Job 39
1 Whethir thou knowist the tyme of birthe of wielde geet in stoonys, ethir hast thou aspied hyndis bryngynge forth calues?
[Say] if you know the time of the bringing forth of the wild goats of the rock, and [if] you have marked the calving of the hinds:
2 Hast thou noumbrid the monethis of her conseyuyng, and hast thou knowe the tyme of her caluyng?
and [if] you has have numbered the full months of their being with young, and [if] you have relieved their pangs:
3 Tho ben bowid to the calf, and caluen; and senden out roryngis.
and have reared their young without fear; and will you loosen their pangs?
4 Her calues ben departid, and goen to pasture; tho goen out, and turnen not ayen to `tho hyndis.
Their young will break forth; they will be multiplied with offspring: [their young] will go forth, and will not return to them.
5 Who let go the wielde asse fre, and who loside the boondis of hym?
And who is he that sent forth the wild ass free? and who loosed his bands?
6 To whom Y haue youe an hows in wildirnesse, and the tabernacles of hym in the lond of saltnesse.
whereas I made his habitation the wilderness, and the salt land his coverts.
7 He dispisith the multitude of citee; he herith not the cry of an axere.
He laughs to scorn the multitude of the city, and hears not the chiding of the tax-gatherer.
8 He lokith aboute the hillis of his lesewe, and he sekith alle greene thingis.
He will survey the mountains [as] his pasture, and he seeks after every green thing.
9 Whether an vnycorn schal wilne serue thee, ethir schal dwelle at thi cratche?
And will the unicorn be willing to serve you, or to lie down at your manger?
10 Whether thou schalt bynde the vnicorn with thi chayne, for to ere, ethir schal he breke the clottis of valeis aftir thee?
And will you bind his yoke with thongs, or will he plough furrows for you in the plain?
11 Whether thou schalt haue trist in his grete strengthe, and schalt thou leeue to hym thi traueils?
And do you trust him, because his strength is great? and will you commit your works to him?
12 Whether thou schalt bileue to hym, that he schal yelde seed to thee, and schal gadere togidere thi cornfloor?
And will you believe that he will return to you your seed, and bring [it] in [to] your threshing floor?
13 The fethere of an ostriche is lijk the fetheris of a gerfawcun, and of an hauk;
The peacock has a beautiful wing: if the stork and the ostrich conceive, [it is worthy of notice],
14 which ostrige forsakith hise eirun in the erthe, in hap thou schalt make tho hoot in the dust.
for [the ostrich] will leave her eggs in the ground, and warm them on the dust,
15 He foryetith, that a foot tredith tho, ethir that a beeste of the feeld al tobrekith tho.
and has forgotten that the foot will scatter them, and the wild beasts of the field trample them.
16 He is maad hard to hise briddis, as if thei ben not hise; he traueilide in veyn, while no drede constreynede.
She has hardened [herself] against her young ones, as though [she bereaved] not herself: she labours in vain without fear.
17 For God hath priued hym fro wisdom, and `yaf not vnderstondyng to hym.
For God has withholden wisdom from her, and not given her a portion in understanding.
18 Whanne tyme is, he reisith the wengis an hiy; he scorneth the hors, and his ridere.
In her season she will lift herself on high; she will scorn the horse and his rider.
19 Whether thou schalt yyue strengthe to an hors, ether schal yyue neiyng `aboute his necke?
Hast you invested the horse with strength, and clothed his neck with terror?
20 Whether thou schalt reyse hym as locustis? The glorie of hise nosethirlis is drede.
And have you clad him in perfect armour, and made his breast glorious with courage?
21 He diggith erthe with the foot, he `fulli ioieth booldli; he goith ayens armed men.
He paws exulting in the plain, and goes forth in strength into the plain.
22 He dispisith ferdfulnesse, and he yyueth not stide to swerd.
He laughs to scorn a king as he meets him, and will by no means turn back from the sword.
23 An arowe caas schal sowne on hym; a spere and scheeld schal florische.
The bow and sword resound against him; and [his] rage will swallow up the ground:
24 He is hoot, and gnastith, and swolewith the erthe; and he arettith not that the crie of the trumpe sowneth.
and he will not believe until the trumpet sounds.
25 Whanne he herith a clarioun, he `seith, Joie! he smellith batel afer; the excityng of duykis, and the yellyng of the oost.
And when the trumpet sounds, he says, Aha! and afar off he smells the war with prancing and neighing.
26 Whether an hauk spredinge abrood hise wyngis to the south, bigynneth to haue fetheris bi thi wisdom?
And does the hawk remain steady by your wisdom, having spread out her wings unmoved, looking towards the region of the south?
27 Whether an egle schal be reisid at thi comaundement, and schal sette his nest in hiy places?
And does the eagle rise at your command, and the vulture remain sitting over his nest,
28 He dwellith in stoonys, and he dwellith in flyntis brokun bifor, and in rochis, to whiche `me may not neiye.
on a crag of a rock, and in a secret [place]?
29 Fro thennus he biholdith mete, and hise iyen loken fro fer.
Thence he seeks food, his eyes observe from far.
30 Hise briddis souken blood, and where euere a careyn is, anoon he is present.
And his young ones roll themselves in blood, and wherever the carcasses may be, immediately they are found.
