Job 30
1 But now, those younger in years scorn me, whose fathers I would not have seen fit to place with the dogs of my flock,
Et maintenant je suis la risée de mes cadets, dont je ne daignais pas associer les pères aux chiens de mes troupeaux.
2 the strength of whose hands was nothing to me, and they were considered unworthy of life itself.
Aussi bien la force de leurs mains, qu'eût-elle été pour moi? Pour ces hommes il n'y a jamais d'âge mûr:
3 They were barren from poverty and hunger; they gnawed in solitude, layered with misfortune and misery.
desséchés par la disette et la faim, ils rongent la steppe, le vieux désert et la solitude;
4 And they chewed grass and the bark from trees, and the root of junipers was their food.
ils cueillent l'arroche le long des haies, et la racine du genêt est leur pain;
5 They took these things from the steep valleys, and when they discovered one of these things, they rushed to the others with a cry.
ils sont bannis de la société; on crie après eux, comme après les larrons;
6 They lived in the parched desert and in caves underground or above the rocks.
réduits à habiter des ravins affreux, les antres de la terre et des rochers,
7 They rejoiced among these kinds of things, and they considered it delightful to be under thorns.
parmi les buissons ils poussent des hurlements, et pêle-mêle se blottissent sous les ronces,
8 These are the sons of foolish and base men, not even paying any attention to the land.
impies, hommes sans nom, qui furent chassés du pays!
9 Now I become their song, and I have been made into their proverb.
Et maintenant je suis leur chanson, et le sujet de leurs discours;
10 They loathe me, and so they flee far from me, and they are not reluctant to spit in my face.
ils me maudissent, puis me quittent, et devant moi ne s'abstiennent pas de cracher.
11 For he has opened his quiver and has afflicted me, and he has placed a bridle in my mouth.
Bien plus, ils déceignent leur corde, et m'en frappent, et ils secouent tout frein devant moi.
12 Immediately, upon rising, my calamities rise up to the right. They have overturned my feet and have pressed me down along their way like waves.
A ma droite leur engeance se lève; ils ne me laissent pas prendre pied, et se fraient jusqu'à moi une voie pour me nuire;
13 They have diverted my journeys; they have waited to ambush me, and they have prevailed, and there was no one who might bring help.
ils ruinent mon sentier, aident à ma perte, eux que personne ne soutient.
14 They have rushed upon me, as when a wall is broken or a gate opened, and they have been pulled down into my miseries.
Ils viennent comme par une large brèche, se précipitent avec fracas.
15 I have been reduced to nothing. You have taken away my desire like a wind, and my health has passed by like a cloud.
Toutes les terreurs se tournent contre moi; c'est comme un ouragan qui poursuit ma grandeur, et, comme un nuage, mon bonheur a passé.
16 But now my soul withers within myself, and the days of affliction take hold of me.
Aussi, maintenant mon âme en moi épanche sa plainte; les jours de malheur m'ont saisi.
17 At night, my bone is pierced with sorrows, and those who feed on me, do not sleep.
La nuit perce mes os et les détache, et le mal qui me ronge, ne sommeille pas.
18 By the sheer number of them my clothing is worn away, and they have closed in on me like the collar of my coat.
Sous Ses coups puissants mon manteau se déforme, comme ma tunique il s'applique à mon corps.
19 I have been treated like dirt, and I have been turned into embers and ashes.
Il m'a jeté dans la boue, et assimilé à la poudre et à la cendre.
20 I cry to you, and you do not heed me. I stand up, and you do not look back at me.
Je crie à Toi, et Tu ne m'écoutes pas! je suis là debout, et Tu me regardes!
21 You have changed me into hardness, and, with the hardness of your hand, you oppose me.
Tu T'es changé pour moi en cruel ennemi, et Tu m'opposes la force de ton bras.
22 You have lifted me up, and, placing me as if on the wind, you have thrown me down powerfully.
Tu me soulèves sur la tempête et m'emportes avec elle, et pour moi tu anéantis tout espoir de salut.
23 I know that you will hand me over to death, where a home has been established for all the living.
Car, je le sais, c'est à la mort que tu me mènes, au rendez-vous de tous les vivants.
24 Truly, then, you do not extend your hand in order to consume them, and if they fall down, you will save them.
Cependant du sein des décombres ne tend-on pas la main? Quand on périt, ne crie-t-on pas au secours?
25 Once, I wept over him who was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor.
Oui, je pleurai sur ceux pour qui les temps étaient durs, et les indigents attristaient mon âme.
26 I expected good things, but evil things have come to me. I stood ready for light, yet darkness burst forth.
Et pourtant! j'attendais le bonheur, et le malheur est venu; j'espérais la clarté, et les ténèbres sont arrivées.
27 My insides have seethed, without any rest, for the days of affliction have prevented it.
Mes entrailles bouillonnent, et n'ont aucun repos, des jours de chagrin me sont survenus.
28 I went forth mourning, without anger, and rising up, I cried out in confusion.
Je marche noirci, mais non par le soleil; debout dans l'assemblée, je me lamente,
29 I was the brother of snakes, and the companion of ostriches.
devenant ainsi le frère des chacals, et l'égal de l'autruche.
30 My skin has become blackened over me, and my bones have dried up because of the heat.
Ma peau noircit et tombe, et mes os brûlent d'inflammation.
31 My harp has been turned into mourning, and my pipes have been turned into a voice of weeping.
Ainsi le deuil a remplacé mon luth, et des sons lugubres, ma cornemuse.
