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”
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.”
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
