Lamentations 3
1 ALEPH. I am a man watching my own poverty by the rod of his indignation.
Je suis l’homme qui a vu la misère Sous la verge de sa fureur.
2 ALEPH. He has driven me and led me into darkness, and not into light.
Il m’a conduit, mené dans les ténèbres, Et non dans la lumière.
3 ALEPH. Against me only, he has turned and turned again his hand, all day long.
Contre moi il tourne et retourne sa main Tout le jour.
4 BETH. My skin and my flesh, he has made old; he has crushed my bones.
Il a fait dépérir ma chair et ma peau, Il a brisé mes os.
5 BETH. He has built all around me, and he has encircled me with gall and hardship.
Il a bâti autour de moi, Il m’a environné de poison et de douleur.
6 BETH. He has gathered me into darkness, like those who are forever dead.
Il me fait habiter dans les ténèbres, Comme ceux qui sont morts dès longtemps.
7 GHIMEL. He has built against me all around, so that I may not depart. He has increased the burden of my confinement.
Il m’a entouré d’un mur, pour que je ne sorte pas; Il m’a donné de pesantes chaînes.
8 GHIMEL. Yet even when I cry out and beg, he excludes my prayer.
J’ai beau crier et implorer du secours, Il ne laisse pas accès à ma prière.
9 GHIMEL. He has enclosed my ways with square stones; he has subverted my paths.
Il a fermé mon chemin avec des pierres de taille, Il a détruit mes sentiers.
10 DALETH. He has become to me like a bear lying in ambush, like a lion in hiding.
Il a été pour moi un ours en embuscade, Un lion dans un lieu caché.
11 DALETH. He has subverted my paths, and he has broken me. He has placed me in desolation.
Il a détourné mes voies, il m’a déchiré, Il m’a jeté dans la désolation.
12 DALETH. He has bent his bow, and he has positioned me like a target for his arrows.
Il a tendu son arc, et il m’a placé Comme un but pour sa flèche.
13 HE. He has shot into my kidneys the daughters of his quiver.
Il a fait entrer dans mes reins Les traits de son carquois.
14 HE. I have become a derision to all my people, their song throughout the day.
Je suis pour tout mon peuple un objet de raillerie, Chaque jour l’objet de leurs chansons.
15 HE. He has filled me with bitterness; he has inebriated me with wormwood.
Il m’a rassasié d’amertume, Il m’a enivré d’absinthe.
16 VAU. And he has broken each one of my teeth; he has fed me with ashes.
Il a brisé mes dents avec des cailloux, Il m’a couvert de cendre.
17 VAU. And my soul has been driven away from peace; I have forgotten what is good.
Tu m’as enlevé la paix; Je ne connais plus le bonheur.
18 VAU. And I said, “My end and my hope from the Lord has perished.”
Et j’ai dit: Ma force est perdue, Je n’ai plus d’espérance en l’Éternel!
19 ZAIN. Remember my poverty and my transgression, the wormwood and the gall.
Quand je pense à ma détresse et à ma misère, A l’absinthe et au poison;
20 ZAIN. I will call to mind the past, and my soul shall languish within me.
Quand mon âme s’en souvient, Elle est abattue au-dedans de moi.
21 ZAIN. These recollections are in my heart; therefore, I shall hope.
Voici ce que je veux repasser en mon cœur, Ce qui me donnera de l’espérance.
22 HETH. By the mercies of the Lord, we are not consumed. For his compassion has not passed away.
Les bontés de l’Éternel ne sont pas épuisées, Ses compassions ne sont pas à leur terme;
23 HETH. I know it at first light; great is your faithfulness.
Elles se renouvellent chaque matin. Oh! Que ta fidélité est grande!
24 HETH. “The Lord is my portion,” said my soul. Because of this, I will wait for him.
L’Éternel est mon partage, dit mon âme; C’est pourquoi je veux espérer en lui.
25 TETH. The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him.
L’Éternel a de la bonté pour qui espère en lui, Pour l’âme qui le cherche.
26 TETH. It is good to stand ready in silence for the salvation of God.
Il est bon d’attendre en silence Le secours de l’Éternel.
27 TETH. It is good for a man, when he has carried the yoke from his youth.
Il est bon pour l’homme De porter le joug dans sa jeunesse.
28 JOD. He shall sit solitary and silent. For he has lifted it upon himself.
Il se tiendra solitaire et silencieux, Parce que l’Éternel le lui impose;
29 JOD. He shall place his mouth in the dirt, if perhaps there may be hope.
Il mettra sa bouche dans la poussière, Sans perdre toute espérance;
30 JOD. He shall give his cheek to those who strike him; he shall be saturated with reproaches.
Il présentera la joue à celui qui le frappe, Il se rassasiera d’opprobres.
31 CAPH. For the Lord will not rebuke forever.
Car le Seigneur Ne rejette pas à toujours.
32 CAPH. For, if he has cast down, he will also have compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies.
Mais, lorsqu’il afflige, Il a compassion selon sa grande miséricorde;
33 CAPH. For he has not humiliated from his heart, nor has he thrown aside the sons of men,
Car ce n’est pas volontiers qu’il humilie Et qu’il afflige les enfants des hommes.
34 LAMED. as if to crush under his feet all the prisoners of the land,
Quand on foule aux pieds Tous les captifs du pays,
35 LAMED. as if to turn aside the judgment of a man in the sight of the presence of the Most High,
Quand on viole la justice humaine A la face du Très-Haut,
36 LAMED. as if to pervert a man in his judgment: the Lord does not do this.
Quand on fait tort à autrui dans sa cause, Le Seigneur ne le voit-il pas?
37 MEM. Who is this, who said to do what the Lord did not command?
Qui dira qu’une chose arrive, Sans que le Seigneur l’ait ordonnée?
38 MEM. Does not both misfortune and good proceed from the mouth of the Most High?
N’est-ce pas de la volonté du Très-Haut que viennent Les maux et les biens?
39 MEM. Why has a living man murmured, a man suffering for his sins?
Pourquoi l’homme vivant se plaindrait-il? Que chacun se plaigne de ses propres péchés.
40 NUN. Let us examine our ways, and seek out, and return to the Lord.
Recherchons nos voies et sondons, Et retournons à l’Éternel;
41 NUN. Let us lift up our hearts, with our hands, toward the Lord in the heavens.
Élevons nos cœurs et nos mains Vers Dieu qui est au ciel:
42 NUN. We have acted sinfully, and we have provoked to wrath. About this, you are relentless.
Nous avons péché, nous avons été rebelles! Tu n’as point pardonné!
43 SAMECH. You have covered us in your fury, and you have struck us. You have killed, and have not spared.
Tu t’es caché dans ta colère, et tu nous as poursuivis; Tu as tué sans miséricorde;
44 SAMECH. You have set a cloud opposite you, lest our prayer pass through.
Tu t’es enveloppé d’un nuage, Pour fermer accès à la prière.
45 SAMECH. In the midst of the peoples, you have uprooted me and cast me out.
Tu nous as rendus un objet de mépris et de dédain Au milieu des peuples.
46 PHE. All our enemies have opened their mouths over us.
Ils ouvrent la bouche contre nous, Tous ceux qui sont nos ennemis.
47 PHE. Prediction has become for us a dread, and a snare, and a grief.
Notre partage a été la terreur et la fosse, Le ravage et la ruine.
48 PHE. My eye has brought forth streams of water at the contrition of the daughter of my people.
Des torrents d’eau coulent de mes yeux, A cause de la ruine de la fille de mon peuple.
49 AIN. My eye has been afflicted, and it has not been quieted, because there would be no rest
Mon œil fond en larmes, sans repos, Sans relâche,
50 AIN. until the Lord looked down and saw from the heavens.
Jusqu’à ce que l’Éternel regarde et voie Du haut des cieux;
51 AIN. My eye has exhausted my soul over every one of the daughters of my city.
Mon œil me fait souffrir, A cause de toutes les filles de ma ville.
52 SADE. My enemies have chased me, and they have caught me like a bird, without reason.
Ils m’ont donné la chasse comme à un oiseau, Ceux qui sont à tort mes ennemis.
53 SADE. My life has fallen into a pit, and they have placed a stone over me.
Ils ont voulu anéantir ma vie dans une fosse, Et ils ont jeté des pierres sur moi.
54 SADE. The waters have flooded over my head. I said, “I am lost.”
Les eaux ont inondé ma tête; Je disais: Je suis perdu!
55 COPH. I called upon your name, O Lord, from the furthest pit.
J’ai invoqué ton nom, ô Éternel, Du fond de la fosse.
56 COPH. You have heard my voice. Do not turn away your ear from my sobbing and my cries.
Tu as entendu ma voix: Ne ferme pas l’oreille à mes soupirs, à mes cris!
57 COPH. You drew near in the daytime, when I called upon you. You said, “Fear not.”
Au jour où je t’ai invoqué, tu t’es approché, Tu as dit: Ne crains pas!
58 RES. You have judged, O Lord, the case of my soul. You are the Redeemer of my life.
Seigneur, tu as défendu la cause de mon âme, Tu as racheté ma vie.
59 RES. You have seen, O Lord, their iniquity against me. Judge my case.
Éternel, tu as vu ce qu’on m’a fait souffrir: Rends-moi justice!
60 RES. You have seen all their fury, every one of their thoughts is against me.
Tu as vu toutes leurs vengeances, Tous leurs complots contre moi.
61 SIN. You have heard their reproach, O Lord, all their thoughts are against me.
Éternel, tu as entendu leurs outrages, Tous leurs complots contre moi,
62 SIN. The lips of those who rise up against me, and their meditations, are against me all day long.
Les discours de mes adversaires, et les projets Qu’ils formaient chaque jour contre moi.
63 SIN. Watch their sitting down and their rising up: I am their psalm.
Regarde quand ils sont assis et quand ils se lèvent: Je suis l’objet de leurs chansons.
64 THAU. You shall pay a recompense to them, O Lord, according to the works of their hands.
Tu leur donneras un salaire, ô Éternel, Selon l’œuvre de leurs mains;
65 THAU. You shall give them a heavy shield of the heart: your hardship.
Tu les livreras à l’endurcissement de leur cœur, A ta malédiction contre eux;
66 THAU. You shall pursue them in fury, and you shall destroy them under the heavens, O Lord.
Tu les poursuivras dans ta colère, et tu les extermineras De dessous les cieux, ô Éternel!
