< 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!
[Say] if thou knowest the time of the bringing forth of the wild goats of the rock, and [if] thou hast marked the calving of the hinds:
2 Thou dost number the months they fulfil? And thou hast known the time of their bringing forth!
and [if] thou has hast numbered the full months of their being with young, and [if] thou hast relieved their pangs:
3 They bow down, Their young ones they bring forth safely, Their pangs they cast forth.
and hast reared their young without fear; and wilt thou loosen their pangs?
4 Safe are their young ones, They grow up in the field, they have gone out, And have not returned to them.
Their young will break forth; they will be multiplied with offspring: [their young] will go forth, and will not return to them.
5 Who hath sent forth the wild ass free? Yea, the bands of the wild ass who opened?
And who is he that sent forth the wild ass free? and who loosed his bands?
6 Whose house I have made the wilderness, And his dwellings the barren land,
whereas I made his habitation the wilderness, and the salt land his coverts.
7 He doth laugh at the multitude of a city, The cries of an exactor he heareth not.
He laughs to scorn the multitude of the city, and hears not the chiding of the tax-gatherer.
8 The range of mountains [is] his pasture, And after every green thing he seeketh.
He will survey the mountains [as] his pasture, and he seeks after every green thing.
9 Is a Reem willing to serve thee? Doth he lodge by thy crib?
And will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or to lie down at thy manger?
10 Dost thou bind a Reem in a furrow [with] his thick band? Doth he harrow valleys after thee?
And wilt thou bind his yoke with thongs, or will he plough furrows for thee in the plain?
11 Dost thou trust in him because great [is] his power? And dost thou leave unto him thy labour?
And dost thou trust him, because his strength is great? and wilt thou commit thy works to him?
12 Dost thou trust in him That he doth bring back thy seed? And [to] thy threshing-floor doth gather [it]?
And wilt thou believe that he will return to thee thy seed, and bring [it] in [to] thy threshing-floor?
13 The wing of the rattling ones exulteth, Whether the pinion of the ostrich or hawk.
The peacock has a beautiful wing: if the stork and the ostrich conceive, [it is worthy of notice],
14 For she leaveth on the earth her eggs, And on the dust she doth warm them,
for [the ostrich] will leave her eggs in the ground, and warm them on the dust,
15 And she forgetteth that a foot may press it, And a beast of the field tread it down.
and has forgotten that the foot will scatter them, and the wild beasts of the field trample them.
16 Her young ones it hath hardened without her, In vain [is] her labour without fear.
She has hardened [herself] against her young ones, as though [she bereaved] not herself: she labours in vain without fear.
17 For God hath caused her to forget wisdom, And He hath not given a portion To her in understanding:
For God has withholden wisdom from her, and not given her a portion in understanding.
18 At the time on high she lifteth herself up, She laugheth at the horse and at his rider.
In her season she will lift herself on high; she will scorn the horse and his rider.
19 Dost thou give to the horse might? Dost thou clothe his neck [with] a mane?
Hast thou invested the horse with strength, and clothed his neck with terror?
20 Dost thou cause him to rush as a locust? The majesty of his snorting [is] terrible.
And hast thou clad him in perfect armour, and made his breast glorious with courage?
21 They dig in a valley, and he rejoiceth in power, He goeth forth to meet the armour.
He paws exulting in the plain, and goes forth in strength into the plain.
22 He laugheth at fear, and is not affrighted, And he turneth not back from the face of the sword.
He laughs to scorn a king as he meets him, and will by no means turn back from the sword.
23 Against him rattle doth quiver, The flame of a spear, and a halbert.
The bow and sword resound against him; and [his] rage will swallow up the ground:
24 With trembling and rage he swalloweth the ground, And remaineth not stedfast Because of the sound of a trumpet.
and he will not believe until the trumpet sounds.
25 Among the trumpets he saith, Aha, And from afar he doth smell battle, Roaring of princes and shouting.
And when the trumpet sounds, he says, Aha! and afar off he smells the war with prancing and neighing.
26 By thine understanding flieth a hawk? Spreadeth he his wings to the south?
And does the hawk remain steady by thy wisdom, having spread out her wings unmoved, looking toward the region of the south?
27 At thy command goeth an eagle up high? Or lifteth he up his nest?
And does the eagle rise at thy command, and the vulture remain sitting over his nest,
28 A rock he doth inhabit, Yea, he lodgeth on the tooth of a rock, and fortress.
on a crag of a rock, and in a secret [place]?
29 From thence he hath sought food, To a far off place his eyes look attentively,
Thence he seeks food, his eyes observe from far.
30 And his brood gulp up blood, And where the pierced [are] — there [is] he!
And his young ones roll themselves in blood, and wherever the carcasses may be, immediately they are found.