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39 “Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth?
    Do you watch when the doe bears fawns?
Can you count the months that they fulfill?
    Or do you know the time when they give birth?
They bow themselves. They bear their young.
    They end their labor pains.
Their young ones become strong.
    They grow up in the open field.
    They go out, and don’t return again.

“Who has set the wild donkey free?
    Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey,
whose home I have made the wilderness,
    and the salt land his dwelling place?
He scorns the tumult of the city,
    neither does he hear the shouting of the driver.
The range of the mountains is his pasture,
    He searches after every green thing.

“Will the wild ox be content to serve you?
    Or will he stay by your feeding trough?
10 Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness?
    Or will he till the valleys after you?
11 Will you trust him, because his strength is great?
    Or will you leave to him your labor?
12 Will you confide in him, that he will bring home your seed,
    and gather the grain of your threshing floor?

13 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly;
    but are they the feathers and plumage of love?
14 For she leaves her eggs on the earth,
    warms them in the dust,
15 and forgets that the foot may crush them,
    or that the wild animal may trample them.
16 She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers.
    Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear,
17 because God has deprived her of wisdom,
    neither has he imparted to her understanding.
18 When she lifts up herself on high,
    she scorns the horse and his rider.

19 “Have you given the horse might?
    Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane?
20 Have you made him to leap as a locust?
    The glory of his snorting is awesome.
21 He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength.
    He goes out to meet the armed men.
22 He mocks at fear, and is not dismayed,
    neither does he turn back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against him,
    the flashing spear and the javelin.
24 He eats up the ground with fierceness and rage,
    neither does he stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
25 As often as the trumpet sounds he snorts, ‘Aha!’
    He smells the battle afar off,
    the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

26 “Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars,
    and stretches her wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up,
    and makes his nest on high?
28 On the cliff he dwells, and makes his home,
    on the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.
29 From there he spies out the prey.
    His eyes see it afar off.
30 His young ones also suck up blood.
    Where the slain are, there he is.”

39 Do you know when mountain goats give birth?
Have you watched the deer in labor?
Can you count the months they are pregnant[a]
so you can know the time they give birth?
They crouch down to give birth to their young;
they deliver their newborn.[b]
Their offspring are healthy and grow up in the open field.
They leave and do not return.[c]

Who set the wild donkey free?
Who released the swift donkey from its harness?
I made the desert(A) its home,
and the salty(B) wasteland its dwelling.
It scoffs at the noise of the village
and never hears the shouts of a driver.(C)
It roams the mountains for its pastureland,
searching for anything green.
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)

Footnotes

  1. 39:2 Lit months they fulfill
  2. 39:3 Or they send away their labor pains
  3. 39:4 Lit return to them
  4. 39:13 Hb obscure
  5. 39:18 Hb obscure
  6. 39:19 Hb obscure
  7. 39:21 LXX, Syr; MT reads They dig
  8. 39:21 Lit he goes out to meet the weaponry
  9. 39:24 Lit He swallows the ground
  10. 39:25 Lit he says, “Aha!”