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39 “Do you know when the mountain goats(A) give birth?
    Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?(B)
Do you count the months till they bear?
    Do you know the time they give birth?(C)
They crouch down and bring forth their young;
    their labor pains are ended.
Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
    they leave and do not return.

“Who let the wild donkey(D) go free?
    Who untied its ropes?
I gave it the wasteland(E) as its home,
    the salt flats(F) as its habitat.(G)
It laughs(H) at the commotion in the town;
    it does not hear a driver’s shout.(I)
It ranges the hills(J) for its pasture
    and searches for any green thing.

“Will the wild ox(K) consent to serve you?(L)
    Will it stay by your manger(M) at night?
10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness?(N)
    Will it till the valleys behind you?
11 Will you rely on it for its great strength?(O)
    Will you leave your heavy work to it?
12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain
    and bring it to your threshing floor?

13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
    though they cannot compare
    with the wings and feathers of the stork.(P)
14 She lays her eggs on the ground
    and lets them warm in the sand,
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them,
    that some wild animal may trample them.(Q)
16 She treats her young harshly,(R) as if they were not hers;
    she cares not that her labor was in vain,
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom
    or give her a share of good sense.(S)
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
    she laughs(T) at horse and rider.

19 “Do you give the horse its strength(U)
    or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust,(V)
    striking terror(W) with its proud snorting?(X)
21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,(Y)
    and charges into the fray.(Z)
22 It laughs(AA) at fear, afraid of nothing;
    it does not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver(AB) rattles against its side,
    along with the flashing spear(AC) and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
    it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.(AD)
25 At the blast of the trumpet(AE) it snorts, ‘Aha!’
    It catches the scent of battle from afar,
    the shout of commanders and the battle cry.(AF)

26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
    and spread its wings toward the south?(AG)
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
    and build its nest on high?(AH)
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
    a rocky crag(AI) is its stronghold.
29 From there it looks for food;(AJ)
    its eyes detect it from afar.
30 Its young ones feast on blood,
    and where the slain are, there it is.”(AK)

God Speaks of Nature and Its Beings

39 “Do you know the time the [a](A)mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the (B)deer?
Can you count the months they fulfill,
Or do you know the time they give birth?
They kneel down, they deliver their young,
They get rid of their labor pains.
Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They leave and do not return to them.

“Who sent the (C)wild donkey out free?
And who opened the bonds of the swift donkey,
To whom I gave (D)the wilderness as his home,
And the salt land as his dwelling place?
He laughs at the turmoil of the city,
He does not hear the shouting of the taskmaster.
He explores the mountains of his pasture,
And searches after every green thing.
Will the (E)wild bull be willing to serve you,
Or will he spend the night at your feeding trough?
10 Can you tie down the wild bull in a furrow with [b]ropes,
Or will he [c]plow the valleys after you?
11 Will you trust him because his strength is great,
And leave your labor to him?
12 Will you have faith in him that he will return your [d]grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?

13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyously,
With the pinion and feathers of [e]love,
14 For she abandons her eggs to the earth
And warms them in the dust,
15 And she forgets that a foot may crush [f]them,
Or that a wild animal may trample [g]them.
16 She treats her young (F)cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor is for nothing, she is [h]unconcerned,
17 Because God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.
18 When she rushes away on high,
She laughs at the horse and his rider.

19 “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
20 Do you make him (G)leap like locusts?
His majestic (H)snorting is frightening.
21 [i]He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He (I)goes out to meet the battle.
22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
And he does not turn back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against him,
The flashing spear and javelin.
24 He [j]races over the ground with a roar and fury,
And he does not stand still when he hears the sound of the trumpet.
25 As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he senses the battle from afar,
And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.

26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
Stretching his wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your [k]command that the eagle flies high,
And makes (J)his nest on high?
28 He dwells and spends his nights on the cliff,
On the rocky cliff, an inaccessible place.
29 From there he (K)tracks food;
His eyes look at it from afar.
30 His young ones also lick up blood greedily;
And (L)where the slain are, there he is.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 39:1 Lit goats of the rock
  2. Job 39:10 Lit his rope
  3. Job 39:10 I.e., pull a harrow, a farming device
  4. Job 39:12 Lit seed
  5. Job 39:13 Or a stork
  6. Job 39:15 Lit it
  7. Job 39:15 Lit it
  8. Job 39:16 Lit without fear
  9. Job 39:21 Lit They paw
  10. Job 39:24 Lit swallows up
  11. Job 39:27 Lit mouth

39 1-4 “Do you know the month when mountain goats give birth?
    Have you ever watched a doe bear her fawn?
Do you know how many months she is pregnant?
    Do you know the season of her delivery,
    when she crouches down and drops her offspring?
Her young ones flourish and are soon on their own;
    they leave and don’t come back.

5-8 “Who do you think set the wild donkey free,
    opened the corral gates and let him go?
I gave him the whole wilderness to roam in,
    the rolling plains and wide-open places.
He laughs at his city cousins, who are harnessed and harried.
    He’s oblivious to the cries of teamsters.
He grazes freely through the hills,
    nibbling anything that’s green.

9-12 “Will the wild buffalo condescend to serve you,
    volunteer to spend the night in your barn?
Can you imagine hitching your plow to a buffalo
    and getting him to till your fields?
He’s hugely strong, yes, but could you trust him,
    would you dare turn the job over to him?
You wouldn’t for a minute depend on him, would you,
    to do what you said when you said it?

13-18 “The ostrich flaps her wings futilely—
    all those beautiful feathers, but useless!
She lays her eggs on the hard ground,
    leaves them there in the dirt, exposed to the weather,
Not caring that they might get stepped on and cracked
    or trampled by some wild animal.
She’s negligent with her young, as if they weren’t even hers.
    She cares nothing about anything.
She wasn’t created very smart, that’s for sure,
    wasn’t given her share of good sense.
But when she runs, oh, how she runs,
    laughing, leaving horse and rider in the dust.

19-25 “Are you the one who gave the horse his prowess
    and adorned him with a shimmering mane?
Did you create him to prance proudly
    and strike terror with his royal snorts?
He paws the ground fiercely, eager and spirited,
    then charges into the fray.
He laughs at danger, fearless,
    doesn’t shy away from the sword.
The banging and clanging
    of quiver and lance don’t faze him.
He quivers with excitement, and at the trumpet blast
    races off at a gallop.
At the sound of the trumpet he neighs mightily,
    smelling the excitement of battle from a long way off,
    catching the rolling thunder of the war cries.

26-30 “Was it through your know-how that the hawk learned to fly,
    soaring effortlessly on thermal updrafts?
Did you command the eagle’s flight,
    and teach her to build her nest in the heights,
Perfectly at home on the high cliff face,
    invulnerable on pinnacle and crag?
From her perch she searches for prey,
    spies it at a great distance.
Her young gorge themselves on carrion;
    wherever there’s a roadkill, you’ll see her circling.”

39 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?

Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?

They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows.

Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them.

Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?

Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.

He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver.

The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.

Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?

10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

11 Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?

12 Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?

13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?

14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,

15 And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.

16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not her's: her labour is in vain without fear;

17 Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.

18 What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.

19 Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?

20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.

21 He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.

22 He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.

23 The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.

24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.

25 He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

26 Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?

27 Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?

28 She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.

29 From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.

30 Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.

39 Hast thou known the time of The bearing of the wild goats of the rock? The bringing forth of hinds thou dost mark!

Thou dost number the months they fulfil? And thou hast known the time of their bringing forth!

They bow down, Their young ones they bring forth safely, Their pangs they cast forth.

Safe are their young ones, They grow up in the field, they have gone out, And have not returned to them.

Who hath sent forth the wild ass free? Yea, the bands of the wild ass who opened?

Whose house I have made the wilderness, And his dwellings the barren land,

He doth laugh at the multitude of a city, The cries of an exactor he heareth not.

The range of mountains [is] his pasture, And after every green thing he seeketh.

Is a Reem willing to serve thee? Doth he lodge by thy crib?

10 Dost thou bind a Reem in a furrow [with] his thick band? Doth he harrow valleys after thee?

11 Dost thou trust in him because great [is] his power? And dost thou leave unto him thy labour?

12 Dost thou trust in him That he doth bring back thy seed? And [to] thy threshing-floor doth gather [it]?

13 The wing of the rattling ones exulteth, Whether the pinion of the ostrich or hawk.

14 For she leaveth on the earth her eggs, And on the dust she doth warm them,

15 And she forgetteth that a foot may press it, And a beast of the field tread it down.

16 Her young ones it hath hardened without her, In vain [is] her labour without fear.

17 For God hath caused her to forget wisdom, And He hath not given a portion To her in understanding:

18 At the time on high she lifteth herself up, She laugheth at the horse and at his rider.

19 Dost thou give to the horse might? Dost thou clothe his neck [with] a mane?

20 Dost thou cause him to rush as a locust? The majesty of his snorting [is] terrible.

21 They dig in a valley, and he rejoiceth in power, He goeth forth to meet the armour.

22 He laugheth at fear, and is not affrighted, And he turneth not back from the face of the sword.

23 Against him rattle doth quiver, The flame of a spear, and a halbert.

24 With trembling and rage he swalloweth the ground, And remaineth not stedfast Because of the sound of a trumpet.

25 Among the trumpets he saith, Aha, And from afar he doth smell battle, Roaring of princes and shouting.

26 By thine understanding flieth a hawk? Spreadeth he his wings to the south?

27 At thy command goeth an eagle up high? Or lifteth he up his nest?

28 A rock he doth inhabit, Yea, he lodgeth on the tooth of a rock, and fortress.

29 From thence he hath sought food, To a far off place his eyes look attentively,

30 And his brood gulph up blood, And where the pierced [are] -- there [is] he!