Job 39
1 Whethir thou knowist the tyme of birthe of wielde geet in stoonys, ethir hast thou aspied hyndis bryngynge forth calues?
“[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 noumbrid the monethis of her conseyuyng, and hast thou knowe the tyme of her caluyng?
Do you know how many months pass from the time they become pregnant until their fawns are born?
3 Tho ben bowid to the calf, and caluen; and senden out roryngis.
[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 Her calues ben departid, and goen to pasture; tho goen out, and turnen not ayen to `tho hyndis.
The young fawns grow up in the open fields, and then they leave their mothers and do not return to them again.
5 Who let go the wielde asse fre, and who loside the boondis of hym?
“Who allows the wild donkeys to go wherever they want [DOU]?
6 To whom Y haue youe an hows in wildirnesse, and the tabernacles of hym in the lond of saltnesse.
I am the one who put them in the desert, in places where grass does not grow.
7 He dispisith the multitude of citee; he herith not the cry of an axere.
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 lokith aboute the hillis of his lesewe, and he sekith alle greene thingis.
They go to the hills to find food; there they search for grass to eat.
9 Whether an vnycorn schal wilne serue thee, ethir schal dwelle at thi cratche?
: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 Whether thou schalt bynde the vnicorn with thi chayne, for to ere, ethir schal he breke the clottis of valeis aftir thee?
And can you fasten it with a rope so that it will plow furrows/trenches in your fields?
11 Whether thou schalt haue trist in his grete strengthe, and schalt thou leeue to hym thi traueils?
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 Whether thou schalt bileue to hym, that he schal yelde seed to thee, and schal gadere togidere thi cornfloor?
Can you rely on it to come back [from the field], bringing your grain to the place where you thresh it?
13 The fethere of an ostriche is lijk the fetheris of a gerfawcun, and of an hauk;
“[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 which ostrige forsakith hise eirun in the erthe, in hap thou schalt make tho hoot 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 He foryetith, that a foot tredith tho, ethir that a beeste of the feeld al tobrekith tho.
Ostriches do not worry that some wild animal may step on the eggs and crush them [DOU].
16 He is maad hard to hise briddis, as if thei ben not hise; he traueilide in veyn, while no drede constreynede.
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 priued hym fro wisdom, and `yaf not vnderstondyng to hym.
That is because I did not allow ostriches to be wise. I did not enable them to be intelligent.
18 Whanne tyme is, he reisith the wengis an hiy; he scorneth the hors, and his ridere.
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 Whether thou schalt yyue strengthe to an hors, ether schal yyue neiyng `aboute his necke?
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 Whether thou schalt reyse hym as locustis? The glorie of hise nosethirlis is drede.
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 diggith erthe with the foot, he `fulli ioieth booldli; he goith ayens armed men.
They paw the ground, rejoicing about being very strong, as they prepare to rush into a battle.
22 He dispisith ferdfulnesse, and he yyueth not stide to swerd.
[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 An arowe caas schal sowne on hym; a spere and scheeld schal florische.
The quivers containing the riders’ arrows rattle against the horses’ sides, and the spears and javelins flash [in the light of the sun].
24 He is hoot, and gnastith, and swolewith the erthe; and he arettith not that the crie of the trumpe sowneth.
The horses paw the ground fiercely/excitedly, [wanting the battle to begin, ] and they rush into the battle when the trumpet is blown.
25 Whanne he herith a clarioun, he `seith, Joie! he smellith batel afer; the excityng of duykis, and the yellyng of the oost.
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 Whether an hauk spredinge abrood hise wyngis to the south, bigynneth to haue fetheris bi thi wisdom?
“[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 Whether an egle schal be reisid at thi comaundement, and schal sette his nest in hiy places?
Do eagles fly high up [into the cliffs] to make their nests because you commanded them to do that?
28 He dwellith in stoonys, and he dwellith in flyntis brokun bifor, and in rochis, to whiche `me may not neiye.
They live in [holes in] those cliffs. They are safe in those high pointed rocks [because no animals can reach them there].
29 Fro thennus he biholdith mete, and hise iyen loken fro fer.
As they watch carefully from there, they see far away the animals that they can kill (OR, dead bodies of animals).
30 Hise briddis souken blood, and where euere a careyn is, anoon he is present.
After an eagle kills an animal, the baby eagles drink the blood of that animal.”
