Job 39
Modern English Version
39 “Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats produce offspring?
Or can you observe when the deer gives birth?
2 Can you number the months that they fulfill,
or do you know the time when they bring forth?
3 They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones,
they get rid of their labor pains.
4 Their young ones are healthy, they grow strong with grain;
they go forth and do not return to them.
5 “Who has sent out the wild donkey free?
Or who has loosed the bands of the wild donkey,
6 whose home I have made the wilderness,
and the barren land his dwelling?
7 He scorns the multitude in the city
and does not regard the shouts of the driver.
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 spend the night 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 grain
and gather it into your barn?
13 “Did you give the beautiful wings to the peacocks?
Or wings and feathers to the ostrich,
14 who leaves her eggs in the earth,
and warms them in dust,
15 and forgets that a 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 hers;
her labor is in vain, without concern,
17 because God has deprived her of wisdom,
nor has He imparted understanding to her.
18 When she lifts up herself on high,
she scorns the horse and his rider.
19 “Have you given the horse strength?
Have you clothed his neck with thunder?
20 Can you make him afraid like a grasshopper?
The glory of his nostrils is awesome.
21 He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength;
he goes on to meet the armed men.
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 the shield.
24 He devours the distance with fierceness and rage,
and he does not stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
25 At the sound of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha’;
he smells the battle afar off,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 “Does the hawk fly by your wisdom,
and stretch her wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle mount up at your command
and make her nest on high?
28 She dwells and remains on the rock,
upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.
29 From there she seeks the prey,
and her eyes see it from afar.
30 Her young ones also suck up blood,
and where the slain are, there she is.”
Job 39
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 39
1 Do you know when mountain goats are born,
or watch for the birth pangs of deer,
2 Number the months that they must fulfill,
or know when they give birth,
3 When they crouch down and drop their young,
when they deliver their progeny?
4 Their offspring thrive and grow in the open,
they leave and do not return.
5 Who has given the wild donkey his freedom,
and who has loosed the wild ass from bonds?
6 I have made the wilderness his home
and the salt flats his dwelling.
7 He scoffs at the uproar of the city,
hears no shouts of a driver.
8 He ranges the mountains for pasture,
and seeks out every patch of green.
9 Will the wild ox consent to serve you,
or pass the nights at your manger?
10 Will you bind the wild ox with a rope in the furrow,
and will he plow the valleys after you?
11 Will you depend on him for his great strength
and leave to him the fruits of your toil?
12 Can you rely on him to bring in your grain
and gather in the yield of your threshing floor?
13 The wings of the ostrich[a] flap away;
her plumage is lacking in feathers.
14 When she abandons her eggs on the ground[b]
and lets them warm in the sand,
15 She forgets that a foot may crush them,
that the wild beasts may trample them;
16 She cruelly disowns her young
and her labor is useless; she has no fear.
17 For God has withheld wisdom from her
and given her no share in understanding.
18 Yet when she spreads her wings high,
she laughs at a horse and rider.
19 Do you give the horse his strength,[c]
and clothe his neck with a mane?
20 Do you make him quiver like a locust,
while his thunderous snorting spreads terror?
21 He paws the valley, he rejoices in his strength,
and charges into battle.
22 He laughs at fear and cannot be terrified;
he does not retreat from the sword.
23 Around him rattles the quiver,
flashes the spear and the javelin.
24 Frenzied and trembling he devours the ground;
he does not hold back at the sound of the trumpet;
25 at the trumpet’s call he cries, “Aha!”
Even from afar he scents the battle,
the roar of the officers and the shouting.
26 Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
that he spreads his wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle fly up at your command
to build his nest up high?
28 On a cliff he dwells and spends the night,
on the spur of cliff or fortress.
29 From there he watches for his food;
his eyes behold it afar off.
30 His young ones greedily drink blood;
where the slain are, there is he.(A)
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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