Giobbe 39
1 Sai tu quando le capre selvagge delle rocce figliano? Hai tu osservato quando le cerve partoriscono?
“[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 Conti tu i mesi della lor pregnanza e sai tu il momento in cui debbono sgravarsi?
Do you know how many months pass from the time they become pregnant until their fawns are born?
3 S’accosciano, fanno i lor piccini, e son tosto liberate dalle loro doglie;
[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 i lor piccini si fanno forti, crescono all’aperto, se ne vanno, e non tornan più alle madri.
The young fawns grow up in the open fields, and then they leave their mothers and do not return to them again.
5 Chi manda libero l’onàgro, e chi scioglie i legami all’asino salvatico,
“Who allows the wild donkeys to go wherever they want [DOU]?
6 al quale ho dato per dimora il deserto, e la terra salata per abitazione?
I am the one who put them in the desert, in places where grass does not grow.
7 Egli si beffa del frastuono della città, e non ode grida di padrone.
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 Batte le montagne della sua pastura, e va in traccia d’ogni filo di verde.
They go to the hills to find food; there they search for grass to eat.
9 Il bufalo vorrà egli servirti o passar la notte presso alla tua mangiatoia?
: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 Legherai tu il bufalo con una corda perché faccia il solco? erpicherà egli le valli dietro a te?
And can you fasten it with a rope so that it will plow furrows/trenches in your fields?
11 Ti fiderai di lui perché la sua forza è grande? Lascerai a lui il tuo lavoro?
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 Conterai su lui perché ti porti a casa la raccolta e ti ammonti il grano sull’aia?
Can you rely on it to come back [from the field], bringing your grain to the place where you thresh it?
13 Lo struzzo batte allegramente l’ali; ma le penne e le piume di lui son esse pietose?
“[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 No, poich’egli abbandona sulla terra le proprie uova e le lascia scaldar sopra la sabbia.
Ostriches lay their eggs on top of the ground [and then walk away], leaving the eggs to be warmed in the sand.
15 Egli dimentica che un piede le potrà schiacciare, e che le bestie dei campi le potran calpestare.
Ostriches do not worry that some wild animal may step on the eggs and crush them [DOU].
16 Tratta duramente i suoi piccini, quasi non fosser suoi; la sua fatica sarà vana, ma ciò non lo turba,
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 ché Iddio l’ha privato di sapienza, e non gli ha impartito intelligenza.
That is because I did not allow ostriches to be wise. I did not enable them to be intelligent.
18 Ma quando si leva e piglia lo slancio, si beffa del cavallo e di chi lo cavalca.
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 Sei tu che dài al cavallo il coraggio? che gli vesti il collo d’una fremente criniera?
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 Sei tu che lo fai saltar come la locusta? Il fiero suo nitrito incute spavento.
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 Raspa la terra nella valle ed esulta della sua forza; si slancia incontro alle armi.
They paw the ground, rejoicing about being very strong, as they prepare to rush into a battle.
22 Della paura si ride, non trema, non indietreggia davanti alla spada.
[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 Gli risuona addosso il turcasso, la folgorante lancia e il dardo.
The quivers containing the riders’ arrows rattle against the horses’ sides, and the spears and javelins flash [in the light of the sun].
24 Con fremente furia divora la terra. Non sta più fermo quando suona la tromba.
The horses paw the ground fiercely/excitedly, [wanting the battle to begin, ] and they rush into the battle when the trumpet is blown.
25 Com’ode lo squillo, dice: Aha! e fiuta da lontano la battaglia, la voce tonante dei capi, e il grido di guerra.
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 E’ l’intelligenza tua che allo sparviere fa spiccare il volo e spiegar l’ali verso mezzogiorno?
“[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 E’ forse al tuo comando che l’aquila si leva in alto e fa il suo nido nei luoghi elevati?
Do eagles fly high up [into the cliffs] to make their nests because you commanded them to do that?
28 Abita nelle rocce e vi pernotta; sta sulla punta delle rupi, sulle vette scoscese;
They live in [holes in] those cliffs. They are safe in those high pointed rocks [because no animals can reach them there].
29 di là spia la preda, e i suoi occhi miran lontano.
As they watch carefully from there, they see far away the animals that they can kill (OR, dead bodies of animals).
30 I suoi piccini s’abbeveran di sangue, e dove son de’ corpi morti, ivi ella si trova”.
After an eagle kills an animal, the baby eagles drink the blood of that animal.”
