Job 39
39:1 “Are you acquainted with the way1
the mountain goats2 give birth?
Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?
39:2 Do you count the months they must fulfill,
and do you know the time they give birth?3
39:3 They crouch, they bear4 their young,
they bring forth the offspring they have carried.5
39:4 Their young grow strong, and grow up in the open;6
they go off, and do not return to them.
39:5 Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who released the bonds of the donkey,
39:6 to whom I appointed the steppe for its home,
the salt wastes as its dwelling place?
39:7 It scorns the tumult in the town;
it does not hear the shouts of a driver.7
39:8 It ranges the hills as its pasture,
and searches after every green plant.
39:9 Is the wild ox willing to be your servant?
Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?
39:10 Can you bind the wild ox8 to a furrow with its rope,
will it till the valleys, following after you?
39:11 Will you rely on it because its strength is great?
Will you commit9 your labor to it?
39:12 Can you count on10 it to bring in11 your grain,12
and gather the grain13 to your threshing floor?14
39:1315 “The wings of the ostrich16 flap with joy,17
but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork?18
39:14 For she leaves19 her eggs on the ground,
and lets them be warmed on the soil.
39:15 She forgets that a foot might crush them,
or that a wild animal20 might trample them.
39:16 She is harsh21 with her young,
as if they were not hers;
she is unconcerned
about the uselessness of her labor.
39:17 For God deprived her of wisdom,
and did not impart understanding to her.
39:18 But as soon as she springs up,22
she laughs at the horse and its rider.
39:19 “Do you give the horse its strength?
Do you clothe its neck with a mane?23
39:20 Do you make it leap24 like a locust?
Its proud neighing25 is terrifying!
39:21 It26 paws the ground in the valley,27
exulting mightily,28
it goes out to meet the weapons.
39:22 It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
it does not shy away from the sword.
39:23 On it the quiver rattles;
the lance and javelin29 flash.
39:24 In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground;30
it cannot stand still31 when the trumpet is blown.
39:25 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.
39:26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,32
and spreads its wings toward the south?
39:27 Is it at your command33 that the eagle soars,
and builds its nest on high?
39:28 It lives on a rock and spends the night there,
on a rocky crag34 and a fortress.35
39:29 From there it spots36 its prey,37
its eyes gaze intently from a distance.
39:30 And its young ones devour the blood,
and where the dead carcasses38 are,
there it is.”