Job 23

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	JERUSALEM
1 Again Job answered and said:	1 Job prit la parole et dit:
2 Though I know my complaint is bitter, his hand is heavy upon me in my groanings.	2 C'est toujours une révolte que ma plainte; sa main reste pesante, malgré mon gémissement.
3 Oh, that today I might find him, that I might come to his judgment seat!	3 Oh! Si je savais comment l'atteindre, parvenir jusqu'à sa demeure,
4 I would set out my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments;	4 j'ouvrirais un procès devant lui, ma bouche serait pleine de griefs.
5 I would learn the words with which he would answer, and understand what he would reply to me.	5 Je connaîtrais les termes de sa réponse, attentif à ce qu'il me dirait.
6 Even should he contend against me with his great power, yet, would that he himself might heed me!	6 Jetterait-il toute sa force dans ce débat avec moi? Non, il lui suffirait de me prêter attention.
7 There the upright man might reason with him, and I should once and for all preserve my rights.	7 Il reconnaîtrait dans son adversaire un homme droit, et je ferais triompher ma cause à jamais.
8 But if I go to the east, he is not there; or to the west, I cannot perceive him;	8 Si je vais vers l'orient, il est absent; vers l'occident, je ne l'aperçois pas.
9 Where the north enfolds him, I behold him not; by the south he is veiled, and I see him not.	9 Quand je le cherche au nord, il n'est pas discernable, il reste invisible, si je me tourne au midi.
10 Yet he knows my way; if he proved me, I should come forth as gold.	10 Et pourtant, toutes mes démarches, il les connaît! Qu'il me passe au creuset: or pur j'en sortirai!
11 My foot has always walked in his steps; his way I have kept and have not turned aside.	11 Mon pied s'est attaché à ses pas, j'ai suivi sa route sans dévier;
12 From the commands of his lips I have not departed; the words of his mouth I have treasured in my heart.	12 je n'ai pas négligé le commandement de ses lèvres, j'ai abrité dans mon sein les paroles de sa bouche.
13 But he had decided, and who can say him nay? What he desires, that he does.	13 Mais lui décide, qui le fera changer? Ce qu'il a projeté, il l'accomplit.
14 For he will carry out what is appointed for me; and many such things may yet be in his mind.	14 Il exécutera donc ma sentence, comme tant d'autres de ses décrets!
15 Therefore am I dismayed before him; when I take thought, I fear him.	15 C'est pourquoi, devant lui, je suis terrifié; plus j'y songe, plus il me fait peur.
16 Indeed God has made my courage fail; the Almighty has put me in dismay.	16 Dieu a brisé mon courage, Shaddaï me remplit d'effroi.
17 Yes, would that I had vanished in darkness, and that thick gloom were before me to conceal me.	17 Car je n'ai pas été anéanti devant les ténèbres, mais il a recouvert ma face d'obscurité.