Job 21
1 Et Job prit la parole, et dit:
Then Job replied,
2 Écoutez attentivement mes discours, et que cela me tienne lieu de vos consolations!
“Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
3 Supportez-moi, et je parlerai; et, après que j'aurai parlé, tu te moqueras.
Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.
4 Mais est-ce à un homme que s'adresse ma plainte? Et comment ne perdrais-je pas toute patience?
“It is certainly not [RHQ] people against whom I am complaining, [but God] And it is certainly [RHQ] right for me to be impatient!
5 Regardez-moi, et soyez étonnés, et mettez la main sur la bouche.
Look at me! Does what you see not cause you to be appalled and to put your hands over your mouths [and say no more]?
6 Quand j'y pense, je suis éperdu, et un frisson saisit ma chair.
When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
7 Pourquoi les méchants vivent-ils, vieillissent-ils, et croissent-ils en force?
“[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
8 Leur postérité s'établit devant eux, avec eux, et leurs rejetons sont sous leurs yeux.
They have their children around them, and they watch them while they [grow up and] start to live in their own houses, and they enjoy their grandchildren.
9 Leurs maisons sont en paix, à l'abri de la crainte, et la verge de Dieu n'est pas sur eux.
Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
10 Leur taureau n'est jamais impuissant, leur génisse vêle et n'avorte pas.
Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 Ils font courir devant eux leurs enfants comme un troupeau, et leur progéniture bondit.
Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
12 Ils chantent avec le tambourin et la harpe, ils s'égaient au son du hautbois,
Some children dance and sing, while others shake tambourines and play lyres, and they are happy when they hear people playing flutes.
13 Ils passent leurs jours dans le bonheur, et ils descendent au Sépulcre en un moment. (Sheol h7585)
Wicked people enjoy having good things all the time that they are alive, and they die quietly/peacefully and go down to the place of the dead. (Sheol h7585)
14 Et cependant ils ont dit à Dieu: “Éloigne-toi de nous, nous ne voulons pas connaître tes voies.
While they are alive, they say to God, ‘Do not bother us; we do not want to know how you want us to conduct our lives!
15 Qu'est-ce que le Tout-Puissant, pour que nous le servions? Et que gagnerions-nous à le prier? “
Why do you, Almighty God, think that we should serve you? (What advantage do we get if we pray to you?/It is useless for us to pray to you.) [RHQ]’
16 Voici, leur bonheur n'est-il pas en leurs mains? (Que le conseil des méchants soit loin de moi! )
Think about it: Wicked people think that it is because of what they have done that they have become prosperous, but I do not understand why they think like that.
17 Combien de fois arrive-t-il que la lampe des méchants s'éteigne, que leur ruine vienne sur eux, que Dieu leur partage leurs lots dans sa colère,
(“How often does it happen that wicked people die [MET] before they are old?/Very seldom do wicked people die [MET] before they are old.) [RHQ] (Do they ever experience disasters?/They seldom experience disasters.) [RHQ] (Does God ever punish them because of being very angry with them?/God never punishes them because of being very angry with them.) [RHQ]
18 Qu'ils soient comme la paille au souffle du vent, et comme la balle enlevée par le tourbillon?
[He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
19 Vous dites: “Dieu réserve la peine à ses enfants; “mais qu'Il le punisse lui-même, afin qu'il le sente!
You say, ‘When people have committed sins, God waits and punishes their children because of those sins;’ but [I say that] God should punish those who sin, [not their children, ] in order that the sinners will know [that it is because of their own sins that they are being punished].
20 Qu'il voie de ses propres yeux sa ruine, qu'il boive la colère du Tout-Puissant!
I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
21 Car, que lui importe sa maison après lui, quand le nombre de ses mois est tranché?
After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
22 Enseignerait-on la science à Dieu, lui qui juge ceux qui sont élevés?
“Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
23 L'un meurt au sein du bien-être, tout à son aise et en repos.
Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
24 Ses flancs sont chargés de graisse, et ses os comme abreuvés de mœlle;
Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
25 Un autre meurt dans l'amertume de son âme, n'ayant jamais goûté le bonheur:
Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
26 Ils sont couchés ensemble dans la poussière, et les vers les couvrent.
But both rich and poor people die and are buried, and maggots eat their bodies. [Everyone dies, so it is clear that dying is not always the punishment for being wicked].
27 Voici, je connais vos pensées et les desseins que vous formez contre moi.
“Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
28 Car vous dites: Où est la maison de l'homme opulent, et où est la tente, demeure des méchants?
You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
29 N'avez-vous jamais interrogé les voyageurs, et n'avez-vous pas reconnu, par leurs témoignages,
But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
30 Qu'au jour de la calamité, le méchant est épargné, et qu'au jour des colères, il est éloigné?
that wicked people usually do not suffer at the time when there are great disasters; that wicked people are the ones who are rescued when God is angry [and punishes people] [MTY]?
31 Qui lui représente en face sa conduite, et qui lui rend ce qu'il a fait?
There is no one [RHQ] who accuses wicked people, and there is no one who (pays them back/gives them the punishment that they deserve) for all the evil things that they have done.
32 Il est porté au tombeau, et, sur le tertre, il veille encore.
The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
33 Les mottes de la vallée lui sont légères; après lui, suivent à la file tous les hommes, et devant lui, la foule est innombrable.
A huge number [HYP] of people go to the grave site. Some go in front of the procession and some come behind. And the clods of dirt thrown on the graves of those wicked people who have died are like a nice blanket.
34 Comment donc me donnez-vous des consolations vaines? De vos réponses, ce qui reste, c'est la perfidie.
“So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”
