Job 39
1 Knowest thou the season when the Wild Goats of the crags beget? The bringing forth of the hinds, canst thou observe?
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 Canst thou count the months they fulfil? Or knowest thou the time when they give birth?
Have you numbered the months since their conception, and do you know at what time they gave birth?
3 They kneel down, their young, they bring forth; their pains, they throw off;
They bend themselves for their offspring, and they give birth, and they emit roars.
4 Their young become strong, they grow up in the open field, they go out, and return not unto them.
Their young are weaned and go out to feed; they depart and do not return to them.
5 Who hath sent forth the Wild Ass free? And, the bands of the swift-runner, who hath loosed?
Who has set the wild ass free, and who has released his bonds?
6 Whose house I have made the waste plain, and his dwellings, the land of salt:
I have given a house in solitude to him, and his tabernacle is in the salted land.
7 He laugheth at the throng of the city, The shoutings of the driver, he heareth not;
He despises the crowded city; he does not pay attention to the bellow of the tax collector.
8 He espieth the mountains, his pasture-ground, and, after every green thing, maketh search.
He looks around the mountains of his pasture, and he searches everywhere for green plants.
9 Will the Wild-Ox be pleased to be thy servant? or lodge for the night by thy crib?
Will the rhinoceros be willing to serve you, and will he remain in your stall?
10 Canst thou bind the wild-ox, so that—with the ridge—shall run his cord? Or will he harrow the furrows after thee?
Can you detain the rhinoceros with your harness to plough for you, and will he loosen the soil of the furrows behind you?
11 Wilt thou trust in him, because of the greatness of his strength? Wilt thou leave unto him thy toil?
Will you put your faith in his great strength, and delegate your labors to him?
12 Wilt thou put faith in him, that he will bring back thy seed? and that, corn for thy threshing-floor, he will gather?
Will you trust him to return to you the seed, and to gather it on your drying floor?
13 The wing of the Ostrich that waveth itself joyfully, Is it the pinion of lovingkindness or the plumage?
The wing of the ostrich is like the wings of the heron, and of the hawk.
14 For she leaveth—to the earth—her eggs, and, on the dust, she letteth them be warmed;
When she leaves eggs behind in the earth, will you perhaps warm them in the dust?
15 And hath forgotten, that, a foot, may crush them, —or, the wild beast, tread on them!
She forgets that feet may trample them, or that the beasts of the field may shatter them.
16 Dealing hardly with her young, as none-of-hers, In vain, her labour, without dread.
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 hath suffered her to forget wisdom, and given her no share in understanding.
For God has deprived her of wisdom; neither has he given her understanding.
18 What time, on high, she vibrateth her wings, she laugheth at the horse and his rider.
Yet, when the time is right, she raises her wings on high; she ridicules the horse and his rider.
19 Couldst thou give—to the Horse—strength? Couldst thou clothe his neck with the quivering mane?
Will you supply strength to the horse, or envelope his throat with neighing?
20 Couldst thou cause him to leap like a locust? The majesty of his snort, is a terror!
Will you alarm him as the locusts do? His panic is revealed by the display of his nostrils.
21 He diggeth into the plain, and rejoiceth in vigour, he goeth forth to meet armour;
He digs at the earth with his hoof; he jumps around boldly; he advances to meet armed men.
22 He laugheth at dread, and is not dismayed, neither turneth he back, from the face of the sword;
He despises fear; he does not turn away from the sword.
23 Against him, whiz [the arrows of] the quiver, the flashing head of spear and javelin;
Above him, the quiver rattles, the spear and the shield shake.
24 With stamping and rage, he drinketh up the ground, —he will not stand still when the horn soundeth;
Seething and raging, he drinks up the earth; neither does he pause when the blast of the trumpet sounds.
25 As oft as the horn soundeth, he saith, Aha! And, from afar, he scenteth the battle, —the thunder of commanders and the war-cry.
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 Is it, by thine understanding, that the Bird of Passage betaketh him to his pinions? spreadeth out his wings to the south?
Does the hawk grow feathers by means of your wisdom, spreading her wings towards the south?
27 Or, at thy bidding, that the Eagle mounteth, and that he setteth on high his nest?
Will the eagle lift herself up at your command and make her nest in steep places?
28 The crag, he inhabiteth, and so lodgeth himself, on the tooth of the crag, and high fort;
She dwells among the rocks, and she lingers among broken boulders and inaccessible cliffs.
29 From thence, he searcheth out food, far away, his eyes do pierce;
From there, she looks for food, and her eyes catch sight of it from far away.
30 And, his young brood, suck up blood, and, where the slain are, there, is he.
Her young will drink blood, and wherever the carcass will be, she is there immediately.
