Job 31
1 J’ai fait un pacte avec mes yeux pour ne pas même penser à une vierge.
“I solemnly promised myself that I would not look at a young woman with a desire [to have sex with her].
2 Car autrement quelle part d’en haut aurait Dieu pour moi, et quel héritage des cieux, le Tout-Puissant?
[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 Est-ce que la ruine n’est pas pour le méchant, et l’aliénation des héritages pour ceux qui opèrent l’injustice?
[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 ne considère-t-il pas mes voies, et tous mes pas, ne les compte-t-il point?
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 la vanité; si mon pied s’est hâté dans la ruse;
[“I solemnly declare that] I have never acted wickedly and have never tried to deceive people.
6 Que Dieu me pèse dans une balance juste, et qu’il connaisse ma simplicité.
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 Que si mon pas s’est détourné de la voie, et si mon cœur a suivi mes yeux, et si à mes mains s’est attachée quelque souillure;
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 mange, et que ma race soit arrachée jusqu’à la racine.
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 au sujet d’une femme, et si à la porte de mon ami j’ai dressé des embûches;
“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 soit la prostituée d’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 l’adultère est un crime énorme, et une iniquité très grande.
[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 perdition, et qui extirpe toutes les productions.
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 dédaigné d’aller en jugement avec mon serviteur et ma servante, lorsqu’ils disputaient contre 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 (Car que ferai-je, lorsque Dieu se lèvera pour me juger? et lorsqu’il m’interrogera, que lui répondrai-je?
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 N’est-ce pas celui qui m’a fait dans le sein de ma mère, qui l’a fait lui aussi, et le même qui m’a formé en elle?)
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 voulaient, et si j’ai fait attendre 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 ma bouchée de pain, et si le pupille n’en a pas mangé aussi:
18 (Car dès mon enfance la compassion a crû avec moi, et du sein de ma mère elle est sortie avec moi.)
19 Si j’ai détourné mes yeux de celui qui mourait, parce qu’il n’avait pas de quoi se couvrir, et du pauvre qui était sans vêtement;
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 Si ses flancs ne m’ont pas béni, et s’il n’a pas été réchauffé par les toisons de mes brebis:
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 ma main contre un orphelin, même lorsque je me voyais supérieur à la porte de la ville:
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 tombe séparée de sa jointure, et que mon bras avec tous mes os soit entièrement brisé:
[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 j’ai toujours craint Dieu comme des îlots soulevés au-dessus de moi, et je n’ai pu supporter le poids de 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 pris l’or pour ma force, et si j’ai dit à l’or affiné: Tu es ma confiance:
“If [it were true that] I trusted in my gold/money [DOU],
25 Si je me suis livré à l’allégresse à cause de mes abondantes richesses, et parce que ma main a trouvé des biens en très grand nombre;
or that I rejoiced because I had acquired many things and had become very rich,
26 Si j’ai vu le soleil, lorsqu’il brillait de son vif éclat, et la lune marchant dans son clair,
or that I looked at the sun when it was shining or looked at the beautiful moon
27 Et si mon cœur s’est livré à la joie en secret, et si j’ai baisé ma main de ma bouche;
and I [SYN] had been tempted [to worship them] by kissing my hand to revere them,
28 Ce qui est une iniquité très grande, et nier le Dieu très 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 je me suis réjoui de la ruine de celui qui me haïssait, et si j’ai bondi de joie de ce que le malheur l’avait 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 (Car je n’ai pas permis à ma bouche de pécher en cherchant à maudire son âme.)
31 Si les hommes de ma tente n’ont pas dit: Qui nous donnera de nous rassasier de sa chair?
[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 (L’étranger en effet n’est pas resté dehors; ma porte a toujours été ouverte au voyageur.)
33 Si comme homme, j’ai tenu mon péché secret, et si j’ai caché dans mon sein mon iniquité;
Some people try to hide their sins, but I have never done that;
34 Si j’ai été saisi d’effroi à cause de la grande multitude, et si le mépris de mes reproches m’a épouvanté, et si je ne me suis pas plutôt tenu dans le silence, sans sortir de 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 Qui me donnera quelqu’un qui m’entende, afin que le Tout-Puissant écoute mon désir, et que celui qui juge, écrive lui-même un livre,
“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 Afin que sur mon épaule je porte ce livre, et que je le mette comme une couronne autour de ma tête?
[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 À chacun de mes pas j’en prononcerai les paroles, et je le présenterai comme à un prince.
I would tell [God] everything that I have done, and I would approach him [confidently], like a ruler would.
38 Si la terre qui m’appartient crie contre moi, et que ses sillons pleurent avec elle;
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’ai mangé ses fruits sans argent, et si j’ai affligé l’âme de ses cultivateurs:
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’au lieu de blé il me naisse des ronces, et au lieu d’orge, des épines.
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].
