Job 41
1 Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook? Or tie up his jaws with a cord?
Tireras-tu le Léviathan avec un hameçon? Lui feras-tu baisser la langue avec la ligne?
2 Can you put a rope into his nose, or pierce his jaw through with a hook?
Lui passeras-tu un jonc dans les narines, lui perceras-tu la mâchoire avec un crochet?
3 Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak soft words to you?
Te prodiguera-t-il ses prières? Ou t’adressera-t-il de douces paroles?
4 Will he make a covenant with you, that you should take him for a servant forever?
Fera-t-il un pacte avec toi? L’Engageras-tu comme un esclave perpétuel?
5 Will you play with him as you would with a bird? Will you tie him up for your servant girls?
Te servira-t-il de jouet comme un passereau? L’Attacheras-tu pour amuser tes jeunes filles?
6 Will the groups of fishermen bargain for him? Will they divide him up to trade among the merchants?
Les pêcheurs associés en feront-ils le commerce? Le débiteront-ils entre les marchands?
7 Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?
Cribleras-tu sa peau de dards et sa tête de harpons barbelés?
8 Put your hand on him just once, and you will remember the battle and do it no more.
Pose seulement ta main sur lui: tu te souviendras de ce combat et ne recommenceras plus!
9 See, the hope of anyone who does that is a lie; will not anyone be thrown down to the ground just by the sight of him?
Vois, espérer la victoire est une illusion: à son seul aspect, n’est-on pas terrassé?
10 None is so fierce that he dare stir Leviathan up; who, then, is he who can stand before me?
Personne n’est assez téméraire pour l’exciter: qui donc oserait me tenir tête, à moi?
11 Who has first given anything to me in order that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole sky is mine.
Qui m’a rendu un service que j’aie à payer de retour? Tout ce qui est sous le ciel est à moi.
12 I will not keep silent concerning Leviathan's legs, nor about the matter of his strength, nor about his graceful form.
Je ne passerai pas sous silence ses membres, le détail de ses exploits, la beauté de sa structure.
13 Who can strip off his outer covering? Who can penetrate his double armor?
Qui a soulevé le dessous de son vêtement? Qui a pénétré dans la double rangée de sa denture?
14 Who can open the doors of his face— ringed with his teeth, which are a terror?
Qui a ouvert les battants de sa gueule? La terreur habite autour de ses dents.
15 his back is made up of rows of shields, tight together as with a close seal.
Imposantes sont les lignes d’écailles qui lui servent de boucliers et pressées comme un sceau qui adhère fortement.
16 One is so near to another that no air can come between them.
Elles se touchent de près, l’air ne pénètre pas entre elles.
17 They are joined to each other; they stick together, so that they cannot be pulled apart.
L’Une est serrée contre l’autre; elles tiennent ensemble sans aucun interstice.
18 Light flashes out from his snorting; his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning dawn.
Ses éternuements font jaillir la lumière, ses yeux sont comme les paupières de l’aurore.
19 Out of his mouth go burning torches, sparks of fire leap out.
De sa bouche partent des flammes, s’échappent des étincelles de feu.
20 Out of his nostrils goes smoke like a boiling pot on a fire that has been fanned to be very hot.
De ses naseaux sort la fumée, comme d’une marmite bouillante chauffée aux roseaux.
21 His breath kindles coals into flame; fires go out from his mouth.
Son haleine allume les charbons, de sa gueule sort une flamme.
22 In his neck is strength, and terror dances in front of him.
Dans son cou la force réside, devant lui bondit la terreur.
23 The folds of his flesh are joined together; they are firm on him; they cannot be moved.
Les fanons de sa chair sont adhérents, soudés sur lui sans ballotter.
24 His heart is as hard as a stone— indeed, as hard as a lower millstone.
Son cœur est massif comme une pierre, solide comme la meule de dessous.
25 When he raises himself up, even the gods become afraid; because of fear, they draw back.
Quand il se dresse, les plus vaillants tremblent et se dérobent sous le coup de l’épouvante.
26 If a sword strikes him, it does nothing— and neither does a spear, an arrow, or any other pointed weapon.
L’Attaque-t-on avec l’épée, elle n’a point de prise sur lui, pas plus que lance, javelot ou cuirasse.
27 He thinks of iron as if it were straw, and of bronze as if it were rotten wood.
Pour lui, le fer est comme de la paille, l’airain comme du bois pourri.
28 An arrow cannot make him flee; to him sling stones become chaff.
Le fils de l’arc ne le met pas en fuite, les pierres de la fronde se changent pour lui en chaume.
29 Clubs are regarded as straw; he laughs at the whirring flight of a spear.
Comme du chaume aussi lui paraît la massue, il se rit du sifflement des dards.
30 His lower parts are like sharp pieces of broken pottery; he leaves a spreading trail in the mud as if he were a threshing sledge.
Son ventre est garni de tessons pointus, il promène comme une herse sur le limon.
31 He makes the deep to foam up like a pot of boiling water; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
Il fait bouillonner les profondeurs comme une chaudière; il rend la mer semblable à un bassin d’onguents.
32 He makes a shining wake behind him; one would think the deep had gray hair.
Le sillage qu’il laisse derrière lui est lumineux: on dirait que les vagues ont la blancheur de la vieillesse.
33 On earth there is no equal to him, who has been made to live without fear.
Il n’a pas son pareil sur la terre, lui qui est fait pour ne rien craindre.
34 He sees everything that is proud; he is king over all the sons of pride.”
Il regarde avec dédain tout ce qui est élevé: il est le roi de tous les fauves altiers.
