Job 9
1 Et, répondant, Job dit:
Then Job replied,
2 Assurément, je vois qu’il en est ainsi, et qu’un homme comparé à Dieu n’est pas trouvé juste.
“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 veut disputer avec lui, il ne pourra répondre une chose sur mille.
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 Dieu est sage de cœur et puissant en force: qui lui a résisté, et a eu la paix?
God is very wise [IDM] and very powerful; no one who has tried to challenge God has been able to win.
5 C’est lui qui a transporté des montagnes, et ceux qu’il a renversés dans sa fureur ne s’en sont pas aperçus.
He even moves mountains, without them (OR, anyone) knowing about it. When he is angry, he turns them upside down.
6 C’est lui qui remue la terre de sa place, et fait que ses colonnes sont renversées.
He sends earthquakes that shake the ground; he causes the pillars that support the earth to tremble.
7 C’est lui qui commande au soleil, et le soleil ne se lève pas; et qui renferme les étoiles comme sous un sceau.
[Some days] he speaks to the sun, and it does not rise, and [some nights] he prevents the stars from shining.
8 C’est lui qui seul étend les cieux, et qui marche sur les flots 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 C’est lui qui a fait Arcturus, Orion, les Hyades et les astres cachés du midi.
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 C’est lui qui fait des choses grandes, incompréhensibles et admirables qui sont sans nombre.
Only he does great things that we cannot understand; he does more marvelous things than we are able to count.
11 S’il vient à moi, je ne le verrai pas: s’il s’en va, je ne m’en apercevrai 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 interroge soudain, qui lui répondra? ou qui peut dire: Pourquoi faites-vous ainsi?
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 C’est Dieu à la colère duquel personne ne peut résister, et sous qui se courbent ceux qui portent l’univers.
God will not very easily stop being angry; he defeated [MTY] those who [tried to] help Rahab, [the great sea monster].
14 Combien grand suis-je donc moi, pour que je lui réponde et que je lui parle avec mes propres paroles?
“So, [if God took me to court], what could I say [MTY] to answer him?
15 Quand j’aurais en moi quel que justice, je ne répondrais rien, mais j’implorerais 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 Lors même qu’il m’aurait exaucé, quand je l’invoquais, je ne croirais pas qu’il eût entendu 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 Car il me brisera dans un tourbillon, et il multipliera mes plaies même sans raison.
He sends storms to batter me, and he bruises me many times (without any reason to do that/even though I am innocent).
18 Il ne permet pas que mon esprit se repose, et il me remplit d’amertumes.
[It is as though] he will not let me get/catch my breath, because he causes me to suffer all the time.
19 Si j’ai recours à la force, il est très puissant; si à l’équité d’un jugement, personne n’ose rendre témoignage pour moi.
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 Si je veux me justifier, ma propre bouche me condamnera; si je me montre innocent, il prouvera que je suis pervers.
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 Quand je serais juste, mon âme l’ignorerait même, et j’aurais du dégoût pour ma vie.
“I have not done what is wrong, but that is not important. I despise continuing to remain alive.
22 Je n’ai dit qu’une seule chose, c’est que Dieu détruit et l’innocent et l’impie.
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 S’il frappe, qu’il tue tout d’un coup, et qu’il ne se rie pas des peines des innocents.
When people experience disaster and it causes them to suddenly die, God laughs at it, even if they are innocent.
24 La terre a été livrée aux mains de l’impie; il voile le visage de ses juges; que 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 ont été plus rapides qu’un coureur: ils ont fui et n’ont pas vu de 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 ont passé comme des vaisseaux qui portent des fruits, comme un aigle qui vole vers sa pâture.
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 Lorsque je dis: Je ne parlerai plus ainsi, je change de visage, et je suis tourmenté par la douleur.
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 redoutais toutes mes œuvres, sachant que vous ne me pardonneriez pas, si je péchais.
then I become afraid because of all that I am suffering, because I know that God does not consider that I am innocent.
29 Et si après cela je suis impie, pourquoi ai-je travaillé en vain?
He will (condemn me/declare that I should be punished), so why should I keep trying in vain [to defend myself]?
30 Si j’avais été lavé comme dans de l’eau de neige, et si mes mains brillaient comme étant très nettes,
If I washed myself with snow or cleansed my hands with lye/soap [to get rid of my guilt],
31 Vous me plongeriez néanmoins dans la fange, et mes vêtements auraient horreur de moi.
he would still throw me into a filthy pit; as a result [it would be as though] even my clothes would detest me.
32 Car je ne répondrai pas à un homme qui est semblable à moi, et qui peut être entendu en jugement avec moi et à l’égal de moi.
“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 personne qui puisse nous reprendre l’un et l’autre, et mettre sa main entre les 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 de moi sa verge, et que sa terreur ne m’épouvante point.
I wish/desire that he would stop punishing [MTY] me, and that he would not continue to terrify me.
35 Je parlerai et ne le craindrai pas; car, effrayé, je ne puis répondre.
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].”
