Job 14
1 L’homme né de la femme vit peu de jours, et il est rassasié de misères.
Man, who is born of woman, lives only a few days and is full of trouble.
2 Comme la fleur, il naît, et on le coupe; il fuit comme l’ombre, sans s’arrêter.
He sprouts from the ground like a flower and is cut down; he flees like a shadow and does not last.
3 Et c’est sur lui que tu as l’œil ouvert, lui que tu amènes en justice avec toi!
Do you look at any of these? Do you bring me into judgment with you?
4 Qui peut tirer le pur de l’impur? Personne.
Who can bring something clean out of something unclean? No one.
5 Si les jours de l’homme sont comptés, si tu as fixé le nombre de ses mois, si tu as posé un terme qu’il ne doit pas franchir,
Man's days are determined. The number of his months is with you; you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass.
6 détourne de lui tes yeux pour qu’il se repose, jusqu’à ce qu’il goûte, comme le mercenaire, la fin de sa journée.
Look away from him that he may rest, so that he may enjoy his day like a hired man if he can do so.
7 Un arbre a de l’espérance: coupé, il peut verdir encore, il ne cesse pas d’avoir des rejetons.
There can be hope for a tree; if it is cut down, it might sprout again, so that its tender stalk does not disappear.
8 Que sa racine ait vieilli dans la terre, que son tronc soit mort dans la poussière,
Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground,
9 dès qu’il sent l’eau, il reverdit, il pousse des branches comme un jeune plant.
yet even if it only smells water, it will bud and send out branches like a plant.
10 Mais l’homme meurt, et il reste étendu; quand il a expiré, où est-il?
But man dies; he becomes weak; indeed, man stops breathing, and then where is he?
11 Les eaux du lac disparaissent, le fleuve tarit et se dessèche:
As water disappears from a lake, and as a river loses water and dries up,
12 ainsi l’homme se couche et ne se relève plus, il ne se réveillera pas tant que subsistera le ciel, on ne le fera pas sortir de son sommeil.
so people lie down and do not rise again. Until the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused out of their sleep.
13 Oh! Si tu voulais me cacher dans le séjour des morts, m’y tenir à couvert jusqu’à ce que ta colère ait passé, me fixer un terme où tu te souviendrais de moi! (Sheol h7585)
Oh, that you would hide me away in Sheol away from troubles, and that you would keep me in private until your wrath is over, that you would set me a fixed time to stay there and then call me to mind! (Sheol h7585)
14 Si l’homme une fois mort pouvait revivre! Tout le temps de mon service j’attendrais qu’on vînt me relever.
If a man dies, will he live again? If so, I would wish to wait all my weary time there until my release should come.
15 Tu m’appellerais alors, et moi je te répondrais; tu languirais après l’ouvrage de tes mains.
You would call, and I would answer you. You would have a desire for the work of your hands.
16 Mais hélas! Maintenant, tu comptes mes pas, tu as l’œil ouvert sur mes péchés;
You would number and care for my footsteps; you would not keep track of my sin.
17 mes transgressions sont scellées dans une bourse, et tu mets un enduit sur mes iniquités.
My transgression would be sealed up in a bag; you would cover up my iniquity.
18 La montagne s’écroule et s’efface; le rocher est transporté hors de sa place;
But even mountains fall and come to nothing; even rocks are moved out of their place;
19 les eaux creusent la pierre, leurs flots débordés entraînent la poussière du sol: ainsi tu anéantis l’espérance de l’homme.
the waters wear down the stones; their flooding washes away the dust of the earth. Like this, you destroy the hope of man.
20 Tu l’abats sans retour, et il s’en va; tu flétris son visage, et tu le congédies.
You always defeat him, and he passes away; you change his face and send him away to die.
21 Que ses enfants soient honorés, il n’en sait rien; qu’ils soient dans l’abaissement, il l’ignore.
If his sons are honored, he does not know it; and if they are brought low, he does not see it.
22 Sa chair ne sent que ses propres souffrances, son âme ne gémit que sur elle-même.
He feels only the pain of his own body, and he mourns for himself.
