Ἰώβ 39
1 εἰ ἔγνως καιρὸν τοκετοῦ τραγελάφων πέτρας ἐφύλαξας δὲ ὠδῖνας ἐλάφων
“Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn?
2 ἠρίθμησας δὲ αὐτῶν μῆνας πλήρεις τοκετοῦ ὠδῖνας δὲ αὐτῶν ἔλυσας
Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth?
3 ἐξέθρεψας δὲ αὐτῶν τὰ παιδία ἔξω φόβου ὠδῖνας αὐτῶν ἐξαποστελεῖς
They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn.
4 ἀπορρήξουσιν τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν πληθυνθήσονται ἐν γενήματι ἐξελεύσονται καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀνακάμψουσιν αὐτοῖς
Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field; they leave and do not return.
5 τίς δέ ἐστιν ὁ ἀφεὶς ὄνον ἄγριον ἐλεύθερον δεσμοὺς δὲ αὐτοῦ τίς ἔλυσεν
Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from the harness?
6 ἐθέμην δὲ τὴν δίαιταν αὐτοῦ ἔρημον καὶ τὰ σκηνώματα αὐτοῦ ἁλμυρίδα
I made the wilderness his home and the salt flats his dwelling.
7 καταγελῶν πολυοχλίας πόλεως μέμψιν δὲ φορολόγου οὐκ ἀκούων
He scorns the tumult of the city and never hears the shouts of a driver.
8 κατασκέψεται ὄρη νομὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ὀπίσω παντὸς χλωροῦ ζητεῖ
He roams the mountains for pasture, searching for any green thing.
9 βουλήσεται δέ σοι μονόκερως δουλεῦσαι ἢ κοιμηθῆναι ἐπὶ φάτνης σου
Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?
10 δήσεις δὲ ἐν ἱμᾶσι ζυγὸν αὐτοῦ ἢ ἑλκύσει σου αὔλακας ἐν πεδίῳ
Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he plow the valleys behind you?
11 πέποιθας δὲ ἐπ’ αὐτῷ ὅτι πολλὴ ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτοῦ ἐπαφήσεις δὲ αὐτῷ τὰ ἔργα σου
Can you rely on his great strength? Will you leave your hard work to him?
12 πιστεύσεις δὲ ὅτι ἀποδώσει σοι τὸν σπόρον εἰσοίσει δέ σου τὸν ἅλωνα
Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?
13 πτέρυξ τερπομένων νεελασα ἐὰν συλλάβῃ ασιδα καὶ νεσσα
The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but cannot match the pinions and feathers of the stork.
14 ὅτι ἀφήσει εἰς γῆν τὰ ᾠὰ αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπὶ χοῦν θάλψει
For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand.
15 καὶ ἐπελάθετο ὅτι ποὺς σκορπιεῖ καὶ θηρία ἀγροῦ καταπατήσει
She forgets that a foot may crush them, or a wild animal may trample them.
16 ἀπεσκλήρυνεν τὰ τέκνα αὐτῆς ὥστε μὴ ἑαυτῇ εἰς κενὸν ἐκοπίασεν ἄνευ φόβου
She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain.
17 ὅτι κατεσιώπησεν αὐτῇ ὁ θεὸς σοφίαν καὶ οὐκ ἐμέρισεν αὐτῇ ἐν τῇ συνέσει
For God has deprived her of wisdom; He has not endowed her with understanding.
18 κατὰ καιρὸν ἐν ὕψει ὑψώσει καταγελάσεται ἵππου καὶ τοῦ ἐπιβάτου αὐτοῦ
Yet when she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 ἦ σὺ περιέθηκας ἵππῳ δύναμιν ἐνέδυσας δὲ τραχήλῳ αὐτοῦ φόβον
Do you give strength to the horse or adorn his neck with a mane?
20 περιέθηκας δὲ αὐτῷ πανοπλίαν δόξαν δὲ στηθέων αὐτοῦ τόλμῃ
Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?
21 ἀνορύσσων ἐν πεδίῳ γαυριᾷ ἐκπορεύεται δὲ εἰς πεδίον ἐν ἰσχύι
He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle.
22 συναντῶν βέλει καταγελᾷ καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποστραφῇ ἀπὸ σιδήρου
He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing; he does not turn back from the sword.
23 ἐπ’ αὐτῷ γαυριᾷ τόξον καὶ μάχαιρα
A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and lance.
24 καὶ ὀργῇ ἀφανιεῖ τὴν γῆν καὶ οὐ μὴ πιστεύσῃ ἕως ἂν σημάνῃ σάλπιγξ
Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance; he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds.
25 σάλπιγγος δὲ σημαινούσης λέγει εὖγε πόρρωθεν δὲ ὀσφραίνεται πολέμου σὺν ἅλματι καὶ κραυγῇ
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 ἐκ δὲ τῆς σῆς ἐπιστήμης ἕστηκεν ἱέραξ ἀναπετάσας τὰς πτέρυγας ἀκίνητος καθορῶν τὰ πρὸς νότον
Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread his wings toward the south?
27 ἐπὶ δὲ σῷ προστάγματι ὑψοῦται ἀετός γὺψ δὲ ἐπὶ νοσσιᾶς αὐτοῦ καθεσθεὶς αὐλίζεται
Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?
28 ἐπ’ ἐξοχῇ πέτρας καὶ ἀποκρύφῳ
He dwells on a cliff and lodges there; his stronghold is on a rocky crag.
29 ἐκεῖσε ὢν ζητεῖ τὰ σῖτα πόρρωθεν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ σκοπεύουσιν
From there he spies out food; his eyes see it from afar.
30 νεοσσοὶ δὲ αὐτοῦ φύρονται ἐν αἵματι οὗ δ’ ἂν ὦσι τεθνεῶτες παραχρῆμα εὑρίσκονται
His young ones feast on blood; and where the slain are, there he is.”
