Job 29

CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN	JERUSALEM
1 Job also added to this, using figures of speech, and he said:	1 Job continua de s'exprimer en sentences et dit:
2 Who will grant to me that I might be as I was in former months, according to the days when God kept watch over me?	2 Qui me fera revivre les mois d'antan, ces jours où Dieu veillait sur moi,
3 At that time, his lamp shined over my head, and by his light, I walked through the darkness.	3 où sa lampe brillait sur ma tête et sa lumière me guidait dans les ténèbres!
4 I was then just as in the days of my youth, when God was privately in my tabernacle.	4 Puissé-je revoir les jours de mon automne, quand Dieu protégeait ma tente,
5 At that time, the Almighty was with me and my children surrounded me.	5 que Shaddaï demeurait avec moi et que mes garçons m'entouraient;
6 Then, I washed my feet with butter, and a boulder poured out rivers of oil for me.	6 quand mes pieds baignaient dans le laitage, et du rocher coulaient des ruisseaux d'huile!
7 When I went to the gate of the city, or to the main street, they prepared a chair for me.	7 Si je sortais vers la porte de la ville, si j'installais mon siège sur la place,
8 The youths saw me and hid themselves, and the elders, rising up, remained standing.	8 à ma vue, les jeunes gens se retiraient, les vieillards se mettaient debout.
9 The leaders stopped talking, and they placed a finder over their mouth.	9 Les notables arrêtaient leurs discours et mettaient la main sur leur bouche.
10 The commanders subdued their voice, and their tongue adhered to their throat.	10 La voix des chefs s'étouffait et leur langue se collait au palais.
11 The ear that heard me, blessed me, and the eye that saw me, gave testimony for me.	11 A m'entendre, on me félicitait, à me voir, on me rendait témoignage.
12 This was because I had freed the poor, who cried out, and the orphan, who had no helper.	12 Car je délivrais le pauvre en détresse et l'orphelin privé d'appui.
13 The blessing of him who would have been destroyed came upon me, and I consoled the heart of the widow.	13 La bénédiction du mourant se posait sur moi et je rendais la joie au coeur de la veuve.
14 I put on justice, and I clothed myself with my judgment, like a robe and a diadem.	14 J'avais revêtu la justice comme un vêtement, j'avais le droit pour manteau et turban.
15 I was an eye for the blind and a foot for the lame.	15 J'étais les yeux de l'aveugle, les pieds du boiteux.
16 I was the father of the poor; and if I lacked knowledge about any case, I investigated very diligently.	16 C'était moi le père des pauvres; la cause d'un inconnu, je l'examinais.
17 I crushed the jaws of the impious, and I took away prey from his teeth.	17 Je brisais les crocs de l'homme inique, d'entre ses dents j'arrachais sa proie.
18 And I said, “I will die in my little nest, and like a palm tree, I will multiply my days.	18 Et je disais: "Je mourrai dans ma fierté, après des jours nombreux comme le sable.
19 My root has been spread beside the waters, and the dew will remain with my harvest.	19 Mes racines ont accès à l'eau, la rosée se dépose la nuit sur mon feuillage.
20 My glory will always be restored, and my bow will be restored to my hand.”	20 Ma gloire sera toujours nouvelle et dans ma main mon arc reprendra force.
21 Those who heard me, expected vindication, and they listened closely in silence to my counsel.	21 Ils m'écoutaient, dans l'attente, silencieux pour entendre mon avis.
22 To my words, they dared to add nothing, and my eloquence poured over them.	22 Quand j'avais parlé, nul ne répliquait, et sur eux, goutte à goutte, tombaient mes paroles.
23 They waited for me as for rain, and they opened their mouth as for belated rains.	23 Ils m'attendaient comme la pluie, leur bouche s'ouvrait comme pour l'ondée tardive.
24 If I had ever laughed at them, they would not have believed it, and the light of my face was not cast down towards the ground.	24 Si je leur souriais, ils n'osaient y croire, ils recueillaient sur mon visage tout signe de faveur.
25 If I wished to go to them, I sat down first, and, though I sat like a king surrounded by an army, yet I was a comforter to whose who mourned.	25 Je leur indiquais la route en siégeant à leur tête, tel un roi installé parmi ses troupes, et je les menaispartout à mon gré.