13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
    though they cannot compare
    with the wings and feathers of the stork.(A)
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.(B)
16 She treats her young harshly,(C) 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.(D)
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
    she laughs(E) at horse and rider.

Read full chapter

13 
“The [flightless] wings of the ostrich wave joyously;
With the pinion (shackles, fetters) and plumage of love,
14 
For she 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 treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor is in vain because she is unconcerned [for the safety of her brood],
17 
For God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.
18 
“Yet when she lifts herself [a]on high,
[So swift is she that] she laughs at the horse and his rider.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Job 39:18 Or to flee.