Job 39
American Standard Version
39 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?
Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?
2 Canst thou number the months that they fulfil?
Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
3 They bow themselves, they bring forth their young,
They cast out their pains.
4 Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They go forth, and [a]return not again.
5 Who hath sent out the wild ass free?
Or who hath loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
6 Whose home I have made the wilderness,
And the salt land his dwelling-place?
7 He scorneth the tumult of the city,
Neither heareth he the shoutings of the [b]driver.
8 The range of the mountains is his pasture,
And he searcheth after every green thing.
9 Will the wild-ox be content to serve thee?
Or will he abide by thy crib?
10 Canst thou bind the wild-ox 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 to him thy labor?
12 Wilt thou confide in him, that he will bring home thy seed,
And gather the grain of thy threshing-floor?
13 The wings of the ostrich wave proudly;
But are they the pinions and plumage of [c]love?
14 For she leaveth her eggs on the earth,
And warmeth them in the dust,
15 And forgetteth that the foot may crush them,
Or that the wild beast may trample them.
16 She [d]dealeth hardly with her young ones, as if they were not hers:
Though her labor be in vain, she is without fear;
17 Because God hath [e]deprived her of wisdom,
Neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
18 What time she [f]lifteth up herself on high,
She scorneth the horse and his rider.
19 Hast thou given the horse his might?
Hast thou clothed his neck with the [g]quivering mane?
20 Hast thou made him to leap as a locust?
The glory of his snorting is terrible.
21 [h]He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength:
He goeth out to meet [i]the armed men.
22 He mocketh at fear, and is not dismayed;
Neither turneth he back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattleth [j]against him,
The flashing spear and the javelin.
24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage;
Neither [k]believeth he that it is the voice of the trumpet.
25 As oft as the trumpet soundeth he saith, Aha!
And he smelleth the battle afar off,
The thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk soareth,
And stretcheth her wings toward the south?
27 Is it at thy command that the eagle mounteth up,
And maketh her nest on high?
28 On the cliff she dwelleth, and maketh her home,
Upon the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.
29 From thence she spieth out the prey;
Her eyes behold it afar off.
30 Her young ones also suck up blood:
And where the slain are, there is she.
Footnotes
- Job 39:4 Or, return not unto them
- Job 39:7 Or, taskmaster
- Job 39:13 Or, a stork
- Job 39:16 Or, is hardened against
- Job 39:17 Hebrew made her to forget wisdom.
- Job 39:18 Or, rouseth herself up to flight
- Job 39:19 Hebrew shaking.
- Job 39:21 Hebrew They paw.
- Job 39:21 Or, the weapons
- Job 39:23 Or, upon
- Job 39:24 Or, standeth he still at etc.
Job 39
Lexham English Bible
39 “Do you know the time when the goats of the rocks give birth?
Do you observe the doe deer’s giving birth?
2 Can you number the months they fulfill,
and do you know the time of its giving birth?
3 When they crouch, they bring forth their young ones;
they get rid of their labor pains.[a]
4 Their young ones grow strong; they grow up in the open;
they go forth and do not return to them.
5 “Who has sent forth the wild ass free?
And who has released the wild donkey’s bonds,
6 to which I have given the wilderness as its house
and the salt flat as its dwelling place?
7 It scorns the city’s turmoil;
it does not hear the driver’s shouts.
8 It explores the mountains as its pasture
and searches after every kind of green plant.
9 “Is the wild ox willing to serve you,
or will he spend the night at your feeding trough?
10 Can you tie the wild ox with its rope to a furrow,
or will it harrow the valleys after you?
11 Can you trust it because its strength is great,
or will you hand your labor over to it?
12 Can you rely on it that it will return your grain
and that it will gather it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings[b] of the female ostrich flap[c]—
are they[d] the pinions of the stork or[e] the falcon?
14 Indeed, it leaves its eggs to the earth,
and it lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 and it forgets that a foot might crush an egg,[f]
and a wild animal[g] might trample it.[h]
16 It deals cruelly with its young ones, as if they were not its own,
as if without fear that its labor were in vain,
17 because God made it forget wisdom,
and he did not give it a share in understanding.
18 When it spreads its wings aloft,[i]
it laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 “Do you give power to the horse?
Do you clothe its neck with a mane?
20 Do you make it leap like the locust?
The majesty of its snorting is terrifying.
21 They paw in the valley, and it exults with strength;
it goes out to meet the battle.
22 It laughs at danger and is not dismayed,
and it does not turn back from before[j] the sword.
23 Upon it the quiver rattles
along with the flash of the spear and the short sword.
24 With roar and rage it races over the ground,[k]
and it cannot stand still at the sound of the horn.
25 Whenever[l] a horn sounds, it says, ‘Aha!’
And it smells the battle from a distance—
the thunder of the commanders and the war cry.
26 “Does the hawk soar by your wisdom?
Does it spread its wings to the south?
27 Or does the eagle fly high at your command
and construct its nest high?
28 It lives on the rock and spends the night
on the rock point and the mountain stronghold.[m]
29 From there it spies out the prey;
its eyes look from far away.
30 And its young ones lick blood greedily,
and where the dead carcasses are, there they are.”
Footnotes
- Job 39:3 Or “deliver their fetuses”
- Job 39:13 Hebrew “wing”
- Job 39:13 Or “flaps”
- Job 39:13 Or “if,” or “or”
- Job 39:13 Hebrew “and”
- Job 39:15 Hebrew “it”; or a collective singular (“them”) referring to “eggs” in v. 14
- Job 39:15 Literally “an animal of the field”
- Job 39:15 Or a collective singular (“them”) referring to “eggs” in v. 14
- Job 39:18 Literally “in the height”
- Job 39:22 Literally “from faces of”
- Job 39:24 Or “it paws the ground”; literally “it swallows the earth/ground”
- Job 39:25 Literally “At enough”
- Job 39:28 Literally “on the tooth of the rock and the stronghold”
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