Job 39
Christian Standard Bible
39 Do you know when mountain goats give birth?
Have you watched the deer in labor?
2 Can you count the months they are pregnant[a]
so you can know the time they give birth?
3 They crouch down to give birth to their young;
they deliver their newborn.[b]
4 Their offspring are healthy and grow up in the open field.
They leave and do not return.[c]
5 Who set the wild donkey free?
Who released the swift donkey from its harness?
6 I made the desert(A) its home,
and the salty(B) wasteland its dwelling.
7 It scoffs at the noise of the village
and never hears the shouts of a driver.(C)
8 It roams the mountains for its pastureland,
searching for anything green.
9 Would the wild ox be willing to serve you?
Would it spend the night by your feeding trough?
10 Can you hold the wild ox(D) to a furrow by its harness?
Will it plow the valleys behind you?
11 Can you depend on it because its strength is great?
Would you leave it to do your hard work?
12 Can you trust the wild ox to harvest your grain
and bring it to your threshing floor?
13 The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
but are her feathers and plumage like the stork’s?[d](E)
14 She abandons her eggs on the ground
and lets them be warmed in the sand.
15 She forgets that a foot may crush them
or that some wild animal may trample them.
16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not her own,
with no fear that her labor may have been in vain.
17 For God has deprived her of wisdom;
he has not endowed her with understanding.(F)
18 When she proudly[e] spreads her wings,
she laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 Do you give strength to the horse?
Do you adorn his neck with a mane?[f]
20 Do you make him leap like a locust?
His proud snorting fills one with terror.
21 He paws[g] in the valley and rejoices in his strength;
he charges into battle.[h]
22 He laughs at fear, since he is afraid of nothing;
he does not run from the sword.
23 A quiver rattles at his side,
along with a flashing spear and a javelin.
24 He charges ahead[i] with trembling rage;
he cannot stand still at the sound of the ram’s horn.
25 When the ram’s horn blasts, he snorts defiantly.[j]
He smells the battle from a distance;
he hears the officers’ shouts and the battle cry.
26 Does the hawk take flight by your understanding
and spread its wings to the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
and make its nest(G) on high?
28 It lives on a cliff where it spends the night;
its stronghold is on a rocky crag.
29 From there it searches for prey;(H)
its eyes penetrate the distance.
30 Its brood gulps down blood,
and where the slain are, it is there.(I)
Job 39
International Standard Version
On the Birth of Young
39 “Do you know when the mountain goat gives birth?
Do you watch the doe as it calves its young?
2 Can you count the months of their gestation?
Do you know the time when they give birth,
3 when they crouch down[a] to give birth[b] to their offspring,
and let go[c] of their birth pangs?
4 Their young are strong;
they grow up in the open field;
then they go off
and don’t return to them.”
On Wild Animals
5 “Who sets the wild donkey free?
Who loosens the bonds of the wild donkey
6 to whom I’ve given the Arabah[d] for a home;
the salt plain for his dwelling place?
7 He despises city noises;[e]
he ignores the shouts[f] of the driver.
8 He ranges the mountains that are his pasture
to search for anything green.
9 Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will he sleep at night near your feeding trough?
10 Can you bind the ox to plow a furrow with a rope?
Will he harrow after you in the valley?
11 Will you trust him because of his great strength
and entrust your labor to him?
12 Will you trust him that he’ll bring in your grain,
and gather it to your threshing floor?”
On the Ostrich
13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyously,
but aren’t its pinions and feathers like the stork?
14 She abandons her eggs on the ground
and lets them be warmed in the sand,
15 but she forgets that a foot might crush them
or any wild animal might trample them.
16 She mistreats her young as though they’re not hers,
and she has no fear that her labor may be in vain,
17 because God didn’t grant her wisdom
and never gave her understanding.
18 And yet when she gets ready to run,
she laughs at the horse and its rider.”
On the Horse
19 Do you instill the horse with strength?
Do you clothe its neck with a mane?
20 Can you make him leap like the locust,
and make the splendor of his snorting terrifying?
21 He paws the ground[g] in the valley
and rejoices in his strength;
he goes out to face weapons.
22 He scoffs at fear
and is never scared;
he never retreats from a sword.
23 A quiver of arrows rattles against his side,
along with a flashing spear and a lance.
24 Leaping in his excitement, he takes in[h] the ground;
he cannot stand still when the trumpets sound!
25 When the trumpet blasts he’ll neigh, ‘Aha! Aha!’
From a distance he can sense war,
the war cry of generals,[i] and their shouting.”
On Raptors
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk flies,
spreading its wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar high at your command[j]
and build its nest on the highest crags?
28 He dwells on the crags where he makes his home,
there on the rocky crag is his stronghold.
29 From there he searches for prey,
and his eyes recognize it from a distance.
30 His young ones feast[k] on blood;
he’ll be found wherever there’s a carcass.”[l]
Footnotes
- Job 39:3 Or bow down
- Job 39:3 Lit. cleave open
- Job 39:3 Lit. send
- Job 39:6 I.e. the desert wilderness of southern Israel
- Job 39:7 Or sound
- Job 39:7 Or noise
- Job 39:21 The Heb. lacks the ground
- Job 39:24 Lit. swallows
- Job 39:25 Or officers
- Job 39:27 Lit. mouth
- Job 39:30 Lit. suck up
- Job 39:30 Or slain
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