Job 39
1 “[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?
Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Or canst thou observe when the hinds are in labor?
2 Do you know how many months pass from the time they become pregnant until their fawns are born?
Canst thou number the months they fulfill, And know the season when they bring forth?
3 [When they give birth, ] they crouch down so that the fawns do not [get hurt by] falling to the ground when they are born.
They bow themselves; they bring forth their young; They cast forth their pains.
4 The young fawns grow up in the open fields, and then they leave their mothers and do not return to them again.
Their young ones are strong; they grow up in the fields; They go away, and return not to them.
5 “Who allows the wild donkeys to go wherever they want [DOU]?
Who hath sent forth the wild ass free? Who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass,
6 I am the one who put them in the desert, in places where grass does not grow.
To whom I have given the wilderness for his house, And the barren land for his dwelling-place?
7 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.
He scorneth the tumult of the city, And heedeth not the shouting of the driver;
8 They go to the hills to find food; there they search for grass to eat.
The range of the mountains is his pasture; He seeketh after every green thing,
9 :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?
Will the wild-ox consent to serve thee? Will he pass the night at thy crib?
10 And can you fasten it with a rope so that it will plow furrows/trenches in your fields?
Canst thou bind the wild-ox with the harness to the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
11 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]?
Wilt thou rely upon him because his strength is great, And commit to him thy labor?
12 Can you rely on it to come back [from the field], bringing your grain to the place where you thresh it?
Wilt thou trust him to bring home thy grain, And gather in thy harvest?
13 “[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.
The wing of the ostrich moveth joyfully; But is it with loving pinion and feathers?
14 Ostriches lay their eggs on top of the ground [and then walk away], leaving the eggs to be warmed in the sand.
Nay, she layeth her eggs on the ground; She warmeth them in the dust,
15 Ostriches do not worry that some wild animal may step on the eggs and crush them [DOU].
And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, And that the wild beast may break them.
16 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.
She is cruel to her young, as if they were not hers; Her labor is in vain, yet she feareth not;
17 That is because I did not allow ostriches to be wise. I did not enable them to be intelligent.
Because God hath denied her wisdom, And hath not given her understanding.
18 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!]
Yet when she lasheth herself up on high, She laugheth at the horse and his rider.
19 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?
Hast thou given the horse strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with his trembling mane?
20 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.
Hast thou taught him to bound like the locust? How majestic his snorting! how terrible!
21 They paw the ground, rejoicing about being very strong, as they prepare to rush into a battle.
He paweth in the valley; he exulteth in his strength, And rusheth into the midst of arms.
22 [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.
He laugheth at fear; he trembleth not, And turneth not back from the sword.
23 The quivers containing the riders’ arrows rattle against the horses’ sides, and the spears and javelins flash [in the light of the sun].
Against him rattle the quiver, The flaming spear, and the lance.
24 The horses paw the ground fiercely/excitedly, [wanting the battle to begin, ] and they rush into the battle when the trumpet is blown.
With rage and fury he devoureth the ground; He will not believe that the trumpet soundeth.
25 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].
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 “[And think about big birds.] Are you the one who enabled hawks to spread their wings and fly to the south [for the winter]?
Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk flieth, And spreadeth his wings toward the south?
27 Do eagles fly high up [into the cliffs] to make their nests because you commanded them to do that?
Doth the eagle soar at thy command, And build his nest on high?
28 They live in [holes in] those cliffs. They are safe in those high pointed rocks [because no animals can reach them there].
He dwelleth and lodgeth upon the rock, Upon the peak of the rock, and the stronghold.
29 As they watch carefully from there, they see far away the animals that they can kill (OR, dead bodies of animals).
From thence he spieth out prey; His eyes discern it from afar.
30 After an eagle kills an animal, the baby eagles drink the blood of that animal.”
His young ones suck up blood; And where the slain are, there is he.
