Job 39
1 DO YOU know the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth [their young]? [Or] do you observe when the hinds are giving birth? [Do you attend to all this, Job?]2 Can you number the months that they carry their offspring? Or do you know the time when they are delivered,3 When they bow themselves, bring forth their young ones, [and] cast out their pains?4 Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field; they go forth and return not to them.5 Who has sent out the wild donkey, giving him his freedom? Or who has loosed the bands of the swift donkey [by which his tame brother is bound--he, the shy, the swift-footed, and the untamable],6 Whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place?7 He scorns the tumult of the city and hears not the shoutings of the taskmaster.8 The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.9 Will the wild ox be willing to serve you, or remain beside your manger?10 Can you bind the wild ox with a harness to the plow in the furrow? Or will he harrow the furrows for you?11 Will you trust him because his strength is great, or to him will you leave your labor?12 Will you depend upon him to bring home your seed and gather the grain of your threshing floor? [Who, Job, was the author of this strange variance in the disposition of animals so alike in appearance? Was it you?]13 The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, [but] are they the pinions and plumage of love?14 The ostrich leaves her eggs on the ground and warms them in the dust,15 Forgetting that a foot may crush them or that the wild beast may trample them.16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers; her labor is in vain because she has no sense of danger [for her unborn brood],17 For God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has He imparted to her understanding.18 Yet when she lifts herself up in flight, [so swift is she that] she can laugh to scorn the horse and his rider.19 Have you given the horse his might? Have you clothed his neck with quivering and a shaking mane?20 Was it you [Job] who made him to leap like a locust? The majesty of his [snorting] nostrils is terrible.21 He paws in the valley and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons [of armed men].22 He mocks at fear and is not dismayed or terrified; neither does he turn back [in battle] from the sword.23 The quiver rattles upon him, as do the glittering spear and the lance [of his rider].24 [He seems in running to] devour the ground with fierceness and rage; neither can he stand still at the sound of the [war] trumpet.25 As often as the trumpet sounds he says, Ha, ha! And he smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.26 Is it by your wisdom [Job] that the hawk soars and stretches her wings toward the south [as winter approaches]?27 Does the eagle mount up at your command and make his nest on [a] high [inaccessible place]?28 On the cliff he dwells and remains securely, upon the point of the rock and the stronghold.29 From there he spies out the prey; and his eyes see it afar off.30 His young ones suck up blood, and where the slain are, there is he.
Job 39
1 “Are you acquainted with the wayt
the mountain goatst give birth?
Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?
2 Do you count the months they must fulfill,
and do you know the time they give birth?t
3 They crouch, they bears their young,
they bring forth the offspring they have carried.t
4 Their young grow strong, and grow up in the open;t
they go off, and do not return to them.
5 Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who released the bonds of the donkey,
6 to whom I appointed the steppe for its home,
the salt wastes as its dwelling place?
7 It scorns the tumult in the town;
it does not hear the shouts of a driver.s
8 It ranges the hills as its pasture,
and searches after every green plant.
9 Is the wild ox willing to be your servant?
Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?
10 Can you bind the wild oxt to a furrow with its rope,
will it till the valleys, following after you?
11 Will you rely on it because its strength is great?
Will you committ your labor to it?
12 Can you count ont it to bring ins your grain,t
and gather the graint to your threshing floor?t
13 s “The wings of the ostricht flap with joy,t
but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork?t
14 For she leavest her eggs on the ground,
and lets them be warmed on the soil.
15 She forgets that a foot might crush them,
or that a wild animalt might trample them.
16 She is harshs with her young,
as if they were not hers;
she is unconcerned
about the uselessness of her labor.
17 For God deprived her of wisdom,
and did not impart understanding to her.
18 But as soon as she springs up,t
she laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its strength?
Do you clothe its neck with a mane?t
20 Do you make it leaps like a locust?
Its proud neighingt is terrifying!
21 Its paws the ground in the valley,t
exulting mightily,t
it goes out to meet the weapons.
22 It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
it does not shy away from the sword.
23 On it the quiver rattles;
the lance and javelint flash.
24 In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground;t
it cannot stand stillt when the trumpet is blown.
25 At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’
And from a distance it catches the scent of battle,
the thunderous shouting of commanders,
and the battle cries.
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,t
and spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your commandt that the eagle soars,
and builds its nest on high?
28 It lives on a rock and spends the night there,
on a rocky cragt and a fortress.t
29 From there it spotst its prey,t
its eyes gaze intently from a distance.
30 And its young ones devour the blood,
and where the dead carcassest are,
there it is.”