Job 39
1 Hast thou known the time of The bearing of the wild goats of the rock? The bringing forth of hinds thou dost mark!
“Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn?
2 Thou dost number the months they fulfil? And thou hast known the time of their bringing forth!
Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth?
3 They bow down, Their young ones they bring forth safely, Their pangs they cast forth.
They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn.
4 Safe are their young ones, They grow up in the field, they have gone out, And have not returned to them.
Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field; they leave and do not return.
5 Who hath sent forth the wild ass free? Yea, the bands of the wild ass who opened?
Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from the harness?
6 Whose house I have made the wilderness, And his dwellings the barren land,
I made the wilderness his home and the salt flats his dwelling.
7 He doth laugh at the multitude of a city, The cries of an exactor he heareth not.
He scorns the tumult of the city and never hears the shouts of a driver.
8 The range of mountains [is] his pasture, And after every green thing he seeketh.
He roams the mountains for pasture, searching for any green thing.
9 Is a Reem willing to serve thee? Doth he lodge by thy crib?
Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?
10 Dost thou bind a Reem in a furrow [with] his thick band? Doth he harrow valleys after thee?
Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he plow the valleys behind you?
11 Dost thou trust in him because great [is] his power? And dost thou leave unto him thy labour?
Can you rely on his great strength? Will you leave your hard work to him?
12 Dost thou trust in him That he doth bring back thy seed? And [to] thy threshing-floor doth gather [it]?
Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?
13 The wing of the rattling ones exulteth, Whether the pinion of the ostrich or hawk.
The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but cannot match the pinions and feathers of the stork.
14 For she leaveth on the earth her eggs, And on the dust she doth warm them,
For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand.
15 And she forgetteth that a foot may press it, And a beast of the field tread it down.
She forgets that a foot may crush them, or a wild animal may trample them.
16 Her young ones it hath hardened without her, In vain [is] her labour without fear.
She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain.
17 For God hath caused her to forget wisdom, And He hath not given a portion To her in understanding:
For God has deprived her of wisdom; He has not endowed her with understanding.
18 At the time on high she lifteth herself up, She laugheth at the horse and at his rider.
Yet when she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 Dost thou give to the horse might? Dost thou clothe his neck [with] a mane?
Do you give strength to the horse or adorn his neck with a mane?
20 Dost thou cause him to rush as a locust? The majesty of his snorting [is] terrible.
Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?
21 They dig in a valley, and he rejoiceth in power, He goeth forth to meet the armour.
He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle.
22 He laugheth at fear, and is not affrighted, And he turneth not back from the face of the sword.
He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing; he does not turn back from the sword.
23 Against him rattle doth quiver, The flame of a spear, and a halbert.
A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and lance.
24 With trembling and rage he swalloweth the ground, And remaineth not stedfast Because of the sound of a trumpet.
Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance; he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds.
25 Among the trumpets he saith, Aha, And from afar he doth smell battle, Roaring of princes and shouting.
At the blast of the horn, he snorts with fervor. He catches the scent of battle from afar— the shouts of captains and the cry of war.
26 By thine understanding flieth a hawk? Spreadeth he his wings to the south?
Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread his wings toward the south?
27 At thy command goeth an eagle up high? Or lifteth he up his nest?
Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?
28 A rock he doth inhabit, Yea, he lodgeth on the tooth of a rock, and fortress.
He dwells on a cliff and lodges there; his stronghold is on a rocky crag.
29 From thence he hath sought food, To a far off place his eyes look attentively,
From there he spies out food; his eyes see it from afar.
30 And his brood gulp up blood, And where the pierced [are] — there [is] he!
His young ones feast on blood; and where the slain are, there he is.”
