Job 41
1 Tires-tu le Léviathan avec l'hameçon, fais-tu passer la ligne au travers de sa langue?
“[Think also about] (crocodiles/great sea dragons). Can you catch them with a fishhook or fasten their jaws with a rope?
2 Attaches-tu la corde à son naseau, et perces-tu sa mâchoire pour y mettre l'anneau?
Can you put ropes through their noses [to control them] or thrust hooks through their jaws?
3 Va-t-il t'adresser beaucoup de prières, et te parler d'une voix adoucie?
Will they plead with you to act mercifully toward them or (use sweet talk/speak to you nicely) [in order that you will not harm them]?
4 Va-t-il faire un pacte avec toi, pour s'engager à te servir toujours?
Will they make an agreement with you to work for you, to be your slaves as long as they live?
5 Vas-tu jouer avec lui comme avec un oiseau, et le mettre à l'attache pour tes jeunes filles?
Can you cause them to become pets like you cause birds to become your pets? Can you put a leash/rope around their [necks] so that your servant girls [can play with them]?
6 Entre-t-il dans le trafic de la confrérie, et le répartit-elle entre les marchands?
Will merchants try to buy them [in the market]? Will they cut them up into pieces and sell the meat?
7 Couvres-tu sa peau de dards, et sa tête de harpons?
Can you pierce their skins by throwing fishing spears at them? Can you pierce their heads with a harpoon?
8 Tentes-tu de mettre la main sur lui; tu ne t'aviseras plus de l'attaquer.
If you grab one of them with your hands, it will fight you in a way that you will never forget, and you will never try to do it again!
9 Voici, l'espoir de l'agresseur est bientôt déçu; n'est-il pas terrassé à son seul aspect?
It is useless to try to subdue them. Anyone who tries to subdue one of them will lose his courage.
10 Nul n'a l'audace de le provoquer: et qui pourrait Me prendre à partie?
No one dares/tries to (arouse them/cause them to be angry). So, [since I am much more powerful than they are, ] (who would dare to cause me to be angry?/no one would dare to cause me to be angry!) [RHQ]
11 Qui m'a prévenu, pour que j'aie à lui rendre? Sous le ciel entier tout est ma propriété.
Also, everything on the earth is mine. Therefore, no one [RHQ] is able to give anything to me and require me to pay [money] for it!
12 Je ne tairai point sa structure, ni la nature de sa force, ni la beauté de son armure.
I will tell you about [how strong] crocodiles' legs [are] and how strong their well-formed bodies are.
13 Qui a pu soulever le recouvrement de sa robe, et pénétrer entre sa double mâchoire?
(Can anyone strip off their hides?/No one is able to strip off their hides.) [RHQ] (Can anyone try to put bridles on them?/No one can try to put bridles on them.) [RHQ] (OR, Can anyone pierce their very thick hides?)
14 Qui entr'ouvrit les portes de sa face? Tout autour sont ses dents effroyables.
(Can anyone pry open their jaws, which have terrible teeth in them?/No one can pry open their jaws, which have terrible teeth in them!) [RHQ]
15 Des sillons sont tracés entre les boucliers de sa croupe, retenus par un sceau qui les presse;
They have rows of scales on their back which are as hard as a rock (OR, tightly fastened together).
16 ils sont soudés l'un à l'autre, et l'air ne s'insinue pas dans leurs intervalles;
The scales are very close together, with the result that not even air can get between them.
17 entre eux ils sont adhérents, et forment un masse solide, inséparable.
The scales are joined very closely to each other, and they cannot be separated.
18 Son éternuement produit une gerbe lumineuse, et ses yeux sont comme les paupières de l'aurore.
When crocodiles sneeze, [the tiny drops of water that come out of their noses] sparkle in the sunlight. Their eyes are red like the rising sun.
19 De sa gueule sortent des torches, et des étincelles enflammées s'échappent.
[It is as though] sparks of fire pour out of their mouths [DOU].
20 Une fumée jaillit de ses narines, comme d'un vaisseau qui bout, et d'une chaudière.
Smoke pours out of their nostrils/noses like steam comes out of a pot that is put over a fire made from dry reeds.
21 Son haleine allume les charbons, et des flammes partent de sa bouche.
Their breath can cause coals to blaze, and flames shoot out from their mouths.
22 La force réside dans son encolure, et devant lui la détresse tressaille.
Their necks are very strong; wherever they go, they cause people to be very afraid.
23 Les fanons de sa chair sont adhérents, coulés sur son corps, immobiles.
The folds in their flesh are very close together and are very hard/firm.
24 Son cœur a la densité de la pierre, et la densité de la meule inférieure.
[They are fearless, because] the inner parts of their bodies are as hard as a rock, as hard as the lower millstone [on which grain is ground].
25 Se lève-t-il, les héros s'épouvantent, et la peur les déroute.
When they rise up, they cause [even] very strong people to be terrified. As a result, people (fall back/run away) when crocodiles thrash around.
26 Le coup qu'on lui porte, demeure sans effet; il brave la lance, le dard et la cuirasse.
[People] [PRS] cannot injure them with swords, and spears or darts or javelins cannot injure them, either.
27 Pour lui le fer est autant que de la paille, et l'airain, que du bois vermoulu.
They [certainly are not afraid of weapons made of] straw or rotten wood, but [they are not even afraid of weapons made of] iron or bronze!
28 La flèche décochée ne le met pas en fuite, et sur lui les pierres de la fronde font l'effet de la balle.
[Shooting] arrows [at them] does not cause them to run away. [Hurling] stones at them from a sling is like [hurling] bits of chaff at them.
29 Pour lui la massue est autant que du chaume, et il se rit du frémissement des traits.
They are not afraid of clubs [any more than they would be afraid of men throwing] bits of straw [at them], and they laugh when they hear the whirl/sound of javelins [being thrown at them].
30 Son ventre est muni de têts acérés; on dirait que sur le limon où il couche, un traîneau à fouler a laissé son empreinte.
Their bellies are covered with scales that are as sharp as broken pieces of pottery. When they drag themselves through the mud, their bellies tear up the ground like a plow.
31 Il fait comme une chaudière bouillonner l'onde, et donne à la mer l'aspect d'un vaisseau où l'on broie les parfums.
They stir up the water and cause it to foam [as they churn/swim through it].
32 Il laisse après lui un sillage lumineux; on prendrait la mer pour une blanche chevelure.
As they go through the water, the (wakes/trails in the water behind them) glisten. People [who see it] would think that the foam in those wakes had become white hair.
33 Sur la terre il n'a pas de maître; il fut créé pour être intrépide;
There are no creatures on earth that are as fearless as crocodiles.
34 il ose regarder toute taille élevée, il est Roi au-dessus de tous les fiers animaux.
They are the proudest of all the creatures; [it is as though] they [rule like] kings over all the other wild animals.”
