Job 41

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	JERUSALEM
1 Whoever might vainly hope to do so need only see him to be overthrown.	1 Ton espérance serait illusoire, car sa vue seule suffit à terrasser.
2 Is he not relentless when aroused; who then dares stand before him?	2 Il devient féroce quand on l'éveille, qui peut lui résister en face?
3 Who has assailed him and come off safe-- Who under all the heavens?	3 Qui donc l'a affronté sans en pâtir? Personne sous tous les cieux!
4 I need hardly mention his limbs, his strength, and the fitness of his armor.	4 Je parlerai aussi de ses membres, je dirai sa force incomparable.
5 Who can strip off his outer garment, or penetrate his double corselet?	5 Qui a découvert par devant sa tunique, pénétré dans sa double cuirasse?
6 Who can force open the doors of his mouth, close to his terrible teeth?	6 Qui a ouvert les battants de sa gueule? La terreur règne autour de ses dents!
7 Rows of scales are on his back, tightly sealed together;	7 Son dos, ce sont des rangées de boucliers, que ferme un sceau de pierre.
8 They are fitted each so close to the next that no space intervenes;	8 Ils se touchent de si près qu'un souffle ne peut s'y infiltrer.
9 So joined one to another that they hold fast and cannot be parted.	9 Ils adhèrent l'un à l'autre et font un bloc sans fissure.
10 When he sneezes, light flashes forth; his eyes are like those of the dawn.	10 Son éternuement projette de la lumière, ses yeux ressemblent aux paupières de l'aurore.
11 Out of his mouth go forth firebrands; sparks of fire leap forth.	11 De sa gueule jaillissent des torches, il s'en échappe des étincelles de feu.
12 From his nostrils issues steam, as from a seething pot or bowl.	12 Ses naseaux crachent de la fumée, comme un chaudron qui bout sur le feu.
13 His breath sets coals afire; a flame pours from his mouth.	13 Son souffle allumerait des charbons, une flamme sort de sa gueule.
14 Strength abides in his neck, and terror leaps before him.	14 Sur son cou est campée la force, et devant lui bondit la violence.
	15 Les fanons de sa chair sont soudés ensemble: ils adhèrent à elle, inébranlables.
16 His heart is hard as stone; his flesh, as the lower millstone.	16 Son coeur est dur comme le roc, résistant comme la meule de dessous.
17 When he rises up, the mighty are afraid; the waves of the sea fall back.	17 Quand il se dresse, les flots prennent peur et les vagues de la mer se retirent.
18 Should the sword reach him, it will not avail; nor will the spear, nor the dart, nor the javelin.	18 L'épée l'atteint sans se fixer, de même lance, javeline ou dard.
19 He regards iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood.	19 Pour lui, le fer n'est que paille, et l'airain, du bois pourri.
20 The arrow will not put him to flight; slingstones used against him are but straws.	20 Les traits de l'arc ne le font pas fuir: il reçoit comme un fétu les pierres de fronde.
21 Clubs he esteems as splinters; he laughs at the crash of the spear.	21 La massue lui semble un fétu, il se rit du javelot qui vibre.
22 His belly is sharp as pottery fragments; he spreads like a threshing sledge upon the mire.	22 Il a sous lui des tessons aigus, comme une herse il passe sur la vase.
23 He makes the depths boil like a pot; the sea he churns like perfume in a kettle.	23 Il fait bouillonner le gouffre comme une chaudière, il change la mer en brûle-parfums.
24 Behind him he leaves a shining path; you would think the deep had the hoary head of age.	24 Il laisse derrière lui un sillage lumineux, l'abîme semble couvert d'une toison blanche.
25 Upon the earth there is not his like, intrepid he was made.	25 Sur terre, il n'a point son pareil, il a été fait intrépide.
26 All, however lofty, fear him; he is king over all proud beasts.	26 Il regarde en face les plus hautains, il est roi sur tous les fils de l'orgueil.