Job 39
English Standard Version
39 “Do you know when (A)the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe (B)the calving of the does?
2 Can you number the months that they fulfill,
and do you know the time when they give birth,
3 when they (C)crouch, bring forth their offspring,
and are delivered of their young?
4 Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open;
they go out and (D)do not return to them.
5 “Who has let the wild donkey go free?
Who has (E)loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
6 to whom I have given (F)the arid plain for his home
and (G)the salt land for his dwelling place?
7 He scorns the tumult of the city;
he hears not the shouts of the driver.
8 He ranges the mountains as his pasture,
and he searches after every green thing.
9 “Is (H)the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will he spend the night at your (I)manger?
10 Can you bind (J)him in the furrow with ropes,
or will he harrow the valleys after you?
11 Will you depend on him because his strength is great,
and will you leave to him your labor?
12 Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain
and gather it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
but are they the pinions and plumage of love?[a]
14 For she leaves her eggs to the earth
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them
and that the wild beast may trample them.
16 She (K)deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;
though her (L)labor be in vain, yet she has no fear,
17 because God has made her forget wisdom
and (M)given her no share in understanding.
18 When she rouses herself to flee,[b]
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 leap like the locust?
His majestic (N)snorting is terrifying.
21 He paws[c] in the valley and exults in his strength;
he (O)goes out to meet the weapons.
22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
he does not turn back from the sword.
23 Upon him rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear, and the javelin.
24 With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;
he cannot stand still at (P)the sound of the trumpet.
25 When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’
He smells the battle from afar,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars
and spreads his wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes his (Q)nest on high?
28 On the rock he dwells and makes his home,
on (R)the rocky crag and stronghold.
29 From there he spies out the prey;
his eyes behold it from far away.
30 His young ones suck up blood,
and (S)where the slain are, there is he.”
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
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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