Job 39
1 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats bring forth among the rocks, or hast thou observed the hinds when they fawn?
“[Job], do you know at what time/season [of the year] the female mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the wild deer while their fawns were being born?
2 Hast thou numbered the months of their conceiving, or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
Do you know how many months pass from the time they become pregnant until their fawns are born?
3 They bow themselves to bring forth young, and they cast them, and send forth roarings.
[When they give birth, ] they crouch down so that the fawns do not [get hurt by] falling to the ground when they are born.
4 Their young are weaned and go to feed: they go forth, and return not to them.
The young fawns grow up in the open fields, and then they leave their mothers and do not return to them again.
5 Who hath sent out the wild ass free, and who hath loosed his bonds?
“Who allows the wild donkeys to go wherever they want [DOU]?
6 To whom I have given a house in the wilderness, and his dwellings in the barren land.
I am the one who put them in the desert, in places where grass does not grow.
7 He scorneth the multitude of the city, he heareth not the cry of the driver.
They do not like the noise in the cities; [in the desert] they do not have to listen to the shouts of those who force donkeys to work.
8 He looketh round about the mountains of his pasture, and seeketh for every green thing.
They go to the hills to find food; there they search for grass to eat.
9 Shall the rhinoceros be willing to serve thee, or will he stay at thy crib?
:Will a wild ox agree to work for you? Will it allow you to keep it penned up at night in the place where you put feed for your animals?
10 Canst thou bind the rhinoceros with thy thong to plough, or will he break the clods of the valleys after thee?
And can you fasten it with a rope so that it will plow furrows/trenches in your fields?
11 Wilt thou have confidence in his great strength, and leave thy labours to him?
Since it is very strong, can you trust it to work for you? Can you go away after you tell it what work it should do [and assume that it will do that work]?
12 Wilt thou trust him that he will render thee the seed, and gather it into thy barnfloor?
Can you rely on it to come back [from the field], bringing your grain to the place where you thresh it?
13 The wing of the ostrich is like the wings of the heron, and of the hawk.
“[Think also about] the ostriches. [They] joyfully flap their wings, but they do not have wing feathers [that enable them to fly] like storks do.
14 When she leaveth her eggs on the earth, thou perhaps wilt warm them in the dust.
Ostriches lay their eggs on top of the ground [and then walk away], leaving the eggs to be warmed in the sand.
15 She forgetteth that the foot may tread upon them, or that the beasts of the field may break them.
Ostriches do not worry that some wild animal may step on the eggs and crush them [DOU].
16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers, she hath laboured in vain, no fear constraining her.
Ostriches act cruelly towards their chicks; they act as though the chicks belonged to some other ostrich. They are not concerned if [their chicks die], [and so] the laying of the eggs was in vain.
17 For God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he given her understanding.
That is because I did not allow ostriches to be wise. I did not enable them to be intelligent.
18 When time shall be, she setteth up her wings on high: she scorneth the horse and his rider.
But, when they get up and begin to run, they scornfully laugh at horses with their riders [because the horses cannot run as fast as the ostriches!]
19 Wilt thou give strength to the horse, or clothe his neck with neighing?
And [think about] horses. [Job], are you the one who caused horses to be strong? Are you the one who put flowing (manes/long hair) on their necks?
20 Wilt thou lift him up like the locusts? the glory of his nostrils is terror.
Are you the one who enabled them to leap forward like locusts? When they (snort/blow loudly through their noses), they cause people to be afraid.
21 He breaketh up the earth with his hoof, he pranceth boldly, he goeth forward to meet armed men.
They paw the ground, rejoicing about being very strong, as they prepare to rush into a battle.
22 He despiseth fear, he turneth not his back to the sword,
[It is as if] they laugh at the thought of being afraid. They are not afraid of anything! They do not run away when [the soldiers in the battle are fighting each other with] swords.
23 Above him shall the quiver rattle, the spear and shield shall glitter.
The quivers containing the riders’ arrows rattle against the horses’ sides, and the spears and javelins flash [in the light of the sun].
24 Chasing and raging he swalloweth the ground, neither doth he make account when the noise of the trumpet soundeth.
The horses paw the ground fiercely/excitedly, [wanting the battle to begin, ] and they rush into the battle when the trumpet is blown.
25 When he heareth the trumpet he saith: Ha, ha: he smelleth the battle afar off, the encouraging of the captains, and the shouting of the army.
They neigh [joyfully] when they hear someone blowing the trumpet. They can smell a battle even when they are far away, and they understand what it means when the commanders shout their commands [to their soldiers].
26 Doth the hawk wax feathered by thy wisdom, spreading her wings to the south?
“[And think about big birds.] Are you the one who enabled hawks to spread their wings and fly to the south [for the winter]?
27 Will the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest in high places?
Do eagles fly high up [into the cliffs] to make their nests because you commanded them to do that?
28 She abideth among the rocks, and dwelleth among cragged flints, and stony hills, where there is no access.
They live in [holes in] those cliffs. They are safe in those high pointed rocks [because no animals can reach them there].
29 From thence she looketh for the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
As they watch carefully from there, they see far away the animals that they can kill (OR, dead bodies of animals).
30 Her young ones shall suck up blood: and wheresoever the carcass shall be, she is immediately there.
After an eagle kills an animal, the baby eagles drink the blood of that animal.”
