Job 39
1 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?
“Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn?
2 Have you numbered the months since their conception, and do you know at what time they gave birth?
Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth?
3 They bend themselves for their offspring, and they give birth, and they emit roars.
They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn.
4 Their young are weaned and go out to feed; they depart and do not return to them.
Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field; they leave and do not return.
5 Who has set the wild ass free, and who has released his bonds?
Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from the harness?
6 I have given a house in solitude to him, and his tabernacle is in the salted land.
I made the wilderness his home and the salt flats his dwelling.
7 He despises the crowded city; he does not pay attention to the bellow of the tax collector.
He scorns the tumult of the city and never hears the shouts of a driver.
8 He looks around the mountains of his pasture, and he searches everywhere for green plants.
He roams the mountains for pasture, searching for any green thing.
9 Will the rhinoceros be willing to serve you, and will he remain in your stall?
Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?
10 Can you detain the rhinoceros with your harness to plough for you, and will he loosen the soil of the furrows behind you?
Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he plow the valleys behind you?
11 Will you put your faith in his great strength, and delegate your labors to him?
Can you rely on his great strength? Will you leave your hard work to him?
12 Will you trust him to return to you the seed, and to gather it on your drying floor?
Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?
13 The wing of the ostrich is like the wings of the heron, and of the hawk.
The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but cannot match the pinions and feathers of the stork.
14 When she leaves eggs behind in the earth, will you perhaps warm them in the dust?
For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand.
15 She forgets that feet may trample them, or that the beasts of the field may shatter them.
She forgets that a foot may crush them, or a wild animal may trample them.
16 She is hardened against her young, as if they were not hers; she has labored in vain, with no fear compelling her.
She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain.
17 For God has deprived her of wisdom; neither has he given her understanding.
For God has deprived her of wisdom; He has not endowed her with understanding.
18 Yet, when the time is right, she raises her wings on high; she ridicules the horse and his rider.
Yet when she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 Will you supply strength to the horse, or envelope his throat with neighing?
Do you give strength to the horse or adorn his neck with a mane?
20 Will you alarm him as the locusts do? His panic is revealed by the display of his nostrils.
Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?
21 He digs at the earth with his hoof; he jumps around boldly; he advances to meet armed men.
He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle.
22 He despises fear; he does not turn away from the sword.
He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing; he does not turn back from the sword.
23 Above him, the quiver rattles, the spear and the shield shake.
A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and lance.
24 Seething and raging, he drinks up the earth; neither does he pause when the blast of the trumpet sounds.
Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance; he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds.
25 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.
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.
26 Does the hawk grow feathers by means of your wisdom, spreading her wings towards the south?
Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread his wings toward the south?
27 Will the eagle lift herself up at your command and make her nest in steep places?
Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?
28 She dwells among the rocks, and she lingers among broken boulders and inaccessible cliffs.
He dwells on a cliff and lodges there; his stronghold is on a rocky crag.
29 From there, she looks for food, and her eyes catch sight of it from far away.
From there he spies out food; his eyes see it from afar.
30 Her young will drink blood, and wherever the carcass will be, she is there immediately.
His young ones feast on blood; and where the slain are, there he is.”
