Job 34
1 C’est pourquoi continuant son discours, Eliu dit encore ceci:
Then Elihu continued:
2 Sages, écoutez mes paroles, et vous, savants, prêtez-moi attention;
“You [three] men who [think that you] [SAR] are very wise, hear me; listen to what I am saying, you men who [say that you] know so much.
3 Car l’oreille discerne les paroles comme le palais juge des mets par le goût.
When we [SYN] hear what other people [like you] say, we [RHQ] think carefully about what they say [to determine what is good and what is bad], like we [SYN] taste food [to determine what is good].
4 Formons-nous un jugement, et voyons entre nous ce qu’il y a de mieux.
We need to decide [who is saying] what is right and to determine among ourselves what is good/best.
5 Job a dit: Je suis juste, et Dieu détruit mon bon droit.
Job has said, ‘I am innocent, but God has refused to judge me fairly/justly.
6 Car dans le jugement porté contre moi, il y a fausseté: une flèche ardente m’a percé sans qu’il y ait en moi aucun péché.
Even though I have always done what is right, he is lying about me. Even though I have not done what is wrong, he has caused me to suffer, and I will certainly die.’
7 Quel est l’homme comme est Job, qui boit la dérision comme l’eau;
(Is there any person like Job, who insults others as easily as people accept a drink of water?/There is no person like Job, who insults others as easily as people accept a drink of water.) [RHQ]
8 Qui marche avec ceux qui opèrent l’iniquité, et chemine avec les hommes impies?
He habitually associates with people who do what is evil and spends time with wicked people.
9 Car il a dit: L’homme ne plaira pas à Dieu, quand même il aurait couru avec lui.
He has said, ‘It is useless for people to try to please God.’
10 C’est pourquoi, hommes sensés, écoutez-moi: Loin de Dieu l’impiété, et loin du Tout-Puissant l’iniquité!
“So, you men who [claim that you] understand everything, listen to me! Almighty God would never consider doing anything that is wicked or wrong [DOU]!
11 Car il rendra à l’homme selon ses œuvres, et il traitera chacun selon ses voies.
He (pays back/punishes) people for what they have done; he gives them what they deserve for the way that they have conducted their lives.
12 Certainement Dieu ne condamnera pas sans sujet, et le Tout-Puissant ne détruira pas le bon droit.
Truly, Almighty God never does what is wicked; he always [LIT] does what is fair/just.
13 Quel autre que lui a-t-il constitué sur la terre? ou qui a-t-il établi sur l’univers, qu’il a formé?
The authority that he has to rule everything on the earth, no one [RHQ] gave it to him; no one [RHQ] put him in control of the whole world. [He has always had that authority].
14 S’il dirigeait vers lui son cœur, il attirerait à soi son esprit et son souffle.
If he would take his spirit back to himself,
15 Toute chair périrait en même temps, et l’homme retournerait en cendre.
everyone would die [immediately], and their corpses would soon become dirt again.
16 Si donc tu as l’intelligence, écoute ce que l’on dit, et sois attentif à mes paroles.
“So, [Job], if [you say that you] understand everything, listen to what I am saying.
17 Est-ce que celui qui n’aime pas la justice, peut être guéri? et comment toi condamnes-tu si hautement celui qui est juste?
God could certainly not [RHQ] govern the world if he hated doing what is fair/just. So, will you condemn God, who is righteous and powerful, [saying that what he has done is wrong]?
18 Celui qui dit à un roi: Apostat; qui appelle les grands impies;
He tells [some] kings that they are worthless, and he says to [some] officials that they are wicked.
19 Qui ne fait point acception de la personne des princes, qui n’a pas connu un tyran, lorsqu’il disputait contre un pauvre, parce que tous les hommes sont l’ouvrage de ses mains.
He does not favor rulers [more than he favors others]; he does not favor rich people more than poor people, because he created all of them.
20 Ils mourront tout à coup, et au milieu de la nuit les peuples se troubleront, ils passeront et le violent sera emporté sans la main de l’homme.
People [often] die suddenly; he strikes them at midnight and they die; he even gets rid of mighty people without the help of any humans [SYN].
21 Car les yeux de Dieu sont sur les voies des hommes, et il considère tous leurs pas.
“He sees [MTY] everything that people do; [when we walk, ] he watches every step that we take.
22 Il n’y a pas de ténèbres, et il n’y a pas d’ombre de mort, où puissent se cacher ceux qui opèrent l’iniquité.
There is no gloom or darkness [DOU] that is so dark that sinners can hide [from him] in that darkness.
23 Car il n’est plus au pouvoir de l’homme de venir devant Dieu en jugement.
God does not [need to] set a time when we will stand in front of him in order that he may judge us. [He can judge us whenever he wants to].
24 Il en brisera une multitude innombrable, et il en établira d’autres à leur place.
He destroys mighty people without [needing to] investigate [what they have done], and he appoints others to take their places.
25 Car il connaît leurs œuvres, et c’est pourquoi il fera venir la nuit, et ils seront brisés.
Because he [already] knows what they have done, he removes them at night and gets rid of them.
26 Il les a frappés comme impies, dans un lieu où on les voyait.
Where [many] people can see it, he strikes/punishes them because of the wicked things that they have done;
27 Eux qui, de propos délibéré, se sont retirés de lui, et n’ont pas voulu comprendre toutes ses voies;
he strikes them because they turned away from doing what he wanted them to do and did not pay attention to any of his commands.
28 En sorte qu’ils ont fait parvenir jusqu’à lui le cri de l’indigent, et qu’il a entendu la voix des pauvres.
They [mistreated] the poor people, with the result that those poor people cried out to God [for help], and he heard those afflicted people when they cried out [to him].
29 Car, lui accordant la paix, qui est celui qui condamnera? et s’il cache son visage aux nations et à tous les hommes, qui est-ce qui pourra le contempler?
But if God decides to do nothing [to punish wicked people], no one can criticize/condemn him. If a godless/wicked man rules a nation, a man who tricks/deceives the people,
30 C’est lui qui fait régner un homme hypocrite, à cause des péchés du peuple.
and if [God] hides his face [with the result that he does not see that ruler or punish him], no one will be able to prevent that ruler [from doing those things].
31 Puis donc que j’ai parlé à Dieu, je ne t’empêcherai pas de parler aussi.
“Job, have you or anyone else ever said to God, ‘I have been punished [for my sins], and I will not sin any more;
32 Si j’ai erré, instruis-moi; si j’ai parlé iniquité, je n’ajouterai plus rien.
so teach/show me what [sins I have committed]; if I have done anything that is evil, I will not do it any more’?
33 N’est-ce pas à toi que Dieu demande compte de cette iniquité qui t’a déplu? car c’est toi qui as commencé à parler, et non pas moi; si tu sais quelque chose de meilleur, parle.
[Job, ] you object to what God has done to you, but do you think that he will do what you want him to do? It is you who must choose [what you say to God], not I; so tell me what you are thinking about this.
34 Que des hommes intelligents me parlent, et qu’un homme sage m’écoute.
“People who have good sense, those who are wise and who listen to what I say, will say to me,
35 Pour Job, il a parlé follement, et ses paroles n’annoncent pas la science.
‘Job is speaking ignorantly; what he says is nonsense.’
36 Mon père, que Job soit éprouvé jusqu’à la fin; ne cessez point de frapper un homme d’iniquité.
I think that Job should be taken to a court and (put on trial/judged), because he answers [us his friends] like wicked men would answer.
37 Parce qu’il ajoute à ses péchés le blasphème, qu’il soit, malgré cela, pressé par nos raisons; et qu’alors il appelle Dieu en jugement par ses discours.
To add to the [other] sins that he has committed, he is rebelling [against God]; he shows us that he does not respect God [IDM], making long speeches [saying that God has punished him unjustly].”
