Job 39
1 “Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn?
Do you know at what time the wild goats have given birth among the rocks, or do you observe the deer when they go into labor?
2 Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth?
Have you numbered the months since their conception, and do you know at what time they gave birth?
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn.
They bend themselves for their offspring, and they give birth, and they emit roars.
4 Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field; they leave and do not return.
Their young are weaned and go out to feed; they depart and do not return to them.
5 Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from the harness?
Who has set the wild ass free, and who has released his bonds?
6 I made the wilderness his home and the salt flats his dwelling.
I have given a house in solitude to him, and his tabernacle is in the salted land.
7 He scorns the tumult of the city and never hears the shouts of a driver.
He despises the crowded city; he does not pay attention to the bellow of the tax collector.
8 He roams the mountains for pasture, searching for any green thing.
He looks around the mountains of his pasture, and he searches everywhere for green plants.
9 Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?
Will the rhinoceros be willing to serve you, and will he remain in your stall?
10 Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he plow the valleys behind you?
Can you detain the rhinoceros with your harness to plough for you, and will he loosen the soil of the furrows behind you?
11 Can you rely on his great strength? Will you leave your hard work to him?
Will you put your faith in his great strength, and delegate your labors to him?
12 Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?
Will you trust him to return to you the seed, and to gather it on your drying floor?
13 The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but cannot match the pinions and feathers of the stork.
The wing of the ostrich is like the wings of the heron, and of the hawk.
14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand.
When she leaves eggs behind in the earth, will you perhaps warm them in the dust?
15 She forgets that a foot may crush them, or a wild animal may trample them.
She forgets that feet may trample them, or that the beasts of the field may shatter them.
16 She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain.
She is hardened against her young, as if they were not hers; she has labored in vain, with no fear compelling her.
17 For God has deprived her of wisdom; He has not endowed her with understanding.
For God has deprived her of wisdom; neither has he given her understanding.
18 Yet when she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.
Yet, when the time is right, she raises her wings on high; she ridicules the horse and his rider.
19 Do you give strength to the horse or adorn his neck with a mane?
Will you supply strength to the horse, or envelope his throat with neighing?
20 Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?
Will you alarm him as the locusts do? His panic is revealed by the display of his nostrils.
21 He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle.
He digs at the earth with his hoof; he jumps around boldly; he advances to meet armed men.
22 He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing; he does not turn back from the sword.
He despises fear; he does not turn away from the sword.
23 A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and lance.
Above him, the quiver rattles, the spear and the shield shake.
24 Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance; he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds.
Seething and raging, he drinks up the earth; neither does he pause when the blast of the trumpet sounds.
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.
When he hears the bugle, he says, “Ha!” He smells the battle from a distance, the exhortation of the officers, and the battle cry of the soldiers.
26 Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread his wings toward the south?
Does the hawk grow feathers by means of your wisdom, spreading her wings towards the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?
Will the eagle lift herself up at your command and make her nest in steep places?
28 He dwells on a cliff and lodges there; his stronghold is on a rocky crag.
She dwells among the rocks, and she lingers among broken boulders and inaccessible cliffs.
29 From there he spies out food; his eyes see it from afar.
From there, she looks for food, and her eyes catch sight of it from far away.
30 His young ones feast on blood; and where the slain are, there he is.”
Her young will drink blood, and wherever the carcass will be, she is there immediately.
