1 And Job made answer and said,
2 No doubt you have knowledge, and wisdom will come to an end with you.
3 But I have a mind as well as you; I am equal to you: yes, who has not knowledge of such things as these?
4 It seems that I am to be as one who is a cause of laughing to his neighbour, one who makes his prayer to God and is answered! the upright man who has done no wrong is to be made sport of!
5 In the thought of him who is in comfort there is no respect for one who is in trouble; such is the fate of those whose feet are slipping.
6 There is wealth in the tents of those who make destruction, and those by whom God is moved to wrath are safe; even those whose god is their strength.
7 But put now a question to the beasts, and get teaching from them; or to the birds of the heaven, and they will make it clear to you;
8 Or to the things which go flat on the earth, and they will give you wisdom; and the fishes of the sea will give you news of it.
9 Who does not see by all these that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all flesh of man.
11 Are not words tested by the ear, even as food is tasted by the mouth?
12 Old men have wisdom, and a long life gives knowledge.
13 With him there is wisdom and strength; power and knowledge are his.
14 Truly, there is no building up of what is pulled down by him; when a man is shut up by him, no one may let him loose.
15 Truly, he keeps back the waters and they are dry; he sends them out and the earth is overturned.
16 With him are strength and wise designs; he who is guided into error, together with his guide, are in his hands;
17 He takes away the wisdom of the wise guides, and makes judges foolish;
18 He undoes the chains of kings, and puts his band on them;
19 He makes priests prisoners, overturning those in safe positions;
20 He makes the words of responsible persons without effect, and takes away the good sense of the old;
21 He puts shame on chiefs, and takes away the power of the strong;
22 Uncovering deep things out of the dark, and making the deep shade bright;
23 Increasing nations, and sending destruction on them; making wide the lands of peoples, and then giving them up.
24 He takes away the wisdom of the rulers of the earth, and sends them wandering in a waste where there is no way.
25 They go feeling about in the dark without light, wandering without help like those overcome with wine.
1 Et Job prit la parole, et dit:
2 Vraiment, vous êtes tout un peuple, et avec vous mourra la sagesse!
3 J'ai pourtant du sens aussi bien que vous, je ne vous suis point inférieur; et qui ne sait de telles choses?
4 Je suis un homme qui est en risée à son ami; un homme qui invoquait Dieu, et Dieu lui répondait! En risée! un homme juste, intègre!
5 Mépris au malheur! telle est la pensée des heureux; le mépris est réservé à ceux dont le pied chancelle!
6 Elles sont en paix, les tentes des pillards, et toutes les sécurités sont pour ceux qui irritent Dieu, qui se font un dieu de leur bras.
7 Mais interroge donc les bêtes, et elles t'instruiront; ou les oiseaux des cieux, et ils te l'annonceront;
8 Ou parle à la terre, et elle t'instruira; et les poissons de la mer te le raconteront.
9 Qui ne sait, parmi tous ces êtres, que la main de Dieu a fait cet univers?
10 Qu'il tient en sa main l'âme de tous les vivants, l'esprit de toute chair d'homme?
11 L'oreille ne juge-t-elle pas des discours, comme le palais goûte les aliments?
12 La sagesse est dans les vieillards, et le discernement est le fruit des longs jours!
13 Non, c'est en Dieu que se trouvent la sagesse et la force; c'est à lui qu'appartiennent le conseil et l'intelligence.
14 Voici, il démolit, et on ne rebâtit point; il enferme quelqu'un, et on ne lui ouvre pas.
15 Voici, il retient les eaux, et elles tarissent; il les lâche, et elles bouleversent la terre.
16 En lui résident la puissance et la sagesse; de lui dépendent celui qui s'égare et celui qui égare.
17 Il fait marcher pieds nus les conseillers; il frappe de folie les juges.
18 Il relâche l'autorité des rois, et il serre la corde sur leurs reins.
19 Il fait marcher pieds nus les prêtres, et il renverse les puissants.
20 Il ôte la parole aux plus assurés, et il prive de sens les vieillards.
21 Il verse le mépris sur les nobles, et il délie la ceinture des forts.
22 Il met en évidence les profondeurs cachées dans les ténèbres, et il amène à la lumière l'ombre de la mort.
23 Il agrandit les nations, et il les perd; il étend les nations, et il les conduit en captivité.
24 Il ôte le sens aux chefs des peuples de la terre, et il les fait errer dans un désert sans chemin.
25 Ils tâtonnent dans les ténèbres, sans aucune clarté, et il les fait chanceler comme un homme ivre.