Isaiah 47
1 Descend, sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon! Sit on the ground. There is no throne for the daughter of the Chaldeans. For you shall no longer be called delicate and tender.
Descends, et assieds-toi dans la poussière, Vierge, fille de Babylone! Assieds-toi à terre, sans trône, Fille des Chaldéens! On ne t’appellera plus délicate et voluptueuse.
2 Take a millstone and grind meal. Uncover your shame, bare your shoulder, reveal your legs, cross the streams.
Prends les meules, et mouds de la farine; Ote ton voile, relève les pans de ta robe, Découvre tes jambes, traverse les fleuves!
3 Your disgrace will be revealed, and your shame will be seen. I will seize vengeance, and no man will withstand me.
Ta nudité sera découverte, Et ta honte sera vue. J’exercerai ma vengeance, Je n’épargnerai personne.
4 Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
Notre rédempteur, c’est celui qui s’appelle l’Éternel des armées, C’est le Saint d’Israël.
5 Sit in silence, and enter into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no longer be called the noblewoman of kingdoms.
Assieds-toi en silence, et va dans les ténèbres, Fille des Chaldéens! On ne t’appellera plus la souveraine des royaumes.
6 I was angry with my people. I have polluted my inheritance, and I have given them into your hand. You have not shown mercy to them. You have greatly increased the burden of your yoke upon the elders.
J’étais irrité contre mon peuple, J’avais profané mon héritage, Et je les avais livrés entre tes mains: Tu n’as pas eu pour eux de la compassion, Tu as durement appesanti ton joug sur le vieillard.
7 And you have said: “I will be a noblewoman forever.” You have not set these things upon your heart, and you have not remembered your end.
Tu disais: A toujours je serai souveraine! Tu n’as point mis dans ton esprit, Tu n’as point songé que cela prendrait fin.
8 And now, hear these things, you who are delicate and have confidence, who say in your heart: “I am, and there is no one greater than me. I will not sit as a widow, and I will not know barrenness.”
Écoute maintenant ceci, voluptueuse, Qui t’assieds avec assurance, Et qui dis en ton cœur: Moi, et rien que moi! Je ne serai jamais veuve, Et je ne serai jamais privée d’enfants!
9 These two things will suddenly overwhelm you in one day: barrenness and widowhood. All things shall overwhelm you, because of the multitude of your sorceries and because of the great cruelty of your enchantments.
Ces deux choses t’arriveront subitement, au même jour, La privation d’enfants et le veuvage; Elles fondront en plein sur toi, Malgré la multitude de tes sortilèges, Malgré le grand nombre de tes enchantements.
10 And you have trusted in your malice, and you have said: “There is no one who sees me.” Your wisdom and your knowledge, these have deceived you. And you have said in your heart: “I am, and beside me there is no other.”
Tu avais confiance dans ta méchanceté, Tu disais: Personne ne me voit! Ta sagesse et ta science t’ont séduite. Et tu disais en ton cœur: Moi, et rien que moi!
11 Evil will overwhelm you, and you will not notice its rising. And calamity will fall violently over you, and you will not be able to avert it. You will suddenly be overwhelmed by a misery such as you have never known.
Le malheur viendra sur toi, Sans que tu en voies l’aurore; La calamité tombera sur toi, Sans que tu puisses la conjurer; Et la ruine fondra sur toi tout à coup, A l’improviste.
12 Stand with your incantations, and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth, as if somehow it might benefit you, or as if it were able to make you stronger.
Reste donc au milieu de tes enchantements Et de la multitude de tes sortilèges, Auxquels tu as consacré ton travail dès ta jeunesse; Peut-être pourras-tu en tirer profit, Peut-être deviendras-tu redoutable.
13 You have failed in the multitude of your plans! Let the seers stand and save you, those who were contemplating the stars, and figuring the months, so that from these they might announce to you the things to come.
Tu t’es fatiguée à force de consulter: Qu’ils se lèvent donc et qu’ils te sauvent, Ceux qui connaissent le ciel, Qui observent les astres, Qui annoncent, d’après les nouvelles lunes, Ce qui doit t’arriver!
14 Behold, they have become like stubble. Fire has consumed them. They will not free themselves from the power of the flames. These are not coals by which they may be warmed, nor is this a fire which they may sit beside.
Voici, ils sont comme de la paille, le feu les consume, Ils ne sauveront pas leur vie des flammes: Ce ne sera pas du charbon dont on se chauffe, Ni un feu auprès duquel on s’assied.
15 So have all these things, in which you have labored, become to you. Your merchants from your youth, each one has erred in his own way. There is no one who can save you.
Tel sera le sort de ceux que tu te fatiguais à consulter. Et ceux avec qui tu as trafiqué dès ta jeunesse Se disperseront chacun de son côté: Il n’y aura personne qui vienne à ton secours.
