera comparaître?
If I would try to (wrestle with/fight against) him, [there is no way that I could defeat him, ] [because] he is stronger than I am. If I would request him to appear in court, there is no one who could [RHQ] force him to go there.
20 Suis-je juste, ma bouche me condamnera; Suis-je innocent, il me déclarera coupable.
Even though I was innocent, what I would say would cause him to say that I must be punished [MTY]; even though I had not done anything wrong, he would prove that I am guilty.
21 Innocent! Je le suis; mais je ne tiens pas à la vie, Je méprise mon existence.
“I have not done what is wrong, but that is not important. I despise continuing to remain alive.
22 Qu’importe après tout? Car, j’ose le dire, Il détruit l’innocent comme le coupable.
But it doesn’t matter, because God will get rid of [all of us, ] both those who are innocent and those who are wicked.
23 Si du moins le fléau donnait soudain la mort!… Mais il se rit des épreuves de l’innocent.
When people experience disaster and it causes them to suddenly die, God laughs at it, even if they are innocent.
24 La terre est livrée aux mains de l’impie; Il voile la face des juges. Si ce n’est pas lui, qui est-ce donc?
God has allowed wicked people to control [what happens in] the world. [It is as though] he has caused judges to be blindfolded, [with the result that they cannot judge fairly]. If it is not God who has put wicked people in control, who has done it?
25 Mes jours sont plus rapides qu’un courrier; Ils fuient sans avoir vu le bonheur;
“My days go by very quickly, like a fast runner; [it is as though] they run away, and nothing good happens to me on those days.
26 Ils passent comme les navires de jonc, Comme l’aigle qui fond sur sa proie.
My life goes by very rapidly, like a boat made from reeds sailing swiftly, or like an eagle that swoops down to seize a small animal.
27 Si je dis: Je veux oublier mes souffrances, Laisser ma tristesse, reprendre courage,
If I smile and say [to God], ‘I will forget what I am complaining about; I will stop looking sad and try to be cheerful/happy,’
28 Je suis effrayé de toutes mes douleurs. Je sais que tu ne me tiendras pas pour innocent.
then I become afraid because of all that I am suffering, because I know that God does not consider that I am innocent.
29 Je serai jugé coupable; Pourquoi me fatiguer en vain?
He will (condemn me/declare that I should be punished), so why should I keep trying in vain [to defend myself]?
30 Quand je me laverais dans la neige, Quand je purifierais mes mains avec du savon,
If I washed myself with snow or cleansed my hands with lye/soap [to get rid of my guilt],
31 Tu me plongerais dans la fange, Et mes vêtements m’auraient en horreur.
he would still throw me into a filthy pit; as a result [it would be as though] even my clothes would detest me.
32 Il n’est pas un homme comme moi, pour que je lui réponde, Pour que nous allions ensemble en justice.
“God is not a human, as I am, so there is no way that I could answer him [to prove that I am innocent] if we went together to have a trial [in a courtroom].
33 Il n’y a pas entre nous d’arbitre, Qui pose sa main sur nous deux.
There is no one to (mediate/hear us and decide who is right), no one who has authority over both of us [IDM].
34 Qu’il retire sa verge de dessus moi, Que ses terreurs ne me troublent plus;
I wish/desire that he would stop punishing [MTY] me, and that he would not continue to terrify me.
35 Alors je parlerai et je ne le craindrai pas. Autrement, je ne suis point à moi-même.
If he did that, I would declare [that I am innocent] without being afraid of him, because I know that I really have not [done what is wrong like God thinks that I have].”
