Job 24
Christian Standard Bible
24 Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment?(A)
Why do those who know him never see his days?
2 The wicked displace boundary markers.
They steal a flock and provide pasture for it.
3 They drive away the donkeys owned by the fatherless(B)
and take the widow’s ox as collateral.
4 They push the needy off the road;
the poor of the land are forced into hiding.(C)
5 Like wild donkeys in the wilderness,
the poor go out to their task of foraging for food;
the desert provides nourishment for their children.
6 They gather their fodder in the field
and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Without clothing, they spend the night naked,
having no covering against the cold.(D)
8 Drenched by mountain rains,
they huddle against[a] the rocks, shelterless.
9 The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast;
the nursing child of the poor is seized as collateral.[b]
10 Without clothing, they wander about naked.
They carry sheaves but go hungry.(E)
11 They crush olives in their presses;[c]
they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.
12 From the city, men[d] groan;
the mortally wounded cry for help,
yet God pays no attention to this crime.(F)
13 The wicked are those who rebel against the light.
They do not recognize its ways
or stay on its paths.
14 The murderer rises at dawn
to kill the poor and needy,
and by night he becomes a thief.
15 The adulterer’s eye watches for twilight,
thinking, “No eye will see me,”
and he covers his face.
16 In the dark they break[e] into houses;
by day they lock themselves in,[f]
never experiencing the light.
17 For the morning is like darkness to them.
Surely they are familiar with the terrors of darkness!
18 They float[g] on the surface of the water.
Their section of the land is cursed,
so that they never go to their vineyards.
19 As dry ground and heat snatch away the melted snow,
so Sheol(G) steals those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them;
worms feed on them;
they are remembered(H) no more.
So injustice is broken like a tree.
21 They prey on[h] the childless woman who is unable to conceive,
and do not deal kindly with the widow.
22 Yet God drags away[i] the mighty by his power;
when he rises up, they have no assurance of life.
23 He gives them a sense of security, so they can rely on it,(I)
but his eyes(J) watch over their ways.
24 They are exalted for a moment, then gone;
they are brought low and shrivel up like everything else.[j]
They wither like heads of grain.(K)
25 If this is not true, then who can prove me a liar(L)
and show that my speech is worthless?
Footnotes
- 24:8 Lit they embrace
- 24:9 Text emended; MT reads breast; they seize collateral against the poor
- 24:11 Lit olives between their rows
- 24:12 One Hb ms, Syr read the dying
- 24:16 Lit dig
- 24:16 Lit they seal for themselves
- 24:18 Lit are insignificant
- 24:21 LXX, Tg read They harm
- 24:22 Or God prolongs the life of
- 24:24 LXX reads like a mallow plant in the heat
Job 24
La Bible du Semeur
Pourquoi Dieu ne juge-t-il pas les méchants ?
24 Pourquoi le Tout-Puissant ╵n’a-t-il pas réservé des temps ╵pour exercer son jugement ?
Et pourquoi ceux qui le connaissent ╵ne voient-ils pas les jours ╵de son intervention ?
2 On déplace les bornes[a],
on vole des troupeaux ╵et on les mène paître,
3 on s’empare de l’âne ╵appartenant à l’orphelin,
c’est le bœuf de la veuve ╵que l’on retient en gage.
4 On empêche les pauvres ╵de se déplacer librement[b].
Et les malheureux du pays ╵n’ont plus qu’à se cacher.
5 Tels des ânes sauvages ╵vivant dans le désert,
les malheureux s’en vont ╵dès l’aube à leur travail, ╵cherchant leur nourriture.
La steppe doit fournir ╵du pain pour leurs enfants,
6 ils doivent moissonner ╵le fourrage des champs
et grappiller ╵les vignes du méchant.
7 Ils se couchent tout nus, ╵faute de vêtement,
sans rien pour se couvrir, ╵quand il fait froid.
8 L’averse des montagnes ╵les laisse tout transis
et, n’ayant pas d’abris, ╵ils doivent se serrer ╵tout contre le rocher.
9 On arrache de force ╵l’orphelin au sein de sa mère,
on exige des gages ╵des indigents[c].
10 On les fait marcher nus, ╵privés de vêtements,
et on leur fait porter des gerbes ╵tout en les laissant affamés.
11 Ils pressent les olives ╵dans les enclos d’autrui,
et foulent les vendanges ╵tout en mourant de soif.
12 On entend dans la ville ╵les gens[d] se lamenter
et les blessés se plaignent.
Mais Dieu ne prend pas garde ╵à ces atrocités !
13 Or, contre la lumière ╵les méchants se révoltent,
ils ignorent ses voies
et quittent ses sentiers.
14 Au point du jour, ╵le meurtrier se lève,
afin d’assassiner ╵le pauvre et l’indigent
et, quand la nuit arrive, ╵il devient un voleur.
15 Les yeux de l’adultère ╵guettent le crépuscule :
« Nul œil ne me verra », ╵se dit-il,
et il couvre ╵son visage d’un voile.
16 Quand il fait sombre ╵on force les maisons[e],
mais, de jour, on s’enferme,
refusant la lumière.
17 L’aube pour tous ces gens ╵est un sombre moment,
car c’est là qu’ils éprouvent ╵les frayeurs des nuits noires.
18 Oui le méchant est emporté[f], ╵léger sur la face de l’eau !
Et il n’a sur la terre ╵qu’un domaine maudit,
il ne prend pas ╵le chemin de ses vignes.
19 Comme un sol altéré ╵absorbe l’eau des neiges ╵dans la chaleur du jour,
voilà le pécheur englouti ╵par le séjour des morts.
20 Le sein qui le porta ╵ne se souviendra plus de lui
tandis que la vermine ╵en fera ses délices,
il tombe dans l’oubli.
Le péché est abattu comme un arbre.
21 Ces gens ont exploité ╵la femme sans enfant,
et n’ont pas été bons ╵envers la veuve…
22 Oui il emporte les tyrans ╵par sa puissance.
Le voilà qui se dresse ╵et ils perdent l’espoir ╵de demeurer en vie[g].
23 S’il leur a accordé ╵d’être en sécurité ╵et de gagner en assurance,
c’est en gardant les yeux ╵fixés sur leur conduite.
24 Eux, pour un peu de temps, ╵ils s’étaient élevés, ╵puis ils ont disparu.
Ils sont tombés ╵comme tous ceux que l’on moissonne,
ils ont été coupés ╵comme des épis mûrs.
25 Qui me démentira ╵en prétendant ╵qu’il n’en est pas ainsi ?
Et qui réfutera ╵le discours que je tiens ?
Footnotes
- 24.2 Voir Dt 19.14 ; Pr 22.28.
- 24.4 Autre traduction : on bouscule les pauvres hors du chemin.
- 24.9 Voir Ex 22.25-26 ; Dt 24.6, 12-13.
- 24.12 Certains comprennent, en changeant une voyelle de l’hébreu et conformément à la version syriaque : les mourants.
- 24.16 En Orient, les maisons étaient souvent faites en pisé (argile séchée mélangée à la paille) ou en briques non cuites. Elles étaient donc faciles à forcer ou à percer (Mt 6.19-20).
- 24.18 Job reconnaît ici (v. 18-24) que pour certains méchants – mais certains seulement – il arrive ce qu’affirment ses amis. D’autres voient dans ces versets des malédictions prononcées par Job contre les méchants : Que le méchant soit emporté…
- 24.22 Autre traduction : Non ! Dieu, par sa puissance, prolonge les jours des tyrans. Ils n’imaginaient pas rester en vie, et les voilà debout.
Job 24
New King James Version
Job Complains of Violence on the Earth
2 “Some remove (C)landmarks;
They seize flocks violently and feed on them;
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
They (D)take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
4 They push the needy off the road;
All the (E)poor of the land are forced to hide.
5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert,
They go out to their work, searching for food.
The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
6 They gather their fodder in the field
And glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They (F)spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains,
And (G)huddle around the rock for want of shelter.
9 “Some snatch the fatherless from the breast,
And take a pledge from the poor.
10 They cause the poor to go naked, without (H)clothing;
And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.
11 They press out oil within their walls,
And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 The dying groan in the city,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God does not charge them with wrong.
13 “There are those who rebel against the light;
They do not know its ways
Nor abide in its paths.
14 (I)The murderer rises with the light;
He kills the poor and needy;
And in the night he is like a thief.
15 (J)The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
(K)Saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
And he [a]disguises his face.
16 In the dark they break into houses
Which they marked for themselves in the daytime;
(L)They do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death;
If someone recognizes them,
They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
18 “They should be swift on the face of the waters,
Their portion should be cursed in the earth,
So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.
19 As drought and heat [b]consume the snow waters,
So [c]the grave consumes those who have sinned.
20 The womb should forget him,
The worm should feed sweetly on him;
(M)He should be remembered no more,
And wickedness should be broken like a tree.
21 For he [d]preys on the barren who do not bear,
And does no good for the widow.
22 “But God draws the mighty away with His power;
He rises up, but no man is sure of life.
23 He gives them security, and they rely on it;
Yet (N)His eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a little while,
Then they are gone.
They are brought low;
They are [e]taken out of the way like all others;
They dry out like the heads of grain.
25 “Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar,
And make my speech worth nothing?”
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
La Bible Du Semeur (The Bible of the Sower) Copyright © 1992, 1999 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
