Job 39
1 Numquid nosti tempus partus ibicum in petris, vel parturientes cervas observasti?
“[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 Dinumerasti menses conceptus earum, et scisti tempus partus earum?
Do you know how many months pass from the time they become pregnant until their fawns are born?
3 Incurvantur ad fœtum, et pariunt, et rugitus emittunt.
[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 Separantur filii earum, et pergunt ad pastum: egrediuntur, et non revertuntur ad eas.
The young fawns grow up in the open fields, and then they leave their mothers and do not return to them again.
5 Quis dimisit onagrum liberum, et vincula eius quis solvit?
“Who allows the wild donkeys to go wherever they want [DOU]?
6 Cui dedi in solitudine domum, et tabernacula eius in terra salsuginis.
I am the one who put them in the desert, in places where grass does not grow.
7 Contemnit multitudinem civitatis, clamorem exactoris non audit.
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 Circumspicit montes pascuæ suæ, et virentia quæque perquirit.
They go to the hills to find food; there they search for grass to eat.
9 Numquid volet rhinoceros servire tibi, aut morabitur ad præsepe tuum?
: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 Numquid alligabis rhinocerota ad arandum loro tuo? aut confringet glebas vallium post te?
And can you fasten it with a rope so that it will plow furrows/trenches in your fields?
11 Numquid fiduciam habebis in magna fortitudine eius, et derelinques ei labores tuos?
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 Numquid credes illi quod sementem reddat tibi, et aream tuam congreget?
Can you rely on it to come back [from the field], bringing your grain to the place where you thresh it?
13 Penna struthionis similis est pennis herodii, et accipitris.
“[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 Quando derelinquit ova sua in terra, tu forsitan in pulvere calefacies ea?
Ostriches lay their eggs on top of the ground [and then walk away], leaving the eggs to be warmed in the sand.
15 Obliviscitur quod pes conculcet ea, aut bestia agri conterat.
Ostriches do not worry that some wild animal may step on the eggs and crush them [DOU].
16 Duratur ad filios suos quasi non sint sui, frustra laboravit nullo timore cogente.
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 Privavit enim eam Deus sapientia, nec dedit illi intelligentiam.
That is because I did not allow ostriches to be wise. I did not enable them to be intelligent.
18 Cum tempus fuerit, in altum alas erigit: deridet equum et ascensorem eius.
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 Numquid præbebis equo fortitudinem, aut circumdabis collo eius hinnitum?
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 Numquid suscitabis eum quasi locustas? gloria narium eius terror.
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 Terram ungula fodit, exultat audacter: in occursum pergit armatis.
They paw the ground, rejoicing about being very strong, as they prepare to rush into a battle.
22 Contemnit pavorem, nec cedit gladio.
[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 Super ipsum sonabit pharetra, vibrabit hasta et clypeus.
The quivers containing the riders’ arrows rattle against the horses’ sides, and the spears and javelins flash [in the light of the sun].
24 Fervens et fremens sorbet terram, nec reputat tubæ sonare clangorem.
The horses paw the ground fiercely/excitedly, [wanting the battle to begin, ] and they rush into the battle when the trumpet is blown.
25 Ubi audierit buccinam, dicit: Vah, procul odoratur bellum, exhortationem ducum, et ululatum exercitus.
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 Numquid per sapientiam tuam plumescit accipiter, expandens alas suas ad Austrum?
“[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 Numquid ad præceptum tuum elevabitur aquila, et in arduis ponet nidum suum?
Do eagles fly high up [into the cliffs] to make their nests because you commanded them to do that?
28 In petris manet, et in præruptis silicibus commoratur, atque inaccessis rupibus.
They live in [holes in] those cliffs. They are safe in those high pointed rocks [because no animals can reach them there].
29 Inde contemplatur escam, et de longe oculi eius prospiciunt,
As they watch carefully from there, they see far away the animals that they can kill (OR, dead bodies of animals).
30 Pulli eius lambent sanguinem: et ubicumque cadaver fuerit, statim adest.
After an eagle kills an animal, the baby eagles drink the blood of that animal.”
