Job 39
1 “Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn?
Do thou know the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Or can thou mark when the hinds do calve?
2 Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth?
Can thou number the months that they fulfill? Or do thou know the time when they bring forth?
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn.
They bow themselves. They bring forth their young. They cast out their pains.
4 Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field; they leave and do not return.
Their young ones become strong. They grow up in the open field. They go forth, and return not again.
5 Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from the harness?
Who has sent out the wild donkey free? Or who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey
6 I made the wilderness his home and the salt flats his dwelling.
whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling-place?
7 He scorns the tumult of the city and never hears the shouts of a driver.
He scorns the tumult of the city, neither does he hear the shoutings of the driver.
8 He roams the mountains for pasture, searching for any green thing.
The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.
9 Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?
Will the wild-ox be content to serve thee? Or will he abide by thy crib?
10 Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he plow the valleys behind you?
Can thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
11 Can you rely on his great strength? Will you leave your hard work to him?
Will thou trust him because his strength is great? Or will thou leave to him thy labor?
12 Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?
Will thou confide in him that he will bring home thy seed, and gather the grain of thy threshing-floor?
13 The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but cannot match the pinions and feathers of the stork.
The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love?
14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand.
For she leaves her eggs on the ground, and warms them in the dust.
15 She forgets that a foot may crush them, or a wild animal may trample them.
And she forgets that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may trample them.
16 She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain.
She deals hardly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. Though her labor be in vain, she is without fear,
17 For God has deprived her of wisdom; He has not endowed her with understanding.
because God has deprived her of wisdom, nor has he imparted understanding to her.
18 Yet when she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.
The time she lifts up herself on high she scorns the horse and his rider.
19 Do you give strength to the horse or adorn his neck with a mane?
Have thou given the horse his might? Have thou clothed his neck with the quivering mane?
20 Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?
Have thou made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is awesome.
21 He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle.
He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength. He goes out to meet the armed men.
22 He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing; he does not turn back from the sword.
He mocks at fear, and is not dismayed. Neither does he turn back from the sword.
23 A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and lance.
The quiver rattles against him, the flashing spear and the javelin.
24 Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance; he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds.
He swallows the ground with fierceness and rage, nor does he believe that it is the voice of the trumpet.
25 At the blast of the horn, he snorts with fervor. He catches the scent of battle from afar— the shouts of captains and the cry of war.
As often as the trumpet sounds he says, Aha! And he smells the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread his wings toward the south?
Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk soars, and stretches her wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?
Is it at thy command that the eagle mounts up, and makes her nest on high?
28 He dwells on a cliff and lodges there; his stronghold is on a rocky crag.
She dwells on the cliff, and makes her home upon the point of the cliff and the stronghold.
29 From there he spies out food; his eyes see it from afar.
From there she spies out the prey. Her eyes behold it afar off.
30 His young ones feast on blood; and where the slain are, there he is.”
Her young ones also suck up blood. And where the slain are, there is she.
