< 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?
“Have you known the time of The bearing of the wild goats of the rock? Do you mark the bringing forth of does?
2 Have you numbered the months since their conception, and do you know at what time they gave birth?
Do you number the months they fulfill? And have you known the time of their bringing forth?
3 They bend themselves for their offspring, and they give birth, and they emit roars.
They bow down, They bring forth their young ones safely, They cast forth their pangs.
4 Their young are weaned and go out to feed; they depart and do not return to them.
Their young ones are safe, They grow up in the field, they have gone out, And have not returned to them.
5 Who has set the wild ass free, and who has released his bonds?
Who has sent forth the wild donkey free? Indeed, who opened the bands of the wild donkey?
6 I have given a house in solitude to him, and his tabernacle is in the salted land.
Whose house I have made the wilderness, And his dwellings the barren land,
7 He despises the crowded city; he does not pay attention to the bellow of the tax collector.
He laughs at the multitude of a city, He does not hear the cries of an exactor.
8 He looks around the mountains of his pasture, and he searches everywhere for green plants.
The range of mountains [is] his pasture, And he seeks after every green thing.
9 Will the rhinoceros be willing to serve you, and will he remain in your stall?
Is a wild ox willing to serve you? Does he lodge by your crib?
10 Can you detain the rhinoceros with your harness to plough for you, and will he loosen the soil of the furrows behind you?
Do you bind a wild ox in a furrow [with] his thick band? Does he harrow valleys after you?
11 Will you put your faith in his great strength, and delegate your labors to him?
Do you trust in him because his power [is] great? And do you leave your labor to him?
12 Will you trust him to return to you the seed, and to gather it on your drying floor?
Do you trust in him That he brings back your seed, And gathers [it to] your threshing-floor?
13 The wing of the ostrich is like the wings of the heron, and of the hawk.
[The] wing of the crying ostriches exults, but as a pinion and feather of a 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 earth, And she warms them on the dust,
15 She forgets that feet may trample them, or that the beasts of the field may shatter them.
And she forgets that a foot may press it, And a beast of the field treads it down.
16 She is hardened against her young, as if they were not hers; she has labored in vain, with no fear compelling her.
It has hardened her young ones without her, Her labor [is] in vain, without fear.
17 For God has deprived her of wisdom; neither has he given her understanding.
For God has caused her to forget wisdom, And He has not given a portion To her in understanding;
18 Yet, when the time is right, she raises her wings on high; she ridicules the horse and his rider.
At the time she lifts herself up on high, She laughs at the horse and his rider.
19 Will you supply strength to the horse, or envelope his throat with neighing?
Do you give might to the horse? Do you clothe 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 cause him to rush as a locust? The splendor of his snorting [is] terrible.
21 He digs at the earth with his hoof; he jumps around boldly; he advances to meet armed men.
They dig in a valley, and he rejoices in power, He goes forth to meet the armor.
22 He despises fear; he does not turn away from the sword.
He laughs at fear, and is not frightened, And he does not turn back from the face of the sword.
23 Above him, the quiver rattles, the spear and the shield shake.
Quiver rattles against him, The flame of a spear, and a javelin.
24 Seething and raging, he drinks up the earth; neither does he pause when the blast of the trumpet sounds.
He swallows the ground with trembling and rage, And does not remain steadfast Because of the sound of a horn.
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.
Among the horns he says, Aha, And from afar he smells battle, Roaring of princes and shouting.
26 Does the hawk grow feathers by means of your wisdom, spreading her wings towards the south?
By your understanding does a hawk fly? Does he spread his wings to the south?
27 Will the eagle lift herself up at your command and make her nest in steep places?
At your command does an eagle go up high? Or lift up his nest?
28 She dwells among the rocks, and she lingers among broken boulders and inaccessible cliffs.
He inhabits a rock, Indeed, he lodges on the tooth of a rock, and fortress.
29 From there, she looks for food, and her eyes catch sight of it from far away.
From there he has sought food, His eyes look attentively to a far-off place,
30 Her young will drink blood, and wherever the carcass will be, she is there immediately.
And his brood sucks up blood, And where the pierced [are]—there [is] he!”