Job 39
World English Bible
39 “Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears fawns?
2 Can you count the months that they fulfill?
Or do you know the time when they give birth?
3 They bow themselves. They bear their young.
They end their labor pains.
4 Their young ones become strong.
They grow up in the open field.
They go out, and don’t return again.
5 “Who has set the wild donkey free?
Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey,
6 whose home I have made the wilderness,
and the salt land his dwelling place?
7 He scorns the tumult of the city,
neither does he hear the shouting of the driver.
8 The range of the mountains is his pasture,
He searches after every green thing.
9 “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.”
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
by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
