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
New American Standard Bible
God Speaks of Nature and Its Beings
39 “Do you know the time the [a](A)mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the (B)deer?
2 Can you count the months they fulfill,
Or do you know the time they give birth?
3 They kneel down, they deliver their young,
They get rid of their labor pains.
4 Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They leave and do not return to them.
5 “Who sent the (C)wild donkey out free?
And who opened the bonds of the swift donkey,
6 To whom I gave (D)the wilderness as his home,
And the salt land as his dwelling place?
7 He laughs at the turmoil of the city,
He does not hear the shouting of the taskmaster.
8 He explores the mountains of his pasture,
And searches after every green thing.
9 Will the (E)wild bull be willing to serve you,
Or will he spend the night at your feeding trough?
10 Can you tie down the wild bull in a furrow with [b]ropes,
Or will he [c]plow the valleys after you?
11 Will you trust him because his strength is great,
And leave your labor to him?
12 Will you have faith in him that he will return your [d]grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyously,
With the pinion and feathers of [e]love,
14 For she abandons her eggs to the earth
And warms them in the dust,
15 And she forgets that a foot may crush [f]them,
Or that a wild animal may trample [g]them.
16 She treats her young (F)cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor is for nothing, she is [h]unconcerned,
17 Because God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.
18 When she rushes away on high,
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 (G)leap like locusts?
His majestic (H)snorting is frightening.
21 [i]He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He (I)goes out to meet the battle.
22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
And he does not turn back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against him,
The flashing spear and javelin.
24 He [j]races over the ground with a roar and fury,
And he does not stand still when he hears the sound of the trumpet.
25 As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he senses the battle from afar,
And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
Stretching his wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your [k]command that the eagle flies high,
And makes (J)his nest on high?
28 He dwells and spends his nights on the cliff,
On the rocky cliff, an inaccessible place.
29 From there he (K)tracks food;
His eyes look at it from afar.
30 His young ones also lick up blood greedily;
And (L)where the slain are, there he is.”
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
