Job 39
1 “Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn?
Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Or canst thou observe when the hinds are in labor?
2 Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth?
Canst thou number the months they fulfill, And know the season 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 forth their pains.
4 Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field; they leave and do not return.
Their young ones are strong; they grow up in the fields; They go away, and return not to them.
5 Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from the harness?
Who hath sent forth the wild ass free? Who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass,
6 I made the wilderness his home and the salt flats his dwelling.
To whom I have given the wilderness for his house, And the barren land for his dwelling-place?
7 He scorns the tumult of the city and never hears the shouts of a driver.
He scorneth the tumult of the city, And heedeth not the shouting of the driver;
8 He roams the mountains for pasture, searching for any green thing.
The range of the mountains is his pasture; He seeketh 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 consent to serve thee? Will he pass the night at thy crib?
10 Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he plow the valleys behind you?
Canst thou bind the wild-ox with the harness to 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?
Wilt thou rely upon him because his strength is great, And commit to him thy labor?
12 Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?
Wilt thou trust him to bring home thy grain, And gather in thy harvest?
13 The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but cannot match the pinions and feathers of the stork.
The wing of the ostrich moveth joyfully; But is it with loving pinion and feathers?
14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand.
Nay, she layeth her eggs on the ground; She warmeth them in the dust,
15 She forgets that a foot may crush them, or a wild animal may trample them.
And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, And that the wild beast may break them.
16 She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain.
She is cruel to her young, as if they were not hers; Her labor is in vain, yet she feareth not;
17 For God has deprived her of wisdom; He has not endowed her with understanding.
Because God hath denied her wisdom, And hath not given her understanding.
18 Yet when she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.
Yet when she lasheth herself up on high, She laugheth at the horse and his rider.
19 Do you give strength to the horse or adorn his neck with a mane?
Hast thou given the horse strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with his trembling mane?
20 Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?
Hast thou taught him to bound like the locust? How majestic his snorting! how terrible!
21 He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle.
He paweth in the valley; he exulteth in his strength, And rusheth into the midst of arms.
22 He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing; he does not turn back from the sword.
He laugheth at fear; he trembleth not, And turneth not back from the sword.
23 A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and lance.
Against him rattle the quiver, The flaming spear, and the lance.
24 Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance; he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds.
With rage and fury he devoureth the ground; He will not believe that the trumpet soundeth.
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.
At every blast of the trumpet, he saith, Aha! And snuffeth the battle afar off, —The thunder of the captains, and the war-shout.
26 Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread his wings toward the south?
Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk flieth, And spreadeth his wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?
Doth the eagle soar at thy command, And build his nest on high?
28 He dwells on a cliff and lodges there; his stronghold is on a rocky crag.
He dwelleth and lodgeth upon the rock, Upon the peak of the rock, and the stronghold.
29 From there he spies out food; his eyes see it from afar.
From thence he spieth out prey; His eyes discern it from afar.
30 His young ones feast on blood; and where the slain are, there he is.”
His young ones suck up blood; And where the slain are, there is he.
