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Job 39
New International Version
Job 39
New International Version
39 “Do you know when the mountain goats(A) give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?(B)
2 Do you count the months till they bear?
Do you know the time they give birth?(C)
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young;
their labor pains are ended.
4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
they leave and do not return.
5 “Who let the wild donkey(D) go free?
Who untied its ropes?
6 I gave it the wasteland(E) as its home,
the salt flats(F) as its habitat.(G)
7 It laughs(H) at the commotion in the town;
it does not hear a driver’s shout.(I)
8 It ranges the hills(J) for its pasture
and searches for any green thing.
9 “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)
Job 39
New King James Version
Job 39
New King James Version
God Continues to Challenge Job
39 “Do you know the time when the wild (A)mountain goats bear young?
Or can you mark when (B)the deer gives birth?
2 Can you number the months that they fulfill?
Or do you know the time when they bear young?
3 They bow down,
They bring forth their young,
They deliver their [a]offspring.
4 Their young ones are healthy,
They grow strong with grain;
They depart and do not return to them.
5 “Who set the wild donkey free?
Who loosed the bonds of the [b]onager,
6 (C)Whose home I have made the wilderness,
And the [c]barren land his dwelling?
7 He scorns the tumult of the city;
He does not heed the shouts of the driver.
8 The range of the mountains is his pasture,
And he searches after (D)every green thing.
9 “Will the (E)wild ox be willing to serve you?
Will he bed by your manger?
10 Can you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes?
Or will he plow the valleys behind you?
11 Will you trust him because his strength is great?
Or will you leave your labor to him?
12 Will you trust him to bring home your [d]grain,
And gather it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s?
14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground,
And warms them in the dust;
15 She forgets that a foot may crush them,
Or that a wild beast may break them.
16 She (F)treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers;
Her labor is in vain, without [e]concern,
17 Because God deprived her of wisdom,
And did not (G)endow her with understanding.
18 When she lifts herself on high,
She scorns the horse and its rider.
19 “Have you given the horse strength?
Have you clothed his neck with [f]thunder?
20 Can you [g]frighten him like a locust?
His majestic snorting strikes terror.
21 He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
(H)He gallops into the clash of arms.
22 He mocks at fear, and is not frightened;
Nor does he turn back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against him,
The glittering spear and javelin.
24 He devours the distance with fierceness and rage;
Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded.
25 At the blast of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha!’
He smells the battle from afar,
The thunder of captains and shouting.
26 “Does the hawk fly by your wisdom,
And spread its wings toward the south?
27 Does the (I)eagle mount up at your command,
And (J)make its nest on high?
28 On the rock it dwells and resides,
On the crag of the rock and the stronghold.
29 From there it spies out the prey;
Its eyes observe from afar.
30 Its young ones suck up blood;
And (K)where the slain are, there it is.”
Job 39
New American Standard Bible
Job 39
New American Standard Bible
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?
2 Can you count the months they fulfill,
Or do you know the time they give birth?
3 They kneel down, they deliver their young,
They get rid of their labor pains.
4 Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They leave and do not return to them.
5 “Who sent the (C)wild donkey out free?
And who opened the bonds of the swift donkey,
6 To whom I gave (D)the wilderness as his home,
And the salt land as his dwelling place?
7 He laughs at the turmoil of the city,
He does not hear the shouting of the taskmaster.
8 He explores the mountains of his pasture,
And searches after every green thing.
9 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.”
Job 39
The Message
Job 39
The Message
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.”
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson