| 1 Or Job répondit en ces termes: | 1 Again Job answered and said: |
| 2 Maintenant encore ma parole est pleine d'amertume, et la violence de ma plaie est bien au-dessus de mes gémissements. | 2 Though I know my complaint is bitter, his hand is heavy upon me in my groanings. |
| 3 Qui me donnera de Le connaître et de Le trouver, et de parvenir jusqu'à Son trône? | 3 Oh, that today I might find him, that I might come to his judgment seat! |
| 4 J'exposerais ma cause devant Lui, et je remplirais ma bouche de preuves, | 4 I would set out my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments; |
| 5 pour savoir ce qu'Il me répondrait, et pour entendre ce qu'Il pourrait me dire. | 5 I would learn the words with which he would answer, and understand what he would reply to me. |
| 6 Je ne voudrais point qu'Il me combattît de toute Sa force, ni qu'Il m'accablât par le poids de Sa grandeur. | 6 Even should he contend against me with his great power, yet, would that he himself might heed me! |
| 7 Qu'Il propose contre moi l'équité, et ma cause obtiendra la victoire. | 7 There the upright man might reason with him, and I should once and for all preserve my rights. |
| 8 Mais si je vais à l'orient, Il ne paraît point; si je vais à l'occident, je ne L'aperçois pas. | 8 But if I go to the east, he is not there; or to the west, I cannot perceive him; |
| 9 Si je me tourne à gauche, que faire? je ne puis L'atteindre; si je vais à droite, je ne Le verrai point. | 9 Where the north enfolds him, I behold him not; by the south he is veiled, and I see him not. |
| 10 Mais Il connaît Lui-même ma voie, et Il m'éprouve comme l'or qui passe par le feu. | 10 Yet he knows my way; if he proved me, I should come forth as gold. |
| 11 Mon pied a suivi Ses traces; j'ai gardé Sa voie, et je ne m'en suis point détourné. | 11 My foot has always walked in his steps; his way I have kept and have not turned aside. |
| 12 Je ne me suis pas écarté des commandements de Ses lèvres, et j'ai caché dans mon sein les paroles de Sa bouche. | 12 From the commands of his lips I have not departed; the words of his mouth I have treasured in my heart. |
| 13 Car Il subsiste Lui seul. Nul ne peut empêcher Ses desseins, et Il fait absolument tout ce qui Lui plaît. | 13 But he had decided, and who can say him nay? What he desires, that he does. |
| 14 Quand Il aura accompli sur moi Sa volonté, Il lui reste encore beaucoup d'autres moyens semblables. | 14 For he will carry out what is appointed for me; and many such things may yet be in his mind. |
| 15 C'est pourquoi je me trouble en Sa présence, et lorsque je le considère, je suis agité de crainte. | 15 Therefore am I dismayed before him; when I take thought, I fear him. |
| 16 Dieu a amolli mon coeur, et le Tout-Puissant m'a épouvanté. | 16 Indeed God has made my courage fail; the Almighty has put me in dismay. |
| 17 Car je ne péris point à cause des ténèbres qui m'environnent, et ce n'est pas l'obscurité qui a voilé ma face. | 17 Yes, would that I had vanished in darkness, and that thick gloom were before me to conceal me. |
