Job 18
New King James Version
Bildad: The Wicked Are Punished
18 Then (A)Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “How long till you put an end to words?
Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.
3 Why are we counted (B)as beasts,
And regarded as stupid in your sight?
4 (C)You[a] who tear yourself in anger,
Shall the earth be forsaken for you?
Or shall the rock be removed from its place?
5 “The(D) light of the wicked indeed goes out,
And the flame of his fire does not shine.
6 The light is dark in his tent,
(E)And his lamp beside him is put out.
7 The steps of his strength are shortened,
And (F)his own counsel casts him down.
8 For (G)he is cast into a net by his own feet,
And he walks into a snare.
9 The net takes him by the heel,
And (H)a snare lays hold of him.
10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground,
And a trap for him in the road.
11 (I)Terrors frighten him on every side,
And drive him to his feet.
12 His strength is starved,
And (J)destruction is ready at his side.
13 It devours patches of his skin;
The firstborn of death devours his [b]limbs.
14 He is uprooted from (K)the shelter of his tent,
And they parade him before the king of terrors.
15 They dwell in his tent who are none of his;
Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.
16 (L)His roots are dried out below,
And his branch withers above.
17 (M)The memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name [c]among the renowned.
18 [d]He is driven from light into darkness,
And chased out of the world.
19 (N)He has neither son nor posterity among his people,
Nor any remaining in his dwellings.
20 Those [e]in the west are astonished (O)at his day,
As those [f]in the east are frightened.
21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who (P)does not know God.”
Job 18
New Catholic Bible
Bildad’s Second Speech[a]
Chapter 18
The Light of the Wicked Is Extinguished.
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite responded:
2 “When will you cease this torrent of words?
Once you start to think rationally,
then we can have a sensible discussion.
3 Why do you treat us like animals
and regard us as ignorant?
4 In your anger you tear yourself to pieces,
but the earth will not be forsaken on your account,
nor will a single rock be moved from its place.
5 “The light of the wicked is extinguished,
and the flame of his fire no longer shines.
6 The light in his tent begins to fade
and the lamp above him is put out.
7 His vigorous stride begins to falter
and his own plans fail miserably.
8 He rushes headlong into a net,
and his feet are ensnared.
9 “A trap seizes him by the heel,
leaving him unable to escape.
10 A noose lies hidden on the ground for him;
pitfalls lie across his path.
11 Terrors alarm him on every side,
hounding his every step.
12 His strength is weakened by hunger,
and disaster awaits him on all sides.
13 “His skin is eaten away by disease;
the firstborn of death devours his limbs.[b]
14 He is dragged from the security of his tent
and carted off to the king of terrors.[c]
15 Anyone can live in his tent since it is no longer his;
brimstone[d] is scattered over his dwelling.
16 His roots dry up below,
and his branches wither above.
17 “All memory of him vanishes from the earth;
his name is quickly forgotten.
18 He is thrust from light into darkness
and banished from the world.
19 He leaves no offspring or posterity among his people;
there is no survivor where he once lived.
20 Inhabitants of the west are appalled at his fate,
while those of the east are struck with horror.
21 Such indeed is the dwelling of the impious;
such is the home of everyone who cares nothing for God.”
Footnotes
- Job 18:1 The wrath of Job has the result of provoking Bildad to impatience. In the divine order of the universe, he says, there is no place for the problem of Job, whose words constitute a blasphemy.
- Job 18:13 The ancients regarded illnesses as the children of death; the allusion here, then, is to very serious illness.
- Job 18:14 King of terrors: i.e., death. In various civilizations the ruler of the realm of the dead was called Nergal, Pluto, or Moloch (see Isa 57:9).
- Job 18:15 Brimstone: an element used to disinfect a tent and remove every trace of the occupant.
Job 18
La Bible du Semeur
Deuxième discours de Bildad
La lumière des méchants s’éteindra
18 Bildad de Shouah prit la parole et dit :
2 Quand donc ferez-vous[a] taire ╵tout ce flot de paroles ?
Réfléchissez ╵et puis nous parlerons.
3 Pourquoi passerions-nous ╵pour n’être que des bêtes ?
A vos yeux sommes-nous stupides ?
4 O toi qui te meurtris ╵par ton emportement,
est-ce à cause de toi ╵que la terre devrait ╵rester abandonnée ?
Faut-il que les rochers ╵se déplacent pour toi ?
5 Oui, la lumière du méchant ╵sûrement va s’éteindre,
et sa flamme de feu ╵cessera de briller.
6 La lumière s’obscurcira ╵dans sa demeure,
et elle s’éteindra, ╵la lampe de sa vie.
7 Son allure si ferme ╵devient embarrassée,
et ses propres desseins ╵le feront trébucher.
8 Car ses pieds seront pris ╵dans des filets tendus,
et c’est parmi les mailles ╵d’un piège qu’il avance.
9 Oui, un lacet le prendra au talon,
un collet se refermera sur lui ;
10 la corde pour le prendre ╵est cachée dans la terre,
un piège l’attend sur sa route.
11 De toutes parts, ╵la terreur l’épouvante,
s’attachant à ses pas.
12 Sa vigueur s’affaiblit, ╵consumée par la faim,
et la calamité ╵se tient à ses côtés.
13 Elle dévorera ╵des morceaux de sa peau.
Et les prémices de la mort ╵rongeront tous ses membres.
14 Il sera arraché ╵du milieu de sa tente ╵où il est en sécurité,
et forcé de marcher ╵vers le roi des terreurs[b].
15 Qu’on s’installe en sa tente : ╵elle n’est plus à lui.
Du soufre est répandu ╵sur son habitation[c].
16 En bas, ses racines dessèchent,
en haut, sa ramure se fane.
17 Son souvenir ╵disparaît sur la terre,
son nom n’est plus cité ╵au-dehors, dans les rues.
18 Il sera repoussé ╵de la lumière ╵vers les ténèbres.
Il sera expulsé ╵hors du monde habité.
19 Il n’aura ni enfant ╵ni aucun descendant ╵au milieu de son peuple,
et point de survivant ╵dans le lieu où il résidait[d].
20 Et ceux de l’Occident ╵seront saisis d’effroi ╵devant sa destinée,
et tous ceux de l’Orient ╵seront remplis d’horreur.
21 Voilà ce qui attend ╵les maisons de l’injuste,
et tel est le destin ╵de qui ignore Dieu.
Footnotes
- 18.2 Ce vous renvoie peut-être aux hommes droits de 17.8 qui, selon Job, devraient défendre sa cause.
- 18.14 C’est-à-dire la mort.
- 18.15 Signe de malédiction : voir en Gn 19.24 ; Dt 29.22 le cas de Sodome et de Gomorrhe. Selon d’autres, il s’agirait d’un désinfectant que les nouveaux propriétaires auraient répandu sur la demeure.
- 18.19 Allusion à Job privé de ses enfants.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. 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.