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 at what time the wild goats have given birth among the rocks, or do you observe the deer when they go into labor?
2 Thou dost number the months they fulfil? And thou hast known the time of their bringing forth!
Have you numbered the months since their conception, and do you know at what time they gave birth?
3 They bow down, Their young ones they bring forth safely, Their pangs they cast forth.
They bend themselves for their offspring, and they give birth, and they emit roars.
4 Safe are their young ones, They grow up in the field, they have gone out, And have not returned to them.
Their young are weaned and go out to feed; they depart and do not return to them.
5 Who hath sent forth the wild ass free? Yea, the bands of the wild ass who opened?
Who has set the wild ass free, and who has released his bonds?
6 Whose house I have made the wilderness, And his dwellings the barren land,
I have given a house in solitude to him, and his tabernacle is in the salted land.
7 He doth laugh at the multitude of a city, The cries of an exactor he heareth not.
He despises the crowded city; he does not pay attention to the bellow of the tax collector.
8 The range of mountains [is] his pasture, And after every green thing he seeketh.
He looks around the mountains of his pasture, and he searches everywhere for green plants.
9 Is a Reem willing to serve thee? Doth he lodge by thy crib?
Will the rhinoceros be willing to serve you, and will he remain in your stall?
10 Dost thou bind a Reem in a furrow [with] his thick band? Doth he harrow valleys after thee?
Can you detain the rhinoceros with your harness to plough for you, and will he loosen the soil of the furrows behind you?
11 Dost thou trust in him because great [is] his power? And dost thou leave unto him thy labour?
Will you put your faith in his great strength, and delegate your labors to him?
12 Dost thou trust in him That he doth bring back thy seed? And [to] thy threshing-floor doth gather [it]?
Will you trust him to return to you the seed, and to gather it on your drying floor?
13 The wing of the rattling ones exulteth, Whether the pinion of the ostrich or hawk.
The wing of the ostrich is like the wings of the heron, and of the hawk.
14 For she leaveth on the earth her eggs, And on the dust she doth warm them,
When she leaves eggs behind in the earth, will you perhaps warm them in the dust?
15 And she forgetteth that a foot may press it, And a beast of the field tread it down.
She forgets that feet may trample them, or that the beasts of the field may shatter them.
16 Her young ones it hath hardened without her, In vain [is] her labour without fear.
She is hardened against her young, as if they were not hers; she has labored in vain, with no fear compelling her.
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; neither has he given her understanding.
18 At the time on high she lifteth herself up, She laugheth at the horse and at his rider.
Yet, when the time is right, she raises her wings on high; she ridicules the horse and his rider.
19 Dost thou give to the horse might? Dost thou clothe his neck [with] a mane?
Will you supply strength to the horse, or envelope his throat with neighing?
20 Dost thou cause him to rush as a locust? The majesty of his snorting [is] terrible.
Will you alarm him as the locusts do? His panic is revealed by the display of his nostrils.
21 They dig in a valley, and he rejoiceth in power, He goeth forth to meet the armour.
He digs at the earth with his hoof; he jumps around boldly; he advances to meet armed men.
22 He laugheth at fear, and is not affrighted, And he turneth not back from the face of the sword.
He despises fear; he does not turn away from the sword.
23 Against him rattle doth quiver, The flame of a spear, and a halbert.
Above him, the quiver rattles, the spear and the shield shake.
24 With trembling and rage he swalloweth the ground, And remaineth not stedfast Because of the sound of a trumpet.
Seething and raging, he drinks up the earth; neither does he pause when the blast of the trumpet sounds.
25 Among the trumpets he saith, Aha, And from afar he doth smell battle, Roaring of princes and shouting.
When he hears the bugle, he says, “Ha!” He smells the battle from a distance, the exhortation of the officers, and the battle cry of the soldiers.
26 By thine understanding flieth a hawk? Spreadeth he his wings to the south?
Does the hawk grow feathers by means of your wisdom, spreading her wings towards the south?
27 At thy command goeth an eagle up high? Or lifteth he up his nest?
Will the eagle lift herself up at your command and make her nest in steep places?
28 A rock he doth inhabit, Yea, he lodgeth on the tooth of a rock, and fortress.
She dwells among the rocks, and she lingers among broken boulders and inaccessible cliffs.
29 From thence he hath sought food, To a far off place his eyes look attentively,
From there, she looks for food, and her eyes catch sight of it from far away.
30 And his brood gulp up blood, And where the pierced [are] — there [is] he!
Her young will drink blood, and wherever the carcass will be, she is there immediately.
